Michael soon learned the identity of the body he now occupied. He was the second son of Earl Norrington of the Crimson Kingdom, one of the five major kingdoms in the world. However, his relationship with the earl was far from ideal. Earl Norrington had despised him since the day his mother died during childbirth. If it were up to the earl, Michael would not have been granted a title or fiefdom at all. But as a noble of the empire, the earl had to maintain appearances. Granting titles and lands to his children was expected, and failing to do so would undermine his reputation and the loyalty of his followers, particularly the knights who served him in hopes of earning their own titles someday. Reluctantly, the earl had no choice but to grant Michael a title and fiefdom, though he made sure it was the worst land he could find.
Before leaving the Norrington estate to move to his new fief, Michael received a modest startup fund from the family, as was customary for nobles setting out on their own. This included ten guards (two of whom had died in a bandit attack a week prior), four horses (two for the carriage, one for Michael's personal use, and one for the guard captain), one maid, a large supply of food, and 100 gold coins.
Among the people accompanying him, the only one Michael could truly trust was the old man who had been in the carriage with him when he first woke up. This man, whom Michael called Uncle Sam, was the guard captain and a genuine knight. Uncle Sam had been a knight under Michael's mother and had promised her on her deathbed that he would protect and care for Michael. True to his word, Uncle Sam had raised Michael like his own child, even choosing to remain unmarried to fulfill his duty. Michael entrusted the 100 gold coins to Uncle Sam for safekeeping. Uncle Sam stored 75 of the coins in a secure safe that also held Michael's savings, his mother's jewelry, his title deeds, and childhood mementos. The remaining coins were kept on hand for immediate use. Michael had decided it was safer to entrust the money to Uncle Sam rather than risk temptation or betrayal from others.
Michael also learned about the currency system of the Crimson Empire: 1 platinum coin was equal to 10 gold coins, 1 gold coin was equal to 20 silver coins, and 1 silver coin was equal to 50 copper coins. A single meal cost around 2 copper coins, and a poor family of three needed at least 15 silver coins to get by each month.
The rest of the guards assigned to Michael were either those who had offended their superiors, were incompetent at their jobs, or lacked the funds to bribe their way out of such a dire assignment. The maid, Isabella, had been sent as punishment for resisting the advances of Earl Norrington's eldest son, William Norrington. Her defiance had earned her exile to Michael's fiefdom.
From Uncle Sam, Michael learned that his fiefdom was known as the Black Forest area, named for the black-barked trees that dominated the landscape. While the fiefdom was vast, encompassing stretches of forest, mountains, and a coastline, it was considered undesirable due to its dangers. Eighty percent of the land was covered in forests teeming with dangerous creatures capable of challenging even knights and mages. Savage tribes also roamed the area, raiding villages after each harvest to plunder food, livestock, and women. The sea was no safer, as it was home to equally deadly creatures.
Previous nobles who had attempted to rule this land had either been killed or abandoned it, realizing that further investment was futile. The castle Michael now resided in had been built by one such noble. At the very least, Michael was grateful he didn't have to live in a tent, as the castle provided some semblance of shelter. The barracks were located beside the castle, which itself stood at the entrance to the forest, serving as the first and last line of defense against the dangers lurking within. About three kilometers from the castle were three villages, home to Michael's subjects.
Sitting in his study, Michael pondered his new surname and noble coat of arms. As a newly independent noble, he could no longer use the Norrington name. Only the heir of a noble family could inherit both the title and surname; others had to adopt a new surname and coat of arms upon receiving their titles. After much thought, Michael decided on the surname **Yahweh**, meaning "God" in his previous life. This choice was not born of arrogance or delusions of grandeur, but rather a reflection of his true nature—he was, in fact, a god. For his coat of arms, he chose a design featuring a sun shining through heavy rain clouds, symbolizing the rain that fell on the day he was born into this world and the sun that represented his true form.
Michael planned to submit his chosen surname and coat of arms to the noble office in the city during his next visit to meet his neighbor, a fellow baron. Until then, he focused on the challenges of ruling his treacherous fiefdom and navigating the complexities of his new life.
As Michael leaned back and closed his eyes, he found himself in the body of a vast, ever-expanding world. Above him hung a black sun, emitting a faint silver light that illuminated the barren landscape below. The world was a desolate expanse of ruined cities, endless deserts, and plains dotted with patches of grass. Michael could feel that this world *was* his body, and the black sun acted as his eyes, observing everything within its reach.
It had been a week since he first transmigrated into this world. At the time, he had dismissed this strange vision as a dream, thinking it unimportant. But on the first day, after fainting in the human world, he had returned here. That was when he realized the truth: this world was his true body, and the human form he now inhabited was merely a projection of his soul. The black sun and the desolate landscape were not figments of his imagination—they were part of his essence, a realm that was intrinsically connected to him.