Chapter 28: Lumian is Transmigrater

Ethan, Arthur, and Lady Rose stood together for a final viewing.

Due to the devastating nature of the internal burns and destructive magic, their father’s remains were utterly unrecognizable beneath the shroud. Arthur broke down into a fresh, agonizing wave of sobs, burying his face in Ethan’s coat.

Ethan wrapped an arm around his trembling brother, offering gentle, soothing words while shedding a few expertly faked tears of his own.

The corpse was meticulously bathed in holy water, dressed in formal attire, and gently laid to rest inside a polished blue crystal-wood coffin.

Because their father had been a devoted follower of the Goddess of Magic and Knowledge—the primary deity revered across more than half of the kingdom, whose grand cathedrals and powerful clerical orders controlled the political and magical backbone of the realm (while the remaining half of the empire fell under the domains of the God of War and the Goddess of Nature)—the funeral followed strict theological rites.

The high priest stood at the altar, raising his golden staff as he chanted in a sonorous, solemn tone.

"O mortal shell, dust to dust. The soul is transient, bound to the mortal coil only by fate, but your devotion belongs eternally to the Goddess of Magic and Knowledge. May your essence return to the divine embrace, cleansed of all earthly sins..."

As the traditional prayers echoed across the courtyard, the casket was lowered into the earth, sealing away the first Chapter of Ethan’s bloody reckoning.

Following the somber ceremony, Ethan and Arthur rushed back to their quiet, half-empty house to pack their belongings.

Lady Rose had given them strict, uncompromising orders: they were to leave for her grand estate in the city immediately today so her personal guards could ensure their absolute security.

Before departing the town entirely, Ethan slipped away for a brief moment to bid farewell to Elena.

When he arrived at her home, Elena’s parents welcomed him warmly, treating him with quiet hospitality. Elena herself looked much healthier than before, dressed in a soft, light-blue child’s tunic typical of youngsters her age.

[If you’ve forgotten who Elina is, she was introduced in Chapter 8, titled "Awakening Ceremony."]

Noticing Ethan’s travel pack, her bright eyes dimmed slightly, and she asked with a tinge of sadness, "Big Brother... are you leaving? Will you never come back to visit me?"

She had just heard everything in the room—that two children from the town had been given the opportunity to enter the city, and those two were Ethan and Arthur.

Ethan smiled and said to Elena, "You’ve finally decided to call me Big Brother, haven’t you?"

A gentle, amused smile touched Ethan’s lips as he crouched down slightly. "Why would you think that? Of course I’ll come see you whenever I have free time. After all, I have my own ways of traveling."

He kept the mention of his spatial teleportation formation to himself.

Elena giggled softly, shaking her head. "Big Brother, you don’t need to try and sound mysterious to comfort me! But it’s okay. By the time I turn eighteen, I’ll be strong enough, and I’ll track you down myself!"

Ethan raised a single eyebrow in mock surprise, a playful challenge in his voice. "Eighteen? Why eighteen? What on earth is going to happen when you turn eighteen?"

Elena leaned in close on her tiptoes, cupping her hand beside his ear and whispering secretively,

"That’s my secret, Brother! But actually... the Sun Goddess visits me in my dreams. She told me that I am destined to be a princess of the neighboring empire, and that when I turn ten, I will awaken a supreme-grade light element!"

Hearing those exact words, a cold jolt ran straight down Ethan’s spine. The Goddess of Light?

That wasn’t just any minor deity—she was one of the ten supreme, primordial goddesses of this entire world, residing high above in the celestial realms, far beyond mortal reach.

For the Goddess of Light to personally take an interest in a mortal child meant Elena was marked as a direct divine disciple.

Even in his past life, while Arthur had eventually spoken of many powerful figures, he had never once hinted that Elena possessed a direct link to the Goddess of Light herself.

