There was nothing but darkness.
Viktor's senses gradually came back to him. At first, he could only faintly hear the sound of music softly playing in his ears. There were only two possible options here. First, he went to heaven, or second, he drank too much.
However, as he became more conscious and heard more of the tunes, he realized that it was a very familiar one. In fact, it jogged up his memory. Shocked, he abruptly opened his eyes, only to feel a bright light piercing his eyes. Moments later, he finally saw himself sitting next to a familiar table.
On instinct, he looked towards the direction where the music came from, and as expected, there was a familiar stage.
The figure on stage was a beautiful woman, her silver dress wrapping all around her breathtaking body and further accentuating each curve of her body.
At first, the only thing he could discern was the fact that this woman was Asian, as her face was obscured by the lights of the stage. With the tune of the familiar song, Viktor's consciousness awakened once more, and as the woman's face came into view, unconsciously there was a pain in his chest and tears started to fall from the corner of his eyes.
Her face confirmed that everything he saw just now was a part of his memory, a pleasant childhood memory of him sitting on the VIP section and watching his mother perform on the stage. Each tune from her lips and each movement she made exuded grace and beauty.
This was always Viktor's happiest memory. For years, he would always watch her perform on the stage. Her mother Zhao Yifei who was usually called Madam Zhao was always a marvel to the eye. Each time she finished performing, the audience would all clap for her brilliance.
It was certainly the same with him, who always to be the first one to jump at her and being her number one fan. Unfortunately, this beautiful part of his life didn't manage to last long. When he was 10 years old, his mother had abruptly passed away which resulted in the club being closed right after. Her sudden death left a scar and emptiness on his heart.
Viktor wished that if he could have anything, he wanted to repeat the events of this memory again. He reached out, wanting to call for his mother, but the darkness encroaching his vision earlier swooped in and changed the memory into another one.
Right as he heard the yelling voice, he knew that this was the first time he learned the meaning of hatred.
A huge man with a grey beard was glaring down at him. The expression on his face was ugly as he opened his mouth.
"Why are you crying, boy?! Why?!!"
Without thinking much of it, Viktor answered, " Father… I.. miss her."
Instead of pitying him, however, the tall man slapped him hard on the cheeks. It sent him backwards, kneeling on the ground.
"Stop crying, boy! You are a Romanov!! Don't you dare besmirch that name!"
Right after the anger-filled scream, a man grabbed the little boy by the neck and shoved him into a sack.
The boy was harshly thrown into the trunk of a car and for a few hours there was only darkness around him. Before the trunk was opened, the boy only had darkness and the faint sounds of engines accompanying.
Cold air seeped in the moment the trunk opened, and the boy shivered right as he was released from the sack. All around him, other than his father and a few bodyguards, there were only snow and dried trees.
"You have been told how to survive. Now let's see if you really are a Romanov!" said the bearded man while staring directly at the boy. "If you are not, then you can have your wishes to meet your mother again!"
Viktor was only 11 when he was forced to live and survive on a snowy mountain by himself. He wandered aimlessly through the forest and frozen grasslands, until he found a village that helped him in his half dead condition.
This memory reminded Viktor of how much he hated his own father, Vassily Romanov.
The memory faded, and now, Viktor slowly remembered of the black monster that attacked him and his own demise within the vault.
There was also that annoying voice that kept talking to him.
As soon as he thought about it, the voice once again spoke to him.
"Kekekekek.. Happiness, admiration, and then fear slowly turning to hatred.. How wonderful. Now let me see one more."
As if Viktor had no say otherwise in this farce, he could only watch as the darkness appeared again. Oblivious to the passage of time, his vision landed in another memory.
He was 12, and he had already seen what his position in the family business truly entailed. He learned boxing, fencing, hunting, and many others. But what the lessons had in common was that it taught him how to hurt others.
Even though he was so damn good at it, Viktor detested his role with his entire being. And the truth was, he wanted to run far away from all of this - so far away that he wouldn't be able to look back anymore.
He would have already gone if it wasn't because of Anna, the daughter of the family chef. It was her friendly smile and a particular piece of honey cake that made him forget about those painful bruises after each training.
She was his closest friend, a place he would find sanctuary, serenity from all the things he hated. The two quickly become a known couple amongst the employees. A romance between the master and his beautiful young servant.
However, when he was 16, Viktor was finally fed up with the family business and asked the girl to run away with him.
He was waiting under the heavy snow in the train station at their agreed location for hours, but as the train left one after another and the cold started to hit his bone, the girl Anna never showed up.
Later, he discovered that his father knew everything about his plan and showed him that the girl had chosen money over him. He then was punished by his father and put in a solitary dungeon for weeks.
Even so, Viktor did not complain. It was a good lesson for him. He was once again left by someone he truly cared about, and since then, he never wanted to know what love truly was anymore.
The memory brought the painful feeling once again, and Viktor became enraged by it.
"Who are you?!! What the hell do you want?!!!"
The voice was cheeky when it said, "Kekeke! Viktor Romanov, I am the all-powerful Djinn. You know, you are quite an interesting character… those layers and layers of pretense… for this… I accept."
Viktor laughed at such a joke, however, he still asked, "Accept what?!"
"What else kekeke… I accept you now as my master… Smile! It was the greatest honor to be served by a powerful being like me!!"
Before he could say anything, a strange piece of information came to Viktor's mind, effectively shutting him.
[You have formed a blood bond with the ancient Djinn trough Fate]
[You received one Divine ability]
[Rebirth]
[Rebirth has been used, you now will return 3 hours prior to your death]