Deep within a kingdom on the planet of Austria, a boy that couldn't have been more than five years old opened his eyes.
"It actually worked." The boy said his voice, which was high-pitched due to his age tinged with confusion.
"I thought when the dice seem to have a mind of its own that I had made something too strong for even me to control, but it seems I still got the desired result in the end."
Sitting up, he pushed the cover off of his body as he walked towards a mirror hung up on the wall. "Yep, those are most definitely my features." He said, nodding in satisfaction.
He had eyes a shade of silver that seemed to almost glow in the moonlight from the window behind him, but that was the only significant feature about him. Other than that, he had plain B brown hair and average features.
"If it worked then where did the other dice go? Also if I regressed, then, if the other dice found a person, did they regress as well?" He had so many questions about the situation, but there was no one here to answer them.
There was one question overall he needed answered quickly, and that was just how far back did he go in time.
"Considering the size of the body, I would normally assume I am five but considering how I was raised, I should be about eight or maybe even nine." he said, his voice surprisingly serious for his physical age.
Focusing back on the mirror, he had a more thorough examination of his body. "Know that scar isn't there yet. No that fracture isn't there yet and no that cluster of nerves haven't been paralyzed just yet." he said with the casualness of someone marking items off of grocery list.
Anyone seeing the state of his body wouldn't believe he was just a child but a torture victim. Rope like scars covered his arms from wrist to shoulder and his torso had scars that were either just as or even worse than the ones on his arms. The scars were a mix of pale, white and pink that somehow stood out sparkly against his pale and malnourished frame.
Taking a deep breath that made his already visible ribs even more prominent against his pale skin, he side in resignation, it was the sigh of someone having to do something tedious for the second time instead of the side of someone who was about to be beaten within a inch of their life in less than 24 hours. He didn't have to check the date he knew today was his ninth birthday a pivotal time for iron bloods.
Tomorrow, which was today if Ray was reading the positioning of the moon correctly was the day for elemental testing. And he would be revealed as the failure everyone had thought he was.
"What a hassle." Ray thought as he pulled back on his shirt from his examination of his body. "Why couldn't I have just come back to me at 12 or me at 10 or even me three weeks from now."
Ray grumbled. Sounding like someone who had been told they need to take a test again. "But no fate just had to take me back to this time in particular."
With that, he went and laid back in his bed, which barely qualified to be one. The bed itself was more of a particularly thick cock.
He tried to close his eyes and fall asleep, but it wasn't impossible. Every time he closed his eyes, they popped right back open. Glaring at the moon he finally decided he would just stay up until the morning.
When the sun finally shown in the sky, the maids came to get him. At first, she looked at the bed and was panicked to see he was gone. Then her gaze shifted to the window, where she saw the youngest, member of the iron blood family standing with his back to the door.
"So it's time." Ray said his voice as cold as winter. His words seem to be more of a statement than a question and the maid found herself unconsciously nodding while speaking "yes, my Lord."
When the maid realized what she had said the distain she had been trying to hide from the rumors she had heard about him, grew unbearable as she learned at him even harder. She decided to ignore the momentary sense of reverence She had four what she knew as truth. This was one of the weakest members of the iron blood family, and no one had any illusions about his future.
Meanwhile, on race side of things, he was currently criticizing himself. "Dammit I have to act like the innocent and clueless bastard. I was instead of the arrogant and jaded fucker. I am now." he thought his mouth tightening in irritation at his slip up.
The very thought of pretending to be someone who wasn't made him nauseous, but he had no method to defeat the people around him just yet.
"Just for a little "he thought, trying to somehow calm his inner disgust "just for a little and then I will crush them all."
He whispered to himself, his eyes blazing like molten silver. Hearing something they made who was walking in front of him turned.
"did you say something?" Hearing her words Ray quickly, Schooled his features into a overly cheerful smile.
"Oh nothing." He said sounding more like the child he looked like. "I was just thinking about what element I will get. What if I get water or maybe fire or maybe even lightning?"
Discussed flickered in the maid's eyes at his cheerfulness. "A talent list for reaching for the stars." The maid thought in distain.
Ray saw it all. He saw the discussed that shown in the maids eyes. He saw the insult she had been thinking, and he saw the distain that seem to radiate from her body like heat from the sun.
But with the mastery of a man who had avoided 12 fifth Ford cultivators for nearly 10 years he ignored it. continuing his act as the oblivious people pleaser he used to be
"do you think if I get a good enough element that father will treat me like the others?" The words tasted like bio coming out, but Ray knew this was something his child self would have said.
