THE STRONGEST SORCERER REINCARNATED AS A MORTAL

1. A CAGED BIRD IS FREE

Chandeliers hung from the surface of the ceiling, their lament light showering the room, offering it a mellow outlook. The room itself was made for kings and queens. The gold ornaments lacing themselves with the silk fabrics of the curtains. A bed is placed at the middle of the room and at the foot of it, was a soft cushion placed on a chair. The mirror on the opposite side of the room reflected what was happening on the bed itself.

Two people were atop of the mellow mattresses, from afar it might look intimate but it wasn’t. One was a brute, the other a prey, two different genders were locked in a staring contest. The female, having her legs on the either side of the male. Her whole body mass settled atop of the male, her crimson hair pulled to one side exposing her neck, she had full lips which were tugged into a smirk, mischief dancing in her sanguine eyes. 

“ Aether, the greatest sorcerer. Are you ready to yield the Yggdrassil to me? You have nothing to lose at this point” Her choice of words added to her alluring voice could make any men submit to her will. 

Aether however was not any man. He was the greatest sorcerer, also known as the emperor of sorcery yet this vile witch had no only managed to ensnare him through her devious ploys but she had also managed to cutoff all connections he had with his own abilities. He was at her mercy, but his resolve was steel hard, unwavering like a triumphant candle in the wind. 

Aether snorted, powerless he might be, chained he is. He refused one thing, and that was to yield the source of power to her. His mentor entrusted it to him, and he would rather die that betray a long lineage of sorcerers who had kept the Yggdrassil safe from the clutches of the world. 

Without batting an eyelash, Aether's aquamarine eyes bore through the woman's sanguine ones and he gave his reply. “Never” 

The woman hearing his reply merely chuckled. She held all the cards in this situation, resistance was futile. Her pale hand caressed Aether's skin, giving the man goosebumps. She placed her palm on his cheek and stroked the surface with her thumb.

“Darling, if you can't give me the Yggdrassil fairly. You leave me no choice, I just have to take it from you.” She said with a proud smile.

Dread filled Aether, he knew what she meant. But there was no way he would allow that, his eyes watched as the distance between their faces was drastically reduced. Bit by bit, their lips drew closer, Aether could feel her warm breath on his face. He resisted the urge to shudder as the situation was becoming even more dicey.

A sorcerer is always prepared.

Aether recalled the words of his mentor, and as if time had stopped. He did the only thing he could think of, Qi churned in his stomach, eroding the physical body from the inside out, attacking the nervous system converting it to Qi.

Spirit Cultivation : Reincarnation

Just as her lips were ought to touch his, Aether's body shattered into tiny particles of Qi which evaporated immediately as they had appeared.

Anger, uncontested anger, flashed through her eyes as she had just lost the only living source with the secrets of the former period. She roared out loud, shrieking through the kingdom causing a convergence of dark nimbuses. Thunder cracked and clapped, its ire being a living manifestation of her ire.

“That wretched sorcerer!” - 

After escaping from the clutches of evilness. Aether found himself drifting through an obsidian void. He couldn't tell if it was the underworld or heaven, or the gate in between the two sanctuaries. As he was hovering, he felt a tug on his soul, the tug had so much intensity, Aether found that resisting was merely a futile task.

Having no control on where he voyaged in his odyssey, Aether ended up getting tugged along by the current of the spirit realm and he settled in a peculiar location.

South Korea - Seoul

The Seoul orphanage was full with parent-less children who had been the unfortunate ones to get caught in the outbreak two years ago. Everything happened so suddenly, causing the world to change and adapt to the change. Casualties skyrocketed when the first ever gate opened and otherworldly creatures came pouring out in mass quantities laying utter waste to everything worldwide. To balance such anonymity, human genome began producing what came to be known as Qi - A certain genome that allowed them to possess mystical arts to battle these monsters. They became known as rankers, alternatively known as chasseur — Hunters.

The matriarch of the orphanage was not always kind to any of the children, most of them loathed being in her presence but they just could not voice it out. Currently each of the children were seated at the table with bowls of porridges before them.

The matriarch turned around the corner and stood at the door, hands on her waist. “Listen up, after you are all done eating. I want the floors cleaned, the curtains washed and the lawn mowed. I won't be here today so I hope you do what was asked of you.”

Many of the children wanted to groan and complain but they knew that, if they complained they will be in for a rough time. Thus with no other option, nodded. Well all of them except Arthur, who was having an inner conflict with himself.

Aether's spirit had found a sanctuary in the form of Arthur. As such, the man's overbearing might was slowly starting to consume the boy coveting his body and changing it to house the immense amount of Qi living inside Aether. In the process, Aether witnessed Arthur's past as their memories slowly started to intertwine.

He stood still watching the memories play as if it was a film. All the hardships the boy went through, and he felt sad. Sad that, a young soul like Arthur had to experience such. Not only did Aether catch the sight of the bad memories, he also was given insight on the boy's dreams. The dreams that kept him going up to this point.

Feeling sympathy for Arthur, Aether walked to where the subconscious manifestation of the boy was. He stopped before the boy curled up in a ball and extended his hand, “I will honor your wish, you will be the strongest.”

Arthur raised his head and looked at him, gratitude flashing in his eyes and his lips tugged into a small smile. “Thank You”

Aether nodded, and was soon overlapped by the boy, becoming one with him. He became Arthur and Arthur became him.

Arthur's internal conundrum was quickly sorted. The seventeen year old, stood up from his spot and walked out of the dining hall.

Or so he had thought.

“Loser, where do you think you are going huh?” One of the older boys said and hurled a can of jam at Ethan.

The can hit him on the back of the head causing all mobility in Arthur to cease. Arthur turned around, and smiled at the boy, no need to take action against a defenseless, weak person who he could snap in a minute. Subconsciously, Arthur's left eye flashed red for a bit before returning back to normal.

He took a deep breath and replied. “I'm going to do the lawn, do you have a problem with that?”

The boy opened his mouth, once, twice and no smart answer could escape his lips. He wanted to ridicule Arthur but had to swallow his pride and let the teenager go.

He watched as Arthur left the room and mumbled something. “I will get you one day.”