Leon was encapsulated by cold, blank, darkness. Everywhere around him was just void as if he was unable to open his eyes.
His soul had been stripped from his psychical body and sent on its way through the river of time, like many other dying souls that flowed alongside him. They were unaware of any other being though and without a way to move and converse the river maintained an organised route.
Just like Leon, many soul forms flowed further and further downstream, to a depth of pressure so hard it wiped every soul clean before they entered the cycle of reincarnation once more without any memories of their prior life.
As for Leon, his conscience began to crumble as it neared the verged of collapse. At this point, Leon was unable to think clearly but every time he was just about to fall victim to the pressure, his sister Rosie, would appear in his mind like a breath of fresh air. Then so would the memories of the battle with the elders. After that Leon was struck awake as his anger resurfaced all over again.
Truthfully, Leon wasn't anything special compared to the rest of the travelling souls coming from all types of different worlds. However, one thing made him stand out differently from them all. Coming from the very depths of his soul was an intense amount of regret, disappointment and longing. So much so that it had caught the eye of the guardian in a near off void space.
The guardian was an ancient figure that was enjoying his leisurely time in his makeshift abode playing himself at chess. His left hand held a gourde that oozed out a beautiful scent. And a smile was plastered to his face currently.
"Ho ho, so much emotion left unspoken. Ah, such a pity indeed." With a swipe of his free hand, he sent Leon's soul left from his current direction, splitting away from the others.
"I guess this can count as your good fortune since I'm in a good mood today. If it wasn't for that old witch giving me some decent alcohol this time around..."
His words ended at that point as he focused once more on his alcohol and then carried on with his game of chess not bothering to give Leon's soul any more thought.
****
Before long warmth came to Leon as a blinding light shone in his vast abyss. It was so blinding it felt like he was staring into the centre of a star.
And along with the light came clarity for the first time in an untold amount of time.
[Huh, what's this? Where am I? Who am I?]
The closer to the light Leon reached the more and more Leon began to remember until there was no darkness left.
Then he began hearing a calling from beyond the light that he couldn't help but want to answer.
"Young master! Young master! wake up!" A stern yet gentle voice beckoned out.
[A ghost? Wait... Am I entering the legendary cycle of samsara?] Leon thought in confusion.
By almost instinct, Leon woke up and opened his eyes.
He was met with the sight of trees waving in the gentle wind. Birds chirping sounds of joy as the sun beamed down on his face.
"Young master it's time to return!" The voice sounded out again, waking Leon from his daze.
Leon sat up from the spongy floor and turned his head to where the voice was coming from.
Almost immediately he was sent into utter confusion.
"Ren?" He spoke out as he lock eyes with the middle-aged man next to him.
"Young master, what is it?" Ren promptly replied with one hand behind his back.
Ren was Leon's personal butler in his previous life. This wasn't something strange since every high-class Young master or mistress had one. And since Leon was a Prince of the Maxwell dynasty, it was plain as day that he too had his own butler.
However, that wasn't why Leon was confused. If he remembered correctly Ren should be dead. He had sacrificed himself helping Leon escape when his second brother took the throne and began hunting him down. If it wasn't for Ren's intervention when a senior knight charged at him, he would have died then and there.
"You're not dead Ren?" Leon questioned out loud as he leaned over and tried to touch Ren but stopped himself and pinched himself first, in case this was all a dream.
But soon the sensation of pain came to him. "I can feel pain... Hahahaa!" Leon shouted as tears started to flow from his eyes uncontrollably. To be honest he didn't mean to cry but his emotions were like a tidal wave that suddenly exploded without any preparations to deal with it beforehand.
"Young Master? Are you okay?" Ren shocked by Leon's strange actions, questioned with concern.
"Yes Ren, I'm okay. No, in fact, I'm better than okay!" Leon replied with pure blissful happiness behind his words. Taking a few moments to wipe his tears he also took in the surroundings.
[This is my hideout back when I was in my teenage years, wasn't it? Ah, how much I missed this place...] A smile soon found its rightful place on Leon's face.
This of course made Ren even more concerned. The last thing he wanted was for the youngest prince to be so unfortunate enough to have mental problems. After a moment or two he released a deep sigh before speaking once more, "Young Master, you must have had a bad dream. Anyways, we have to get back to the palace, if you stay any longer you'll run the risk of your older brother discovering your getaway spot..."
Leon couldn't help but interrupt Ren's long speech as he currently had too many questions on his mind right now. First, he had just been killed by the ancestor and the next moment he was staring at his childhood hidden garden. Leon ran quickly to the nearest water source a few meters to the side where water flowed down a local creek. Staring into the light blue, Leon was faced with his current reflection.
A young boy that was all but ready to bloom into a promising young man. He had a slight childish look to him as it was clear he had yet to train any sword arts nor did he look like he carried the constitution for magic.
Something completely rare in a well off noble figure like the present. His eyes were a devilish red and his hair Jett black. It was long enough to be pinned back into a single ponytail that fell to the centre of his shoulder blades.
[What is happening? I look like I'm 13 or 14?] Leon questioned.
[Have I returned to the past?] A sudden thought invaded his mind, hopefully indeed but it gave way to the possibility of rectifying his mistakes.
And without being able to hold himself back Leon turned and faced Ren before speaking with seriousness. "Ren, what are the plans for the rest of the day?" Leon tactfully asked to gather information without looking like he had fallen sick.
Ren hearing the question, fell into butler mode as he straightened his back into a good posture before speaking, "You don't have much to do as you've been left out of the preparations for the upcoming banquet!"
"That said, we still have to find the young prince appropriate clothes for the event as we only have less than a week. We can't have the repeat of last time where the crown prince took the chance to openly ridicule you about your attire..."
"Banquet?" Leon spoke feigning ignorance about such an event. Of course, he was telling the truth but to Ren, it came across as Leon trying to escape his duties like always.
"Young master, this banquet you absolutely must attend. The Empress's birthday is a celebrated event empire-wide. If it was anything else, you could have found an excuse to avoid it but your majesty will expect your appearance." Ren's words although sounded harsh had Leon's best intention in mind. Which of course made Leon smile.
[So it's true, the Empress's birthday happened when I was 13 years old, just two weeks before I myself turned 14 and was shipped off to the Capital's academy for mandatory education.]
"Haaaaah!" Scrunching his fists into a ball, determination blossomed in Leon's eyes as he lifted his head to the sky for a moment, before lowering his gaze to Ren once more.
[In my past life, I always thought Ren was always trying to make my life difficult like the rest of the people in the palace. Forcing me to attend events, like the approaching banquet, where I would just be humiliated, causing me to stupidly shut him out of my life as any child would."
[However, in this life, things will be different. Ren, Rosie... I will protect you both! I will live differently and overcome any obstacle that stands in my way from living the life I want to create. There will be no boundary I won't surpass! I will live the life of Leon Maxwell!]