If an outsider were to hear this story, they would dismiss it as pure madness or a cheap legend, but Kaelen Valerius could find no other explanation for his current state.
Wait a moment... he thought feverishly, his brows knitting together.
If I truly just took over this body, it shouldn't possess my old resistance to toxins. How is it possible that I can still taste the Blood Solstice Powder on my tongue, yet my heart beats strong and steady, while the previous owner died almost instantly?
Suddenly, he felt a strange, pulsing warmth emanating from his right palm. Kaelen raised his hand and gasped. On the inside of his palm was a circular, jade-colored mark, looking as if it had been branded beneath the very surface of his skin.
The shape, the deep, hypnotic shade of green, and that specific size... it was identical to the Seraphic Shell of Decay.
Before hurling himself into the void of the Abyss, in an act of ultimate desperation, he had swallowed the artifact without any inkling of the consequences. This mark on his hand was undeniable proof - the Seraphic Shell had actually traveled with his soul to the Boundless Ether Domain! It was the Shell that had neutralized the poison in the dead body, restoring him to life.
As if in a trance, Kaelen stared at the shimmering symbol and subconsciously whispered, "Seraphic Shell of Decay..."
The moment the words left his lips, the mark on his right hand erupted in a blinding emerald light. Kaelen felt a sudden, violent wave of vertigo, as if his very essence were being sucked into the depths of that radiance. He instinctively closed his eyes, and when he dared to open them a second later, he found he was no longer lying in bed.
His entire world was flooded with an infinite, pulsing green, and he found himself standing in a space that defied the laws of logic.
This emerald world was vast and open. There were no visible boundaries, and the entire space seemed to float in mid-air, permeated by the faint, soothing aura of the Seraphic Shell. After a moment of profound shock, Kaelen understood - his consciousness had shifted into a dimension hidden within the artifact.
To think that such a powerful and vast domain was hidden inside the Shell! What was even more inconceivable was that after he had swallowed it in his final moments of despair, the artifact hadn't just voyaged with his soul through the void - it had become an integral part of his new body.
If I found the way in, there must be a way out... he thought, focusing his entire will on returning to reality.
Kaelen closed his eyes and concentrated intensely on the image of his bedroom. Suddenly, the green world dissipated violently. When he lifted his lids again, the familiar room in Skybright Fortress came back into view.
Staring at the pale emerald trace on his right hand, Kaelen's lips slowly curled into a cold, predatory smile. Although what had happened was utterly absurd and defied the laws of nature, the fact remained: he had not only been reborn in a new world, but he had retained the memories of both his previous lives - and his greatest treasure.
Perhaps even the gods couldn't bear to watch the suffering of these two souls - the scorned young master and the betrayed healer - and decided to take pity, granting me this one, final chance at life.
Kaelen Voss had once been the prey hunted by the most powerful beings in the Azure Sky Realm. Though he had ultimately cast himself into the chasm, his name had shaken the foundations of that world - it was a life of terror, but also of dark glory. However, the body he had awakened in was mediocre at best... or to put it bluntly, it was the embodiment of weakness.
In the Boundless Ether Domain, the only currency that mattered was cultivation strength. Although Kaelen Valerius was born into a proud lineage and was the only grandson of their most powerful elder - Fifth Elder Valerius Lie - his strength at sixteen had stalled at the pathetic First Level of the Elementary Ether Realm.
He had begun training at age seven. Within six months, he had reached the first level, signaling great talent, but then came eight years of dead silence. He became the laughingstock of the entire clan. His desperate grandfather eventually invited the finest specialist in Skybright Fortress, Medic Malachi, to examine the boy.
The verdict shocked everyone: Kaelen had been born with crippled Ether Veins. The damage was so profound it was deemed incurable. In this state, the boy was condemned to vegetate at the lowest rung of power, regardless of how much blood and sweat he poured into his practice.
Even if he trained at the risk of his life, he would remain a nobody until his dying day - the clan's joke and the lowest creature in the Domain's hierarchy. If not for the protection of his grandfather, who was regarded as the strongest warrior in all of Skybright Fortress, no one would have even bothered to spit in his direction.
Kaelen clenched his right hand, feeling the pulse of the Seraphic Shell beneath his skin.
The Valerius House was one of the three pillars of power in Skybright Fortress, a forge for countless warriors wielding ether energy. Amidst the horde of talented youths from the same generation, Kaelen was considered little more than redundant dust. If he were to simply vanish one day, few outside his immediate family would shed a single tear.
And yet, today, someone had gone to the trouble of eliminating him, using the incredibly rare and expensive Blood Solstice Powder.
