{After going through a complex ritual, considered a sacred ceremony by several inhabitants, a seed from a 1000-year-old blue-petalled Oak Tree would be implanted into the acolyte's body from a very young age. The child's body is nurtured and encouraged to evolve the seed into a living mana core.}

{Omega can sense one of the mana cores currently living within the host's body, which was recently implanted. After a brief analysis, the core's fusion with the host has failed. Its shell is cracked and should be considered a defective core. The host will find it difficult to use-}

"Wait, stop there! One of the mana cores? Y-you get more than one?" Zachary asked with a nervous chuckle out of curiosity.

{Negative, Most life forms can sustain only a single mana core due to the stringent requirements for maintaining a fully functioning core. Given the high risk involved, Omega will require additional time to comprehensively analyze the host's physiological makeup.}

Zachary felt his mood souring after hearing that.

"How long will that take?"

“…”

{…approximately 6 hours}

He exhaled a tired breath. At least it wasn't as long as 36 days.

"As far as you can tell, is there any immediate danger to my life?"

Zachary anticipated the brief silence before the soft, mechanical voice filtered into his thoughts again.

{Negative. The host can be regarded as just a few days of rest away from achieving a clean bill of health}

'Alright then, that's…huh, wait a minute, is that?'

Zachary's gaze fell towards the side of the wide bed. He beheld a blue-petalled flower erected upright and placed inside a glassed cylinder tube. Narrowing his gaze, he noticed subtle black veins webbed against the petals. He caught sight of the flower a while ago but hadn't seen the medium-sized letter placed against it.

With his growing concerns about this 'new' body, he gave Omega a little break and carefully strolled around this prestigious-looking room.

The air of opulence was hard to miss. The ceiling itself was covered in finely crafted mosaics. The windows were tall, and the heavy drapes slung to the side looked more expensive than anything Zachary had ever owned.

It was safe to say that this place was fit for royalty. He concluded this with a firm nod. That Brutus fellow must have some kind of high standing.

Zachary reached the bedside table and delicately took hold of the letter. He flipped it over, but the front was blank and devoid of any recipient. Zachary pried open the letter and took out the neatly folded sheets he found inside. There were about 4 of them. Scribbled back to front from the top of the paper down to the bottom.

After skimming across a few lines, Zachary wore a deep frown as he pried the letter away from his view.

"This handwriting is terrible." He couldn't understand a single thing.

"Omega!"

{I'm here, my host}

"Erm, I can't read this awful handwriting. Secondly, this new language is completely alien to me. Can you store a task to run a full language scan of as many languages as possible about this world? But for now, please enable some translation protocol to help me read this."

{Omega understands. Scheduling for a complete scan of my current database. Initiating Universal Language Protocol}

Zachary creased a broad smile as the news filtered in. He placed the letter beneath his gaze again and read the first page.

"I am writing this letter to whoever finds me first.

My first transgression, Yes, I did it. I kidnapped that stuck-up ***** and planned on *****. Aha, I have little regrets, I only wish I succeeded before my end..."

Zachary momentarily peeled his gaze away from the letter and stared into the open space with a slightly dazed look.

'What in the hell am I reading.' A confession from the first few lines? Zachary rubbed the side of his head, hoping things would not worsen.

"Buahaha, only kidding. I knew of their plot a long time ago, believe it or, those wretched little shits had all conspired to kill me. They really thought I was an idiot. Sho would believe someone like Alyssa would fall in love with someone like me.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

A cripple with a body insufficient enough to store Ki.

I pretended to be the fool because I was smarter than them. I was always the smarter one. That's why they hated me so much.

"Nevertheless, I was dead the moment I drank from that wretched cup. I was entranced in the madness of obtaining that power. I was so close. Everything was set and laid out precisely. I gathered the tools myself, for goodness sake, and sacrificed the bones of sacred animals.

The blood of a virgin princess was the missing piece according to the instructions,

Although it matters not. I was doomed, in truth, from the moment I set my fidgeting fingers over that book.

Although, I should call it what those folk called it.

A grimore.

Yes, you read that correctly.

I finally got my hands on a relic from that world.

The world beneath the veil of this sordid reality.

We hear of them only through word of mouth. They are the makers of the towers, the golden bridges, and all manner of weaponry and armoury humans have hoarded.

I became disillusioned with my own world a long time ago.

You see, a mother's death would do that to you.

It's the succulent silent poison from pricking your finger against a thorny rose.

But mother's death was partly the reason all the same.

I found myself descending into the swirl of madness a long time ago. I was different, and all my cousins made sure I understood that.

On a voyage along a mysterious sea that had no end.

What I saw beyond these strongholds of stone and mortar was life-changing.

I always knew they existed.

I knew it all along.

But I messed up and muddled one of the steps.

I embedded the seed into my body without any help.

And now this terrible thing is poisoning me. The only way to discharge the impurities would be to forcefully kill them inside of me.

But the pain might be too much for me to bear.

Hence why I'm writing this.

I have much to tell you.

If you're a true believer in the sacred mysteries, the seven sciences, and the secrets of the ancient, or if you're just like me and wish to know more, I have left as much information as possible in these letters.

I have stuffed most of them in secure places around my chambers, back, back in my grandfather's castle. Hehehe, they'll never find them. But I have left the most important one, along with a particular book, with an acquaintance of mine, in fact.

