章 1: 1st Life(Prologue)
Today was a normal day for Vernon Astrea.
He was a normal high schooler at Milton Academy in Massachusetts. As nice as it might sound to go to an expensive private school, people tend to forget the problems that come with that privilege.
But he doesn't complain. He was satisfied with his life.
Yet he always felt something missing from his life. He always felt like there was something more that he wasn't doing. The normalcy in his life, as good as that sounds, wasn't something that truly satisfied him.
' I wonder what Cid would have done...' He thought as he sat in the back of the car eating a piece of cake thinking about a certain character that inspired him to change his habits of being lazy and doing nothing.
He was an avid literature fan. Be it poems, books, novels, movies, plays, operas you name it. He likes them all and coincidentally has good talent in the arts.
'Hmm, I have finished my workout regime for the day, practised some instrumental music and singing and prayed to the sweet goods in the sky thanking them for giving us the privilege to eat sweets, cake, coffee jelly and other sugary delights of the heavens. Very sure if Cid was in my position he would still be working instead of sitting his bum in a car like a lazy young master.'
' As expected, I still have a lot to learn.'
And there it is, Vernons' secret hobby of watching anime and being an otaku. If not for stumbling upon the treasure trove he would have probably relived his boredom by becoming a terrorist.
Of course, he was joking... I think.
He recently found an interesting anime called 'The Eminence In Shadow' where he saw Master Cid, the man who fought against his fate and limits while doing all that from the shadows.
This also taught him that no matter where you are there is only one thing that matters, and that is STRENGTH and POWER.
A hero without strength is a joke, a villain without strength is a clown.
And as much as he didn't want to be an eminence in the shadow, he knew the importance of hiding in plain sight and having strength.
The thought of wishing you had the strength to turn back time to redo your wrongs was very well known to him after all his.....
Anyway, the driver finally pulled up at a gated compound, After all the security checks which were basically Who are you? looked inside the vehicle, saw Vernon eating cake, and thinking 'as expected of the young master'.
Now inside the compound and vernon waited as the door was opened for him by a maid.
"Welcome back young master vernon, would you like me to carry your bag for you?"
"No, it's okay. Send my dinner upstairs but before that send me a cup of coffee jelly kept in my private stock."
"But young master Young Lady Aileen told us not to--"
"But that's not what I told you to do now is it?" Vernon said while having the same blank look on his face.
"Okay, young master I shall bring it---"
"VERNON" a loud shout was heard throughout the house as a pretty little angel ran down the stairs to tackle her big brother.
"Hahaha, how are you doing my little princess," Vernon said as he hugged the the angel that came to welcome him home.
"Why are you hugging me, you idiot? You are meant to fall when I tackle you I didn't want to hug you and who are you calling princess?" she said all this while showing a noticeable blush on her face.
"Mm, I know but you might have gotten injured and also I missed you," he said while hugging her tighter.
"Me too," she said but in a less audible voice likened to that of a mosquito.
"Hmm, what did you say?" Vernon obviously heard her but couldn't resist teasing her.
"Hmph"
As soon as she huffed she wriggled out of the hug and climbed up his body like a veteran and then proceeded to unleash a calculated assault on his head with some bites and scrambling of his hair.
"What are you doing? you might fall ow, ow, it hurts little one" as he tried to get her off his head 'gently'.
"Who are you calling little one you muscular bamboo" She got pissed as he poked one of her insecurities even though she was average height for an 8-year-old while he was a lot taller than a 17-year-old and more muscular than one too but wasn't seen through his regular baggy clothes.
"Oi oi, you brat what are you doing? better come down before I spank you like the child you are."
"Ha, do you want to have a fight you tree?"
"Come on then you stump, I'll show you why I am the older one."
The two continued their 'fight' all the while forgetting about the third party observing them.
'Ha, I wish young master showed emotions like this when he talked to other people except for Lady Aileen and those fictional characters but he still doesn't smile, well not genuinely except for moments like this.'
'After that bitch used the young master for his money and cheated on him and what happened on his birthday. If I ever see that bitch and that 'man' I will skin them myself. Ha, but the young master looks so dreamy. Wonder why he hides his face and body with bangs and those baggy clothes but it makes people who know how he looks more attracted to him. Watching him smile genuinely like this is such a fine treat' Discreetly wiping the blood dripping from her nose with a cloth.
