"Why?!"
The man's face was filled with anger as he turned his head toward the woman who had shared twenty-five years of companionship with him. He couldn't understand why she would choose this moment to drive the very sword he had once gifted her straight through his heart.
Looking at the sword piercing his chest and the blood dripping down his body, he struggled to raise his eyes.
He saw the enemies he had just defeated with ease now aiming their weapons at him.
In that moment, he felt his life slipping away, bit by bit. In the distance, the sound of a tolling bell echoed through the air, striking straight at the soul.
The bell was no ordinary object—it was a divine artifact, one capable of declaring to the world the death of a top-tier warrior. Yet, that was all people knew about it.
In his final moment, he just wanted to understand one thing.
As the sound of space being torn apart erupted beside him, the enemies that had been preparing to ambush him were shredded by the rift. Even those who hadn't attacked yet stared in shock at the scene before them.
Though his life was at its end, he still erupted with the power to fight ten men at once.
"This... is the Emperor..."
"This is the god that kept everyone too terrified to even appear..."
"This... is Noah..."
One enemy, in his dying breath, muttered words of grief and respect. Though they were enemies, he still mourned as he collapsed.
This scene silenced even the remaining foes who had considered attacking. Everyone now stood still, staring at the man and woman in the sky.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet; it felt as though the only sound left was the breathing of those nearby.
Noah had reached the end of his life. He no longer had the strength to turn his head. Weakly, he asked the woman he loved:
"You... still won't tell me why...?"
The woman looked down at the man whose heart she had pierced and replied softly,
"Everyone has their own path. I've simply chosen mine."
Hearing her response, Noah could only shake his head and smile bitterly. If he hadn't trusted her so deeply, she could never have gotten close enough to strike.
As consciousness began to fade, he suddenly felt an immense spatial force—one that wasn't his.
He saw a strange object fly toward him at incredible speed, entering his body without resistance.
His mind, once clouded, went completely dark as he closed his eyes. Yet his body felt warm, like he was being held tightly in his mother's arms.
Instinctively, he tried to open his eyes—only to find he couldn't move. Everything around him was pitch black.
All he could hear was the sound of hurried footsteps.
Suddenly, a beam of light appeared before him. The light was so intense that it forced him to squint in pain.
"You actually survived for three whole days. Still, you're just a slightly less pathetic piece of trash. Hahaha!"
A young, childish voice slowly reached Noah's ears.
Following the voice, Noah looked up at the light, and saw a boy holding an oil lamp, smiling down at him.
It was as if Noah had been frightened into silence.
When he tried to speak, he suddenly realized his hands were tied behind a chair, and his mouth stuffed with cloth.
As someone who had once stood atop the world, Noah couldn't tolerate being humiliated by a child. He struggled to break free from the ropes, glaring at the boy with unhidden fury.
"You dare glare at me? Clearly the punishment wasn't enough!"
The boy ran up and slapped Noah across the face.
Noah tried using his magic to break free, but after multiple attempts, he was horrified to discover that he couldn't even gather the ambient magical energy.
Magic was composed of molecules in the air. Anyone could draw upon it to cast spells.
"Am I... a Child Abandoned by the Gods...?"
Such individuals were born unable to harness or absorb the magic in the air. They were rare—perhaps one in a million. Even the lowest-ranking mages could use basic spells, but those who couldn't wield magic at all were destined to be slaves or sacrifices.
The boy, seeing Noah distracted, assumed he had struck him senseless and leisurely untied his ropes.
Noah, snapping out of his thoughts, seized the moment. The instant his arms were freed, he struck the boy on the neck.
Yet, surprisingly, the boy didn't fall as Noah expected. Instead, he punched Noah hard in the stomach.
Pain exploded in Noah's gut, followed by dizziness. Moments later, he collapsed.
"Why is this body so weak...? What happened to me...?"
Just as he was about to pass out, a brilliant light burst from within him. The boy fainted immediately upon contact with it, while Noah, after a brief adjustment, managed to stand.
He picked up the fallen oil lamp to examine himself.
"Looks like I'm about eleven years old... But why am I still alive? She clearly struck me through the heart. And... where is this?"
With these questions swirling in his mind, Noah slowly sat back down. He attempted once more to draw magic from the air to heal his wounds—and to see if he truly was a Child Abandoned by the Gods.
After concentrating, he slowly opened his eyes and tested his limbs.
"Still too weak to move freely. Must be from days without food..."
Thankfully, even though he was indeed a Child Abandoned by the Gods, he could still feel some magic gathering—only a tenth of his former power, but proof enough he could still cast magic.
The flickering light within his body seemed to pulse in response, reminding him of its presence.
Suddenly, Noah's mind was flooded with countless images—memories that surged into his consciousness uninvited.
Though his past self had unmatched mental power, in his current fragile state, he had no choice but to accept them.
After about fifteen minutes, Noah slowly stood up again. The sweat soaking his body revealed how intense the experience had been.
"So... you were called Noah too. A fellow Child Abandoned by the Gods. I felt your unwillingness and sorrow at death. I'll carry on your will... and take care of your family."
Noah had indeed been reincarnated—into a boy with the same name. Although the original boy had a strong will, he hadn't survived the hunger brought on by his condition.
In a world of magic, even going without food for several days wasn't fatal—if one could absorb magic.
Noah looked around. This was the boy's home. And the boy lying unconscious was his cousin.
He was still in a magical world—but over 150 years had passed. And now, as someone barely able to gather magic, he couldn't cast any spells.
"Maybe because I once possessed world-shaking power, I managed to resist the curse of being abandoned by the gods in this new life..."
Noah tied his unconscious cousin to the chair that had once held him captive, then climbed the stairs back to ground level.
Although mentally he was over forty, his new body was only ten. His tiny hands were evidence enough.
The familiar yet foreign surroundings gave him a sense of warmth. He saw couples strolling in the distance, birds flying freely, and moving men carrying valuables from the house.
"...Wait, why are they moving stuff out of my house?"
Noah, confused, walked up to one of the workers and asked,
"Why are you taking these items?"
The worker, thinking Noah was just a passerby child, replied:
"These items have been seized. The Weiss family is officially a fallen noble house."
Noah covered his forehead and smiled bitterly. So, the family he was reborn into had fallen into disgrace.
"Did I get the wrong script...? The gap between my past and present is absurd..."
From the house walked a man and woman. Based on the memories in his mind, he knew—they were the boy's parents.
Now that the boy was gone and he had taken his place, they were now his parents too.
In his past life, Noah had no parents. He was an orphan, raised in an institution, who clawed his way up with talent and grit to become an emperor who ruled countless empires.
Now, he was picked up and cradled in someone's arms.
"Noah... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let your aunt's family care for you. We may have fallen on hard times now, but at least we'll have more time to be with you."
The woman held him close as she spoke.
His father, while still directing the movers, looked back at Noah with a warm smile full of love.
Basking in the familiar sunlight, Noah found himself enjoying it more than he expected.
But he knew—the emperor named Noah was no more.
Now, he was simply a fallen noble's child—Noah Weiss.
*This is the first novel, hope you will like it and just read happy~~*