章 1: Chapter 1: Rebirth

In a desolate graveyard, a man stood before two large gravestones. He wore a black suit that strained against his bulging muscles, and his sharp facial features were incredibly distinct.

His expression remained emotionless as he gazed at the gravestones before him, lost in the memories of his parents' death.

At the time, the police had told him that his parents were shot by some thugs. Young Jack was devastated and swore to get revenge.

He did everything he could to achieve this, both through legal and illegal methods: he joined the mafia while also utilizing whatever connections his parents had to grow his underground empire. His decision was influenced by the lack of response from the police after a long time.

He soon became the greatest Mafia boss of Pinewood City, an individual who struck terror into the hearts of many criminals just by the mere mention of his name. Jack utilized his connection to take revenge on the masterminds behind his parents' death – a business rival of his father.

He had finally achieved a major goal of his, yet it brought him no joy.

Even though he had power, prestige, and wealth, it was all too fragile in his eyes. He wanted more…

[A single mistake can end my life. What worth does this position hold? Even after everything I have gone through, I still cannot move unhindered…] Jack's expression remained plain while he gazed at the tombstones of his parents.

After a few more minutes of self-reflection, Jack turned to leave.

*Rumble!*

Right at that moment, the earth began to tremble fiercely.

[An earthquake?] Jack's facial muscles stiffened as he frantically began searching for some shelter.

Unfortunately, before he could make any decisions, the ground beneath his feet split apart and he was swallowed by the abyss between the cracks.

[Heh… What a laughable end.]

Jack sighed in resignation as he slowly plummeted deeper into the darkness.

***

After an unknown amount of time, Jack slowly regained consciousness and rose to his feet. As his mind slowly cleared, Jack realized something important.

[I'm still alive?!] Jack scanned his environment suspiciously. His vision lacked its usual vibrancy and his surroundings were foggy but, from what he could make out, he was surrounded by trees.

[A forest?]

[Why am I in a forest when I fell through a hole in the earth?] His vision abruptly blurred, and a vivid film began playing in his head. It felt like he was in a realistic simulation, where he could experience everything from his character's perspective, but he could not control the character.

The star of this life-like movie and the character Jack was bound to, was known as Zaos Qildor. Zaos was a young dark elf from a planet known as Krulon.

He was born to two members of the declined Qildor clan: an ancient and powerful clan that lost its leader and was suppressed by the surrounding clans. This made it extremely hard to socialize as they were outcasts. Zaos even had to endure constant bullying from other elves his age.

Through all of this, the Qildor clan could only move into the shadows. Some members even tried to integrate into the Church of Eternal Darkness: a place where discrimination didn't exist. Zaos had chosen this path. He became a devoted follower of the church's doctrines and eventually achieved his goal.

When he turned eleven, Zaos was privileged to study at the Church of Eternal Darkness's sacred academy, hoping to become a Holy knight.

He trained there for more than five years, and on the day of his graduation, Zaos was informed of his parent's death by a friend.

His house and his parents had been burnt to the ground by a mysterious fire that broke out.

Consumed by rage, Zaos rushed home, skipping his graduation. In his rage, he had thoughtlessly entered the forsaken woods to save time.

Unfortunately, this decision cost him his life as he was killed by a savage beast.

Immediately after Zaos' death, the film came to an end and Jack regained his vision.

Jack remained silent for a few seconds, he cast his gaze on his body and noticed a large claw mark injury on his chest that was mostly already healed.

He looked up to the sky, observing the empty dark sky. He took in a breath of air, and the musty smell of death unique to the forsaken woods assaulted his nostrils.

A smile slowly surfaced on his face before he began laughing uncontrollably.

"Fascinating! Fascinating!!"

"Who would have thought that I, Jack Armstrong, would be reborn into another world?!"

*Roar!*

His hysterical laughter was forced to a halt as a roar shook the forest.

[I guess that's my cue!] As the thought crossed his mind, Jack bolted towards the exit.

A sense of euphoria enveloped Jack while he moved through the forest. Never had he witnessed a living being move so fast, he felt like he was driving a sports car…

With a cheeky grin plastered on his face, Jack exited the forest and headed to Zaos' home.

***

After a few minutes of constant running, Jack arrives at the door of the house, or what used to be the door.

Jack stared blankly at the ruins that were once the Qildor family's home. The house had been burned to the ground with barely anything left of it. However, compared to the house, the vegetation that surrounded it was left untouched.

His heart began to sting as his expression warped uncontrollably.

It took more than five minutes of silence before Jack calmed.

[A mysterious inferno? Heh, this is a scheme!] Jack scoffed lightly to himself.

[But no worries, I'll help you take your revenge kid. It's the least I can do since I'm occupying your body,] He took one last look at the ruins before leaving.

[Staying any longer could be dangerous in case of an ambush.] He thought while distancing himself from the home.

Twenty minutes later, Jack arrived at his destination. It was an empty patch of land surrounded by trees and bushes.

Jack headed to a certain corner before stopping, he tapped the ground with his feet and a trap drop opened up.

He glanced into the passage and spotted a flight of stairs leading down. Jack swiftly made his way down while the trapdoor shut behind him.

After about a minute of walking down the stairs, Jack entered a dark basement. The basement was empty and small. On the left and right sides of the basement were two different passages.

Jack didn't go through any of the passages, instead, he walked to the wall opposite the staircase and pushed it. A small section of the wall moved aside and revealed another passage behind it.

[How sneaky.] Jack thought with a smile.

He is currently in the Qildor clan's secret hideout. They had created many such hideouts that span across multiple cities. They acted as retreat zones for the Qildor clan's members on the run.

[I'll stay here till I figure out what's going on.] Such were Jack's thoughts as he entered the passage.