Asher came from a well-off family, not just a simple noble family, but a Pureblooded one. Purebloods are called that because they are believed to be direct descendants of the primordial gods in Solvarya.
The O'lothe Family, a descendant of the O'Supreme, is one of the four Pureblooded Families of the whole Neixe Kingdom.
Unfortunately, the silver spoon that should've been in Asher's mouth upon birth was forcibly taken away by the cruel fate.
Asher was born with a cursed Birthlight.
Birthlight reveals one's potential as a Soul Practitioner upon birth. From the red color being the weakest, there's yellow, green, and then blue, the mightiest.
In the shocking words of the midwife back then, who was the first to see Asher's Birthlight:
It's so dark, I don't even see a tinge of red!
There was not even such a thing as a Black Birthlight, thus, his talent was evaluated as the lowest among the lowest: Dark Red.
A Pureblood having a Dark Red Birthlight? When in history have this occur? Even among commoners, Dark Red was rare to find, most have a plain Red Birthlight!
But the tragedy in the O'lothe Household didn't stop there. After giving birth to such a useless son, the O'lothe couple was told that his mother could no longer conceive another child.
What about their heir? The legacy of the O'lothe family? How can a mother who birthed such a useless son reveal herself to other Purebloods?
There are many times that his mother attempted to end her life because of him. She would've succeeded if his father did not have a sharp eye.
Because of that, his parents never looked at him with love, not that they gave him that much attention, to begin with.
That's how an orphaned servant of the O'lothe Family, was taken in as his "twin sister".
Emira O'lothe
She was not a Pureblood, however, her potential was comparable to that of one. Emira was blessed with a Bright Yellow Birthlight!
Easily, she overshadowed Asher, the real son. She was considered the "talented of the twin". Not that Asher cared. Even before her arrival, he was already treated as a burden among the servants. Her presence in the family didn't change anything for him.
At first, they were strangers. On top of that, they were polar opposites. While Emira trains the mastery of her sword and martial skills day and night, Asher would do anything except train.
He would be locked in his room for days, reading books, learning music, and practicing arts... the only time he would come out was if it was time to tend his garden.
This is the only time that they would get a curious glimpse of each other.
Meanwhile, Emira didn't hide her hatred towards him. Whenever they would make eye contact, she would glare.
Emira didn't like this new brother of hers. Born with all the resources at hand, he seems to be ignorant of how lucky he is. Everyday, he would immerse himself in his hobbies, leisurely spending the time of his days without care.
Meanwhile, she had to work to the bones just to live up to her godparent's expectations. Her Birthlight is miraculous among the commoners but among the Purebloods? It was common!
Although she told herself that, Asher would disagree. While swinging her sword and even when she was being scolded by the instructor, there's zeal in her eyes as if she was enjoying every moment of it.
He wasn't wrong. Emira is born a martial addict!
Average Purebloods, even with a greater Birthlight, don't hold an inkling of her strength.
In truth, Emira hates him for another reason. Why don't you like martial arts? It's fun and you get stronger. Come and practice with me!
But they never interacted in the first year since they became "siblings".
Their first real interaction occurred after the other kids from the branch family, their cousins, destroyed Asher's garden.
Remembering how Asher takes care of that garden every single day, Emira went out and beat all the kids responsible.
When she returned, Asher offered her a slice of watermelon as thanks. That sparked their friendship.
From then on, whenever there's harvest, Asher would share them with Emira. During which, watermelons would always be her first choice.
.
.
.
Asher opened his eyes and felt his body shiver from the accumulated cold. He unknowingly dozed off and dreamed of his sister.
She had a strange way of showing it, but Asher knew she cared about him. Not because he was special but she's just that kind. In front of injustice, nothing would stop her from intervening.
Then, why did she have to die?
Asher clenched his fist hard as veins popped off.
It was unfair!
Emira, his sister, if anyone in the world deserves a second chance, it's her!
Right, what is Asher doing right now? Lamenting about being alone, feeling hopeless in this dark world.
Seeing the sun falling behind the clouds, Asher recalled the Phoenix. His face crumpled in discomfort. He never wanted to see that devil ever again.
He was a grieving person who lost everything. Then, that Phoenix dared to say:
'You should feel lucky that your world died by my presence.'
Lucky???
Haha, fucking bitch! You're lucky I didn't take your evil life away!
Even just by remembering it, killing intent returned and he felt regretful not taking her life with the chance he had!
Asher's neck became itchy.