Kaelen knew exactly why they had done it. It all came down to today's wedding to Selyna Selwyn.
Selyna Selwyn was sixteen, just like him. However, while he was stuck at a dead end, her power had already reached the Tenth Level of the Elementary Ether Realm, putting her a single step away from breaking the barrier into the Nascent Ether Realm.
She was the only genius in the history of the Selwyn House to achieve such a feat at her age. People whispered that if she maintained this pace, she would become the first person in centuries to surpass the Earthly Ether Realm... and perhaps even reach the legendary levels of the Heavenly Ether Realm, a feat no one in Skybright Fortress dared to even dream of.
More importantly, Selyna was not only terrifyingly capable but breathtakingly beautiful. The entire Fortress considered her an unattainable ideal. Every youth with a shred of ambition had lost his heart to her. If the Selwyn House were to announce an open recruitment for suitors, the line would likely stretch from the southern to the northern gates of the city.
The situation was clear: the most beautiful and talented woman in the region was to become the wife of the Fortress's "greatest piece of trash."
So that's what this is about, Kaelen thought, rising from the bed. His hand involuntarily tightened into a fist. Jealousy is a potent poison. Someone hated the thought of Selyna by the side of someone like me so much that they decided to turn my wedding into my funeral.
"Women really are a source of nothing but trouble," Kaelen Valerius muttered, stretching lazily as he stood up.
He began his monologue, pacing the room and analyzing the web of intrigue he'd been tangled in. He knew this wedding was a death sentence passed by the envious, and he was just a pawn in a game for influence and prestige.
However, when the image of Selyna Selwyn surfaced in his mind - her icy, haughty beauty and the charm that made all of Skybright Fortress hold its breath at her sight - his lips twisted into a genuine, predatory smile.
"In spite of it all..." he laughed heartily, adjusting his crimson wedding robes. "Marrying a bride like that immediately after returning from the grave... that's a damn good start to a new life."
In his laughter, there was no trace of the old Kaelen's weakness. Instead, there was the confidence of a poison master who had outsmarted death. If the world wanted to destroy him using the poison of a beautiful woman, he would show them what real poison looked like.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps and muffled voices echoed from the hallway.
The door swung open with a flourish, and an ethereal figure entered - a sight that always had a calming effect on Kaelen. The boy immediately straightened his posture and flashed her a warm smile.
"Little Caretaker, has Grandfather returned yet?"
Lydia Valerius was the daughter of Valerius Lie, born when he was already middle-aged. Although she was technically Kaelen's aunt, she had only turned fifteen this year - a year younger than him. Despite her age, her beauty was already heart-stirring, and her potential commanded respect; her strength had reached the Sixth Level of the Elementary Ether Realm. While she couldn't compare to the legendary Selyna Selwyn, she was still considered a vital asset to the Valerius House.
"Oh, Kaelen, you've finally regained consciousness!"
A gentle yet deep voice resonated through the chamber as Valerius Lie stepped inside. Seeing his grandson standing on his own two feet with a healthy color returned to his complexion, the old man let out a visible sigh of relief. Behind him followed the house steward and the most prominent physician in all of Skybright Fortress - Medic Malachi.
"It is good that you are up and no longer look ill, but let Malachi examine you regardless. Today is your wedding day; we cannot allow the slightest mistake. Please, Master, check his condition," Valerius Lie stepped aside, making room for the medic.
Medic Malachi placed his ebony apothecary kit on the table and sat before Kaelen, grasping his wrist to check his pulse. The boy maintained a stony expression, though internally he felt a trace of amusement - he knew the Seraphic Shell of Decay had utterly incinerated every molecule of poison in his veins.
"Master Malachi, how is he? Is it anything serious?" Lydia asked anxiously, her face etched with genuine fear.
Valerius Lie remained silent, but his formidable gaze bored into his grandson. As a powerful warrior, he knew all too well that Kaelen's sudden fainting spell was unnatural and suspicious.
Medic Malachi's face slowly brightened, and a professional smile touched his lips.
"Elder Valerius, there is no cause for concern. Your grandson's condition is excellent. I see no ailments, not even a trace of a cold. Perhaps he simply fainted from an excess of emotion? The blood rushed to his head from excitement. After all, today he marries the daughter of the Selwyn House, the most beautiful woman in the Fortress. Hohoho!"
Though Malachi tried to remain polite, his voice carried a thinly veiled thread of contempt. The sight of such a talented goddess marrying a "useless brat" with no future was a bitter pill for many in the Fortress to swallow.
Kaelen caught the glint in the medic's eyes but said nothing, merely watching the healer in silence.