Chapter 2: The World of Zerathyn

A warm, brilliant light shone directly onto Jack's face, piercing the lingering darkness of the collapsed building. He blinked, bracing himself for the harsh, dusty air of Tehran, but instead found himself enveloped in the scent of lavender and pristine linens. Suddenly, he realized he was being held by a woman. She possessed cascading golden hair and eyes that sparkled like polished sapphires. They were standing inside a staggeringly fancy-looking mansion, its walls draped in heavy velvet and trimmed with solid gold.

“Look at him, my love,” the woman said. Her voice was melodic, and warm.

(Who's this woman? How the hell is she carrying me?!) Jack thought, his Special Forces tactical instincts flaring even as his groggy brain struggled to process what's happening.

Before he could attempt a defensive maneuver, a large, imposing man with a thick golden beard and Golden hair stepped into his field of vision. He wore an elaborate, embroidered royalty dress. The bearded man reached out with massive hands and took Jack into his arms with zero effort.

(You guys are strong just lifting me up like I'm nothing. I feel violeted....) Jack thought, feeling utterly helpless in the man's grip.

He tried to squirm, aiming to stop the bearded man from hugging him quite so tightly. He saw tiny, baby hands, Jack stopped. He stared at his hands... He wiggled his fingers. The tiny, marshmallow digits wiggled back.

He tried to speak. "Gah."

The realization hit him. He was turned into a baby...

The bearded man’s booming, warm voice echoed through the opulent, sunlit room. He spoke in a language Jack had never heard before, yet his brain somehow translated it instantly.

"Look at him, Eleanor," the man rumbled, chest vibrating against Jack’s ear. " He has the eyes of a conqueror. You, my son, shall be known as Aurelius von Aethelgard."

(Aurelius von Aethelgard.) Jack tested the name in his mind. (A bit overly dramatic, but okay...... Wait... 'Von'? Am I royalty?!)

Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the bedroom swung open. A man clad in gleaming silver plate armor strode in, dropping to one knee with a sharp clank of metal.

"Your Majesty," the soldier barked, head bowed. "The magic artifacts have been successfully retrieved by the Knights of the Silver Spire. The High Council requests your immediate presence to inspect them. We must verify if they have the real thing."

Jack froze in his father’s arms.

(Majesty? Magic artifacts?! KNIGHTS?!)

A wave of pure, Excitement washed over his body. All thoughts of Tehran, of explosions, of the US Army evaporated into the air. His inner, hardcore otaku realizing his wildest dreams had just come true.

(I got isekai'd! It actually happened! It’s not just anime BS!)

Jack looked back up at the beautiful woman or his new mother. He gave her the most serious, determined grin smile a newborn could muster.

(Woman, you are incredibly lucky to have me as a son. Soon I’ll be an overpowered main character, and you’ll be proud of my glorious achievements!)

A month later, the royal procession brought him to a large, breathtakingly expensive looking church. Stained glass windows stretched toward the vaulted ceilings, and the air hummed with raw, palpable energy. This was the aptitude ceremony, a traditional rite done to see a child's elemental compatibility. In this world, having two elements was already considered exceptionally rare. There was only one person recorded in history as having three, and he was the highest-ranking individual in the known world.

Today, it was packed with the highest-ranking nobles of the Aethelgard Kingdom, all gathered to witness the royal aptitude test.

(Okay, Jack. This is the moment of truth. Please, let me be the Chosen One. Please don't make me a background character.)

The high priest, draped in ceremonial robes, gently carried baby Aurelius toward a massive font of glowing water. When Jack’s tiny fingers finally breached the surface of the water, the reaction was instantaneous.

A blinding pillar of A bright white light, piercing straight through the cathedral's vaulted ceiling. The sheer concentration of mana made the air vibrate, rattling the pews. Everyone in the cathedral gasped in utter surprise.

The entire cathedral gasped in unison. The noblewomen dropped their fans. The knights reached for their hilts in shock.

King von Aethelgard stepped forward, his eyes wide. "Priest... what is the result?"

The priest, completely stunned, looked down at the glowing water and then back at the King. "All... all of them, Your Majesty. The Prince... he holds affinity for every single element."

