Leo looked up at the voice’s source and found a young man with fiery red hair looking down on him, literally.

Viren…

Leo immediately recalled the name, and memories of the past flashed in front of his eyes.

–Oh look, ain’t that the bastard child of Uncle Patrick?

–Scum, know your place. But..but… hahaha! Couldn’t even stay conscious for the awakening!

–My little brother… hoho… it’s been a long while since I saw you. Let’s play a game, shall we?

–Hahaha, why are you crying? You only just lost an arm and a leg. It was a necessary punishment for losing the game! Don’t think it’s unfair!

The horror, the suffering—it all flooded back, momentarily leaving him dazed.

“You! I asked you something!” The young man, Viren, shouted, snapping Leo out of his thoughts.

I really should do something about my PTSD. Tch. It’s going to get me killed for zoning out.

Back in reality, Leo mentally pondered a few different responses to Viren's haughtiness. Just like in games such as Arcane Duel or Tarot card readings, where multiple responses were possible for the same situation, he had to choose one from the options. They were:

– Ignore.

– Respond with similar haughtiness.

– Follow past life's path.

– Establish dominance.

Having a vague idea of how each choice might unfold, Leo opted for the one that promised him some peace and quiet throughout the six-hour journey.

Leo looked at the youngster with red hair and calmly taking a step towards him, asked with an indifferent gaze, “You are?”

The girls around Viren let out a dramatic gasp, as if they just watched Leo commit a murder.

Being a hot-blooded youth, Viren clenched his fists within his coat’s pockets, and shot a hateful look at Leo. Before he could respond, Leo had already passed him, heading to meet the ship's captain.

Viren gritted his teeth as he watched Leo walk past. Despite the urge to confront him for his audacious behavior, he ultimately chose to let it go and dropped the matter.

The girls around him, however, hugged his arms and said things like:

“Young master, are you just going to let him go?”

“Young master should punish that guy for his audacity!”

“Yes, yes, young master should not let this slide!”

With flames of fury in his eyes, he thought, ‘Bastard, I’ll have you pay for this after the ceremony is over. Just wait.’

Touching Leo here was out of question. His green hair was the reason Viren dropped the matter.

He was out of touch with family matters, but there were some things his parents shoved down his throat before leaving him to wander around. One of them was to never provoke the green-haired and eyed people in certain areas. Silver City and Tryst Harbor were one of those places.

To Viren, it sounded as if his parents were afraid of these people. This made him question, there are people that my family can’t afford to offend? However, he later saw the hidden meaning in their words.

‘In certain areas’, they said. This meant Viren was free to do as he pleased with this guy as long as he wasn’t in those areas.

Don’t let me find you after the ceremony, bastard boy. Viren snorted and went to his room with the girls, ignoring their useless provocation. He wasn’t a fool to be swayed by the words of some maidens.

Oblivious to Viren’s thoughts, Leo walked leisurely to the captain’s room. He didn't bother putting his hat back on, allowing his vibrant green hair to flow freely.

After a few knocks, a deep voice gave him the permission to enter.

Leo saw a burly, tanned-skin man with a rough beard and unkempt hair staring at a few yellowed pages. He greeted him and made his presence known, then went to his room and sat quietly.

Rhythmic hisses and billows of steam marked the ship’s departure. It creaked away from the dock, and the churning sound of the steam-powered engine below deck intensified as it set course for its express journey towards the Ignis Archipelago.

Leo looked at the fast-distancing Tryst Harbor through his room’s window. His heart began beating anxiously in anticipation while his mind braced for the dozens of upcoming PTSD attacks.

Not in the slightest was Leo excited to be at the Ignis Archipelago, which was the real base of the Ignis Family.

The Tryst Harbor soon turned into a faint outline and eventually disappeared in the horizon. The sky blue water was replaced with clear green as the ship entered the Voyager’s Sea.

This was the safest sea among all and had routes to all the continents of the world — even the ice-covered Northern and Southern Continents.

The surroundings soon became blurry as the ship moved with astonishing speed of knots. In just four hours, they reached the Central Continent, which was halfway between the Western and Eastern Continents.

