1 Thus (re)born a genius

There used to be a land long forgotten from a country, where trash fell in, beggars lived and who would meet their end, different criminals, and all the shady business. It was belittled and yet feared. Even high society from the other place wouldn't dare to mention nor come to a filthy area. And to the people, it was a place crammed full of rats and rotten peasants. Yet those were the same people who threw all their filthiness and dumped everything on them. What an irony!

But, maybe they were right about these things, that this land was trash and rotten to every core: Neitherless, even no hope would shine on such an unfortunate place. And it was more likely a cemetery to the realm of ghosts per se.

But a little naive child beg differs at these statements alone. An orphan yet stupid-looking child declared himself in front of the trash pile area and screamed at the top of his lungs!

He would declare that one day he would make this land full of hope, and his brothers and sisters would finally live as human people could be!

What was the possible reaction of those people who act like the walking dead in broad daylight? Well, you see: Once a person could only accept this truth, they wouldn't stick to dreams being true again. Dreams were delusional and fake hope, a waste of energy and time. And much hearing 'hope' from this naive child, they could not help but laugh and throw rocks at him.

'How come you know everything on this world?! You are just a useless child taking up the space on here!'

Those are what he could commonly hear in his everyday persuasion. But this kid would still stand straight, proud and confident despite blood trickling over his face. How was such an enthusiastic kid born in a gloomy and toxic place? It is like a beautiful bloom planted in such a nasty place.

Few peasants would feel sorry for this child. They would feel sorry for those treatments, and this hope would painfully wash away from reality. But in their dismay, this kid was arrogant as ever, and doubly they could never persuade them to shut him up.

Little did they know that this poor orphan child would be so damn genius all this time? A frail kid on a land full of dumps and no education, but somehow this kid was able to learn everything on site! Such talent was born on their land.

When the age of 15 years. That naive kid was now a teen, but his ambition did not remove from his mind. That annoying kid now bears the name Gaius, a name given by an old miner who took care of him. He grew unlikely from the others, was strong, and got the handsome features everyone envied. And also, at the age of 15 when the day he showed his true talent. When several years passed, who would know the infamous dump city would be the city of wonders?

And it was all thanks to Gaius, whose invention brung them prosperity. Even the criminals repented their sins and lived anew. The people of his beloved land once again wear a smile and find hope. But the story does not stop with the old stories of the city.

There was a floating laboratory on the skies owned by Ark laboratory. A green dimmed light lit up the small area of an office, this office was spacious, and the surrounding filled with pitched dark. A man with hair as dark as obsidian and golden eyes was struggling in the dark. Surrounded by several scientists, yet their gaze bore the coldest pierce on the tied guy at the center. This guy was stubbornly withstanding on the chair. He wanted to scream so loud and spare for help, but his screams were muffled by the piece of clothing in his mouth. No one spares an ounce of kindness to him. All of them loathed him. Their gazes get darker with each muffled scream. And then it dawned on him what was happening.

Hours ago, he remembered celebrating such a day for finishing a project. He drank, and drank, and drank until his thirst was able to satiate. Till the last drop of every wine and beer, and he then drops.

The obsidian hair reflected on the green light, and the amber hue of his eyes was now prickling with a glob of tears. It used to be gleaming full of radiant and hope. This man was Gaius. The Gaius that led his place to rise in power, the all well known as a genius of all the world and a kind-hearted man that everyone could not help but be green with envy.

Martha, a fellow scientist, was laughing the loudest as if she was waiting for this moment to happen!

" Gaius, Oh my~ are you finally felt weak and defenseless?" she teases him, and her fake sympathy made him puke. The other scientist was chuckling. At the same time, others look at the solemn face. He hates this. He despised every minute of it.

' Fucking traitors... Should have I seen this outcome..." he roared in his mind. Things were going down so fast to him, and the scene in front of him was too surreal. He wished it was a nightmare. The fellow scientists he used to treat with respect and gained his trust were all part of a show.

Tangled by a relentless web of deception.

Gaius keeps moving his bounded hands, wishing it would break out of a miracle. But he knows well that It would be impossible. The handcuffs were not simple metallic ones at all. A white-clad figure then steps out at the crowd. Gaius halted to examine the guy in front and gazed at the figure full of murderous intent. If only he knew what could have appeared.

