My name is kaidën Valtorin, and I am a son of noble house Valtorin.
But I used to be someone else.
I was once Lee Jung-ho, South Korea's finance minister. I had something to do, something to accomplish. I had a life. Before that day of murder.
before that bullet tore through my chest and I found myself dying on stage.
I do not remember very much that happened after that. I do remember that I am no longer in South Korea. I am not even in my world anymore.
And yet, despite all of the new and alien settings and the new and odd name, I feel. different. I feel like I've been granted a second opportunity.
But why?
And why is that?
I recall my tone of voice, resonating in that packed auditorium. I was ablaze with passion for reform in economics and burying corruption. I was a Minister of Finance and had dedicated my life to a better tomorrow for our nation.
But not everybody envisioned it with me.
Looking out over the mass of people, I could glimpse at the back a group of protesters, their placards and banners a whirlwind of color and indignation. I could glimpse also the opposition party politicians, their visages screwed up with frowns and incredulity.
And then I spotted him.
a lone man at the edge of the group. His eyes had met mine, and I'd felt a shiver run down my backbone. Something was off with him.
But I had no opportunity to reply.
Suddenly there was a swift motion, a flash of metal, and I felt a searing pain in my chest. I retreated backward, my eyes wide with horror and fear.
No. it cannot be happening
I attempted to speak out loud to scream for help, but I could hardly whisper. I could hear myself losing strength, feeling my vision grow dim.
And darkness fell over everything.
My line of thinking was, It's over. It's over here.
But it wasn't.
Strange things happened. I felt like I was being disassembled and reprogrammed. I have never felt that way ever.
And I woke up eventually to discover I was. different.
I found myself in a crib with people I had never seen around me. I tried to say something, but I let out a wail like a baby instead.
What. what was happening to me?
I looked around trying to absorb everything. The room was sumptuous with ornamentation and furniture that seemed to scream extravagance. But it was people that really drew my notice.
They were dressed up very formally in very conventional suits, and they were saying some sort of dialect that I wasn't used to. I felt a wave of fear over me.
Where had I been? Something had happened to me.
And then it struck me.
I wasn't me anymore.
You were someone else.
An newcomer.
As I remained in the crib, I couldn't help but feel disoriented. Everything felt so different from what I was used to. The clothing people were wearing, the furniture that was around me, even the words that were spoken to me by people in my presence.
I was being taken at that time by a man with a warm and resolute jaw. I felt like I sensed that he was my father. Something in the way he picked me up and smiled at me felt familiar to me.
"My sweet Kaidën," he whispered tenderly, softly. "You're welcome to the world."
Kaidën. My new name, I understood. Not Lee Jung-ho, but Kaidën, kaidën Valtorin
I gazed up at my dad, trying to take in every detail on his face. My dad had a tall frame and a wide build with piercing blue eyes. He had dark hair that was cut differently than I had ever seen it.
Looking up at him, a woman with curly brown hair that fell to her waist and a friendly smile approached us and walked beside us. She gently stroked my cheek with her extended hand.
"Our little Kaidën," she crooned. "You're home at last."
I realized that she had to be my mother. She had a sweet smile and soothing touch and I felt comfortable in her presence.
I gazed up at my parents and knew that I had much to find out regarding this new world and my place in it. But at least temporarily I was happy to simply exist.
And to have a second opportunity.
Turkey's
In a far, darkened room, a hooded figure sat across from a middle-aged peer with their leg crossed over their other knee
The atmosphere was thick with the odor of rot and yellow vellum.
".and therefore, see now you, Lord Ravenswood," spoke the hooded man in a deep raspy tone, "that the way to undermine House Valtorin's increasing strength is through their economic vulnerabilities."
Lord Ravenswood's eyes also gleamed with interest. "I have gone through their book of accounts and I must say that their accounts were. unclear."
The hooded man stooped forward, his presence dominating the room. "Close to it. This is it that we have waited for and with enough pressure, we can drive them to absolute desperation."
Lord Ravenswood's eyes gleamed with a frigid calculating sheen. "Already I have begun to quietly sabotage their business arrangements by quietly raising their prices and reducing their profit margin and by making my men circulate rumors that their products are fakes that were catching like wildfire.
The hooded man gestured approval with a nod, while remaining hidden in darkness. "Well done, Ravenswood. If this takes effect, I'll wager that within five years House Valtorin will be irrevocably in debt."
Lord Ravenswood smirked dryly. "And if they drown in their incompetence at finance, then we'll have it in us to give it that final blow."
The hooded figure lounged back in it, drawing back into darkness. "Patience, Ravenswood. The destruction of house Valtorin will be a lesson in stealth manipulation. And at precisely the right time, we will release the full power of our plan against all that they have." As words dissolved into darkness by the hood man's mouth, Ravenswood's eyes gleamed with anticipation. The game had begun, and soon to be mired in a vortex of financial deceit and bankruptcy would be House Valtorin.