{A/N: This chapter might be a little boring, but please understand that it is really important for the future chapters.}

What is Karma?

It's a famous concept in eastern philosophy—what you sow is what you reap. If you commit unimaginably bad things, then bad things of equal magnitude will happen to you, either in this life or in what many call the underworld.

And if you perform acts of great kindness or virtue, you'll be rewarded with unimaginable pleasures in the heavens.

It's a neat little system, isn't it? Very alluring for mortals—like the ones glaring at me right now.

But let's be honest, isn't it all just nonsense?

Take a moment to think: if a child gets murdered, what kind of heinous crime could they have possibly committed to deserve such a fate? And don't give me the old excuse of "it's because of their past life's bad karma."

That doesn't hold up. If a soul has already been punished in hell or rewarded in heaven, why would it carry baggage from its past life? Shouldn't the slate be wiped clean?

So why do innocent people suffer? Why do they endure pain and punishment for no fault of their own? There's only one conclusion that makes sense...

"Gods are just imaginary."

"HERETIC!"

Ouch! The word rang out just as the crowd around me erupted. Before I knew it, tomatoes were flying at me.

And let me tell you, these weren't your regular squishy, overripe tomatoes—they hurt! It was like getting pelted with tiny rocks disguised as produce.

Despite the stinging blows, I couldn't help myself. I shot the crowd a mocking grin, daring them to do worse.

Look at them, I thought, throwing food they probably couldn't afford to waste, all in the name of their so-called goddess. And then they'll turn around tomorrow, hungry and miserable, wondering why they're starving.

Well, let's face it—we're all pathetic. They're pathetic for letting themselves be manipulated like puppets, and I'm pathetic for losing to someone who clearly isn't half as smart as me.

I mean, I'm the one who's called the genius unrivaled in all ages.

"How amusing, isn't it, Lord Caelus?"

I flinched at the sound of that voice. Even as tomatoes kept raining down on me, their impact dull compared to the weight of my humiliation, that voice sliced through everything.

It came from somewhere far ahead, from the stage towering over my chained-up form.

It wasn't loud—far from it. It was soft, almost like an angel's whisper. And yet, somehow, it carried perfectly to me and me alone.

Not a single person in the crowd pelting me with food seemed to hear it. They just kept throwing, blissfully ignorant.

But for me, that voice wasn't angelic. No, it was the most grating, soul-scorching sound I'd ever heard.

I clenched my teeth as I looked up, the weight of the collar around my neck making the act feel more degrading than it already was.

There she was. Sitting on a pristine marble throne at the center of the stage, looking down at me like I was some unruly child caught in the act of scribbling on the walls.

Her golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, her eyes—golden, too—glinting with a mix of amusement and disdain. Criona.

I swear on the honor of my name, there is nothing I hate more than this woman.

Nothing. Hear me, world—I would do anything to destroy her and her entire lineage, all nine generations of them!

She wasn't just my enemy. She was the enemy. A so-called "great friend" of my great-grandfather, who had once ruled Asterdon, one of the three great kingdoms of the western continent.

The old fool trusted her, even going so far as to grant her a high-ranking position in the royal court. And how did she repay that trust? By abusing it, of course.

She used her position to strengthen the Order of Elriosa, a fanatical cult devoted to the so-called Goddess of Life.

My grandfather and father, both incompetent rulers, let her do as she pleased.

By the time I was old enough to notice, she had swallowed up all the authority of the royal court and made herself its de facto ruler under the guise of religious piety.

And me? From a young age, I had no interest in ruling a kingdom. My passion lay in alchemy. I wanted to create the elixir of immortality, to achieve what no one else could.

But for reasons I can't comprehend, this woman seemed to have it out for me from the very start.

When I was 11, she used to touch me in ways that made my skin crawl.

My mother noticed, and, in a fit of rage, she cut off one of Criona's fingers. You'd think that would be the end of it, right?

Justice served? No. Criona retaliated by having my mother executed.

And in retaliation I got acid thrown on this bitch.

I CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN!

Sigh.

Look at me, losing my temper like this. Normally, I'm not so emotional. But she murdered my mother and now has the audacity to accuse me of making a pact with demons.

Spoiler alert: demons don't even exist.

And now, as if to make my misery complete, Criona stood up from her throne, her golden robes shimmering like she owned the sun itself. She began walking toward me, her every step deliberate, slow, and suffocating.

And I couldn't help but think—how does a priestess afford clothes like that? Is there a secret "holy fashion fund" no one told me about? Or does she just rob the starving peasants she pretends to protect?

Whatever the case, one thing was clear: this wasn't going to end well for me.

"My, my, look what they did to you, my handsome child,"

She said to me telepathically, most likely not wanting anyone to hear her words.

She wore that casual, saint-like expression on her face, which was enough to fool those who were oblivious to her true nature. But anyone who knew her could easily see that it was nothing more than a shameless mask.

When she finally reached me, she grabbed my chin and, still speaking telepathically, whispered, "If you had accepted this divine one's love, none of this would have happened."

I almost broke into mocking laughter at her words, struggling to keep myself composed. What the hell was she saying?

"Accept her love?" I thought. Old fart, you're ten times older than me. What kind of love are you talking about? Pedophilia?

"Don't act like a saint," I shot back with a straight face and a tone dripping with mockery. "I know a romantic dinner for you is just swallowing dog semen and eating Elriosa's shit."

The words left my mouth without hesitation, and I could see the shock ripple through the crowd. How could I dare disrespect their beloved goddess?

But Criona just smiled that insufferable smile of hers as she raised her hand. With a flick of her wrist, her magic blasted my head clean off.

What a shit ending.

But little did I know at the time...

This wasn't the end.

It was just the beginning... after the end.

I couldn't help but wonder where I went wrong. All I ever wanted was immortality, to live peacefully. Maybe I should've been more manipulative. Maybe I should've grasped for as much power as I could...

With those thoughts swirling in my mind, my consciousness finally slipped into darkness.

...

In the shinobi world, amidst the chaos of the ongoing Second Great Ninja War, a lifeless body suddenly came back to life. As its eyes flickered open, the first thing it was greeted with was...

{Alchemist System Has Activated}

{A/N: Okay, so this is my first time writing something like this, so please be easy on me.}