" Well, Well, Mr. Gaius. If only you had known your place ever since, you could have not met your end like this. Say, even you would be our ever so loyal man-dog," a man looked like he was in his 40s, and his white clothing loosened, although his age was 60. His hunch was right--- sir Morgan, the one whom he idolized, really has resentment and is envious of him. Gaius also remembered this was one of his works that made that man look younger, and audacity of them--!

" DO you know why we want to kill you?" an old man said smugly.

Of course, he already knows. Those times that those people would look at him with such covetousness. But the question was already theoretical, and he could only tear up.

Please stop it.

" You are indeed Genius, Gaius. But you are such a genius, and all we could want to do was to eliminate what is blocking. You don't mind don't ya?" he grabbed Gaius' hem of the shirt: It was like the old man was taming a canine with no fangs or claws.

" The once full of vermin's place become one of the humans! How could a dirty-blooded rat wish to be one of our society?" The sir Morgan who he looked upon was not the same person anymore. He hates, he gives up on jealousy, and he commits things. The fatherly figure broke into pieces, and right now, Morgan revealed his true nature before Gaius' death.

" You DARE want to become with us?!?!?"

" HAHHAHAHAHHA. Dream on!" those irrelevant scientists, a piece of pure shit! All they would do was kill and steal ideas. Who was more vermin than them?

Stop already.

" After using all of your wits, we decided to end this, and we decide... WHY NOT WE BURN EVERYTHING ON HERE AND KILL YOU OFF AND LET THIS LAB FALL OVER?!?!" Morgan was already crazed over with murder on his mind. Gaius glanced at the surroundings again even though his head was pounding louder than his heartbeat. The number of scientists reduced bit by bit.

They were already leaving the ship and leaving him behind! Cruel and heartless monsters.

'This can't do... I'm going to escape no matter what!' Gaius opened his mouth again, even though he was trying hard to bite off the clothe in his mouth. He couldn't contain the anger swelling in his heart. But the angrier Gaius could get, the more they get rejoiced. As if he was feeding their ego to the core. " Stop struggling you piece of trash--" one says as they throw an electrifying weapon.

Zap!

" Mhmph-ahhgahhhh!" he muffled under the clothing that gagged his mouth.

The agonizing screams filled the office, and his eyes were dead. His whole body violated a powerful spasm of the sting. Heavy breathing and head reeling from the overdose. Head ringing from the shock. Gaius' surroundings seem already deafening to him. His vision turned to pitch white till he only saw nothing.

It was scorching around. Most of the scientists now departed, and he then realized that Sir Morgan was now out of sight. The endless inferno surrounds him. It was like a hell of a sight, and even the suffocating air worsened his consciousness. It was beyond saving already.

Thus, Gaius accepted his demise.

' Why is this happening to me? All I could ever ask was to help the people... What bought me to this end?' Resentment left on his heart. He wished every one of them to meet their end crueler. Who person would let them off-hook for the sins they did?

When the flame of infernos engulfed his whole body, all was searing hot seas of flames. He was burned alive, but the fire felt nothing to him anymore. Because of the poison and sting lose his senses. Ah, the memories of his past flashed on his mind. He wondered if his 'family' was fine... Gaius hoped they would be okay.

...

" Hm, I see. Such a poor creature of my other being. What a waste of talent to get killed by lowly dogs," An strange man inspects Gaius' unconscious body. The eccentric, clothed in such an odd-sense style of garments. White cape and jewelry clamping altogether. Even a flicker of gold reminisces the clear and water-like bottom.

Such a serene yet unfamiliar place that Gaius ended: The floor reflected like a sea. It was empty, and only two of them existed. His golden eyes reflected at the ocean. The guy flipped his fingers once.

" HELP ME!" Gaius cried as he woke up. He was jolted from his wake by such a powerful hit. Just seconds ago, he was still burning on every skin with such pure agony. He grabbed every skin of his and touched it, reminiscing it. Gaius was burned by the flames seconds ago, but why is he still breathing yet completely fine?

He was still in a condition of a fright, and Gaius was about to regain his sanity after getting burned to death. The inferno that swallowed him was for sure engraved in his mind forever. The confused man quickly looks at what is happening till he sees a seemingly harmless eccentric man in front of him: Smiling so innocently. His aura radiates such an alluring ambiance that nearly made him draw closer.

