"Hehehhee, fools."

"Humans are such fools."

An ancient voice echoed in a dark void as a transparent man with black hair and crimson eyes floated with a snicker.

"That Ashborn brat... if only she didn’t have those weird skills, I would have easily taken over her body but she had to make it complicated."

He wandered through the void.

"Well, I guess everything happens for the greater good. Now I can take over the body of someone even better and a male at that. The heavens must really be shining fortune over me."

He was the founder of the Ashborn family or at least that was the lie he had told to Lyra, a brat of the Ashborn family, the same family whose founder had trapped him thousands of years ago in a ring artifact when he ascended to Godhood.

The ring was passed down across generations in the Ashborn family’s eldest heirs as an heirloom but even then, he was just a ghost, as nobody could really see him or interact with him.

But then...

Something changed.

A brat was given the ring, a brat who seemed like every other from the Ashborn family. So, he didn’t really have any hopes left, but then the heavens gave him a chance.

That brat saw him.

Not just saw, she could actually speak with him as well. The first thing he tried was taking over her body, but the Nexus she had threatened to swallow his whole existence.

Only then did he find out about the unique rank Nexus the brat had and how strong it was even among that rank.

So he gave up that plan and laid low, making Lyra think that he was the soul manifestation of the founder due to some ancient Ashborn power she awakened.

He made some stories up and even taught the brat a few flawed techniques, hoping it would bring her closer to death so he could reattempt taking over her body but instead, that insufferable brat somehow turned even those flawed techniques into something devastating as if to spit on his plans.

"Tch..."

Just thinking about it was enough to make him click his tongue in annoyance.

"But my sufferings shall end now..."

"I shall finally be free once more..."

"The sky shall rain crimson once more..."

He puffed his chest, still trying to find something within the void.

"I just need to find the core of this brat’s soul and once I do, I shall take over his being."

"Romen, oh Romen... you sealed me back then for causing disasters but now... I shall repeat those tragedies with the body of your own descendant and one day... I will climb high enough to slay you, you insufferable bastard."

Just then, he saw a bright golden light within the sea of consciousness of the boy. The light shone as bright as the sun, making him close his eyes for a few moments.

"Huh? What is that...?"

He muttered, slightly confused.

He was someone who had once mastered the power of consciousness beyond anyone and knew how this domain, unexplored by most, hid secrets beyond what even Gods could comprehend, and yet...

...yet even he hadn’t witnessed something like this before.

"What exactly is this brat...?"

"And how come the core of his soul is golden...?"

He recalled the information he had about this boy, Rael Von Ashborn, a haughty noble befitting of his family, arrogant without an ounce of strength and weak-willed.

He had seen the boy grow, as the ring carrying his soul was with Reynold Ashborn before it was handed to Lyra after she awakened.

So, he knew enough about him and that only made him more confused.

"How come someone like him has a soul like this...?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Does this brat also have a unique rank Nexus...?"

"No, I can’t feel any danger and if he had awakened such a Nexus, he would have seen me the first time I met him with Lyra after his awakening."

He shook his head.

"Is this the result of an artifact or a skill that is allowing him to see me as well...?"

"In any case, it doesn’t feel dangerous."

With that thought, he slowly moved toward the golden light illuminating the dark void of consciousness around him. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

As he drew closer and closer to the light, his features started distorting. His black hair turned bright red, his eyes became serpentine red and his skin grew paler but as if in some kind of trance, he didn’t even notice any of those changes and continued moving toward the light.

Only after moving for an unknown amount of time did he finally arrive right before it.

A massive sun was emitting that light and in front of it, he looked countless times smaller than even an ant before a human.

"What is this...?"

Only now did he snap out of his trance as he looked at the sun.

"This is definitely not a soul core..."

Then his eyes fell on his completely bone-white hands, along with a few strands of hair falling over his eyes.

"Why am I back to my real appearance...?"

Not only was his appearance back but he also felt the heavy sensation of having a body, something which was impossible, since his original body had been destroyed thousands of years ago.

"What’s happening...?"

"I need to get out... this is definitely not normal."

"This brat is definitely not normal."

He clasped both of his hands together, forming a triangle with his fingers.

"Origin Descent."

He muttered, his body turning into a small red dot, shooting backward to exit the domain of consciousness but he didn’t move even an inch.

"Shit!!! The sun is pulling me towards itself."

The sun started shining even brighter, waves of its energy pulling him in. He tried to resist with every ounce of his power but in the end, he couldn’t, as he was dragged into it and darkness engulfed his vision.

Once he opened his eyes, he wasn’t in the dark void anymore. Instead, he was lying on the floor of a crimson-colored space, with massive pillars supporting a ceiling that had an open center.

Before he could even understand where he was, a voice echoed grandly.

"Hope you didn’t have any trouble getting here, dear ancestor...."

He raised his head as he saw the boy, Rael Von Ashborn, sitting on a red throne of pure flames, which embraced him softly instead of burning him.

In one of his hands, he held a book with a knowing smile on his face.

"I almost got bored, waiting for you, you know." He said in amusement. "In any case, now that you are here, welcome to my domain... and why don’t we have a nice little chat?"

Looking at Rael, the red-haired man started trembling violently, his eyes widening.

"How... how is this possible...?" He muttered in disbelief.

"Huh? What do you mean...?" Rael raised his eyebrows slightly. He had expected a completely different reaction, so he was surprised to see the man act like this.

"How are you still alive...?"

The red-haired man asked, his voice trembling now.

"...my master?"

"Sorry, you’re what now...?"

Rael sat up straight on his throne as he saw the man kneeling on the ground reverently.

What kind of shit is this now...?

He thought, before looking at the man, waiting for an explanation.