I Refused To Be Reincarnated

"I was born a commoner in the Émeraude empire and grew up in a farmer's family. Life was hard but beautiful and warm in our small village. However, everything changed when I turned twelve. By royal order, our village was burned to the ground on that fateful night."

"My father, seeing the flames rise from the village and expecting the worst, swiftly woke us up. We escaped on his working carriage, pulled by a donkey, without any possession as I witnessed the place I grew up in ravaged by the imperial soldiers. The smell of burning wood and corpses, carried by the wind, suffocated me as I cried like I never did in my life."

"Disappointed by the empire's action, my father chose to exile our family in an unnamed and unexplored chain of mountains in the far northern part of the territory, certain that we could survive and live happily on our own."

"After months of travels and collecting various grains and young livestock, we finally reached our destination. Unaware that magical beasts inhabited the mountain's cave as we stepped inside its frozen mouth, our hearts filled with hope."

"Ambushed by a half serpent, he died in this unnamed land, followed by my mom, who did everything she could to protect me. Alas, the creature was too strong. Left alone, miserable and about to die, an old woman abruptly appeared behind the creature. I'll never forget how, with a single word, she transformed it into a golden sculpture."

"Witnessing her powers, I pleaded with her to save my parents, grabbing her long robes and making her large hat fall to the ground. I can't describe the shock I received as I witnessed her half-male and half-female features, the two genders blending into a disturbingly harmonious mix."

"'You are fortunate, young one,'" the mysterious figure crooned, her voice alternating between high and low pitches in a disconcerting harmony. 'I require an assistant. As for your parents, they have passed beyond the veil,' she continued, her tone carrying both sympathy and a hint of detachment, shattering my remaining hope.

"As I fell to the ground in despair, she filled two flasks with an ethereal mist and said, 'You can create puppets and imbue your parent's souls in them if you ever reach that level of mastery.' My eyes burned in determination as I heard her words. I would do anything to see them with me once again."

"That's how I ended up following this mysterious person, leaving behind my weak self and carving an oath in my heart. I would become strong enough to create the best puppets for my parents. So strong that I wouldn't need to flee ever again in my life."

"We walked to a hidden corner of the cave, using a magic circle to teleport to an elegant building established on a circular platform in the mountain's belly. A beautiful garden, laden with flowers and fruit trees, surrounded a pond filled with fish. I finally found my Eden's garden."

"I spent many years helping Ari, the mysterious woman while learning about magic and transmutation. Me, a commoner learning magic. Who would have thought? Unfortunately, after many tests, Ari told me I had no elemental affinity, making my path harder. However, I won't give up!"

"After ten years, I finally reached the fourth tier, making me a true mage! Sadly, I saw the old Ari pass away from old age this year. Before dying, she shared her deepest secrets, explaining she once was part of a transmutation order known as the Morphomancers."

"I discovered in shock that their art was deep and powerful. They didn't rely on affinities as they were transmuters to their cores. Be it objects or themselves, they could transform almost everything, even light and sound, to create illusions! Moreover, they were pioneers in alchemy, too! "

Adam paused his lecture as he reached the end of the page, his eyes bulging. He had discovered another destroyed path, an extremely intriguing and powerful one at that!

"Transforming themselves, illusions, alchemy... Three paths were separated from this single one!" He said, shock filling his eyes. Was it the reason why transmutation became a dead subject? Because it was way too strong in the past? He pondered, flipping the page.

"Despite being an arcanist, Ari had lived for 476 years, using transmutation to renew her old cells and continue her studies, hoping to revive their path and become an archmage. Left alone, I inherited her aspirations and extensively studied her work, perfecting myself year after year."

"After five years, changing my face became as easy as changing robes, and I can now transform my body to use magical beast traits. How exciting it was to fly like a bird in the sky!"

"After another five years, I mastered the transmutation of objects. I can now change rocks into diamonds! But I feel like I can do more, so much more."

"I didn't write for so long! At the age of one hundred, I still retain the appearance of an eighteen-year-old, much to my amusement. This year, I became an arcanist! I can finally craft puppets for my parents. But is it right? I need to explore the world to broaden my horizons first.

I'm sure they wouldn't like to be placed in mere bodies made of rocks and steel."

"Ha. It has been three hundred years since I left. I finally found the missing piece to perfect my parent's puppets: transmuting the materials into actual body parts! But I'll probably need to become an archmage to do that."

"Thankfully, during my travels, I learned about an old order called the mana conjurors. Sadly, they were exterminated centuries before my birth. Yet, thanks to the old books I found, I know how to become an archmage."

"Haaa... I'm finally an archmage. I don't even remember how old I am at this point. After living for so long, I know I'll die in twenty years at the maximum. I can't even keep my younger appearance anymore... But I don't care.

I'll achieve my goals before my demise."