—Better that way…
I swallowed dryly and went back to eating.
I finished the last piece of meat on my plate while the conversation at the table slowly died down.
I looked once more at the silver stone in front of me.
Then I simply picked it up.
I ran my fingers over the strange symbols one last time before putting it into the pocket of my coat.
Then I lifted the empty glass.
— More wine.
Behind me, a maid was standing with a bottle.
She was the same one who had been serving the table for some time.
— Come here.
She approached slowly.
Hesitant.
I recognized the reason for the hesitation.
Probably the same story she had told my father earlier.
She stopped beside me and tilted the bottle to fill my glass.
That was when I grabbed her wrist.
Her hand froze in the air.
I tilted my face slightly and winked at her.
— Relax, chocolate! Maybe you should come to my room tonight, what do you think?
She blushed immediately, the chocolate-colored skin of her beautiful face turning pink at once.
The wine almost overflowed from the glass.
She clearly wanted to pull her hand back.
But she didn't dare.
Behind the table I heard my father sigh deeply.
Charles said nothing.
Just that tired sigh.
On the other side of the table, however, Tyler crossed his arms, still wanting to be a mage.
Mary did the same.
— Why only him?
Mary agreed.
— I could be a mage too.
My father wiped his lips with the napkin before answering.
— No.
The two of them looked at him.
— On the day of the examination, everyone in this house was tested.
— None of you showed any sign of magical talent.
Mary opened her mouth to protest.
But he continued.
— Only Dylan.
Silence returned to the table.
The maid finally managed to finish filling my glass.
I released her hand.
She stepped away quickly.
I picked up the wine, took a sip, and then stood up from the chair.
— Well.
I adjusted my coat.
— I think we've had enough excitement for today.
I looked at my father and mother.
Viscountess Mily was watching me with that same calm expression as always.
I tilted my head slightly.
— I'm going to get some rest.
I ran a hand through my hair.
— It's been quite a day.
I looked at my father.
— And apparently I have a long trip ahead of me.
He simply nodded.
I left the dining room as the sound of their voices slowly returned behind me.
The mansion's corridor was long and silent.
Thick carpets muffled the sound of my footsteps.
I climbed the marble staircase to the second floor.
My room was at the end of the corridor.
I pushed the door.
It opened smoothly.
My room was large.
Much larger than any room needed to be.
An enormous bed occupied the center of the room, covered with dark, heavy sheets.
A stone fireplace burned in the corner.
There was a shelf filled with expensive books that I had never read.
A table with half-empty bottles of wine.
And a large window overlooking the mansion's gardens.
I closed the door behind me.
I let out a long sigh.
I began taking off my clothes slowly.
The coat first.
Then the shirt.
But I did it carefully.
Because in the middle of my chest there was still a wound.
A dark crust of dried blood covered the injury.
Last week.
I had mixed riding a horse at high speed with too much wine.
A terrible idea.
I had fallen badly.
I tossed the shirt onto a chair and walked to the bed.
I lay down on my back.
The soft mattress sank under my weight.
Then I remembered the stone.
I put my hand in my pocket and took it out.
I raised the object in front of my eyes.
The light from the fireplace reflected on the silver surface.
I examined it more closely.
I ran my thumb along the edge.
I let out a small laugh.
A stone… hahahaha…
I shook my head.
This isn't a stone at all.
The surface was metallic.
The old founder of the family must have been completely drunk.
I kept looking at it.
Or high.
I smiled.
He probably spent the night in the most expensive brothels in the kingdom and stole this from some prostitute.
I let out a louder laugh.
That was when the stone slipped from my hand.
— Ah—
It fell straight onto my chest.
Toc~~
Right on top of the wound.
— Tsk!
I frowned in pain.
The impact made the crust of the injury shift.
I felt a sharp sting.
And then…
A small drop of blood appeared.
It slowly slid across my skin.
Until it touched the metallic surface of the stone.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then it vibrated.
It was something small.
But unmistakable.
The stone was trembling slightly on my chest.
My eyes widened.
— What?!!!
Before I could react properly, it vibrated again.
This time stronger.
What the hell?
I jumped out of bed as if I had been shocked and grabbed the object.
Without thinking twice, I threw the stone to the other side of the mattress.
What the hell is this?!
I stood a few steps back, staring at it.
My heart was pounding.
I took a deep breath.
I… saw that.
That thing… moved.
For a moment I remembered my father's words at the dining table.
The star falling from the sky.
The crater.