No, killing her is not enough, I want to torture her.
I want that devil to cry and beg for forgiveness!
Hahahaha!
... Asher went mad.
That's why he didn't let his mind wander. Dark and sad thoughts filled the lone survivor.
Soon, however, his fist which was so tightly clenched that his nails pierced his palm, began to loosen.
Revenge.
That would be for his satisfaction.
But this is not about him. This is about those who deserve a second chance at life.
Asher's eyes turned clearer.
He has to find a way.
The cold no longer bothered him that much as he utilized the remaining World Energy to warm his body. From now on, he has to take care of himself. He can't die.
He is the only hope of the dead.
With this newfound goal, Asher further calmed himself.
After a short thought, he found roughly two possibilities the goal of reviving the dead.
Firstly, the Phoenix. While Asher leaned on the belief that that woman is the bearer of destruction -the devil- and not a real Phoenix, it is still true that her power is otherworldly.
The problem was that she somehow lost her powers. To confirm that, he needed to meet her again, much against his desires.
Secondly, the mysterious spirit within him. This spirit just showed up one day a few years ago, stating that as long as he accepted it, it would give him tremendous strength.
For long, Asher was skeptical. As he should be. It suddenly came out of nowhere and bugged the hell out of him with its voice blabbering in his head.
He didn't entertain the idea of accepting the spirit's will to teach him.
That changed, however, when the Third Royal Prince troubled his sister. No one stood up for her, not even his parents, and that's why he had to put himself in the middle of the crossfire, challenging the Third Royal Prince.
Asher had no potential, training, or experience as a Soul Practitioner, so he knew he couldn't fight the talented Third Royal Prince as one.
That pushed Asher to gamble. Will this spirit deceive me and take over my body or will it do what it has long been promising?
Fortunately, the spirit didn't deceive him. It taught him how to utilize the World Energy around him and defeat the Third Royal Prince.
The mysterious spirit's ways and knowledge are out of this world. It may even have an idea of how to revive the dead with, or without, the Phoenix's help.
However, as of now, the spirit was unresponsive. Asher could still feel it resting near his Soul's Lair within, but it was as if the spirit was in a comatose, it did not respond.
This is not surprising. Although the spirit was once a powerful being, it only has a mere fragment of its original power according to it.
The fact that it was able to protect him from the blast that killed all the strongest powerhouses in the world was already shocking enough. It must've took a lot for the spirit.
Yes, it was the spirit that made his survival possible.
For this, he would be forever grateful. His second life, he owes it to the spirit. After the restoration of life in this world, he promised himself that he would help the spirit.
Although the spirit didn't voice it, there's no free lunch in this world. Surely, there's a reason why it wants to help him get stronger.
The problem was, Asher didn't know if the comatose state of the spirit is permanent or it's slowly regaining its power.
Either way, one thing was clear.
Asher was still too weak!
Even if the spirit regained its power and offered a method to revive everyone, it doesn't necessarily mean that Asher had what it takes to execute that method.
Long ago, the Grand Order of Magic, the strongest faction of mages in the world, researched and planned a resurrection of the dead for more than a decade.
Unfortunately, although it was the closest anyone had come close to resurrecting a human person, it was full of fatal flaws.
The revived human lost most of his memories. In the few days that he returned to life, he would try to kill himself as he found his rotting body too painful to endure. His emotions and behaviors were all erratic. He was more of a beast than a human.
Eventually, he was euthanized and the attempt at resurrection was deemed a failure.
If the strongest mages back then were unable to revive a single person, what could Asher achieve?
However, in this world, everything is possible with enough strength.
Strength is what differentiates mortals from immortals. Strength is what made the Phoenix kill all Solvarya's powerhouses in one night and bring the world into an endless night.
In normal circumstances, Asher wouldn't think that he would be able to achieve the title of the world's strongest, the Overlord. No, even an Overlord is not enough, he needs to aim higher.
For that, he needs to improve his strength without limit.
But how...
One method immediately popped into Asher's head.
He was still unsure about the idea but, at least, he had a vague direction.
Powerhouses usually build a place to leave their inheritances behind in their final days. As far as history goes, this has been a tradition among Transcendents and even among Sovereigns.
Powerful people tend to care about their legacy more than commoners do.
Because of this, Solvarya is filled with places that contain inheritances. These places are filled with trials and dangers, but at the end of it are treasures that increase one's power by leaps and bounds, some beyond imagination.
These places are called [Legacy Sanctums].