Inside a small room, a young man could be seen lying on the bed. He had a calm expression, but with a slightly furrowed brow.
Suddenly, his eyes opened and he sat up.
He looked around, somewhat disoriented... until his eyes sparkled with understanding. He clutched his hair as he organized his thoughts.
A few moments ago, I used the Four Seasons Dragonfly.
Lucien still vividly remembered the final scenes before activating the Singularity of Time: the enemies of the great families surrounding him and the moment he invoked the power of the Dragonfly of the Four Seasons.
He remembered everything.
As he became lost in thought, a series of knocks at the door caught his attention.
"Come in," Lucien was, not surprised by how young the voice sounded. He had already concluded that the Four Seasons Dragonfly had worked... sending him back in time, but he did not know how far back he had gone.
A woman of about 35 years old opened the door. She smiled as she entered the room.
"Lucien... again with your eyes open as if you were afraid that the world would vanish if you closed them. I know what's going through your head... tomorrow is an important day for you."
On seeing the familiar but unknown face, Lucien felt a thick fog slowly dispersing in his mind.
"Mother…?" His voice was cold, with a touch of indifference.
The woman tensed up, and her smile froze on hearing that cold, indifferent tone. "Lucien... are you all right?"
The last layer of fog in his memory cleared. Lucien remembered everything about the woman standing in front of him.
She was his mother, Lydia. As any mother would, she had taken care of him since he had transmigrated into this world. However, the most interesting thing was that, despite being mortal, she had managed to catch the attention of the head of the family.
But thanks to this, Lucien remembered in which era he had been reborn. If my mother is still alive, it means that I am in the era in which she had not yet left Mountain Kiran... And my mother just said that tomorrow is an important day... So I was reborn 400 years in the past!
With this thought, his current situation was now clear to him. Lucien looked at his mother, who was watching him nervously.
He knew that, within a year, she would commit suicide after suffering a series of sexual abuses at the hands of the older members of the family and her older brothers. Lydia's appearance, despite being a mortal, possessed an extraordinary beauty:
Hair as black as night, eyes as dark as gems, delicate features without a single imperfection, thin lips, and a perfectly proportioned body. But in this world, having such beauty without possessing strength was a curse.
With a soft sigh, Lucien spoke in a slightly warmer tone: "Mother, why have you come?"
Lydia recovered from her stupor. She felt that the person in front of her was not her son, although he had the same simple appearance. But she noticed that something had changed: her son's eyes, which used to shine, were now as deep as the abyss, which gave him a mysterious appeal.
What am I thinking? This is my son, my blood!
She shook her head, recovered quickly, and smiled warmly again.
"I came to bring you some food, since tomorrow is an important day for you."
Lydia put the food on the table, which was packed in some bamboo, and continued talking:
"By the way, aren't you nervous? Your father gave you the opportunity to participate in the Spiritual Awakening Ceremony."
"I'm not nervous, mother." Lucien already knew what the result of his talent would be, so he wasn't nervous; at that moment, he was organizing all the experiences and memories of the 400 years of his past life.
"When I was your age, I also went through the ceremony. I knew I didn't have talent... but you... You have his eyes. Maybe that's why your father allowed this opportunity." Her voice sounded tense and nervous.
"Mother, you have nothing to worry about." Lucien sat down at the table and looked at the seal engraved on the bamboo chopsticks: a black rose with five sharp petals (like blades), in the center of which is an eye without a pupil, the emblem of the House of Blossom.
After looking at the emblem, he began to eat what Lydia had brought him: duck meat in sauce, with rice and a little salad.
Lydia smiled proudly at her son's confidence, although she was still puzzled by his cold expression. Although his expression had always been like that, she knew that he acted that way as a form of self-protection.
As the son of a mortal and the head of the family, he had been branded as the bastard of the Blossoms. There was nothing she could do about it; she only possessed beauty, and that was useless.
With a heavy heart, Lydia looked at Lucien with bright eyes and said goodbye: "Son, when you have finished eating, go to bed. You must be prepared for tomorrow."
Lucien nodded slightly. He had seen all his mother's changes, as clear as water. He watched her leave the room and close the door.
When his mother left the small room, he stood in front of the window, looking at the illuminated houses, which shone like a band of fireflies under the light layer of drizzle falling over the place.
Lucien fell into a deep thought.
Although I have been reborn, the Dragonfly of the Four Seasons did not come with me... he thought, his heart heavy with the great loss. But I have no regrets about using it. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have been reborn.
The most important thing is that I have lost all my strength. Now I have not awakened my spiritual core, much less do I have access to spiritual essence... Hmm, what do I do? Lucien was incredibly sensible.
He knew that for any movement he wanted to make, he needed strength, and that is something he lacks at the moment.
He was very clear that, in this world where the primordial law dictates that the strong devour the weak and only the fittest prevail, these rules have always existed, whether on Earth or here.
All had insatiable ambitions, unattainable goals and dreams, plunging them into a perpetual struggle to seize every opportunity, no matter how slim, to fulfill them.
Lucien was clear about his purpose: to attain divinity and eternal life.
He didn't care about becoming a ruthless, cruel, and destructive demon to fulfill his ambitions. He didn't care about walking a path full of thorns.
What if he failed?
Lucien didn't care in the slightest. He would accept it.
This was the path he had chosen!
After letting out a long sigh, he controlled his thoughts and focused on what was important. He rummaged through his memories and remembered something he could use to his advantage.
Withdrawing from the window, Lucien lay back on the bed, closed his eyes, and his thoughts became a mystery.