The Holy Milishial Empire.

When someone hears that name, they will instantly be reminded of one thing: that they are the number one. The first country to emerge from the ashes of the Ancient Sorcerous Empire; the strongest superpower in the world; and many other things that they are the best. Though many of these are self-proclaimed, no one in this world can defy their claims and, in the end, it was acknowledged as the reality, that the Holy Milishial Empire is the number one in everything.

By the grace of the gods, it is the country that boasts the highest levels of modernity, industry, urbanization, and technological progress in the world ever since it was founded many millennia ago. Blessed with the abundance of ruins from the long-gone Ancient Sorcerous Empire's civilization, by uncovering their secrets the Holy Milishial Empire turned the strength of humanity's greatest oppressor into their own. With their immense military strength gathered over centuries, they earned their place in the sun as the Central World and indeed, the world's strongest superpower. Under the wise and benevolent leadership of their Emperors, the Holy Empire stands ready as the world's guardian for the fated return of the tyrannical Ravernal Empire.

However, standing at the top of the world for so long without rivals that can compete with them has slowed their progress as the Holy Empire entered a state of complacency. They believed they were safe with the rate they were progressing right now and content without any attempts to deeply understand the power that the Holy Empire derived its power from, its people turned to become prideful, and their leadership conceited.

It took another act of the heavens for the Holy Empire to realize that they have done a grave mistake by this thinking. Two new stars rose from both corners of the world without warning and rocked the very foundations of the stage where the Holy Empire stood. Each of them represented contrasting ideologies that plunged their world into a war where the Holy Milishial Empire suffered setbacks one after another and found itself eclipsed by the two stars' influence, eventually forcing them to settle in the shade cast by them.

But that was not the end of the story. As the return of mankind's ancient enemy draws near, an evil that was deceiving them for so long revealed itself and dragged the world into more conflict. The Holy Empire's already feeble light got dimmer and dimmer until, when all ended, all they had was an excruciating sense of humiliation and self-loathing for having fallen so hard from grace.

However, this is not the story of the Holy Empire's decline, far from it. By the grace of the gods once more, a path was laid anew for them, starting with the rebirth of a lone soul on a blessed hour, on a blessed day, on a blessed month.

This is the tale of the life of a man who bears the name of heaven's blessings and the name of those who once defied the fate that was imposed upon them...

March 18, 1613 Central Calendar, 09:00

Holy Milishial Empire, a certain house in Leiden Town

Inside a house in a seaside town in the southwestern part of the Holy Empire, a silver-haired young teenager has currently immersed himself in reading a thick book, with his deep blue eyes darting from side to side as he read the text silently. Multiple papers scattered around him, containing notes, elaborate hand-drawn pictures, and sometimes mathematical formulas in a pile of an organized mess.

*Knock, knock, knock*

The boy shifted his gaze to the door of his room after the sound of knocking.

"It's not locked," he called out to the door, which opened to reveal an adult woman with physical features similar to the boy and carrying a cup of tea on a tray.

She gave the boy a warm smile and approached his desk, carefully avoiding stepping on the strewn papers on the floor. After she arrived beside him, she picked up the teacup and saucer and placed them on the desk.

"I see you are still busy studying. Here, I just made a tea for you."

The boy was taken aback as he didn't recall asking the woman to brew him the tea, "Uh? Did you make this for me? Then... I'm very sorry to bother you, mom."

The now identified mother of the boy giggled. "What are you apologizing about? Don't worry about it," she said and picked up a drawing before continuing, picking up a paper on the floor, "Ever since you were little, you are always so serious. If you are not helping your parents around, you either go back to your room to study or draw these amazing contraptions... besides, this is a weekend, why don't you relax once in a while? That's why I made you this."

Although the woman didn't quite understand what is the drawing supposed to be, she knew that it is not something that a fourteen-year-old teenager normally makes, and can only gaze at it in admiration of the boy who made it.

"Relax, huh...? I understand. Come to think of it, I think I will take a walk outside. Thank you for the tea, mom," the boy smiled.

"You're welcome! Oh, and Meteos, before you go outside, clean your room first!" the woman called out before she went out of the room and closed the door.

The boy, Meteos, exhaled and after some stretching, brought the teacup to his mouth.

