In the middle of a magnificent flower garden, an 18-year-old youth lay on the ground, bleeding from over 100 knife cuts that covered his back, limbs and chest—not even sparing his handsome face.
A crowd of guards and servants had assembled around the youth, led by a young noble dressed in an extravagant set of purple shirt and pants. The young noble stared at the youth's corpse with a mocking smile, holding two blood-stained knives.
"Sheesh! Lord Arian is truly heartless. Mithras grew up with him and served him loyally for 12 consecutive years, but just because he concealed the existence of his big sister and refused to offer her, Arian didn't hesitate to execute him on false charges."
"It can't be helped. Though breasts and bubble butts now rule House Astalon, with his Blueflame Hawk Gene and seventh level of Flame Refinement, Arian is undoubtedly the number one talent of the region—destined to become a legend. Throughout Flameheart City, who dares to offend him? Mithras should have known better."
"So, if the boss asked you to give him your sister? You would just say yes?"
"I would tie her up myself, then ask for a raise!"
"And that is why Mithras dies a real man, whereas you get to live on as a bitch." Silent whispers circulated within the crowd.
Arian ignored them, focusing on the dead youth. Hints of pain and sorrow flashed through the young noble's eyes, yet his smile stayed intact, openly mocking the corpse.
"Mithras betrayed his lord and deserves to be damned. But he was, after all, my favorite servant. No, after all those years spent together, he was already my best friend.
My best friend's sister is of course my sister. From now on, I will be taking care of Ishtar. Prepare a room for her in my courtyard. After receiving my mother's blessing, I will make her my concubine," Arian said, and with a theatrical spin, the young noble turned heels, returning to his courtyard.
A handful of the servants and guards assembled felt pity for the dead Mithras. Unlike most favored servants of high-ranking aristocrats, Mithras was a humble and hilarious youth who didn't rely on his lord's name to abuse the people. Alas, good people died young while villains thrived for a thousand years.
Since Arian didn't give instructions, no one dared to touch Mithras' body. The corpse stayed there, left to the worms while the servants and guards scattered to carry out their young noble's orders.
Half an hour passed in a flash. And as Mithras' big sister was getting dragged to and imprisoned in a secret chamber of Arian's courtyard, an astonishing scene took shape. Mithras' corpse twitched. Arms made of silver light emerged from the ground, stroking the bleeding wounds, and healing them on the spot.
The corpse returned to life, and Mithras stood up, looking left and right in confusion.
"Huh! Why does hell look so much like that son of a bitch's courtyard? No wonder he's so evil! He was already one step in the devil's ass!
Wait, wait…this ain't right. Could it just be that…I'm not dead? No fucking way…I reincarnated…again?" Overwhelmed by confusion, Mithras asked himself.
It wasn't his first rodeo with reincarnation. In first life, Mithras was your average middle school lad. Born with decent looks and a respectable body, Mithras was expected to grow into a successful womanizer, when at 14, he received the visit of Truck-kun, dying before his prime.
It wasn't fair. Growing up, Mithras only had one dream: to make the most gorgeous women in the world pay to have sex with him! Yes, while others dreamed of becoming generational athletes, stars and whatnot, Mithras wanted to be a whore—a man-whore that all the beauties of the world would be willing to empty their bank accounts for!
But because of the evil Truck-kun, he would never get to fulfill his dream!
Fate, however, seemed to be on his side because the moment next, Mithras awoke as a baby in a world of sword and magic!
According to the novels of his previous life, this was supposed to be his opportunity to live out his fantasies and become a legend worshipped by all throughout myriad galaxies—with money bags on his left and sweet booty on his right.
But Mithras soon realized that the novels lied. Without the blessing of the gods, reincarnation is a scam!
This was the Spiritual World: an infinitely vast and brutal world ruled by a mystical force known as Sid. Akin to the oxygen on Earth, Sid was the air of this world. A mysterious force that naturally strengthened the bodies of those who breathed it regularly. Thanks to the miracles of Sid, the people of this world were all born with astonishing physical abilities.
The regular adult had the speed of an Olympic sprinter, the stamina of a marathon runner and the strength of a powerlifter! Compared to Earth, this was amazing. But in a world where the regular man is superman, superman becomes average. So, it wasn't long before Mithras became numb to his new physical abilities.
