Charles followed his instincts, barely grasping the right direction. With each step, the sensation inside him intensified. Whatever was calling knew he was approaching and started sending more intense signals.
After a while, an enormous structure of veins appeared in his field of view. It was eye-catching: six crimson red hearts, slowly beating as if inside a huge, living organism.
"What is this thing?" Charles asked aloud, carefully approaching.
The hearts were all interconnected, sharing the same origin and source. The sight felt sinister and evil. One look at it, and a deep, primal fear took hold—like staring into a beast's eye.
Slowly, Charles reached out his hand. In the next second, his vision was engulfed by darkness. Images started flashing in his mind: scenes of death and devastation, ancient demons fighting and killing each other, purging worlds, entire dimensions. They were devouring all life within their reach. The visions stopped abruptly, and Charles fell back, gasping for breath.
"Firstborn Demons," he muttered, staring at the hearts. "Ancient demons wielding the power of devouring..."
Information about the hearts' origins flooded his mind. The Firstborn Demons were embodiments of revolution, fighting against the natural order. Their philosophy of devouring and dominating fueled their conquest of other realms. Their name resounded across the myriad of worlds, instilling fear into all who opposed them.
"If this works as I think it does, then maybe... I can live a second life," Charles theorized. According to what he had learned from these hearts, it was possible for him to reincarnate.
The Firstborn Demons were closely related to the Astral Overheaven—the place where Charles now found himself.
"If it works, I can design the talent of my new body as I wish. The extra ones will be my insurance. My future subordinates."
A plan began to form in his mind. The new world would be his stage, with a perfect body superior in all aspects and great talents to boot. Charles could already see himself becoming a supreme ruler.
"I should leave fantasies for later. Now, let's build my body."
He began the slow, meticulous process of transforming the bloody heart. He decided to start with designing his first sibling: an oracle who could perceive fate and destiny, based on the rainbow level talent.
Charles personally disliked the idea of working with fate and foreseeing the future. He wanted to be a warrior, a fighter who transcended simple fate.
Combining the Weaver of Fate with his own techniques, he synthesized a rainbow level talent for the Immortal Root. The process was intricate, yet Charles felt a sense of accomplishment every time a light appeared between his fingers. The final result was the Eternal Immortal Root with temporal affinity.
"Nothing can beat time. It should be the best-suited element. Let's go for the next one."
He created three more talents: Chrono-Oracle Vision, Karmic Balancer, and Celestial Harmonizer. With these, his first subordinate was finished.
"This is more of a support character. Now I need damage dealers, a tank, and maybe a creation-production type," Charles pondered.
Stars passed by, light illuminated the hearts, and Charles lost himself in the process. Finally, after a long, long time, all six hearts were complete. Their texture had changed, and strange symbols flickered on their surfaces.
"Who would have expected it to take so long? I can't even remember when I got here. My previous life memories are blurry now."
Charles tried to remember what the love of his life looked like, his parents and friends, but the image scattered every single time, their voices indecipherable and faces empty. Surprisingly, he didn't feel any pain as if his attachment to them had become vague just like the memories themselves.
"This world is full of wonders and opportunities, there should be a way to recover my memories," he thought and finally decided to fly inside the heart.
The next moment his vision turned blank, invaded by darkness, and on the outside, the heart he merged with attracted lightning—dark purple lightning. It was struck several times until it was charred black. Wisps of shadows broke through space and slowly shrouded it. However, all of this escaped Charles's notice.
The Astral Overheaven trembled, the heartbeat of the six hearts accelerated, with each passing second it became faster and faster, louder and louder. Charles gradually started losing consciousness his mind slipped into slumber.
Somewhere far away at that exact moment...
"Hisha! It cracked! It's hatching!" a young girl's voice echoed through the red velvet chambers.
"I am coming! Where?!" another young girl screamed in response.
In the room filled with mysterious cold blue fires, two young girls were staring at a crimson red egg. It was covered in scales and had eye-catching patterns all over it.
"Why did it stop?" Hisha asked.
"Did we break it? What if we broke it? Her Majesty will decapitate us!"
"Stop panicking, Aisha! These eggs are harder than Mythril. It's impossible to break them unless they hatch."
Crunch! Crunch! Another couple of cracks appeared on the surface.
"Look! It's hatching," Hisha exclaimed and knelt on the ground. Aisha followed.
A few minutes later, a celestial phenomenon was triggered by his birth. The sky outside turned a bloody red, casting an eerie glow over the city nearby. Wild winds howled through the streets, rattling windows and doors. Lightning streaked across the sky in violent arcs, illuminating the terrified faces of the city's inhabitants. Amidst the chaos, the humongous face of a demon materialized in the sky, its eyes burning with fury as it roared furiously, shaking the very earth. The sound of a heart beating loudly echoed through the air, resonating in the chests of all who heard it, amplifying their fear and awe.
Inside the room, the maids also noticed the celestial phenomenon. Their eyes widened in shock and awe as they felt the room tremble with the demonic roar. The face then was swallowed by red clouds and disappeared.
Finally, the egg broke into pieces, and a small child figure appeared in the girls' field of view. Both of them looked attentively in total silence with a fervent gaze. The child turned out to be a boy, disoriented and confused. He looked at his body and then at the surroundings.
"Your Highness?" a weak trembling voice reached the boy's ears.
"Your Highness... Who are you?" the boy asked, turning to face the kneeling girls.
"We are the maids serving Her Majesty's descendants, you and your unborn siblings, Your Highness."
"What about my parents?"
"Her Majesty is the current Abyss Empress of the Myriad Demon Empire..."
"What about my father?" the boy continued questioning in a cold tone.
"We need to report to Her Majesty. If you permit, let us help you dress, and we will bring you to an audience. They will be pleased to see you."
"Sure, do as you see fit."
The maids exchanged nervous glances.
"This unworthy one will help you," said Aisha.
"I will inform the palace of your birth!" Hisha said, standing up and heading to the exit.
Meanwhile, outside the phenomenon calmed down except the clouds and the rain. Inside the room, the boy was investigating his body. He found a large standing mirror in the corner and looked at himself from several angles. He wasn't tall, just about 140 cm, slim, with the ordinary body of a 9 or 10-year-old child. His hair was long, crimson red, draping over his shoulders, and his eyes were the same color, with a mysterious glint shining sporadically.
"Apart from the talent I added myself, there are some native ones..." the boy noticed a couple of extra rainbow orbs inside his body. They existed somewhere in a parallel plane of space, hidden from others except the child.
"Your Highness, your clothes," Aisha interrupted his thoughts, holding a black and golden robe with a flame pattern embroidered on it.
"Thank you. What's your name?"
"Aisha, at your service, Your Highness," the girl softly answered in a slightly trembling tone.
In her eyes, the boy in front of her was exuding a powerful and imposing aura.
"Truly the son of Her Majesty, descendant of the True Demons," she admired silently.
"Your Highness!" two unknown people entered the room, one man and one woman. The next moment both of them knelt.
The woman was dressed the same as the previous maid, and the man wore a black suit with the same cape as the others.
"It should be easy to adjust to this world. I have such an authority just moments after getting born."
"Is everything ready?" Aisha asked.
"Yes, please allow us to lead His Highness to the throne room."
"Let's go."
They stood up, again bowed their heads, and led the way. Aisha followed behind the boy. The child looked around the corridors and halls, taking in the countless oil paintings, precious treasures on display, and chandeliers burning with a ghostly blue flame. The group walked in silence, not daring to make a sound unless given permission by the young boy.
"How will the Empress treat me?" the child contemplated, "I hope she won't see any of my secrets..."