While the maid was deep in her thoughts the two finally stopped arguing.
"Aileen, what time is it?"
"I don't know, You have a phone check it and don't eat too much sweets."
"Well, that was random."
"What were you going to do before I came downstairs?"
"Eat coffee jelly," he says in a matter-of-fact tone.
"So you don't want to know what I bought for you?" he tries to shift the topic in a different direction but ultimately fails.
"Don't divert the topic, I still wonder how you still have a good body shape while eating all those sweets."
"Well that's because I eat sweets and those are nectars from the heavens descendants of the mana sent to the Israelites in the wilderness, and I also work out at least 3 times harder than most people my size and age."
"Whatever, don't care, what did you get me?"
"Oh, remember when I told you your birthday present would take some time to get here? Well It just did and I went to pick it up personally so be welcomed mongrel and--"
But before he could finish his Gilgamesh impressions she got down from his body, grabbed the gift bag and removed the package. It was a box-like object wrapped in a black and silver theme.
Tearing into the package like a hound she tore the wrapping while being careful of the package in it.
"Haha, calm down it won't run from you."
But she didn't listen and tore it even faster and finally got to the gift. It was a completely black box with a silver lining on its opening rim.
"Is it what I think it is?" She looked wide-eyed at the box.
"Depends on what you are thinking"
Gently opening the box, inside was a silver pocket watch with arcane patterns on the front with a circular glass opening showing the mystic designs put into the mechanics of the watch and on the back a well-encrypted design for a constellation.
When she saw the watch she looked at him trying to say straight words but all that came out were slurs while she tried to hold back her tears.
"Haha, you haven't seen the best part yet."
He then grabbed the watch and twisted the crown 4 times forward and 2 times backwards representing the month and day she was born respectively. The shifting sounds of gears were heard as the face of the watch twisted inside out revealing a picture with 3 figures in it.
A mature woman with long platinum blonde hair and jewel-like sea blue eyes, A boy with black and platinum-blonde hair mixed not causing discord but a sense of intriguing harmony with stormy grey eyes and an angel, a less mature version of the woman with all her features with the same jewel-like sea blue eyes. They were Vernon, Aileen and their mother, Camille.
And she finally couldn't hold it anymore as she burst into tears.
"I'm sorry Vernon, I'm so sorry." she kept repeating it like a broken record.
"It's okay, it's okay" Vernon tried his best to console her while her cries contained sadness an 8-year-old should not have. I also wondered why she kept saying sorry but put it at the back of my mind, all that mattered now was calming her down, I would ask about that later. After a while, she calmed down enough to talk.
"I love you, Vernon," she mumbles under her breath.
"I love you too my shining light," Vernon says as he carries her like a baby while she silently sobbed on his shoulder.
After some minutes she fell asleep while he was still standing so that he won't disturb her. Seeing that she was asleep it was perfect to take her to her room where she would be more comfortable.
"Young master let me take the young lady to her room" The maid that was forgotten about offered her assistance.
"Don't touch her."
He walks up the stairs with his sister leaving the maid behind.
'The young master is a sis-con, how cute.' Remembering the look he gave her when she tried to carry Aileen was thrilling for her.
Vernon walked upstairs slowly intent on not disturbing the angel's sleep.
Finally getting to her room he opened the doors, dropped her on the bed gently and covered her with the duvets.
Stroking her hair all the way to her face so gently like was the most priceless object to ever exist and a fragile one at that, scared of making a simple scratch on her.
Aileen, a name he picked when first saw her in the hospital when he was 9.
His parents had a bad relationship, with them arguing every chance they had to talk with each other and his father finding opportunities to hit his mom and his mom obviously fighting back a hundred times harder. While in this chaos of a home, though he might have solace in his mom, he mostly found it in books when she wasn't around.
When his mom gave birth to Aileen she unfortunately couldn't make it since there were 'problems' with the birth procedures.
Seeing his only source of light get snuffed out he searched for another and upon witnessing the smile of an angel for the first time he gave her the name, Aileen. An Irish name meaning brilliance at its most enthralling beauty.
