Chapter 2: Lumiel Helios

“…..”

It had been five minutes since I woke up, and my eyes were still locked on the overly lavish white ceiling above me.

So it wasn’t a dream after all.

No, it felt stupid that I had even considered it one.

Rather, the life I had lived in that other world, on Earth felt like the dream instead.

But no dream could contain so many details.

It had felt too real, and now those memories were carved into my mind so deeply that it was impossible to deny their reality.

Sitting upright, I looked around the room.

My eyes took in the red curtains, the marble floors, and all the gold furnishings surrounding me.

This was my bedroom in the royal quarters.

I had slept and woken up here every day since I was born.

Eighteen damn years

“How the hell did this even happen?” I muttered, raising a hand to clutch my face.

Was my entire life inside a game?

That felt incredibly insulting…

There had to be some explanation, because I refused to believe that the man I was in that other world, Daniel had simply been swallowed into a game.

I knew it was a common plot in many novels, but it felt far too absurd to be real.

Yeah… this couldn’t just be a game world.

This was real.

Helios was real.

I had grown up here all my life.

Yet it was eerily similar to the world inside that game and its settings.

Those women, my wives…I had seen them yesterday.

I recognized all of them. Some from my life here, others from the game’s cutscenes.

Obviously, they had looked like game characters there, whereas now they were real. But from their features, I could easily connect the dots between the characters and the women standing in this world.

And they were definitely not NPCs.

Like me, they were made of flesh and blood.

“This damn hurts…” The more I thought about it, the worse my headache became.

Maybe it was because I was trying to sort through the memories of two different people.

“Lumiel!”

The door swung open at that moment with enough force to make me flinch.

It was my mother.

“Dear God, Mother… you scared the hell out of me…” I sighed.

“How are you, my sweet boy? I’ve been so worried!” She immediately sat beside me on the bed and pulled me into a warm embrace.

Her familiar fragrance and motherly warmth quickly eased the pounding in my head.

If only I’d had her in my past life as well…

Not that it mattered now.

“I’m fine, Mother,” I said, patting her back. “More importantly, what happened after I so miserably passed out during my own coronation ceremony?”

Wait…holy shit.

Did I really faint on the day I was crowned king?

Is there a spell that can erase memories? Because I would gladly wipe that one to spare myself the embarrassment of facing everyone later.

My father had been a strong king, capable and confident. After his death, I was supposed to prove I was strong enough to fill the void he left behind.

Instead, I collapsed.

Though, to be honest, no one was probably surprised.

If anything, their already low evaluation of me had likely dropped even further.

I had always been a pathetic sight.

A coward, overwhelmed by the expectations placed on me by my father and the nobles.

I had feared the day I would be crowned king because I felt incompetent compared to my father. Ironically, his encouraging words had only deepened my self-deprecation.

Damn… no wonder I ended up assassinated before the game even properly began.

Well, my assassination had been orchestrated by that sinister organization, the Black Sun. Still, I could almost understand why some nobles had chosen to betray me. Who would want to entrust the kingdom’s fate to a fat, insecure ruler like me?

“It was yesterday, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it anymore. The most important thing is that you’re fine,” my dear mother said, as protective and supportive as ever, offering me a gentle smile that could heal any wound.

I appreciated her reassurance. But I was sure she understood how serious this was and how much my pathetic display had weakened my standing.

Still… who could blame her?

I looked at her haggard face, the dark circles beneath her eyes, the faint lines around her mouth.

She had always been so strong.

Seeing her like this… grieving, barely holding herself together made my chest tighten.

I reached out and cupped her cheeks, just as she used to do for me.

“Everything will turn out fine, Mother,” I said with a smile. “I promise.”

Her eyes immediately grew moist with unshed tears. She nodded and gently stroked my hair.

“Rest as long as you need. I’ll call for a physician right away.”

I nodded.

I watched her until she left, quietly closing the door behind her.

Sorry, Mother but the physician will have to wait.

I pulled back the white bedsheets and pushed myself off the bed.

Holy cow.

Because of Daniel’s memories, I had nearly forgotten how fat I was. Well… not enormous, but definitely out of shape and shabby.

This was what depression and self-loathing did to a man.

“This really sucks…”

I suddenly missed my body from Earth.

Here I was destined to be assassinated and I was fat on top of that.

Even if I knew the future, I probably couldn’t outrun it.

Pathetic.

I sat at the edge of the bed and fell into deep contemplation.

“I can’t die.”

Father had left me his kingdom and his crown.

He had left me Mother and Lenora.

I needed to stay alive for them.

And I needed to prevent Helios from falling into the hands of that twisted organization.

The first step was proving myself worthy of the throne.

And there was one way to close the gap to show everyone.

The Ritual of the Sun.

The First Awakening Ritual that every heir underwent to awaken their bloodline and inherit the power of the Sun.

It was dangerous, potentially deadly even which was why I had avoided it when I turned sixteen and continued to avoid it until now.

Thankfully, my father had never forced me. He had known how fragile I was. I had been too weak-minded to endure such a trial and he likely believed I would die if I attempted it.

Honestly, I doubted my former self would have succeeded.

But now I had Daniel’s memories.

Confidence had been Daniel’s greatest trait.

And now it was mine too.

“I’ll do it,” I decided, standing up.

And I would do it now.

There couldn’t be a better time.

Before my mother returned and decided I had completely lost my mind.

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