Aurorian Empire, Auroran Capital, Imperial Palace
533th Aurorian calendar
6th Emperor's Enthronement Ceremony Banquet,
As Leif held a red wine glass, he looked around the Imperial Palace of the Auroran Capital. Innumerable people of high status were enjoying themselves and dancing, while countless old foxes were eyeing his every move. Seeing this, he just sighed and went towards the empty and lonely balcony.
As he stood there alone, basking in the moonlight, he saw his figure reflected in the well down in the garden. In the reflection was an old man with fierce eyes and a red royal robe, with a huge sun symbol on the back of the robe.
"Has it really been 70 years?" Seeing his old and fragile appearance, Leif sighed. Looking at the moon, he remembered his past. He was just a normal businessman living on Earth, but after an undesired death, he was reincarnated in this world.
When he first reincarnated, he was just the child of a normal farmer. He was born and raised in a typical family. He used the skills and knowledge that he had gathered in his previous life and started a rebellion. After countless years of fighting and leaving countless legends, he ascended as the Emperor just today.
Looking at the twinkling stars in the sky, he remembered the countless legends of wizards. To be fair, the real reason why he even proceeded to start the rebellion was to gain more information about wizards. After all, he knew that even legends needed a basis; just look at the city of Troy. Before the 19th century, most people believed that the city of Troy was just a mythological city, but when archaeologists discovered the ruins of the great city, the whole world was shocked.
And that was the reason why he, as a young person, took the legend of the wizard seriously, as it involved supernatural powers. However, after becoming the Emperor, he began to realise that the tales of wizards were probably fake, as nothing is ever 100% certain.
As he reminisced about the past, a few people came by his side and tried to encourage him to dance, and he too began to enjoy the banquet - after all, he was the protagonist of today's party. Soon, time went by, and a few hours passed. As he became more drunk and proud, he began to talk about his glory to his colleagues when suddenly, a huge commotion erupted outside the palace.
Countless maids, servants, and officials were running and screaming. "Look at what that is!"
"Oh god, is this the end?"
"Fire dragons are running in the sky; oh god, is the world being destroyed?"
"Are the gods descending?"
"Quickly inform the Emperor!"
…..
Hearing all the noise outside, Leif and his subordinates rushed outside to investigate. Before he could even shout at the servants and maids, a scene unfolded before his eyes that he would never forget.
As he stood in stunned silence, a loud and powerful voice boomed from the sky. It was sharp yet deafening, leaving everyone in shock. "Wizard Garrick, you have gone too far! Have you forgotten the years we spent together as students at the Witchcraft Academy?"
Suddenly, the man in question flew through the air, pursued by countless fire dragons. As they chased him, the fragile and old Imperial Palace building began to collapse, burying many people in the rubble.
Everyone watching the scene was terrified, running and screaming in all directions. Some young people even shouted at the flying man, telling him to come down and fight like a man, but he ignored them. Some palace servants even addressed them as gods and kneeled in front of them.
As Leif tried to get a closer look at the sky, the word "wizard" kept repeating in his mind. He had searched the entire Aurorian Empire for any traces of wizards, and even as the new emperor, he couldn't find any concrete evidence of their existence. Yet here were two wizards randomly appearing in his life. Were they immortal, as the legends said? Were they omnipotent and omniscient?
As he pondered these questions, another angry and roaring voice sounded from the sky.
"Ronan! Do you really think you can escape to the Land of Miasma?" Garrick's voice echoed through the air. "Hand over the Ascendus Elixir that you got from the magi ruins or face death!"
Leif watched as Ronan replied with a cold and disdainful voice, "Do you think it's a joke? I was trapped in the Adept stage for almost 70 years because of the lack of Ascendus Elixir! Now that my lifespan is reaching its end, do you think I would hand it over to you?"
Garrick sighed, "Indeed, on the path of a wizard, there is no one but me. It's a pity that although there are countless ways of ascending to the ranks of wizards, there are countless more like us who are trapped in the adept stage."
He turned to Ronan and sighed again, "It's ridiculous that we, who have been brothers for almost 80 years, have now turned our swords against each other in a grim hope of survival; this world is cruel."
Ronan's voice was full of anger and hate, "This world is indeed very cruel. On the path of longevity, who are brothers? How can I only let my one chance of becoming an official wizard just go like this?"
Garrick laughed out loud, "It's ludicrous that you think you can defeat me? Have you forgotten our battles at the Witchcraft Academy?"
Ronan smirked and stared back at Garrick. Suddenly, he said, "I know I am not your match, and today I will likely not escape calamity. However, there are so many mortals here. Do you think that you can withstand the concentration of this mortal miasma?"
As soon as Garrick heard those words, his face changed from joyful to serious and grim. "Ronan! What do you think you are doing? Have you forgotten the basic rules?"
Ronan held up a sheet of paper and screamed and laughed, "I just want a chance to survive!"
Garrick yelled back, "You bastard! You are going to get both of us killed! STOP!"
But it was too late. The sheet of paper in Ronan's hand ignited, and Leif felt a sense of danger that he had never felt before. Before he could even try to escape, the flame from Ronan's hand dropped down to the Auroran Capital, exploding in it.