The mix of both discussed and distain in the maids eyes seem to grow as she responded. "Of course it will. You will awaken a strong element and your father will treat you like the others if not better."
Hearing the maids words, Ray could barely stop himself from reaching out and ripping her heart from her chest. But considering he was one week even for his age and two just a normal human attempting to rip her heart from her chest it would look more like him groping her.
"My reputation is already bad and if it gets any worse, I think my father might kick me out before I am ready. Or the maid might just kill me and call it a reflexive response. she might not even get punished for it."
Ray thought as they got closer to the field where the elemental test were taking place.
"Time to enter the nest of vipers." Ray thought, as he forced his already overly cheerful smile to somehow become more so."I hope I have enough patience to last me until the end."
With that, as the last thought, he stepped into the dirt packed field. All around were Nobles some here to see what geniuses the iron blood clan would produce this generation. Some were here to analyze their children's future competition, and others were here to make make alliances through trade or if they saw a talent worth their time even marriage.
There was something each, and every noble had in common. They were all smiling. All of the smiles weren't the same, some of them were cheerful, some of them were flattery, and some of them even looked genuine. But none of them were real.
"this is why I hate nobles because no matter what expression they make .or what they say or do they are dead inside ,and only moving forward at the thought of
benefits." Ray thought as he Heard the people standing around the field talking,about meaningless subjects. And their chatter. I can't stand the endless chatter"
Ray grumble as he got in the back of a line made from Noble brats, attempting to look serious. As soon as he got in the line, the kid standing in front of him, try to kick him using the heel of his polished black shoe.
Ray was about to dodge off reflex, but two things stopped him. One the child him wouldn't have even noticed the kick was coming until it hit him and two. "I can't move fast enough to dodge it if I tried." Ray thought in an annoyance.
So when the kick that seemed to be moving in slow motion finally impacted his leg Ray was more than ready to play the part of the injured child. "Ow!" Ray screamed as he dropped to the ground. Seeming to be attempting to create snow angels in the dirt, and in the process, "coincidentally "tripped the kid who had kicked him.
The kid pitched forward into the brat, standing in front of him, who also hit the kid in front of him. While they were falling like overly loud dominoes, Ray was still flailing around on the ground, and trying his best not to grin.
Eventually, the parents of the Noble children got them back in line, and considering the glare Ray was getting from one of his relatives in the crowd. He knew he would pay for this chaos later. "What does it matter?" Ray thought as he saw the middle aged man with the signature rust red hair all iron bloods were supposed to have glaring at him as if he owed him money. "I was going to be beaten at the end of this anyway"
When Ray focused back on the scene in front of him, the nobles were clapping at the green and brown light shining in front of the kid that had kicked him."Oh right that means I'm up next." Ray thought, as he puffed his chest out in a exaggerated manner and raised his head so high that if it was to rain, he would probably drown.
"Next up is Raiden iron blood." The man whose only job was to announce the names of the Noble, children's yelled out. The applause around Ray, as he stepped forward, was underwhelming to say the least.
"Damn you could act perfectly for every day of your life, but somehow none of you could even act like you gave a fuck about the result of my elemental testing." Ray thought, as he heard the lackluster response from the crowd.
Without delay, he sent his hand on the elemental orb. He didn't have to look to see the result, but he did anyway.
Ray side at what he saw. "Just as I thought. Ray said his voice so low that no one around him hurt him. On the orb in front of him, a brown and blue light shown, but they were so dim that they were barely noticeable.
As people notice the result from raise test, they began to whisper.
What color is that? "I don't know"" isn't that brown?"" Maybe I can't tell because it is so faint." "No I think that's blue."" Is that two colors?"" What a waste.""what do you mean a waste? The boy is a dual elemental list?""A dual elemental list don't lie to yourself. I've never seen a dual elementalLIST with elements that faint." a voice full of distain said from somewhere in the crowd."I would be surprised if he was able to make a cup from stone with his earth and fill it to even halfway with his water without running out of either." The joke seem to be the straw that broke the camels back as the nobles burst into laughter.
The relative of the iron blood clan seem to make a decision as he gave the guards at the corners of the dirt pack field A nod They quickly move forward to intercept Ray before he could walk away from the elemental orb. "Your father needs to speak with you. It is urgent."
Unconsciously Ray shivered. "Here we go." Ray thought as the guards let him back into the iron blood manner.