Twenty days of journey that a cargo ship moving at moderate pace covered was crossed in just four hours. This was how fast this steamship was!

The ship stopped for ten minutes in the Azure Mist Harbor of the East Province, then set off for the Ignis Archipelago again after it had picked up a few more youths of the Ignis Family.

…..

A distant island could be seen on the horizon through Leo’s window. It seemed to be getting clearer with each passing second as the ship sailed closer.

Leo put on his hat and walked out of his room while holding a black briefcase.

In two minutes, the ship anchored itself at the dock and a gangway was laid out for the youngsters to walk.

Leo was in no rush. He let the other youngsters descend first while he looked around the harbor to see if it was the same as his past life or not.

Several steamships were docked at the harbor, and numerous redheads could be seen moving about. They were accompanied by their maidservants, dressed in black and white uniforms.

However, although the maidservants had similar clothing, there was a change in the clothing of the redheads.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Half the people walking around did not wear suits, but loose fitting robes with a conical hat, appearing like what people here liked to informally say, ‘daoists’.

It was a chaotic yet beautiful mix of cultures that Leo was looking at.

Suits and dresses were common in the Western Continent while loose-fitting robes were widely popular in the Eastern Continent.

The Ignis Family had their major operations in both continents, so it was natural for the members to wear such different clothes.

Disregarding their attire for the moment, Leo's gaze fixated on a particular short, middle-aged man with long hair. He was descending the gangway alongside a dark red-haired youngster who was slightly shorter in height.

Leo kept his gaze affixed on them. Something major was going to happen at any time now.

He glanced around and realized all the youngsters had descended. To not miss the event, Leo quickly made his way down while keeping an eye on the man.

Nothing of note happened as they walked away from the ship, but a few seconds later…

“Stop, you bitch!” Someone’s loud yell was heard from a distance.

Leo squinted and observed a muscular, hunky man, clearly not accustomed to cardio, sprinting at full speed behind a frail-looking girl with black hair.

The girl’s path intersected with that of the short-haired middle-aged man, and unsurprisingly, collided with him and the youngster trailing behind..

Leo walked briskly and reached the scene of drama.

“You! How dare you bump into this young master!?” The shorter red-haired youngster scowled at the young girl.

The middle-aged man held the girl’s collar and hunched his back to stare into her eyes.

“How dare you…”

Leo closed his eyes and sighed.

As arrogant and unreasonable as always.

The muscular man caught up with the girl and, glancing at the middle-aged man and the youngster, spoke with a slight bow, “My apologies to Sir Emmett and young master Brendon. This girl ran away from training and caused us quite some trouble.”

“Hmph. Fools who don’t know their place need to be taught a lesson or they’ll keep repeating it,” the youngster, Brendon, said.

“That’s right, my son. You must always establish your authority lest these servants take you for granted,” the middle-aged man, Emmett, said.

Brendon nodded his head. “I’ll punish her for the audacity she had shown. You don’t mind this, do you? Sir Leto?”

The muscular man spread out his hands and shook his head. “Of course not.”

Leo internally sighed again as he watched this. This was the treatment a servant who hadn’t awakened yet got in the family.

Even the awakened ones were no different if their prowess was low and they didn’t seem too useful.

What Brendon said, he did it.

He punched, kicked, and beat the helpless girl black and blue, leaving her bruised and battered. Leo could see a small smile on his face as the girl pleaded for mercy, and cried out her lungs.

The scene was far too disturbing for most, so they decisively either averted their eyes or went about their business, pretending nothing wrong was happening.

Leo recalled that in his past life, he had been horrified by the scene and timidly distanced himself from it. This was the first time he had ever witnessed someone being beaten so severely, the memory was bound to stay with him.

After a solid five minutes of thrashing, Brendon tossed the girl onto the sand beside the wooden pier, treating her as if she were nothing more than garbage.

The girl twitched, groaned, and bled from multiple wounds as she lay on the sand. Everyone averted their eyes, eager to distance themselves from the situation, and swiftly left the area to avoid any association with her.

Leo remained rooted to the spot. While everyone else departed, his gaze remained fixed on the twitching girl. Though life still lingered within her, it appeared to be fading slowly away.

