When Damien came to again, he felt like he was lying on a soft and comfortable bed, but he couldn't enjoy it because his head was being ravaged by a throbbing pain. It was intense and incessant, as though someone had stuffed nails inside his brain. His mind felt fogged up by pain and confusion.
For the first time, he felt like focusing and thinking clearly was out of the option.
The mental clarity and sharp awareness he had always relied on were completely gone. He had never been in such a pathetic and helpless position before. If he was attacked in this situation, he wouldn't be able to defend himself properly.
In his panic and stupor, Damien tried to sit up, but the feedback he received in response was less than ideal. His entire body felt heavy like lead, and it wasn't moving as he wanted it to too.
Looks like I won't be able to defend myself at all. Anyone can kill me right now.
Why am I in such a state?
The only thing I did is activate the Gate to escape to the Primordial Lands, so why does it feel like I've been badly beaten by a group of thugs?
He cried to himself in his heart.
Then, he cried for real.
Ugh!
Why is my headache getting worse?
The panic in his heart was immediately visited by a new neighbour who introduced itself as worry as the throbbing pain in his head began to intensify. It became worse and worse with each passing second and quickly reached a point where Damien, who was trapped in the company of pain and worry, felt like he was a goner.
What's next? Is my head going to explode?
Haha... who am I kidding?
Like hell that can happen.
Then, his head really exploded. It exploded with all sorts of unfamiliar memories. Damien realized he had spoken too soon and jinxed himself.
Damn it!
He cursed in his mind.
That was the only thing he could do before he felt overwhelmed by the torrent of memories bombarding his consciousness with such ferocity it felt as though they were lightning strikes from Zeus.
All he could do now was wait for the worst to pass.
'I see.'
Many things started to make sense as he absorbed the memories flowing into him.
He hadn't teleported to the Primordial Lands. Only his consciousness, or soul, as some people liked to call it, had been moved there and placed into the body of a prince from a small kingdom.
The prince was born into a competitive and fierce environment where killing others to get ahead wasn't uncommon, but his mother, who was known as the most beautiful woman of Winterland, was favoured heavily by the king, so the prince grew up heavily sheltered.
However, good times doesn't last.
His mother was murdered when he was nine.
The very next year, his potential was revealed to be only three.
People in this world could grow strong enough to move mountains, split seas, and reshape all kind of terrains, but their potential determined how far they could go.
A person with a low potential was destined for normalcy.
Whenever someone with low potential was born into the royal family, they were stripped of their title and reduced to commoner status so they wouldn't have the opportunity to disgrace the royal family name.
The people here believed that weakness bred twisted natures. A weakling given power would inevitably bring suffering to the innocent.
For lacking potential, the prince was expected to be demoted.
However, his father, the king, intervened.
Going against the wishes of his council, he changed the rules that had stood since the founding of the kingdom for his son.
He made it so that as long as the prince did not commit a crime, he would not be stripped of his royal title and enjoy all the privileges that came with it.
A few days ago, the prince's girlfriend had broken up with him to get together with his half-brother because he was destined for greatness. His potential was over 30.
The prince felt broken and devastated by her betrayal. When his friends found out about it, they took him out to play to cheer him up and got him so drunk he couldn't tell left from right. After that, everything was a blur.
The next day, the prince woke up to find a naked, crying girl beside him. Before he could even begin to process what was happening, a rising court official, who happened to be the left minister's son, broke into the room after being drawn in by the girl's cries and accused the prince of raping her as though he was following a script he had spent an entire night memorizing.
The prince argued that he had done no such thing, but the official only scoffed and said that if he weren't a prince, he would have beaten him on the spot and dragged him to the authorities. He then threatened to report what he had seen.
The prince couldn't allow that. He was politically isolated. Even though his mother's background was impressive, his maternal family had become distant after realizing that he had no chance of winning the throne.
Furthermore, too many people wanted to prove his father wrong to ensure he won't ever be able to change the kingdom's laws recklessly. They wanted the rules set in place by their ancestors to remain untouched so they could stay in power.
They would jump at any opportunity to harm him.
In a trial where it would be only his word against a girls, the judges would definitely side with the victim.
That would cause him to lose the trial and be judged as a commoner for the crime of raping a girl.
It would land him in prison.
The prince had inherited his mother's beauty. If he was sent to the prison, it would be like throwing fresh meat in front of starving wolves. Even if he made out of that hell alive, he would be too broken to continue living.
Fearing the worst, the prince begged the official to spare him.
The official agreed, but only on the condition that the prince hand over his personal maid, Victoria.
The prince reluctantly agreed.
The handover date was set for the evening of the following day.
After returning home, the prince fell into depression and started drinking again. He had failed to make his father proud, and now he was about to fail the promise he had made to his mother on her deathbed. Victoria was a slave he had inherited from her, and in her final moments, she had told him to treat her well.
Even as his servants worried for his life, he kept drinking until he finally passed out.
After that... there was nothing.
Damien's consciousness invaded the prince's mind and took control of his body!