In a mysterious, unknown space, an old man was humming with joy while walking in a garden.
There was only a house, which the old man just got out of, and the garden that was surrounding it. If someone tried to look at the edge of the garden, they would feel that the very existence was fading away near the edges.
It gave the feeling that there couldn’t be anything outside, or rather, outside didn’t even exist in the first place.
Most of the objects in this place were white, just like the sky framing it. And anything that wasn’t white or grey looked awfully pale.
The old man showed no interest in the oddities surrounding him, and sit on the only chair inside the garden.
He let go of the popcorn he was holding, which simply hovered near him. After he was done finding a comfortable position, the old man stared at… empty air.
That was what it would look like from the perspective of an unknowing observer. In truth, he was looking at a faraway world. He was currently watching one of the interesting people that lived in that world.
That person was the soul he reincarnated to that world about 18 years ago.
Truth be told, he was feeling a bit guilty about what he had done.
He looked for ages to find someone that he can direct to Ark. However, finding a soul that remained intact after the death of the body wasn't easy. And even when that happened, he still chose to not send them there because he wasn't looking for a regular soul. It had to be someone with a strong destiny; otherwise, that person would be drifted alongside the course of the world. Ark needed salvation, so the most suitable candidate would be someone with the destiny of a hero.
This is why he initially didn't think about sending that soul to Ark. Even though the soul carried a strong destiny, it wasn't the destiny of a hero.
It was the destiny of a villain.
Sentient beings carried a limited sensibility to destiny, and it was usually buried much deeper than where their logic could reach. As a result, even if that soul was a good one, people he encountered would instinctively be alarmed by his actions, and perhaps even make negative conjectures. Extend of this instinct would depend on many factors like which situation they were in, or the person making the conjectures.
On top of that, random events surrounding someone with a strong destiny were more likely to have results suitable to one's destiny.
Even the old man, who knew about all that, was still fooled by the soul's fate. He used to think that the youth had a fitting destiny for his personality. Until they talked face to face.
Since the soul was no longer in a faraway world he could only watch, he could choose to look deep within it, which he did. And he realized that he was utterly wrong.
The soul he saw was not "good", but he definitely wasn't like what he used to think about him. On top of that, while the soul had a clear understanding of his own personality, he was oblivious to how the world perceived him.
That was what lit up his curiosity and changed his mind.
"What I did might not have been the right thing." The old man was talking to himself. His words might have looked like words of repentance, but his tone did not carry even an ounce of it. He continued:
"But at least, it led to..." his words died out as the first carriage approached the mansion of the Griffins.
It was time to celebrate the Awakening of Edward Griffin.
***
It was a cloudless night. The full moon was illuminating the carriages parked in front of Griffins' house. Inside, the owners of those carriages were enjoying themselves in the main hall. It was a spacious place, connected to several corridors and stairs. Someone who entered through the main entrance would see gracefully sculpted pillars lined up near the left and right-hand side walls of the hall, leaving the middle empty with no obstructions.
Currently, that space was occupied by the influential figures of Calven. Servants were winding around the guests, only stopping to refill their drinks or placing new treats on the tables that were evenly placed across the hall.
Suddenly someone cleared his throat. It wasn't loud but for some reason, everyone in the hall found their attention on the source. When they looked around, they found out that the source was none other than the host of the event. Lorcan Griffin, neat as always, was standing right next to his son Edward and waiting for the remaining stray voices to fade away.
"Thank you for coming. As you already know, we are celebrating my second son's Awakening. I am glad to see that all of you..." he delivered a modest and carefully crafted speech. Calven's political balance was stable, so Lorcan didn't see any need to weave a speech with multiple layers, and he was glad that this was the case.
After Lorcan was done, people in the hall approached them and congratulated Edward.
"Congratulations, young lord."
"I wish you a healthy life."
"Time flies, huh? Congratulations, kiddo!"
There were merchants with shining eyes, guild leaders that carried themselves with grace, and people who were close to Griffins. Some people offered gifts too, although they were mostly riches unrelated to Jobs.
'It is not like they can offer something better than what my family will give me. Well, at least most of them can't.' Edward thought as he was observing the figures who offered their goodwill. He collected his thoughts when an old man of a small stature approached.
"Congratulations." The owner of these words was no ordinary person. He was Victor Pincer, the guild master of the Broken Chain.
It was the second most powerful guild in the Calven, right after Scorching Wing, the guild of the Griffins'.
'Although it was in the first seat for a while.' He bowed his head and replied:
"That would be all I needed to hear, there was no need to prepare a gift, Master Pincer." There was a servant following Victor while carrying a package. Victor smiled.
"Come on now, it wouldn't be nice to come empty-handed here. Besides, I already had something you can benefit from. You wouldn't reject it now, would you?"
"No, of course not." Edward received the gift and opened the package. Before he could check what was inside, his father spoke:
"I think it is a good time to talk about what we recently discussed, Victor." After Victor gave a nod, Lorcan turned to Edward and continued:
"What do you think about joining a party from the Broken Chain, until the new term in the Academy starts?"
If it wasn't for the etiquette education he went through in this world, Edward's mouth would be hung open.
'I get that it will be good to see how a party would work, but... out of all guilds in Calven, why in the world does it have to be the Broken Chain?'
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