Path of a Monarch

The sun's bright light passed through the window of a room to illuminate the fragile face of a young boy. His silver colored hair seemed to glow as its brilliance was enhanced by the light.

The light caused the boy to sit up abruptly with a dumbfounded expression. He surveyed his surroundings with his expression getting more and more perplexed by the second. 'I'm supposed to be dead!'

It was at this moment that a terrible headache assaulted him. Memories that weren't his rose up within his brain in a vivid but obscured way.

Noah's eyes widened in shock as he looked down to realize that this wasn't his body! He was supposed to be a 28 years old man but the body he now possessed could barely pass off as 10. And if the memories shown to him were to be trusted, the current him was a malnourished 11 years old boy.

He had reincarnated! He had actually reincarnated!!!

Still, as a veteran soldier with experience and a formidable mind, he quickly calmed and adapted himself to the situation. He accepted this second life as just that and sorted out his new memories. He was smart enough to distinctly separate it from his own so as to not create any issues with his mindset and character.

The owner of the body he now possessed had already died and so was 'his' mother. The father was already long gone, disappearing at the thought of the burden of a child. And this world was entirely different from his home planet, Earth. The world he had reincarnated into actually had a fantastical phenomenon called Battlesouls!

It was a phenomenon that was complex beyond comparison, completely shattering his image of the world.

Noah's eyes trailed towards the mirror not too far from him. His current body possessed silver colored hair and eyes, something he was sure this body did not have before, but he dismissed it and contributed the feature to his reincarnation. His features could have been considered cute if he did not have a skinny, malnourished body - hinting at a lack of food.

His eyes then moved to the bandage wrapped around his body and painted red with blood. This was the injury that sent the body's previous body to the afterlife, an injury caused by the attack of an Essence Beast.

"You're up." A rough, manly voice reached him while he still focused on the body in the mirror.

Noah's body tensed, causing him to almost cry out as the injuries he had were affected by his action. It seemed that this body was even weaker than he thought. He gritted his teeth to fight back the pain while he stared at the newcomer.

The man looked to be in his 30s, he possessed a face that could earn the envy of any Earthling male, with dark hair and emerald colored eyes. But his handsome features didn't mask the powerful presence and fierce aura that was brought into the room. Noah was very sure that if the man chose to release that suppressed aura, he would very well die without any suspense.

Noah was able to recall the silhouette from the last moments of the boy's memories that matches the man before him, meaning this was the person who had attempted to save the boy's life. Thankfully, it seemed that, somehow, this world's language was engrained into his head. "Thank you sir, for saving my life."

The man smiled gently as he shook his head. "There is no need for that. You were in need of help, as a Battlesoul master, it was my duty to help you. Your injuries should heal within a week or two, best to stay in bed during this time. If you don't mind me asking, what was a child doing in the wild?"

"I was chased out of my hometown and was wandering about in the forest looking for food." Technically, Noah wasn't lying as this was what had happened.

The man sighed, indicating that this wasn't the first time that something of this sort had been heard to have happened. He found it hard that such a treatment had been forced onto a child. "Anyways, you can stay in our home for a while to heal. For now, don't move much and someone will bring your food."

Noah nodded in thanks but his eyes squinted with suspicion as he never thought they'd choose to shelter him. His past life had taught him the vicious nature of humans, a lesson deeply engraved into his heart.

But he chose to stay silent. After all, no matter which plans the man had for him, he had no strength to refuse. Inwardly, he was totally at peace with the fact that he might die once more.

What he didn't know was that the man was actually able to tell what went on within his mind, causing him to reveal pity as he walked away. To him, Noah must have suffered a lot to view someone he had just met, his savior no less, in suspicion. But the man wasn't angered, he merely gave a sad smile as he left the room.

Watching the closed door, Noah's mind spun. 'First, I need in-depth knowledge about this new world I'm in. Also more knowledge about Battlesouls, the boy's memories are far from being enough.' A cold smile graced his lips as he wondered how his new life would be.

***

The next few months were spent familiarizing with the world and the Norton Family.

This world, Maest, functioned on two phenomena that definitely did not exist, or most probably was never discovered, in his past world. These two phenomena were called Essence and Battlesouls, they were sources, one of energy and one of the soul, respectively. These two things were interlinked with each other and guided their planet's Path of the Universe.

Of course one's strength varied. The strength of a Battlesoul master was based on the extent of their cultivation bases which were divided into Stages; The Novice, Intermediate, Adept, Exalt, Master, Grandmaster, Overlord, King, Emperor, Saint and the illusory Divine Stage.

Through this knowledge, Noah was able to discover that the man who saved him, Luke Norton, was at the Grandmaster Stage! For a 32 years old man, he was considered a genius to have reached such a height in cultivation as most his age would still be at the Master Stage. His wife was called Aina, a beautiful woman who was also a genius to place herself firmly in the Grandmaster Stage. They had a son called Leonel who was the same age as Noah... well the age his current body was.

In the few months, the family had tacitly chosen to raise Noah as their own family. He didn't reject this because maybe deep down he also wished he could have one. But still, life's tough clutches still bound him with his past memories, even if his heart had softened a bit, it was just that. A bit.

At the moment, Luke directed Noah and Leonel in the way of the sword and had even bestowed upon Noah the knowledge of his House's techniques.

In his past life, Noah had delved into Martial arts and had found out that he could use them in this world but at the cost of overworking his muscles as his body wasn't used to the arts. He would first have to train his body with the Body Building exercises before being able to use them well and even then, he had to wait until the channels in his body were wide enough, something that, to his knowledge, only happened when one stepped into the Intermediate Stage opening the Essence Veins in his body. At present, his current Novice Stage strength would not suffice.

Yes! In the past months Noah had identified his Battlesoul and had stepped into the path of a Battlesoul master. What more, aside from Essence, he discovered that his Battlesoul had granted his body a Bloodline! One that was powerful enough to drive the hidden and rare Blood essence within his body to strengthen it.

When his examination had happened, one could only imagine the looks on Luke's and his wife's face as they realized that Noah was even more monstrous than their already top grade genius son.

Why? This was because Noah...

...Possessed the legendary Space affinity!!!