My eyes slowly opened as the sun's rays struck directly into my vision, momentarily blinding me. I rubbed my eyes and blinked, finding myself in an entirely different environment. I was no longer inside the temple but stood in an open field. The air was filled with the refreshing scent of petrichor, and rainy clouds still hung in the sky, seemingly reluctant to depart, poised to release more drizzle.

I pushed myself up from the ground and noticed the distant cliff from which I had fallen. I shifted my gaze towards where our carriage had been, but the road before me held nothing but faint tracks left behind.

I examined the trail and decided to follow it back to the hamlet. There, I hoped to find people who could provide answers about what had befallen my beloved brother. As I strolled along the path, I felt lighter than ever before, as if newfound strength coursed through me. I touched my head and found it had returned to its normal state. However, a deep sense of Firestone's presence remained, circulating within me, as if my heart was aiding its journey. Then, I made an intriguing discovery. My skin had undergone a dramatic transformation, adopting a deep bronze hue.

I pondered, "Why did my skin change? When I saw that girl, only her hair color had altered; nothing else. But if my entire body's color has changed..." I tugged at a strand of my hair, experiencing a slight twinge of pain, and saw that it too had transformed. I was no longer fair-skinned with dark hair; instead, I possessed bronze skin and white hair.

"Well, at least I'm still alive, even though I don't particularly care for this change. Now, I have to learn to live like this," I sighed, resigning myself to the new reality. Though I patted my pockets to check if the stone was still there, I felt relief as I felt it through the fabric of the cloth.

As I continued my journey towards the hamlet, the distance was not great since I traveled at a moderate pace. The guards stationed there noticed an unfamiliar man approaching from the cliffside and took action. One of them stepped forward and shouted, "Halt!"

I watched their response with curiosity. I observed their cautious movements. One of them asked, “Who are you? And why are you coming here?”

“It’s me, Agni. I fell off the cliff, I crawled back to the surface after I drowned a bit,” I told them, a half-truth, but I was more interested in their reactions. They both had different responses, but both of them remained silent. I opened my mouth once more and asked, “Is my brother still here?”

As I watched, one guard shook his head and answered, “No, Lord Agni, your brother has already left the hamlet and returned to the barony.” However, a question still lingered in their minds: 'Is he Lord Agni?'

But they didn’t question me further; they didn’t have the authority to conduct an investigation involving nobility, even if it was a fallen nobility. They stepped aside, allowing me to pass.

I moved through the streets looking for a horse and soon found a young horse, which seemed a little uneasy around people. A girl was trying to touch its nose, but it stamped its feet on the ground, causing her to fall back and cry, leaving behind a trail of tears. Its owner sighed in disappointment.

Walking up to him, I asked, “Is this horse for sale?”

The old man turned to me, observed me for a few seconds, and answered, “Yes, it is.”

“Good,” I replied, walking up to the horse with confidence. The horse was still scared of human touch, so I stood at a safe distance, extending my hand to let it get a whiff of me.

The horse grew a little more interested as it slowly approached me, smelling my arm. I walked forward a little and gently rubbed its back before turning to the old man.

“How much will it cost?”

The old man politely answered, “15 gold.”

My eyebrows raised unintentionally at the price. This was an exorbitant price for a common horse. If it were a warhorse, it would have cost much more. I couldn’t help but let my voice grow a little stiff as I questioned, “Oh? Is it truly worth 15 gold coins?”

The old man seemed scared as my tone was not welcoming, but he stood firm and raised his voice slightly, saying, “I said, it is 15, take it or leave it.”

Though my anger rose, I didn’t want to cause a commotion over such a small matter. I sighed and said, “Here, take it,” as I pulled out a few gold coins from my pocket.

Though I was irritated, I handed him the money, watching him smile gleefully as he took my payment and then ran off as if his life depended on it.

I looked at the horse, which was now docile and cuddling against me. I climbed onto its back, and with a swift kick, it ran fast toward our manor, where my only remaining family resided. But I knew soon I would be the only one left to carry on the bloodline.

After traveling for a few hours, I saw my home, where a few peasants were toiling on our farm, preparing for the Founding Day festival. They all looked at me as if I were a stranger; they didn’t recognize me. A few soldiers stationed at the manor's door also looked at me and stopped me in my advance. One of them asked, “What is your business here?”

“Romni, have you already forgotten me?” I asked, smiling at him.

The guard's eyes grew wide in shock as he took a step back and stammered, “L-l-lord? Lord Agni? What happened to you?”

I jumped down to the ground and said, “Let’s go see my brother first; I have a surprise for him.”

I walked into the manor, where a few village girls were cleaning. They looked at me hawkishly, but I didn’t care. I walked towards my brother’s favorite room, his playroom, where he drowned himself with alcohol and prostitutes.

I slammed open the door to see my brother so blacked out that even slamming the door didn’t wake him from his sleep.

I grabbed his favorite sword, which was lying on the floor. I walked up to him, grabbed the water jug next to him, and poured it onto his face. Just as it entered his nose, he woke from his sleep, jolting up on the bed, looking left and right, and asking, “What?!”

His eyes landed on me, and he asked, “Who are you?”

I answered through gritted teeth and with anger and sorrow in my eyes, “It’s brother Agni, Marian.” I swung my sword with all of my might, creating an arc that sliced off Marian's head in a clean slice.

“This is for killing father and betraying your brother.” I threw the sword away, it was time to focus on the task at hand: taking over the barony and improving it.