William lay on his back, staring at the intricate patterns carved into the ceiling of his new room. He hadn't intended for any of this to happen from the start.
When he had first opened his eyes in this timeline, his goal had been simple: survive, grow strong in secret, and avoid the mistakes that led to his previous demise.
Yet, starting from the very first step he took outside his dilapidated little shack, he had done nothing but invite chaos.
He had duelled instructors, faced down monster tides, and negotiated with patriarchs. "But I don't regret a single moment of it," he whispered to the empty room.
There wasn't a speck of regret in his heart. Instead, he felt remarkably lucky. He had met capable spirit masters who could become the pillars of his future organisation, and he had stripped away the masks of those who had betrayed him in the past much sooner than he had expected.
"So, what should I do next?"
