"Young master, you seem different somehow," Roran said slowly as if trying to articulate something he sensed but could not quite identify or explain. "Your eyes look clearer and your voice sounds stronger, and the way you speak reminds me of how you used to be before the accident broke something inside you."
The observation was dangerously perceptive, and Aethros made a note to be more careful about how much of his true self he allowed to show through Hadrian's face until he had better control over this body and situation.
Aethros smiled slightly and shrugged as if the change was nothing particularly significant or worth examining too closely.
"Perhaps nearly dying from fever gives a person perspective on what truly matters and what is simply noise that distracts from real problems," Aethros said while crafting an explanation that would satisfy curiosity without inviting deeper investigation. "I have spent five years feeling sorry for myself and waiting for someone to fix the situation that I created through my own carelessness, but I think perhaps it is time I stopped being a burden and started finding ways to contribute despite my limitations."
Roran's face split into a genuine smile that transformed his plain features into something approaching handsome, and the hope that radiated from him was almost painful to witness given how thoroughly it would likely be disappointed before this journey was complete.
"I am glad to hear you say that, young master," Roran said with obvious enthusiasm warming his voice. "I have always believed that you possessed strength beyond your cultivation level, and I think if anyone can find a way to overcome crippled meridians and contribute to the family despite such disadvantages, it would be you."
After Roran left with promises to return the next morning with breakfast and to help Hadrian start exercising to regain some physical strength, Aethros sat alone in the darkness and finally allowed himself to fully process the magnitude of what had happened to him and what challenges lay ahead.
He had successfully reincarnated three thousand years into the future, surviving the Cycle of Phoenix Rebirth when most cultivators who attempted it simply dispersed into nothing, and that achievement alone was worthy of pride.
But he had landed in possibly the worst circumstances imaginable for someone trying to rebuild their cultivation, trapped in a crippled body within a declining family that saw him as worthless trash not worthy of their time or resources.
The smart thing to do would be to abandon the Vex family entirely and strike out on his own, perhaps joining one of the major sects under a false identity and using his Supreme Lord knowledge to advance quickly through the ranks until he achieved enough power to begin investigating what had happened to the Celestial Phoenix Sect and hunting down those who had betrayed him.
But something in Hadrian's memories and Roran's loyalty made Aethros reluctant to simply discard this identity and the few connections it provided, and he recognized that there might be strategic value in maintaining his position as a supposedly worthless young master who no one would suspect of harboring the knowledge and skills of a reincarnated Supreme Lord.
Aethros closed his eyes and turned his attention inward, examining the state of his meridians with the practiced expertise of someone who had spent ten thousand years perfecting his understanding of cultivation mechanics and spiritual energy flow.
The damage was extensive but not quite as bad as he had initially feared, showing signs of being caused by a single catastrophic injury rather than accumulated deterioration from improper technique or natural degeneration.
The meridians had been burned by fire that was not normal cultivation flame but something hotter and more destructive, and Aethros's examination revealed traces of phoenix fire lingering in the damaged tissues like poison that prevented natural healing from occurring.
The realization sent a chill down Aethros's spine as he understood exactly what had happened to Hadrian five years ago and why his meridians had never healed despite the best efforts of the family's cultivation physicians.
Someone had deliberately crippled him using phoenix fire, a technique that should not exist in this era because the authentic methods had been lost when the Celestial Phoenix Sect fell three thousand years ago.
The only possible explanation was that someone from his original time had survived or that knowledge of phoenix techniques had been preserved and passed down through generations, and either possibility suggested that the conspiracy that destroyed him was far more extensive and far reaching than he had realized.
But the presence of phoenix fire in Hadrian's meridians also represented an opportunity that Aethros was uniquely positioned to exploit.
As the original Supreme Lord of the Celestial Phoenix Sect and the cultivator who had perfected phoenix techniques to their highest level, he knew methods for manipulating phoenix fire that no one else in existence could possibly match.
The same energy that was preventing Hadrian's meridians from healing could potentially be transformed into fuel for reconstruction if handled properly, and Aethros had knowledge of forbidden healing techniques that could repair even the most severe cultivation damage given enough time and careful application.
The process would be incredibly painful and dangerous, requiring him to essentially burn out and rebuild his meridians section by section while maintaining perfect control over his body's spiritual energy despite having almost no cultivation base to work with.
A single mistake could kill him or damage his meridians beyond even his ability to repair, and the agony involved would be severe enough that most cultivators would give up halfway through rather than endure the full treatment.
But Aethros had survived torture at the hands of demon lords, had pushed through tribulations that killed ninety nine out of every hundred cultivators who attempted them, and had just recently experienced his own body being destroyed by the Cycle of Phoenix Rebirth, so he had no illusions about his capacity to endure pain when survival or advancement required it.
Aethros lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling while formulating a detailed plan for the next several months of his new life.
First, he needed to repair his physical body through proper nutrition and exercise, building up the basic health and stamina that would be required to survive the meridian reconstruction process without dying from shock or exhaustion.
Second, he needed to gather resources and materials that would support cultivation recovery, which meant finding ways to earn money or access the family's remaining wealth without drawing too much attention to his activities.
Third, he needed to investigate the Blacksteel family and determine whether they were merely opportunistic vultures taking advantage of the Vex decline or whether they were connected to the larger conspiracy that had destroyed both his original life and apparently targeted Hadrian as well.
The complexity of the situation would have overwhelmed someone less experienced, but Aethros had managed far more complicated scenarios during his ten thousand years as Supreme Lord, and he recognized that every problem also represented an opportunity if approached with the right mindset and sufficient creativity.
His supposed worthlessness meant that no one would pay attention to his activities or suspect him of pursuing cultivation advancement, giving him freedom to operate without constant surveillance or interference.
His position within the Vex family, despite being precarious, provided him with shelter and basic resources that would be difficult to obtain as a wandering cultivator with no money or connections.
And Roran's loyalty gave him at least one ally who could be trusted to provide assistance without asking too many uncomfortable questions about why the young master was suddenly behaving so differently.
Sleep eventually claimed Aethros as exhaustion from the reincarnation process and the effort of simply staying conscious in this weakened body finally overwhelmed his determination to continue planning.
His dreams were a confused mixture of memories from both lives, images of the Grand Hall burning mixing with scenes from Hadrian's childhood, and through it all ran a thread of golden phoenix fire that connected past to present and promised that the Supreme Lord's return was inevitable regardless of how long the journey might take or how much suffering it required along the way.