Leo walked closer to her and saw her eyes slowly turning lifeless.

He felt really bad for the poor girl. Really very bad.

From the bottom of his heart, he could sympathize and feel her pain.

However, he was unable to save her. Firstly, he had no healing options on him; secondly, he was no more than a puny mortal. And lastly, there was something he needed to investigate, to ascertain its truth or falsehood.

…..

The last thing Ellyse saw was the glaring sun, blinding her vision. Everything faded to darkness thereafter.

She was conscious and aware that she had died, but her mind remained devoid of coherent thoughts. She simply observed whatever was happening to her.

A few moments after everything turned dark, Ellyse felt a fluctuation. She didn’t know how, but she could feel it coming from her soul.

A tremor ran through her soul as it vibrated wildly.

A choking feeling then took over, but after a few instances, it was gone.

A cold current flowed through Ellyse, soon to be replaced by warmth.

Ah, it feels nice…

Ellyse could finally think, and this was her first thought in a while.

Then, she felt something rough against her skin, followed by a sensation of coldness on her eyes.

The sudden chill made her abruptly open her eyes, only to close it again as everything was too bright and blinding.

“Are you alright?” She heard a soft voice of a guy.

Ellyse slowly squinted open her eyes, afraid of the glaring sun, only to be bewildered when she saw a man dressed in a three-piece monochrome suit, complete with a hat.

Ellyse blinked in befuddlement, as her gaze eventually fell on the guy’s emerald green eyes. They sure were pretty.

Pushing aside that thought and attempting to remain focused, she first glanced around to assess her situation.

She had been rushing to save a girl when she was hit by a truck. By all accounts, she should have been dead, but she wasn't.

Looking around, Ellyse was on some island, and there were…

Huh? What type of ships are those?

Ellyse was confused as she saw wooden steamships.

She was about to be distracted again, but Leo’s dry cough redirected her attention.

“I don’t think you should be lying down on sand like that. Do you need my help or can you get up?”

Ellyse frowned as she heard that. Help was the last thing she needed from a guy.

She pressed her palms against the ground and attempted to rise, but was suddenly overcome by aches throughout her body.

“Ahhh!” She let out a painful cry.

Leo sighed and shook his head. Despite her earlier refusal of his help, he moved forward to support her.

Feeling pain coursing through her body, Ellyse lacked the energy to resist Leo's assistance.

“Are you aware of your situation? Or do you want me to help you recall?”

Ellyse subconsciously tried to recall things as Leo reminded her, and a sharp pain assaulted her head.

She groaned and clutched her head in pain. Leo stopped in his tracks and let her recover.

Strange and unknown memories flashed in front of Ellyse’s eyes.

Memories that weren’t hers. In them, she found herself running in a forest.

Then, someone caught her and pinned her against a tree.

It was a muscular man with a disgustingly creepy look on his face that Ellyse was well aware of.

“Haha, I’ll taste you today before the ceremony begins.”

The man’s words confirmed her thoughts. She couldn’t bear to watch it for long, and as if the Heavens had heard her, some strange whistling sound occurred that startled the man, providing Ellyse an opportunity to run.

The man clicked his tongue and chased after her, cursing and commanding her to stop immediately.

Ellyse couldn't comprehend how she ran so fast, but she quickly put distance between herself and the man, only to eventually collide into a duo of middle aged man and a redhead boy.

Following the collision, a soul-shaking horror filled her mind as she beheld the aftermath of the incident.

She snapped back to reality, feeling her entire body tremble. Her legs seemed to have turned to jelly, and she struggled to stand properly any longer.

Leo supported her and said, “Get a hold of yourself. The Awakening Ceremony is about to start, we can’t afford to be late.”

Ellyse's mind was in a mess, her body refusing to cooperate. She could only surrender herself to Leo's mercy and comply with whatever he was asking her to do.

This was absolutely the worst situation she could possibly be in.

Walking alongside the unfamiliar boy, Ellyse attempted to gather her thoughts and analyze her situation, while Leo thought,

I wasn’t wrong about this! She really did come back from the dead!