" Hello, otherwordly being that is somewhat having the same soul like me." the eccentric spoke, yet his smile didn't falter. Though for him, who was not yet able to comprehend what was happening--- slightly taken aback.

' What a weird guy.' he thought as their golden eyes gazed at each other for a mere second.

Gaius shook his head violently and finally remembered what he wanted to ask. " Who are you? Am I in the underworld? Are you the God of death???" he quickly asked. A sudden rush of fear flow hit him. Where was he anyway? Who is this guy in front of him? A place filled with nothing but endless clouds and the horizon. The bottom was chilly, and he could feel the water rippling, but the water didn't drench him. The logic was tossed out of the window.

"Do I look like that so Godly?" This eccentric guy answered fast. His eyes were sparkling in delight as if it was praise he longed to hear. Gaius looks at the guy, his face twisted into confusion.

He tried to stand up but failed to do it, and his legs were useless. Gaius yelped in such pain that it hit his buttocks on the floor. " Am I dead?" Gauis was groaning from the pain. He already knew he was dead, but in times like this, it was hardly unbelievable. "I still can't accept this! My families are in danger, their lives would be at stake besides my whole city would go berserk... I still can't leave yet!" his fist clenched and punched the floor, and the endless sea rippled. The eccentric was agitated to see the floor quavering, disrupting its peace.

" Calm down, calm down. I know what you are feeling right now. It can't be helped, there is no inch of human left on your body," the flashy eccentric sighed. Gaius felt strange talking with an unknown being: as if the guy and he was close. Though it somehow made his heart almost lift from the resentment. Who was this eccentric?

He clenched his fists again till his nails were to pierce his skin." So I was burned to death... It was not a nightmare after all." Those traitors. Thinking about the look on their face when they planned his death: Nearly sickening.

" Though, I envy you, Gaius," the eccentric broke a saddening smile.

"Why?" he looked at the guy with teary eyes. Why does this guy envy him? Why? Why? He got burned to death, and what is there to covet? He snapped at the eccentric. " Huh?? J-jerk... Do you think being burned to death and betrayed... by my comrades living off their sins was to be envied?"

"That is not what I meant," the eccentric squatted on the floor, his white cloak flowing magically like the clouds above. " Luck seems on your side, the people who set up your death... the flying ship they aboard went downhill, and it destroyed every remain of them. The outcome though was pretty bad, the woods was severely damaged." he sympathized with him.

Gaius was too stunned to speak anything. " That's... I- that must be so embarrassing for them from the afterlife..." He doesn't know whether to laugh out the stupidity or cry out for this failure. But one thing for sure, he was relieved they died too. " Does that ease you, Gaius?" the eccentric smiled.

" Do you not hate anymore?" His soothing tone was able to calm down Gaius.

Minutes ago, those same people were greedy and even shared the sins they committed. They killed him with no sympathy and left him to scorch to demise. Who knew their fate would come the same as Gaius? If this might be what they call karma serves them.

He almost forgot. 'How does this guy know my name? Is he truly God?'

" Now that I am dead, are you taking me to the afterworld?" accepting his faith in the end. There was no other way that he would--- " No, Im here to take you and get you a new life." the eccentric positively said. His expression was blank and unreadable.

He was in utter disbelief. " That is an unfunny joke I have ever heard in my entire life. To die is to be in peace with the world's problems. But making me have a new life is something such taboo," Gaius scoffs at the words the eccentric spout. But the guy does not sound like he was joking around. " I can do it actually. And I can clearly see that your heart yearned to be alive," the guy said with a grieving look, although it was a lie. In truth, the eccentric couldn't see the feelings of one's heart, but he knew what dead people want: To be alive once again.

But that was another lie again, as he does not have enough choice when his time is running after him. So to grieve and sympathize and take to their advantage was the better strategy.

Hearing such as this, Gaius gaped and quickly covered his chest. "Oh? If that is so then why not show me? Show me how Godly you can be..." he snickers. Gaius acknowledged the eccentric's advances, just as how bizarre what he experienced. Gaius might as well believe what this God was saying.

" Don't you want to know who I am first?" the eccentric asked.

" I thought you wanted to remain mysterious? But who knows, I might be dealing with a wolf with sheep's clothing." Gaius grumbled. But the eccentric smiled as if a halo was floating around his head. It was too blinding.