The gods confirming the nobility of the Drake family.
I looked again at the stone on the bed.
Don't tell me…
That the old founder really picked up a fallen star.
The stone began to glow.
A faint silver light appeared in the cracks between the symbols.
Oh no.
I took a step back.
Oh no, no, no.
The light grew stronger.
Then the stone opened.
It didn't explode.
It didn't break.
It simply divided into parts that slowly slid apart like metallic petals.
Inside it there was something tiny.
Too small.
It looked like… a mustard seed.
The object trembled.
And then it floated.
It rose into the air.
The light became more intense.
— This is magic...
The small object began to spin around me.
First slowly.
Then faster.
The silver light left trails in the air.
I almost shouted.
Because that was definitely magic.
But some part of my pride refused to allow it.
I wasn't going to act like a scared little girl.
I was Dylan Drake.
A brawler.
A drinker.
And an excellent hunter of women.
I clenched my teeth and stood still.
— Alright.
I took a deep breath.
— Do whatever you're going to do.
The small object kept spinning around me for several minutes.
Suddenly…
I heard something.
Not in the room.
Inside my head.
A strange voice.
Metallic.
Cold.
["Beep!"]
["Host detected!"]
["Merging Mechanical God Legacy…"]
The object shot forward.
Straight toward my forehead.
— ARRGH!!
I felt something pierce my temple.
The pain was instantaneous.
As if a burning nail had been driven through my skull.
— AAAARGH!!
My legs gave out.
My vision spun.
I felt something anchoring itself inside my head.
Directly in my brain.
— Wait... ARRRHH!!
I fell backward without control.
My head slammed violently against the stone floor of the room.
CRACK.
Everything turned white for a second.
Then dark.
Silence.
.
.
.
The small artifact… the legacy… had attempted to merge with a host.
But the human body of Dylan Drake could not withstand the process.
And unintentionally…
The Legacy of the Mechanical God had just killed its own host.
.
.
.
[POV — A parallel version of Dylan who also died at that exact moment.]
...
For a time I cannot measure… I simply floated.
Weightless.
Without a body.
Without pain.
It was like being suspended in the absolute void of space.
But my mind was clear.
Too clear.
And the first thing I felt was rage.
Rage burning like a star about to explode.
Those damn scientists from the central citadel of the galaxy of Lumaistiry.
Sons of bitches.
They had finally made their move.
For entire millennia, the Solar System of Lux had been under my control.
A small sector of the galaxy… but extremely important.
Stable energy.
Perfect gravitational routes.
And resources enough to sustain civilizations for ages.
But the bastards of the citadel had always been jealous.
They had always wanted to take it from me.
And then they did the unthinkable.
They turned the Sun…
…into a black hole.
The gravitational collapse was instantaneous.
Planets torn apart.
Orbits destroyed.
Space-time ripped open.
An entire sector of the galaxy simply ceased to exist.
I still remember the moment when my ship's sensors detected the event.
My ship was already prepared.
I immediately activated the escape protocol.
A hyperspace jump out of the collapsing sector.
If I crossed the gravitational boundary, I could escape.
I could rebuild.
I could take revenge.
But the bastards from the citadel had thought of that too.
They always thought of everything.
Before I could even initiate the jump, they had already done something to the space around the solar system.
They turned space-time itself into a maze of distortion.
An impossible gravitational field.
My ship entered hyperspace…
…and was immediately crushed.
My death was instantaneous.
I remember that perfectly.
However, suddenly, something changed.
The darkness began to fade.
My vision slowly returned.
My consciousness… descended.
And then I felt something strange.
My nose.
Working.
I pulled in a sharp breath.
— HAA—
My lungs filled as if I were drowning in oxygen.
I coughed.
The air had a smell.
The smell of wood.
Stone.
Fireplace ash.
My brain took a few seconds to understand.
I opened my eyes wider.
My body was lying down.
On a stone floor.
Blink.
Blink.
My vision finally focused.
A simple ceiling.
Stone walls.
A large bed.
A lit fireplace.
A room…
Extremely primitive.
No screens.
No panels.
Nothing.
Absolutely no technology.
I stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
My mind racing.
Then I frowned.
And muttered slowly.
— Holy shit…
I raised my head a little.
I looked at my hands.
Human hands.
Young.
With small injuries.
A single conclusion began to form in my mind.
I slowly sat up on the stone floor.
My head was still throbbing.
I ran a hand across my forehead.
— I reincarnated… what the hell is this?
...
1739 Words
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