To truly stand out in this world, one needed either one of two things: a Sid Gene, or a Sid Flame.
Sid Flame bearers possessed the best prospects. But they were so rare that they might as well not exist. One in a hundred, however, possessed a Sid Gene, enabling them to strengthen their bodies, increase their longevity, and obtain formidable destructive powers through a process known as Outer Flame Meditation. They were known as Templars!
Sadly, Templars couldn't just absorb ambient Sid and needed to rely on external sources of Sid Fire to temper themselves. But this was still pretty cool. So, when Mithras realized he didn't possess a Sid Gene…he punched a wall and broke his hand—not the smartest decision in his life.
For some, Outer Flame Meditation was just a way to increase their lifespan. But for the majority, it represented the relentless quest for power—a quest tied to Sid Flames and other conflict-triggering resources.
Nations, noble houses, and theocracies arose from these conflicts. Spreading false beliefs and manipulating the common folks to justify wars, conquest and plunder. Righteous and evil factions took shape—always competing for land and more Sid resources.
And this is where things get bad.
Born in Flameheart City, capital of the Blood Smelting Kingdom, Mithras was an orphan. First, his irresponsible father died in a war with the nearby Red Cloud Theocracy. Then two weeks later, his mother abandoned him—leaving him and his big sister to fend for themselves. At that time, Mithras was six and his sister, Ishtar, eight.
With a small house to their name but no food to eat, the two were about to starve when the lady of the mighty House Astalon, wife of the current Duke of Astalon, noticed Mithras begging on the streets, and moved by the mesmerizing looks he'd gained in this new life, offered to take him in as a chore boy and entertainer for her beloved son: Arian di Astalon.
With no other choice, Mithras accepted, becoming a chore boy for Arian and a jester apprentice in his free time so he could amuse the capricious young noble. He also mastered music, instruments, dramaturgy and acting to perform various acts for the mother and son's pleasure.
But a disaster never strikes alone, and so Ishtar, his last relative in this cruel world, developed the Sid Disease.
You see, while in small quantities, Sid is a blessing to the average man, some people are born with a condition known as Sid Incompatibility. That condition makes Sid poisonous, and Mithras' big sister turned out to be one such person.
Often sick, Ishtar stayed in their thatched house, relying on the food and gifts that Mithras received from Arian and his mother, Cassandra di Elektra, to survive. Three years later, the smart and creative Mithras had become Arian's favorite servant and most trusted confidant.
He developed a silver tongue—becoming so good at entertainment and flattery that Lady Cassandra also couldn't live without his company. His eccentric personality also helped, adding a layer of unpredictability that helped him gain his masters' good graces.
Meanwhile, thanks to House Astalon's gifts, Ishtar's health had gotten much better, and she even learned a trade—becoming an apprentice seamstress for a local tailor. As his sister was also born with remarkable looks, Mithras didn't dare to let her meet Arian and the male members of House Astalon, fearing that they'd ruin her life as they did with many others. Brother and sister relied on one another, becoming closer than soulmates.
Alas, destiny was determined to fuck the siblings in the pooper.
On one tragic night, as Mithras was performing new acrobatics for Lady Cassandra's pleasure, 13 Red Cloud Pythons sneaked into House Astalon, attempting to murder all women of child-bearing age!
This was a unique and dreadful species worshipped by the Red Cloud Theocracy as envoys of the Red God. Red Cloud Pythons could shrink to finger size or expand to become over 15 meters long, and possessed a unique venom that caused the spontaneous evaporation of their victims' blood.
These terrifying killing machines went unhinged, mauling dozens of Astalon women to death!
But when Lady Cassandra's turn came, and Mithras realized that his source of food and shelter was about to become a python's dinner, bolts of dark fire shot out of his amber eyes, causing all 13 pythons to stop their assault and gather at the servant boy's feet.
Lady Cassandra thus realized that, while Mithras didn't have a Sid Gene, he possessed something 10,000 times more valuable: a Sid Flame!
And not just any Sid Flame at that, but the legendary Wrathful God Fire, wielding the authority of a divine and the talent of a Sage!
On that day, Mithras' life went to shit.