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Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: Return to the Beginning

The last words of Luis echoed in Ryner's mind:

> *"From now on, you're one of us."*

The infinite hall pulsed with light. The **empty throne of the Fifth Crown**, towering above all others, glowed faintly as if acknowledging its new bearer. It was not a sound but a weight, pressing upon Ryner's soul, whispering promises that no mortal could comprehend.

It spoke not with words, but with certainty. With destiny.

A chance… to start again.

Ryner's breath trembled. He could still feel the cold stone of the Valley of Sins in his memory, the pain of poison in his veins, the helplessness of watching his mother fall lifeless. And now this throne—this impossible force—was offering him what he desired more than anything: another beginning.

Rune's calm, steady voice carried across the boundless marble. "Do you accept? Understand this well. Once you step upon the path of a Crown, there will be no return. Your life, your will, even your very existence will be bound to this mantle. Your choices will ripple across eternity. You will lose the right to live only for yourself."

Ryner's fists clenched at his sides. *Live only for myself?* He had already lost that. His life had been stolen, mocked, shattered. His choices had been crushed beneath the cruelty of others.

His voice cracked as he whispered, "I… I have nothing left. Nothing to lose. If I can return… if I can protect her, if I can fight back… then I accept."

Ming Zing leaned forward, golden eyes blazing with a light that pierced deeper than flesh. His lips curved into a sharp smirk. "Good. Regret is the fuel of judgment. Let it sharpen you, boy. Let every scar, every betrayal, every loss forge your blade. When the time comes, strike without hesitation."

Lucas's refined voice followed, smooth and deliberate, like silk wrapping around steel. "Destiny is not immutable. The weave can twist, bend, and even unravel… but only in the hands of those who seize it. Perhaps this time, the threads will weave in your favor, Ryner Alostrio."

Luis clapped his hands together with childlike glee. His grin was wide, innocent, yet terrifying. "Perfect! Then it's settled. Ready, Trash Kid?" He winked mischievously. "Let's rewind the clock. Don't blink!"

Before Ryner could speak, the hall cracked.

The marble floor split into rivers of golden light, pillars of eternity shattering like glass. The crowns dissolved into stars, each one exploding and collapsing at once. Ryner's soul was ripped from his body, dragged backward through a torrent of memories.

He screamed, though no sound came out. He saw years unwind in flashes—his humiliation at the academy, the cold stare of Hannas, the jeering laughter of Maria's sons, Chris and Carlos. He saw his mother's smile fade into lifelessness, her corpse falling before him. He saw his own broken body in the Valley of Sins, discarded like trash.

And then… the stream reversed further.

The pain receded. His regrets burned away like ash on the wind. He felt his soul compress, smaller and smaller, until he was swallowed in a darkness so complete it was like being erased.

And then—light.

When Ryner opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the Valley of Sins, nor the infinite throne hall. The air was warm, soft, and filled with the faint scent of flowers. His vision was blurry, shapes bending and warping. He tried to move, but his limbs felt weak, clumsy, uncoordinated.

A soft cloth wrapped around him, swaddling him in warmth. He glanced down—or tried to—but his tiny body made even turning awkward.

Panic surged. *What… happened to me?*

Then a shadow leaned over him, and the moment he saw her, his soul trembled.

His mother.

Alia.

She was alive.

Her dark hair framed a face so gentle, so radiant, that for a moment Ryner forgot how to breathe. Her eyes, the same eyes he had seen turn lifeless in his last life, now looked down at him with endless love. She smiled as she cradled him close.

"My little Ryner," she whispered, her voice soft and musical. "Such a bright child."

Tears welled in Ryner's infant eyes, hot and uncontrollable. His soul screamed, *Mother… you're alive… you're really alive.*

His small, clumsy hands reached up toward her. He could not form words, but he didn't need to. His desperate grasp made Alia laugh softly. She kissed his tiny forehead and held him tighter.

Ryner wanted to speak, to tell her everything, to promise her that this time he would protect her. But all that came out was a faint gurgle. Inside, though, his heart hardened like steel.

He remembered her corpse. He remembered the cold indifference of Hannas. He remembered the cruel smirks of Maria, Hannas's third wife, whose poisonous whispers had driven knives deeper into his mother's back than any blade. He remembered Chris and Carlos, the sons who delighted in tormenting him, who spat on his suffering and crushed every fragment of pride he once had.

His soul burned with resolve.

> *This time… I will not let you die. This time, I will not be trampled. Maria, Chris, Carlos… Hannas. I will deal with all of you. Slowly. Thoroughly. I am no longer the trash kid. I am a Crown.*

The Fifth Crown pulsed within him, faint and quiet, but its presence was undeniable. It was not power he could wield yet, not strength he could summon with a snap of his fingers. But it was there, like a seed planted deep in his soul, waiting to grow.

Alia rocked him gently in her arms, oblivious to the storm raging within her infant son. "You will grow strong, Ryner. Stronger than anyone. I believe in you."

Her words pierced him deeper than any blade. In his past life, she had believed in him until the very end—and he had failed her. Not again. Never again.

Ryner's infant eyes flickered faintly with something unnatural, a glint far too sharp for a one-year-old. A fragment of eternity, a spark of the Fifth Crown.

The game had restarted.

And this time, Ryner Alostrio would play by **his rules.**

The weeks that followed blurred together, a strange mixture of infant helplessness and eternal awareness. Ryner's body was small, fragile, dependent—but his mind remained sharp. He observed everything. Every voice. Every smile. Every secret.

He saw Hannas, his father, for the first time since returning. The man was tall, stern, his eyes carrying the weight of authority. To others, he would seem composed, noble even. But Ryner, with the eyes of a Crown, saw the truth—cold detachment, a selfish heart that calculated value in everything, even family.

And behind him, always lingering like a shadow, was Maria.

Her beauty was striking, her smile warm in front of Hannas. But when she looked at Alia or at Ryner, her eyes sharpened, cold and venomous. The memory of her cruelty burned in Ryner's mind—the way she laughed when Alia fell, the way she whispered poison into Hannas's ear, the way she encouraged Chris and Carlos to torment him.

Chris and Carlos…

They were still young, both older than Ryner by a few years, but already their arrogance showed. Chris, the elder, had sharp features and sharper words, always puffing himself up as if the world owed him reverence. Carlos, the younger, was crueler—his mischief always leaning toward harm, delighting in others' pain.

Ryner's tiny fists clenched whenever he saw them. *You will not break me this time.*

Though he could not yet speak or fight, Ryner used these early months to study them, to memorize every detail. The way Chris sought his father's approval, the way Carlos craved attention, the way Maria manipulated them with a mother's false kindness.

They thought him harmless, weak, insignificant. A baby.

Good.

Let them believe that.

Because when the time came, Ryner would shatter every illusion they held.

---

Alia sang softly as she rocked him to sleep, her voice gentle as a lullaby. Ryner's eyes grew heavy, but his soul remained awake, whispering vows into the night.

> *This time, Mother… I will protect you. This time, Maria… I will strip away your mask. Chris, Carlos… I will return every cruelty a hundredfold. Hannas… I will show you the weight of the son you abandoned. The Fifth Crown is mine, and I will use it. Slowly. Patiently. Thoroughly.*

His infant lips curled, almost forming a smile.

The world believed Ryner Alostrio had been reborn as nothing more than a child.

But in truth, a Crown had returned.

(Chapter End)

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