A Shattered Past

George stared at the words before him, his tiny fingers hovering over the pages of the book as if touching them would somehow make the information less overwhelming. A single battle shattered an entire continent? What kind of monstrous power was needed to pull that off? Was that even magic or something beyond it?

His mind raced as he processed the implications. Back in his past life, wars were fought with strategy, technology, and raw human willpower. But here? Here, a single individual—no, two—had been enough to tear the world apart. Emperor Solrion, the Sage of Eternity, and Grandmaster Veydris, the Tyrant of Blades. Even their titles sent shivers down his spine.

And they simply vanished? Just like that? No recorded death, no confirmed fate. If they were strong enough to break a landmass, then what if they were still out there somewhere? That thought alone made him uneasy. Were there others like them in this era? If so, just how far did he have to climb to even be considered powerful?

George closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No, thinking like this was pointless. He was just an infant—two days old. He could barely sit up without using wind magic, let alone reach a level where he could worry about continent-splitting monsters. But it still left him with an unsettling realization.

"If people like that existed… what does that mean for me?" he muttered under his breath, knowing no one would hear him.

If the world could produce beings like Solrion and Veydris, then what was stopping history from repeating itself? Would he, at some point, be forced to pick a side in a future conflict of that scale? The thought alone made him feel minuscule. No amount of preparation in his past life could have prepared him for something like this.

Shaking his head, he focused back on the book, flipping through more pages with small bursts of wind magic. His control over it was still rough, but at least he wasn't just a helpless baby anymore. His thirst for knowledge hadn't changed, even in this new life.

He skimmed through a few more sections, learning that his current home, Valen Country, was a relatively peaceful land compared to other parts of the continent. But peace was a fragile thing, wasn't it? If history had proven anything, it was that power always led to conflict. And this world thrived on power.

His grip on the book tightened. If he wanted to survive, to truly live this second chance he'd been given, he couldn't stay weak. Even if he had time now, that luxury wouldn't last forever. The day would come when he'd have to stand on his own.

For now, though, there was still so much he didn't understand. So much he needed to learn.

George took a deep breath and continued reading.