We have a meeting at the Pepper Hill Inn at Draymonte.

I only wish I was alive long enough to see their world.

Mother, I hope I made you proud."

Zachary's face turned rather pale. He finally pulled himself away from the letter he held in his hands. He needed a few moments of silence to process everything.

He shifted his gaze to one side and scanned the rest of the bedside stand. Beside the lamp was an open book that looked much like a calendar.

Carlden 23rd. Trip to Draymonte. Noon.

Zachary felt his heartbeat quickening. It was just like the letter said from what he could summarize about this situation. The boy had unintentionally committed suicide.

A deep sigh eventually broke free as he massaged and pinched his glabella in deep thought. Zachary caught himself doing this and cracked a wry smile. Old habits die hard, he thought, reminding him of another issue.

"I need to start remembering I'm no longer Zachary. I can't allow anyone to know where I've come from. The dangers of that kind of information spreading are hazardous."

He intended to keep that truth concealed. Also, to make things easier, Zachary decided he needed to wear Roland's entire being.

"I need to start referring to myself as Roland and get used to others calling me that, too."

Zachary gave a firm nod to conclude his decisions. He first needed to understand more about this world, his family dynamics, and this strange boy's desire to find…

"Wizards ey? How interesting." He said to himself with a boyish smile; inwardly, he was riddled with excitement. Despite this clan's seemingly dark history, one thing was for certain. Roland wasn't going to allow the past to disrupt the bright new future afforded to him.

Roland had just finished surveying the room twice. He didn't find anything else worth noting and instead placed himself in front of the tall mirror again. His reflection met his gaze through the mirror. Those clear violet eyes were just as terrifying as they were equally dazzling.

The heavy tussle of dreadlocks falling down his crown was overkill for his liking. It looked like an exotic lion's mane.

"Not to mention I'm almost skin and bones." He said to himself, lightly stretching his cheeks.

Thankfully, he could just about walk on his feeble, creaking legs. The fear of keeling over his weight again had him recalling that giant of a maid who had hoisted him off the ground earlier today. Roland grew curious about why no one had bothered to disturb him again.

'Maybe everyone's waiting for me outside.'

The burden of pretending to guess how the old Roland used to act started to dawn upon him. Amidst his thoughts, he pressed his heels towards the door, wrapping his palms around the knob and twisting it open. The door sneered aside, and Roland blinked a few times before tracing what he could only describe as a looming shadow towering behind the door frame.

With eyes bulging wide, he took a few uncertain steps backwards. The shadow ducked low and entered the room with him. Roland was about to react when he heard the smoothest and most watery voice flowing through the purple mask the shadowy figure wore.

"It's my pleasure to be of your acquaintance, young master. I am the Willow, your death knight guardian. I have taken and sworn an oath to your mother, Lady Diane. To protect her only son."

Roland was busy stuttering his words when he was shocked again by the strange, ghoulish figure throwing itself to one knee. The cynic within him observed the strange masked fellow up and down.

'Everyone likes to throw themselves to the floor around here.' He was beginning to feel a little special.

'Omega, what's a death knight.'

2.5 seconds later, that mechanical chime was swiftly followed by that familiar voice.

{Death Knight Guardians... forged from the ancient tribe of Xelos. A rare and powerful race of warriors, born in shadow, tempered by fire. From the moment they leave their mother's womb, a death knight's training begins. They are relentless, unyielding, and unmatched. Today, the last remnants of this legendary clan serve the cloud family. And each descendant bears the blessing and protection of a Death Knight Guardian}

The figure's face, well, lack of face sat beneath an iron purple mask. A large golden gear was affixed to the left jaw. Beneath the right eye hole was the outline of a tiny golden infant with wings. Roland stared at the figure placed against a single knee. On the one hand, he felt slightly relieved that this ghostlike figure wasn't sent to kill him.

On the other hand, he pondered on the many reasons his dead mother assigned him a personal bodyguard. The soured taste in his mouth was the underlining undertones of dangers lurking within this castle he was supposed to call home.

He carefully dwindled on the next cause of action, watching the figure in black refusing to move a single inch. If it was confirmed to its word, he decided there was no harm in using it for his benefit. Roland cleared his throat and thought about how to address the death knight guardian correctly. He settled on keeping things polite and cordial.

"Th-that's fine you-you can get up now" he stammered awkwardly. The slender ghoul steadily rose to his imposing height. For not the second time that day, Roland took a few steps back out of caution.

"Right, so you're my protector or something? Great! I'll be entrusting myself to your care then."

Roland performed a speculative bow. His eyes remained glued to the figure at all times, of course. He was half expecting a reaction but received cold silence instead.

"Ahem! Now that introductions are out of the way let's talk about serious things. I... well, I'm sure you've already heard what happened to me. But to cut a long tale short, I drank poison, almost died and seemed to have lost my memories in the process. And as such-ahem! Well, I'll need a crash course on this quite intriguing family of mine. I'm sure you won't mind filling in the blanks for me?"

There was a stiff silence directly after he finished those words. Roland tried his best to catch any clues from what he could see. But not only was the figure practically as still as a log. That eccentric mask was giving nothing away. Yet, why does it feel as though he's pondering some things? A few more silent minutes passed before Roland finally received a response.

"As you wish, young master. What would you like to know concerning the rich history of your family."

Roland maintained his composure but clenched his fist tightly behind his back with satisfaction.