Pandemonium broke out. The entire church erupted into a deafening celebration. The King threw his head back and laughed, a booming sound of absolute victory. Jack smirk, (I’m finally going to be an overpowered main character! I’ve got the rare bloodline, the potential, the royal status. This is the prologue to a legend!!)

Ten Years Later.......

"Ughh! I can't take this anymore!" Jack or now formally known as Crown Prince Aurelius von Aethelgard complained loudly inside his lavish study room. He slammed his face hard into the thick, dusty book resting on his study table.

The study room was deathly quiet, save for the mocking chirp of a bird outside. Sunlight streamed through the large, arched window, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.

Jack groaned, his cheek pressed flat against the page of theoretical fundamentals of magic. He turned his head slowly to look out the grand window down into the courtyard. There, his little brother Cedric, who was only seven years old at the time, and currently hovering three feet in the air, effortlessly launching fireballs at a stone target under the watchful eye of a high-status Royal Court Mage.

"So much for being an overpowered main character" Jack muttered bitterly, watching his little brother get support and attention by the King.

Over the last ten years, Jack had learned a lot about this world. He had treated it like a tactical briefing, gathering intel on the power structure.

Everything in this world operated on a strict, unyielding ranking system of magic power. It was brutal, mathematical, and entirely unfair.

Tier 9: The absolute pinnacle. King-level power. A walking nuke. Only one person in recorded history had ever reached it.

Tier 8: Governor-level. Capable of leveling cities.

Tier 7: The highest attainable status for a Knight Commander.

Tier 6: Captain-level. Capable of commanding entire battalions of soldiers.

Tier 5 & 4: The average rank for veteran soldiers, teachers, and skilled workers.

Tier 3 & 2: Advanced trainees. Usually 2nd or 3rd-year students in the prestigious Magic Academies.

Tier 1: The baseline. What most people reach when they start attending magic school.

Tier 0: The toddler phase. Kids discovering their spark.

To make matters worse, every Tier had 9 Stages. Transitioning from Tier 0 to Tier 1 required maxing out Stage 9, and breaking through the bottleneck could take years. The power scaling was exponential. A single Tier 6 soldier can take on more than a hundred Tier 5s.

And then there was Jack. The Omni-Elemental prodigy. The hope of the Kingdom. The baby who made the cathedral glow.

He was currently Tier 0, Stage 2.

His seven-year-old brother, who only had a dual-affinity for Fire and Wind, was Tier 0, Stage 8, and was practically almost ready for the Royal Academy despite his age.

King Aurelion von Aethelgard Lost interest in him after knowing his slow progress and pour his attention to his second son Cedric. Everyone that was celebrating after knowing his compatible with every elements now treating coldly.

Jack let out a massive sigh, leaning back in his plush velvet chair until it creaked. He stared at the ornate ceiling.

"Well time for plan B."

He began enthusiastically writing his new Ideas.

"If I can't be the overpowered prodigy, I will be the weak trash prince who secretly trains in the shadows, gets bullied, and then ruthlessly flexes on everyone at the Academy tournament arc." He nodded to himself, pleased with the new tactical direction. It was a classic narrative structure. It required patience, grit, and a lot of montage training. He had spent years in Special Forces so he knew how to grind.

He paused, the quill hovering over the parchment. The scratching sound of the pen faded from his mind.

Slowly, his enthusiastic grin softened. He looked back out the window, past his brother, past the towering stone walls of the castle, out toward the endless, rolling emerald hills and the towering, snow-capped mountains in the distance. The sky was an impossible, crystalline blue.

There were no sirens. No smell of burning oil. No distant crackle of gunfire. No heavy, suffocating smog.

Jack lowered the quill.

He realized why he wants to get transported into a different world. He hadn't just wanted to be an overpowered hero for the ego trip.

He had wanted a new world. A world free from the endless, grinding wars of the old one. He wanted to see a sky that wasn't choked with dust and City Noises.

A sad, nostalgic smile touched his young face.

"I wonder where those idiots ended up... If I'm here... I hope you guys made it, too."

Jack shook his head, clearing away the ghosts of his past life. He slapped his cheeks with both hands, the stinging sound echoing in the study.

"Alright. Enough moping," Prince Aurelius von Aethelgard announced to the room. He grabbed his book on mana circulation, his military discipline finally overriding his frustration. "Tier 0, Stage 3. Let's breach this door."