(author note - go read the fucking prologues....i know there are some of you out there who didn't.
also i suggest while you go back and read them that you put on some mozart of Vivaldi, it makes the experience a lot more interesting to say the least)
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As John lost consciousness, a loud voice called out to him, pulling him back. "Johnny, wake up!"
"Mom?" John instinctively said, recognizing the voice. He slowly opened his eyes, trying to make sense of where he was. "How did I end up in heaven?" he thought to himself, the daze still lingering.
As the light entered his eyes, he quickly shielded them with his hands. "Happy 10th birthday, my dear son. May you live a long and blessed life," Irene said with a bright smile, looking at her son lovingly.
"Mom..." John sat in a daze for a moment, a tear escaping from his eyes. He jumped off his bed and hugged her tightly.
"Oh, my little prince had a nightmare? It's alright, mother is here for you," she comforted, gently patting John's back.
After a moment, while John still held his mother tightly, Irene asked him to share what had happened. "You shouldn't cry on your birthday, you know," she said, wearing a caring expression as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"I had a really bad nightmare, but it's okay now," John replied as he got up and looked into his mother's eyes with a serious expression. "It's okay because I will protect you," he declared.
Irene chuckled at her son's determination. "Oh, will you now, my little knight? In that case, I shall rely on you for my safety," she teased, laughing.
"Now, Sir Knight, I think you should get ready for your 10th birthday party. We don't want you to be late, do we?" Irene suggested, calling in the maids to help John get ready.
"It's okay, Mom. I can get ready by myself. You can come and check later if you want. No need to call the maids," John insisted.
"You're all grown up, huh? Alright then, but promise me you won't take too much time," Irene said, holding her pinky finger forward.
"Promise! Now I'll go take a shower. Bye!" John said cheerfully as he headed to the bathroom attached to his room.
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"This is definitely not a dream," John mused, undressing swiftly and stepping into the bath. "Else those words would never have come out of my mouth just now... And it feels too real to be an illusion. I look smaller too. If Mother's words are to go by, then I am 10 years old right now, or rather, as of today. Then, was all that jargon those two bastards were talking about true? Time travel was possible? There is no other plausible explanation, is there? At least none that come to mind."
"Then I am back?" John questioned, gazing at his reflection in the water. "Which means I can protect everything. I am one year ahead of Mom's death, which means she hasn't been poisoned yet either. If I can get the two of us out of the palace now, then I won't have to worry about Father being restricted because of Mom or me either," John strategized.
"Wait, if it's my 10th birthday, then does that mean I will meet her today? Fuck!" John cursed, his mind racing with thoughts.
"This is not the time to think about that right now. Mom's safety is my primary priority. To do that, I believe I need to have a talk with my father," John resolved.
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Fifteen minutes later, John emerged from the bath, his mind clearer after the chaotic battle that drained him both mentally and spiritually. Losing four friends in one day would never be easy on anyone. The only saving grace for John was that the others were alive now that he was back in time.
Five minutes after that, John stepped out of his room, looking dashing in a fashionable black suit with red accents.
"See, I told you I am all grown up," John remarked, noticing the surprised look on his mother's face, who had been waiting to be called for help.
"I see, so my cute son has already grown up," Irene said with a touch of sadness.
"No, no, don't get sad. I am still your cute son, just a bit more, um, older?" John teased, surprised at his ability to act cute.
"Haha, I see. Well then, my cute little son, Mom has to go prepare for your birthday party, so I won't be able to eat breakfast with you today. I will have the maids bring your breakfast to your room as a special treat for your birthday. Is that okay?" she asked with an expectant look.
"Yeah, I am okay with that," John replied with a nod.
"Great! I will see you later, then, if that is the case," Irene said as she walked away, waving at John.
John waved back until she was out of sight. Then, his expression turned ice-cold. "You there, contact the emperor and tell him I will be meeting with him in five minutes. And tell him it's urgent," he commanded, looking at one of the maids trembling under his gaze.
"At once, Your Highness," the maid replied and swiftly left the hall
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Five minutes later, John stood before the Emperor's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in," a soft but chilling voice replied. As John entered, he saw a well-groomed man with silver hair and silver eyes, the characteristic look of those of imperial blood—a look he lacked.
"Good morning, Father," John said, still using a cold tone, which caused the Emperor to look at him seriously. "We need to have a talk—a serious one," John continued, prompting the Emperor to close the file he was looking at and focus his attention on his son.
"Take a seat. I will be there with you in a second," Eric said, getting off his chair and walking to the sofa in his office where John had already taken a seat.
"Go on then, tell me what is so serious that you wanted to talk to me about. It's your birthday anyway, so I will get it done for you as long as it's not too difficult," Eric said as he sat comfortably and leaned forward.
"I want to ascend," John said with a serious look on his face, causing Eric's eyes to turn sour. "Ascension cannot be discussed so lightly, son. There are great risks involved. If you fail, you will become a raging beast, one that I will have to put down. And if you succeed, you will never be able to use magic," Eric explained, studying John's face curiously. His third and youngest son had always been the least remarkable one—talented with the spear but docile by nature—and nothing to date had happened to prompt such a change.
"I want to do this, Father, for two reasons. I want to grow stronger myself, and won't this free you of the restrictions of the empress? I and Mom are your only weaknesses, after all. If we are gone, there will be nothing stopping you from reigning in the nobles, will there?" John said, leaning forward, causing surprise to flash across Eric's face.
"You... What are you talking about?" Eric asked, his voice tinged with anger.
"I always wondered, Father, why you were so cold towards me and Mother, despite you attempting to keep up appearances with the empress. But recently, I thought about something. You would have no choice but to act this way if the empress, or rather the noble faction, had some kind of leverage over you. I wondered what it could be until I landed upon it—it being myself and my mother. So the solution is simple—I just have to get stronger and keep Mom safe myself. That way, you will help me become emperor... At least that is what I think is the case," John explained, leaning back into his chair with a thoughtful expression.
"I suppose you can show conviction," Eric said with a smile before continuing, "However, my point still stands—are you sure you want to ascend? You can still get stronger with spirit aura, and considering your conviction is this strong, you should be a good aura user. And why not become a mage? Compared to ascenders, mages can display even greater explosive power, both in offense and defense," Eric asked with a curious smile as he observed the changes in his son.
"When it comes to becoming a mage, it takes too much time to gather magic, and I am definitely not smart enough nor have the time to learn all the math and science involved with doing magic. It would take too much time. I would say there is at most six months before the empress tries to do something to me or my mother to give you a warning," John replied. "As for spirit aura and martial arts..." John muttered as he pulled his right hand up, and a golden aura covered it. "I believe I am quite proficient in that regard, but my physical body isn't strong enough yet, which leaves me with ascension as the only choice to get stronger right now."
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a/n- this happened at a really unfortunate time, and was something super unexpected, but my wifi package just expired today fuck the isp didn't even tell us what had happened untill i personally called them today but not to worry i will be posting two chapters tomorrow for the missing one today, I'll be writing from my dad's office where we have multiple WiFi connections from multiple ISPs so there is nothing to worry about.