Introduction
A cold breeze brushed against his skin, and the faint scent of incense filled the air. The ceiling above him was painted with intricate gold patterns, unfamiliar yet strangely regal. Alfred's eyes fluttered open, his vision still blurry, his body sluggish as though waking from a deep slumber.
Where... am I?
The last thing he remembered was collapsing from sheer exhaustion after an all-nighter at his desk. But this? This wasn't his cramped apartment. The bed he lay upon was too soft, the room too grand, the air too different.
Suddenly, a sharp pain seared through his mind. Images flooded in—memories that weren't his own. A boy staring into a mirror, the weight of nobility pressing down on his frail shoulders. A woman's warm embrace, her whispered words of love… then silence. Darkness. Loss.
Then, as if answering his confusion, a translucent screen materialized before his eyes.
[Aetherial Codex Initiating…]
His heart pounded.
[Welcome, Aeros Cromwell. Third son of Archduke Julius Cromwell.]
A chill ran down his spine. The name echoed in his mind, his new identity, his new reality. He wasn't Alfred anymore. He was Aeros Cromwell, heir to one of the most powerful noble families in Aetherion.
But why had he been reborn here? And why was he so… weak?
[Physical and Magical Aptitude: Below Average]
Before he could process what that meant, new text appeared.
[Training in Martial Arts is recommended for growth.]
Aeros exhaled sharply. So this was a system. But unlike the flashy game interfaces he was used to, the Aetherial Codex felt ancient and even sentient.
Was this his key to survival?
Clenching his fists, he made a decision that would change the course of his new life.
He would train, he would grow, and he would unravel the secrets of the Cromwell family.
And most of all…
He would find out why fate had chosen him.