chapter 10;A Tale of Shadows and Rebirth

As I stood there, gazing at him, the blindfolded figure seemed as if he had never worn one before. His eyes, a striking golden-yellow, appeared so pure that I was surprised—they were not dark or black, as I had expected.

"So tell me, Umbros, what is your backstory? Sorry to ask, but I really want to know for some unknown reason," I inquired, looking intently at him.

"Well, first of all, I was a child like you; I looked exactly like you. Dark hair, sky-blue eyes. Thinking of it, I might as well call you a twin, but you aren't a twin; you're just a reincarnation of me." Umbros replied, walking over to his throne and sitting coldly upon it. A shadow-like crown appeared on his head, and a scythe manifested in his right hand, emanating a dark aura.

"Well, as a kid, I was born and raised by a powerful father and an average mother named Erufurīna. I wouldn't call her weak; I would say she was just average. My father, Kairon, trained me daily, and every time I got hurt, my mother would heal me. You see, there was something off about it—she didn't use any stones. For all I know, she was an elf, which automatically makes me an elf," he continued. His story sounded eerily familiar, but my mother wasn't an elf, nor were the names the same.

"My father wasn't your average-looking man; he had something different from others. He was so powerful that he was known as the second strongest, next to a man referred to as the Stone King. The Stone King possessed a powerful prime stone, which controlled gravity—a force far more potent than regular stones. My father's fame grew as others learned he was the only one who managed to injure the Stone King, though this was never recorded in history. Not a single wound was found on the Stone King. His stone king was called Jūryoku no Ō, which translates to 'The King of Gravity,'" he said, glancing at me.

"The Stone King, envious of my father's fame, hired someone to kill him. However, my father dispatched them before they had a chance to strike. But the Stone King persisted, sending more and more assassins, all of whom failed and ended up as headless corpses. Furious, the King devised a plan to lure my father out by targeting my mother and me. Thankfully, my father learned of the King's plot and hid us away, far from danger.

"There was a man already working behind the scenes who killed nearly half of a force of 20,000 men. Once the King realized what happened, he searched everywhere for my father, but my father was as fast as light itself. After the slaughter, my father sat atop the pile of bodies, blade drawn, and said, 'Well, aren't you looking for me? Here I am.'"

Umbros's voice grew heavy with emotion. "My father and the Stone King battled fiercely, their swords clashing and illuminating the air with flashes of light. The outcome was clear from the start; the Stone King killed my father but at a great cost—he lost his left hand and his right eye, and his body was severely wounded. Exhausted, the king passed out.

"When my mother learned of my father's death, she cried deeply, questioning her own existence. She fell into a depression, refusing to speak to me for days. I, too, was devastated by the loss of my wonderful father. The news shattered my heart.

"In my anger, I went on a murder spree at the age of fourteen, targeting the King's village. My mother, exhausted from her grief, blamed her status as a low-level mage healer for her inability to save my father. She took her own life by jumping off a cliff. When I returned home, I found a note on her bed that read:

'If you're reading this, I am terribly sorry to say I am dead, Umbros. I have always felt a deep sadness for not being able to help your father. I wish I could have stayed in my hometown to learn more about healing. I am leaving this ring for you to find a beautiful woman who could help you—not like the trash I am. I want you to marry someone who can support you in your time of need. My dearest son, please don't tell anyone about what has happened and keep yourself safe until you turn eighteen. I've left plenty of food for you; eat sparingly, don't get fat, work out often, and let the right one chase you. My son, I love you, and thank you for allowing me to call you son. Love, Mother.'

As I read her words, tears streamed down my face, soaking my hair. My once-black hair turned a striking yellow, and my eyes transformed into a golden rice-yellow—my first stage of awakening." Umbros's blindfold was now damp with tears.

"Though your story resonates with me, my father was not the second strongest but rather fell to a gang I have already vanquished."

"I cannot continue this tale, but if I could, I would tell you more. The reason I became a stone is that I accepted a contract from God himself, granting me power at the cost of wielding a strong dark soul. And so, I choose you as my rightful owner, for you understand my pain. To clarify, your father was a late stoner, which makes him my father's reincarnation." Umbros concluded.

"But right now, I want you to kill the Stone King for me—with this scythe." He thrust the scythe into the ground before me. "You can store it within me and use it only to kill the Stone King."

I picked it up and vowed, "Don't worry; I will kill him for you. I promise."

'Thank you and don't fail me I will bless you with the ability of time in this you can stop time for 5 mins use it to kill him '.umbros finish the sentence and everything went back to normal.