"Mm, white dragon bush, it's so delicious it's heartbreaking. As expected from my mom, she always knows how to make good stuff..." he muttered somewhat sadly as he savored the refreshing scent and taste of the beverage. He then gazed outside the window of his room overlooking Leiden, contemplating his life so far.

"The gods really work in mysterious ways..."

Meteos Roguerider, the name of the silver-haired boy, is known to others as the only child of a good family living in Leiden. However, unbeknownst to no one but himself, this quiet young boy carries an intact memory of his previous life, where he was one of the elite grand mages that the Holy Milishial Empire ever produced and was given the honor of captaining his country's ancient superweapon, the Pal Chimera. But within that life, he also witnessed the painful history of the decline of his homeland and the death of his friends in the wars that transpired throughout his previous life.

He was supposed to die of old age in the early 1700s, but the next moment after he breathed his last breath and let his consciousness fade into the darkness forever, much to his shock, he was suddenly jolted awake, and the first thing he saw was the sight of his parents. Somehow, he has been transported back in time to the year 1605 Central Calendar, the day of his fifth birthday.

Japan and the Gra Valkas Empire... the names of two nations that suddenly appeared in his previous life, and if the events of this new world are the same as what he remembered, then they will appear some twenty-odd years from now. The Holy Milishial Empire's inability to compete with them was the source of their greatest humiliation and what will cause their light to become eclipsed by these newcomers. However, they were also a treasure trove of knowledge for him. Studying the secret of their technology was the only thing worthwhile for this weary soul as the end of his life was nearing.

And now, words cannot describe how grateful he was to be able to do so. With his memory from his previous life intact, all of them as vivid as daylight, Meteos vowed to utilize his knowledge of the future to change this country's destiny. At first, he was afraid that his past life's memory might fade with time, so he hurriedly poured his memories into notes and plans one after another. And yet, eight years have passed since his reincarnation and those memories never disappear, and before he knew it, papers began to pile up in his room and the basement of his house. To think that he caused his parents worry by spending hours cooped up in his room even during weekends in his free time because of this. However, they were as kind and understanding as Meteos remembered, and it was easy to reassure them that he is alright.

Knowledge of technology is not the only one that Meteos brought with him. As a grand mage, his knowledge of numerous magic spells is also intact, but this young body's still low reserves of magic power prevented him from accessing some of the more high-powered abilities. He found this to be irritating, but with proper training, it will be manageable.

The reason why the 'amazing contraptions' from his previous life were unable to materialize yet in this new timeline was that Meteos lacked the resources and funds to enact his plan. However, the time was near for him to take action.

Sighing again, he marked the page on the thick book he was just reading, stood up from his chair and began picking up the scattered papers, organized them, and placed them neatly on top of his desk. After that, he changed into a simple dress shirt and trousers. But before leaving his room, he stood in front of a full-body mirror.

Instead of reflecting the tired old man he used to be, Meteos' mirror reflected a prepubescent young boy whose baby fat was not yet to go away. He chuckled to himself. His old childhood self always dressed neatly down to the haircut, but now, he allowed his short silver hair to settle in a spiky hairstyle. Apparently, this has the unintended effect that made him, as he quoted his mother, 'looked much more charming,' but why should he care about such frivolous things when he was determined to change the world's future.

Speaking of which...

"Hey, younger me. Do you think I'm a selfish man...? After all, what is time travel, but nothing more than a pathetic attempt to force the world to move around oneself?" he asked the reflection in the mirror.

He was well aware that it is exactly what he is doing. He had lived a lifetime and knew what would happen to the world if things continued as they were. But Meteos loathed and refused to acknowledge this ending, so the moment he found himself reincarnated, he attempted to change the future so that what always shined brightly in the sky would continue to shine victoriously forever.

"Hmph, maybe, in the end, I'm really a pitiful and selfish bastard who refused to see the reality moving against my ideal vision..." Meteos muttered in self-mockery, his reflection followed his gesture. "But hey, I never asked to be reincarnated. This second life... it just came to me. I'll be damned if I didn't use it to accomplish my dreams," he finished with a smirk. It's as if with this reincarnation, a long-extinguished fire in his heart was burning brightly once again.

With that, Meteos Roguerider let out another sigh and finally walked out of his room to head towards the nearby harbor.