Growing up he taught her everything he knew and tried to be a parent figure, but as she grew up she asked more questions about her parents.
He just told her that they would come back that they were busy with something and they loved them.
But she was so mature and ended up asking a question that he sometimes wondered if he failed in raising her and if he didn't give her the happiness she deserved.
"Did Mom and Dad leave because of me? I saw some pictures they snapped with you but they never came to take any pictures even on my birthday. They just send presents from wherever they are."
So he told her about how much of a goddess her mother was and how beautiful and kind and loving she was and she looked just like, a direct copy.
And when she asked for the father he almost lost it but managed to compose himself before anything could be shown on his face and told her that their father was she couldn't meet either of them and that he was a very bad man.
Camille, their mother was from a very wealthy family and she fell in love with a man although handsome had average talents and qualifications.
Dating each other was a little bit rough since David their father, had an inferiority complex since he was mostly called her green tea boy since he had no qualifications to marry someone so high in status as her.
Camille on the other hand told him not to worry and that it didn't matter if he had average qualifications, she still loved him and he didn't have to worry about providing for the family which was the biggest mistake she could make.
After marrying, David quickly fit his role as a househusband, well without the chores since they had maids and butlers but he always cooked meals for her to show his love for her.
This love story didn't last long though as David started using money from his account, Camille's account and their joint account to fuel his once-broken gambling obsession. From just one try to a 'third time the charm', all the way back to an addict.
Camille saw he needed help and set him up with a therapist.
Worked for a while, and he stopped his gambling addictions during this time they had Vernon which made him realise the responsibility he had as a father was not something an addict could handle.
He knew that best as he grew up in an abusive household led by an alcohol addict.
So he sobered from his addiction and took on the mantle of father. Which only lasted 2 years before Aileen was born.
This time it became worse, drugs, alcohol, gambling, he was too addicted to it all and wasn't intent on coming out of it this time.
He beat up vernon when his mom wasn't around and then told him that if he told his mom the both of them would separate and his mom would be sad and commit suicide and it would be all his fault.
Camille and David argued they fought both verbally and physically throughout with Camille being none the wiser of the abuse Vernon went through when she wasn't around. However, she was suspicious about why he always locked his door while he changed and always wore long sleeves when he went swimming she didn't try to force him into talking but tried her best to gently get through his defences.
9 months before Aileen was born, a maid who knew about the abuse by chance couldn't take the guilt and recorded everything and sent it anonymously to Camille and ran from the country that same day.
Well, she tried to run but her plane crashed due to a suicide bomber with her being the 'bomber'.
Camille seeing the video realised that this was the last straw and cut him off completely. From the house to the money, to the account, to her will.
[A/N: A lot of people might ask why didn't she just divorce him. Well, there are some people who believe that divorce is only an option when your partner cheats on you with another person. Things like physical abuse can be solved by separation where you only talk on the phone or you don't talk at all.]
David finding out he had been cut out from her will grew furious so he designed a well-schemed plan.
Orchestrate Camille's death, let Vernon inherit everything but since he is not up to 18 have someone under his thumb be the guardian to handle the wealth under Vernon's name and transfer some to his name and if he can transfer all, use a girl under his thumb to honey trap and have him sign them off to his name.
How did Vernon know about this?
His uncle, Camille's elder brother was chosen to be his guardian and when he mistakenly angered his uncle for the first time the man beat him up while bragging to Vernon how they beat Camille in wits and she wasn't so smart and just a bitch and how some police, journalists, lawyers and other higher-ups knew about it even their family doctor knew and that Vernon couldn't do anything about cause he was too weak and useless.
"I should leave." He walked out of Aileen's room and closed her door gently.
He then went to his room and laid on his bed.
'Thankfully she liked my gift. It took time to get a graphic designer who could make and edit a realistic photo of us hugging each other.'
'1 month, 1 month until my revenge.' was the last thought on Vernon's face before he went to sleep.
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Author here,
Didn't expect the prologue to be so long just wanted to go in-depth about his first life and what made him the character he is in the upcoming chapters.
So I need to know if there is anything that can I Improve on, this is my first story after all.
Next chapter comes in a few days.
2900 Words
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