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Boom! Woosh! Bang! Suddenly, a deafening sound rang in Leif's ears as the palace behind him collapsed. Small debris hit him straight in the face, causing him to stumble and try to walk. Blood poured from his head, and he quickly fell down. As he was losing consciousness due to blood loss, the only thing he could hear was the battle cry of the wizards.
Somehow, Leif woke up again. Slowly, energy entered his body, healing his wounds, but not quickly enough. He found only a few pieces of debris left on him, so he channelled the energy into his hands and threw them all away. Then, he spat out and vomited blood and waste.
Looking around, Leif remembered the scene from before. The once-glorious Imperial Palace had turned to ruins, with everyone crushed or burned to death, including his 12 wives, concubines, and all his children. The once-great Auroran Capital lay in shambles, with almost everyone dead or injured. And it was all due to the appearance of two legendary "Wizards."
As he walked, more blood poured from his body. Despite the excruciating pain, Leif wanted to laugh crazily. Everything felt like a joke. When he first reincarnated, he searched high and low for evidence of wizards. He scoured ancient books, tribe inheritances, and the entire history of the empire but found nothing. And now, when he had given up, two wizards had randomly appeared and destroyed the entire capital.
As Leif looked around in the chaos, he couldn't help but wonder about the two mysterious wizards who had destroyed the Auroran Capital. Were they really wizards? Where did they come from? And if they were, what was their true strength?
The thought crossed his mind: Could he become a wizard too? Despite his wounds and the imminent threat of death, he felt fortunate to have confirmed the existence of wizards in this life. Otherwise, what would be the point of reincarnating if he couldn't discover something new in each life?
As the sun rose in the east, Leif's body began to give out. He found a broken wall to lean against and watched as strange symbols appeared on his wrist - a strange treasure he was born with. Just as he was about to say his last words, a group of soldiers arrived and carried him away. He lost consciousness from the blood loss before he could say anything.
When Leif awoke, he immediately ordered his soldiers to search for any traces of the two wizards who had destroyed the capital. He also devoted funds and resources to rebuilding the Auroran Empire. After a year of hard work, the empire had somewhat recovered, but there was still no progress in finding information about the mysterious wizards.
Leif stood on the balcony of the newly rebuilt Imperial Palace, gazing up at the full moon. A guard informed him that there was no news about the two wizards. "Very well, you may leave," Leif said, waving his hand to dismiss the guard. As he looked at the moon, he realised that his expectations had not been met. He had hoped that the two wizards would have died in the chaos they had caused, but the fact that there were no traces of them anywhere after a year's worth of searching meant that they were either still alive or hiding.
Seeing that there was no fruit of his search and his lifespan was ending, Leif thought for a few moments and said a sentence.
"Everything is a dream; only the truth is eternal."
Soon in front of him was eternal darkness and silence. Perhaps it was the end for normal people, but Leif wasn't normal.
In this instance, the darkness and silence were replaced with a bright light, and although he had seen this light three times already, he still couldn't help but be glamorised.
Soon a few words appeared in the light.
[The anchor point is ready] [Whether to return now?]
At the same time, countless memories, emotions, and feelings began to turn into pictures. These were the pictures of 71 years of Leif's life.
As the memories faded and began to turn into pictures and videos, some of the new pictures and videos turned into memories.
These pictures were the reason why he could still remember his first life on earth so clearly.
[Veridream]
This was the name that Leif gave to the strange treasure he had reincarnated with. As the light went away, Leif woke up again. He looked around to see a familiar room, while he got up and looked at the mirror.
He saw a child between the ages of 7 and 8 with a fair complexion and blue eyes; if someone were to judge, they would call the child cute.
As Leif looked at the child's body, many pictures appeared and many memories came to his mind.
When he first reincarnated in this world, he didn't remember the memories from his previous life until the age of 6. When he awoke from his memories, the [Veridream] also appeared in his mind.
And to this day, he has lived his life four times in total.
With a sigh, he looked out at the rising sun through the window.
[Memories have been crystallised; would you like to receive them now?]
"Yes," he replied.
Soon, all the memories from his 71 years of life came flooding back into his mind again, but this time there were no emotions or feelings present in those memories.
Hundreds of scenes flashed before Leif's eyes, and they stopped at the balcony of the imperial palace.
"Garrick and Ronan," Leif said as he slowly leaned on the window. "70 years later, I will be waiting for you in the Auroran Capital."
The spirit in his eyes shone brighter with each passing second as he saw the rising sun.
'Hahaha...' he chuckled.
"Wealth, time, love, and emotions are nothing to me."
"In the next life, I will hunt wizards."
The next second, Leif closed the window and went down the stairs.
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Additional Chapter Information:-
Name Meanings :-
1. Leif Winterbourne - "Leif" is a Scandinavian name meaning "heir," while "Winterbourne" is an English surname that is derived from the Old English words "winter" and meaning "winter" and "burna" meaning "stream." It is a locational name given to people who lived near a stream that only flowed in the winter, hence the name "Winterbourne."
2. [Veridream] - This name combines "veritas" (the Latin word for "truth") and "dream," evoking a sense of wonder and imagination often associated with the fantasy genre. Therefore, "veridream" suggests a combination of truth and imagination, or the pursuit of truth through the lens of one's dreams and aspirations.