"Give me a child until he is seven, and I will show you the man." – Aristotle

  Darkness. Endless, suffocating darkness.

  I floated in the void, devoid of hope, devoid of feeling. Despair coursed through me like an unshakable curse.

  Then, suddenly—light. A brilliant, blinding light erupted in the distance. Before I could react, a wave of scorching heat surged toward me, consuming everything.

  And then—nothing.

  "Hello? Elliot? Wake up! Are you okay?"

  A voice—soft yet urgent. Something cold and wet dripped onto my face.

  I blinked, my vision hazy. The sky above me was dark, thick with storm clouds. Lightning flickered in the distance.

  A girl hovered over me, her brows furrowed in concern.

  “Elliot,” she sighed, exasperation slipping into her tone. “This is why we shouldn’t have gone out in the rain.”

  My mind reeled. Elliot? She keeps calling me Elliot…?

  And then, Wait—why is there rain?

  Dizziness set in, but I forced myself to think logically. If I’ve truly been reborn, I need to gather as much information as possible. First, I need to determine where I am.

  I sat up, shaking off the dampness. "Can we go back home? I’m kind of wet right now.”

  The girl folded her arms. "You’re the one who dragged us out here, remember? ‘Want to see something cool?’ Sound familiar?"

  Stolen novel; please report.

  I hesitated before nodding. "Yeah, I… forgot. Sorry for dragging you out here."

  She gave me a skeptical look before sighing. “Your memory is so unreliable. Remind me to never follow you outside in the rain again.”

  She turned, stepping onto a muddy path that led toward a towering mansion in the distance.

  I followed, my gaze drifting toward the dense forest beside us. Movement caught my eye—a creature unlike anything I had seen before. It was large, its fur dark and matted from the rain. A single jagged horn jutted from its forehead, glistening under the stormy sky. Its red eyes gleamed in the dim light, watching—calculating.

  A chill ran down my spine. This isn’t Earth. Or, if it is, I’m in an era where creatures like that exist.

  No. That thing is no ordinary rhino…

  Theories flooded my mind. A different planet? An alternate timeline? A far-off future? I would need a clear night to study the constellations—then I could narrow it down.

  For now, I walked in silence, my wet clothes clinging to me as we neared the estate.

  The girl knocked on the grand oak doors. Within moments, they swung open, revealing an older man in a butler’s uniform. His posture was straight, his expression unreadable—an aura of quiet authority.

  "Welcome home, Young Master Valens. Miss Alexia," the butler said with a slight bow.

  The girl—Alexia, was it?—stepped inside without hesitation. “Mister Hawthorne, have the bath warmed and tell Head Maid Necia to set out my clothes.”

  The butler nodded. “Of course, Miss Alexia.” His gaze then shifted to me. “And you, Young Master Valens?”

  I pieced things together quickly. The butler called her Miss Alexia which means that either her first name or last name is Alexia but since this seems to be a european form of aristocracy, this most likely means that both of us are nobility and the same nobility lives in the same house so it means that her first name is Alexia. and last name Valens. If the butler called her "Young Miss" and me "Young Master Valens," then we were siblings. That made my full name Elliot Valens—an identity I would need to grow into.

  Matching Alexia’s tone, I responded, “The same as my sister. I’d like a warm bath and fresh clothes.”

  Hawthorne bowed. “As you wish.”

  Stepping into the grand mansion, I took in my surroundings. This would be my new home. And if I wanted to survive—no, thrive—I would need to learn everything about this world.

  This was the start of my second life. And this time, I will use my intelligence from my previous life to carve my own path through this world.