" Well then, Allow me to introduce myself to you officially. Emperor Cain Adamos. The eldest heir of Adamos and around thirties old I guess. I am in a coma after being assassinated by my younger brother, Abel. Though he yet to sit on the throne until I actually die,"

Another speechless word was not able to comprehend in his head. Did he just pull a bible play of Genesis? But to think about it, Abel should be the one who is dead and not the other way.

Gaius nodded. " So since I died too, you reached out to me? Why?"

" Since you and I have the same souls on a different world and body! For us to die at the same time and day, was truly a miracle. My soul couldn't support my body to live anymore as it was poisoned, and that is why I need our help..."

" I... I don't understand what you are trying to mean, but if this will make me have a new life... I will take the risk,'" Gaius murmured, biting off his nails and fidgeting his hands: Trying to ponder the available choices. It was none. It was to do or die.

Cain rejoiced so loudly in his mind, although he concealed by a calm smile reminiscent of an angel. He hardly clapped his hand loudly that the sound echoed in the empty place.

' W-what was that loud clap for..?' he shook. Cain sketched out a circle, a special symbol that Gaius couldn't understand. The scientist was quite anxious for the first time. What will this be? What lies in this circle? Will this give him a second chance at life?

Even with Gaius being doubtful about examining the scenes, Cain was lovingly humming a tone; he was in good spirits. He had no doubts about his abilities, and Cain was talented and a wise man.

Cain signaled Gaius to come closer to the magic circle. So fixated on the bizarre sight, he can't help but draw closer to it. Completely forgot that Gaius was able to stand without a problem. It was glowing brightly, and this immense aura was so appealing that he wanted to feel it more.

' Is this magic?'

Both of them were in the circle. " Are you ready? If you felt dizzy or something is dragging your body, remember to affirm your desire that you wanted to live," Cain mentioned. And there was an immense kingly aura around him that was exposed in front of Gaius.

Cain recited a few sentences intertwined with a powerful impact on their body. " Heaven is bound. Hell be sealed. The soul shall be tied, and let the peace be in one's mind. These strings of fate guide this poor spirit to my body and world. Disperse corruption within him, bestow us, God of fate! " he chanted. And seconds after that, Gaius felt his soul was getting dragged by an unknown force. Gaius remembered the instruction Cain gave him as he started affirming. ' I wanna live. I will be alive. I am already alive. I am positively sure I will live---!' he desperately prayed.

The circle felt it was sucking them from underneath.

His face almost twisted in horror when he felt an agonizing thump on his heart. Heart? Why is his heart thumping?

But before he could worry about his heart, he could hear Cain's voice.

" Gaius! Don't mind that force, just focused on affirming those words!" he called out, and when Gaius took a peek at where the sound was ----There was no other person but him. Cain was no longer there.

Gaius was not in the empty place he used to be but in another devoid yet dark-pitched place. The circle was the only thing that illuminated the surroundings, and he could hear a creepy child-like sing-song echoing in the void. He panicked and quickly stood up, but another force tugged him again. And when the singing finally went to a halt. His vision blacked out.

...

Beads of sweat fell down the young man's skin, and his face twitched from the agony. His golden strands rested on the comfy pillow for his comfort. His sleeping figure was peaceful like those in fairytales. But the look on his face could make one's heart ache. An old butler beside him was trembling and fidgeting from fear as he called in many maids.

One, two, three, four.,five maids lining up and so on were outside the room waiting for the orders. Everyone in the castle started to go wild, as most were cheering or crying with happiness.

His eyes flutter on the weird light invited on his groggy eyes, and his throat is raspy and dry. The young man opened his eyes and quickly got up from the bed as if he was no longer sick. He didn't waste anymore, pinched his cheeks, and recounted till 1 to 10.

' NO WAY! I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM ACTUALLY ALIVE AFTER I JUST DIED?!' His hands quivered from the thought of it.

The old butler with a black tuxedo who accompanied the young man and returned with a towel on the tray. They briefly stared at each other until the butler dropped the tray and quickly bowed.

" Y-your Highness, you are alive! Waaaaa! We are so lucky that you are finally awake after months of coma!" he cried loudly, and the maids outside started in unison.

' 𝘏𝘩𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘶𝘩𝘩??!?!?! 𝘞𝘏𝘖 𝘈𝘙𝘌 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝘛𝘈𝘓𝘒𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘈𝘉𝘖𝘜𝘛!?!'