Forsaken Soul in a World Rewritten

After fully healing Ariase and withdrawing his mystic energy, Herman opened his eyes, his golden irises shimmering faintly in the dimly lit room.

He let out an exasperated sigh as he caught sight of his nephew's face—smiling, of all things, even after bleeding profusely just moments ago.

"You little brat," Herman scolded, though there was no real bite to his words.

"Have you lost a few screws?! Why on earth would you punch the mirror?"

"Now we've got to clean this mess up. Great. Just great."

Ariase straightened himself, scratching the back of his head awkwardly as he quickly scrambled for an excuse.

"I-I'm sorry... Uncle," he stammered, forcing a pleading look of forgiveness.

"I thought I saw something moving in the mirror and I, uh… thought it was a ghost. Sorry..."

Ariase was aware of the special place he held in his uncle's heart, being the last living link to his late older brother.

The pampering and indulgence he received were constant reminders that his uncle wouldn't care about minor mishaps like a broken mirror, as long as he was safe.

After all, his uncle was 'rich'.

Herman raised an eyebrow, his expression hovering somewhere between disbelief and resignation.

After a moment, he simply closed his eyes and let out a long yawn, waving a hand dismissively.

"A ghost, huh? Sure. Fine. Just grab a broom and dustpan so we can clean this up."

"And remind me to buy a new mirror later."

Relieved that his flimsy excuse had worked, Ariase nodded quickly and bolted out of the room.

As he walked toward the cleaning cabinet, the flood of memories continued to unravel in his mind.

Returning to his room with the cleaning supplies in hand, Ariase paused briefly by the calendar on the wall.

The bold letters and numbers marked the date.

May 2016.

His breath hitched as he processed the implications.

"So... it's still 2016."

"What a life... to think I'm back to being 12 years old," he murmured under his breath, his eyes narrowing slightly as he calculated his age and looked back at past events.

"Let's see... I just graduated from elementary school a month ago. And almost everything lines up with my real memories from that moment onward…"

His voice trailed off as he considered the key differences.

"Except this time… I was awarded ten Tier 1 [Mystic Stones] for graduating as salutatorian."

"And my scholarship—it's still intact here, too."

He shook himself out of his thoughts and stepped back into the room.

This time, with the lights fully on, he got a clearer look at his uncle.

Herman was crouched over, picking up shards of the shattered mirror.

His golden hair glimmered faintly under the light, and his refined features, sharp and youthful despite his years, caught Ariase's attention.

The contrast was stark compared to his memories of his uncle from his previous life—still good-looking but with jet-black hair and eyes, which were very different from his present appearance.

Ariase stared at him for a long moment, the truth settling in his heart like a weight.

He knew the reason for this transformation based on his new memories.

It was because his uncle in this world was no ordinary man.

Unlike his father and mother, who were said to lack the necessary talent to practice further the [Celestial Mystic Path], his uncle was different.

In the entire Ruiz family, Herman was one of the most talented.

At the age of 23, he had now become a peak 4th Halo Mystic Practitioner, a rare and formidable talent who had even awakened one of the advanced elements—Healing.

In this altered Philippines, where mystic practitioners were revered, healing practitioners were sought after in every region, their powers invaluable.

Herman was no exception.

Once hailed as a prodigy, he was celebrated for his potential to ascend to the Astral Resonance Realm or higher, a height few dared dream of.

But that dream had come to a halt, derailed by a tragedy that had shattered both their lives.

The plane crash that had claimed Ariase's parents had also claimed Herman's ambitions.

Faced with the situation of raising his nephew and fearing that he might be neglected if raised by anyone else, Herman walked away from his once-bright future without hesitation, dedicating himself entirely to becoming Ariase's guardian.

Ariase felt a lump form in his throat as he watched his uncle now, crouched over the broken shards of glass, yawning carelessly as though none of this weighed on him.

'He's still the same, no matter what world I go to...'

'Ready to give up everything for me,' Ariase thought, his chest tightening with an ache he couldn't quite describe.

Despite the growing respect Ariase felt for his uncle, a mischievous thought surfaced, curling his lips into a sly grin.

'Now I'm curious,' he thought, chuckling softly to himself.

'Would his expression stay that calm if he knew about his diagnosis of infertility?'

'But seriously, what's with this coincidence? Awakening the healing element, as if the heavens decided to reward him in this life. With it, who knows... maybe he could even cure himself.'

Ariase sighed, a wave of filial pity washing over him as he thought of his uncle's life.

'If that happens, you might not even break up with your fiance this time. Well, Uncle, all I can do is pray for your good luck.'

He clasped his hands together in mock solemnity, casting a look of pity toward the door his uncle had just exited through.

By now, it was nearly quarter to five in the morning.

Herman had finished cleaning up the broken mirror, tossing the last shards into a bin before looking over at Ariase.

"It's finally done. Don't you ever break anything else, okay? Now, go back to bed," he said with a warm smile.

"It's way too early for a Saturday morning."

"Okay. Thanks again, Uncle," Ariase replied, his voice sincere.

Herman waved him off, shaking his head.

"Yeah, yeah. Go on, now."

The lights went out, and Ariase lay quietly in bed, pretending to sleep.

For ten minutes, he stayed motionless, his mind racing as he reviewed and familiarized his newfound memories.

Time slipped away, and before he knew it, nearly 20 minutes had passed.

With a spark of excitement, he silently switched the light back on.

His heart thumped as he crept toward his cabinet.

Opening it, he hesitated for a moment, gulping nervously before grabbing a sleek black case hidden inside.

He stared at it for a few seconds, his hands trembling slightly, before whispering to himself, "Let's see what these mystic stones are all about."

He flipped open the case, and the moment his eyes landed on its contents, his breath hitched, his jaw-dropping in awe.

"Woah... It looks better than I thought," he whispered, the words escaping his lips like a thief seeing a valuable treasure.

Inside the case were ten radiant, transparent crystals.

Each one pulsed with seven swirling colors, their energy dancing in mesmerizing patterns.

The brilliance of the stones made even the finest diamonds look dull and lifeless by comparison.

And these were just Tier 1 [Mystic Stones].

He couldn't help but marvel at their beauty, his heart pounding with excitement.

His thoughts raced as he recalled the system of item categorization in this world.

Every item was divided into four grades, each encompassing specific tiers.

[Human Grade] items ranged from Tier 1 to Tier 3, while [Earth Grade] items covered Tier 4 to Tier 6.

Above that were [Semi-Divine Grade] items, spanning Tier 7 to Tier 9.

At the pinnacle stood the [Divine Grade], with its singular Tier 10—a level so rare that fewer than 50 Divine-grade items had ever been recorded in the world's history.

Even though these were only Tier 1, Ariase could hardly contain his excitement.

The prospect of possessing powers and wielding some form of magic was every man's dream come true.

He swallowed hard, his throat dry from anticipation.

"It really is a pity I can't use these yet," he reminded himself, trying to temper his excitement.

He hadn't undergone the [Element Awakening Rite] and couldn't absorb the energy within the stones like anyone his age.

But still… curiosity burned in his chest.

Before he could stop himself, he reached out, his fingers brushing against one of the stones.

In that instant, something unusual happened.