Seeing Ethan freeze, Elena smiled brightly, her eyes sparkling with innocent ambition. "When I go to my empire, Brother, I’m going to train harder than anyone else! And when I come back to this empire, I’ll find you, no matter where you are."

Ethan let out a soft, complex breath, his expression softening into a genuine, warm smile.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple, polished blue crystal pendant strung on a sturdy silver chain—a defensive artifact he had hastily retrieved from his spatial storage.

"Well, before you become some mighty princess who forgets all about me," Ethan said gently, fastening the necklace around her neck, "keep this on you at all times. It will protect you from any malicious intent, evil curses, or sudden attacks."

Elena touched the cool crystal against her chest, her face lighting up with absolute radiance as she beamed at him. "Thank you, Big Brother! I’ll never take it off!"

Turning on his heel, Ethan gave her a final nod of farewell and walked out into the sunlight. Lady Rose’s magnificent crimson carriage was waiting at the edge of the lane, its horses snorting rhythmically in the afternoon air.

Arthur was already waiting by the carriage door, looking anxious and overwhelmed. As Ethan walked up to join him, he glanced back one last time at the quiet town fading into the distance, before turning his gaze toward the grand city ahead.

Let the grand play begin, Ethan thought, stepping into the carriage as the heavy door slammed shut behind them.

...

After several hours of steady travel, with a few brief stops along the way, the carriage finally passed through the towering gates of the kingdom’s most renowned metropolis—Aurelia City.

As the main hub of the region and one of the most prestigious cities in the entire kingdom, it was famous above all for housing the Aurelia Royal Magic Academy, the premier institution where young children who had awakened their elements at an early age were groomed for greatness.

Passing through the bustling streets, the carriage turned down a sweeping, private avenue lined with ancient, blossoming trees before coming to a halt in front of a sprawling, magnificent estate known as the Sterling Grand Manor.

The manor was breathtakingly vast, resembling a grand palace rather than a mere residence. Its manicured gardens, soaring white stone pillars, and majestic iron-prought gates exuded old-money wealth and supreme political influence.

As Lady Rose stepped down from the carriage, followed closely by Ethan and Arthur, the heavy double doors of the manor swung open.

A neat line of impeccably dressed maids and butlers stood waiting in the grand foyer to welcome their mistress home. Two young children—a boy and a girl, both bearing a striking, unsettling resemblance to Lady Rose—peered curiously from behind the corridor.

Without missing a beat, the head butler bowed deeply, while two footmen stepped forward to respectfully collect Ethan and Arthur’s travelling bags.

As Ethan walked into the grand foyer, his eyes swept casually across the room until they landed on the young boy standing near the hallway. It was Lumian—Lady Rose’s son.

Even at this young age, there was something deeply unnatural and eerie about the way Lumian carried himself. Ethan’s gaze narrowed slightly.

A translucent interface materialized before Ethan’s eyes, displaying a detailed appraisal of the boy standing across the foyer:

[Target Appraisal Initiated...]

[Name: Lumian Sterling]

[Identity: Transmigrator / Heavenly Chosen One]

[Inherent Ability / System: Mind-Broadcast & Psychological Manipulation System (Capable of intercepting targets’ inner monologues and broadcasting distorted thoughts to surrounding individuals to manipulate public perception and sow discord).]

Seeing the system prompt, a cold, mocking smirk played at the corner of Ethan’s lips.

So, this little rat really is a transmigrator, and he’s has petty mental-interference tricks.

His eyes became as cold as ice, as if they were saying: Welcome to your execution ground.

At that exact moment, as Ethan’s cold, appraising eyes locked onto Lumian, a sudden jolt went through the young transmigrator across the hall.

Lumian froze in his tracks, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief as a sharp, piercing chime echoed directly inside his mind.

A translucent, system-generated holographic interface instantly materialized in his field of vision, flashing with an alarming crimson warning:

[⚠️ WARNING: Anomaly detected! Target possesses an unpredictable, high-level soul fluctuation. Host must exercise extreme caution!]

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