Spellbound

Crash!  A thunderclap struck the skies! Curled up in the corner of a dark and damp dungeon, a young man was clothed in rags. The sound of thunder jolted him awake.  "Where is this? Could it be… My forbidden spell worked?" Linden took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His head felt like exploding, and the pain was agonizing. There were so many memories that kept flooding back into his mind. He gradually grasped the gravity of his situation. A rift war broke out in Lumos Land many years ago! A demon-like creature emerged from a c***k in space. In order to stop the demons' invasion, humans and demons engaged in a desperate rift battle. Linden Torres was one of mankind's leaders, the "God of Flame" of Lumos Land, and one of the Eight Elemental Magic Gods! "The battle between the Gods and Demons… I was besieged by three Demon Kings… Before my death, I cast the forbidden spell, 'Wheel of Time', but I didn't expect to fail to travel back in time and change the course of history as I had hoped. Instead, I arrived 1,300 years later in the future. My soul was reborn in this young man, on the verge of dying…" This young man's name was Linden Crest. Linden looked around and found himself in a dingy dungeon. His hands and feet were bound by cold chains. The shackles would clatter whenever he made small movements. The icy sensation served as a reminder of his unfavorable circumstances. He tried to free himself from the cold handcuffs and anklets but found that he could not use his strength at all. His magic, once powerful enough to destroy cities, was now gone. It seems like I've inherited everything from this young man. His memory, his power, his body... I was once a Sorcerer King, capable of leading a war. Now, I've been reduced to a frail young man. Perhaps this is the price to pay for performing such magic! Based on the memory of the previous host, Linden knew that "he" had been set up by Ivan, one of the family's elder. After his father, Wilkin Crest, went missing while on a mission, Ivan showed his true colors. Ivan not only tried to seize all of Wilkin's rights and possessions within the family, he also wanted to exterminate his entire family. "Brother!" Suddenly, a gentle voice could be heard.  Linden shifted his gaze to the dungeon's far side, where he noticed a girl dressed in rags and covered in blood. She was holding a piece of gray bread so hard that the crumbs were falling off due to its dryness.  The young girl handed the bread to Linden and said, "You are awake… Hurry up and eat something." Linden smiled as he felt warmth in his heart when he heard her voice. The girl was his younger sister in this life, Lilyana Crest. Renowned for her potential to be the most beautiful girl in the family, she was also kind at heart. Following their father's disappearance, Ivan set them up and sent them to the family dungeon where they endured endless torture. "Lily, I'm not hungry. You should eat it." Linden felt a pain in his heart when he saw his sister's pale complexion.  In his previous life, he had a lovely sister that died in the war before he was strong enough to protect her. This has always been a painful memory. He retained not only his body's memory but also all of his emotions. With a second chance at life, Linden had decided that he wanted to protect his loved ones! Ivan, and whoever's helping him… Just you wait! I'm going to make you all pay! Linden's eyes flashed with a cold light. There were traces of a red flame flickering in his eyes. "Linden! What's the matter?" Lilyana looked worried at her brother.  Somehow, she had the impression that he looked different from usual. Especially just now, when there were traces of a red flame that flashed across his eyes. Was she seeing things? "Silly girl! I'm fine. I'm all right." Linden gently stroked her hair.  Without hesitation, the girl leaned over obediently. She exuded a certain fragrant. Though she had been imprisoned for days, she still carried that scent. She soon dozed off in Linden's arms. He also closed his eyes to meditate. The key to practicing magic was meditation. By emptying one's thoughts through meditation, one could sense the elemental forces in the surroundings. The foundation for casting magic was magic power and one could gather magical power by absorbing these elemental forces.  The elements in the dungeon began to dance around him like fairies as he meditated. A glimmer of fiery power appeared in his spiritual consciousness, and it grew into a rune of flames over time. His spiritual power was growing alongside his ability to absorb elemental forces. "That's the cell! Master Karl has given his orders! Kill only the boy! After this, no matter what happens or what stories you hear, it doesn't concern you. Am I clear?" While meditating, Linden heard a strange voice coming from outside the dungeon. He was about thirty feet from it. His meditation had enhanced his spiritual power and also allowed him to hear the movements outside. "It's Karl! Ivan's son!" Hearing this name, Linden's expression became cold. Ivan and Karl, the father and son, were bad news. They had sent someone to kill him in the dungeon. "Go inside! Now that you're serving your sentence! Behave yourselves!"  Soon after, a guard walked into the cell and pretended to receive a "prisoner" who had just been handed over to him by the jailer. Linden was able to get a good look at him. The prisoner was a muscular man with an arm tattoo.  As soon as that man walked into the cell, he fixed his gaze on Linden and flashed a wry smile. He even made a provocative gesture toward Linden by drawing a line across his neck.  "Brother…" Lilyana, who had fallen asleep in Linden's arms, was sleep-talking. It was unclear whether this lovely porcelain-doll-faced young lady was having a nightmare. Her body was trembling slightly, and tears were hanging from the corners of her eyes. "Don't worry! I'll always be there for you!" Seeing her lovable appearance, Linden gently tapped her head. He used some spiritual magic to help her fall asleep soundly. His gaze returned to the man moments later. Instead of being a sitting duck, he should strike first! "Now that my God of Flame elemental powers have returned to the world, I'll make my magic shine red once more in Lumos Land. I summon thee, fire fairy! My blood will guide your way to me!" Linden chanted softly as he lowered his head.  As he recited the spell, the elemental forces in the air became restless and formed a flame at his fingertips invisible to the naked eye. With a flick of his fingers, a flash of fire fell lightly on the tattooed warrior. Immediately after… Boom! The flames rose! The tattooed warrior was initially unconcerned about it. He assumed it was just a regular fire. He brushed it off a few times. Soon, his expression became painful and hideous as the flames began to burn frantically. "What's going on? Help me! Arghhh!" The tattooed warrior wailed angrily. He even started rolling on the ground. "I'm on fire! Quick! Put out the fire!" The entire dungeon was in a riot! All of the inmates and jailers were alarmed. Due to the large flames, many jailers avoided the tattooed warrior. Some dashed for water, only to discover that the fierce warrior had been burnt to death by the time they returned. "What happened? How could this new prisoner catch fire?" Bahram, the warden, dashed into the dungeon. He locked his gaze onto the recently burned tattooed warrior. His complexion was gloomy and terrifying. Master Karl had previously given him an order to arrange for a warrior to enter the dungeon and kill Linden. However, that warrior had been burned before stepping into Linden's cell. What the hell is going on? Bahram looked at all this in bewilderment. He finally set his sights on Linden deep in the dungeon. Under the moonlight, the young man sat cross-legged on the ground. He was holding his sleeping sister in his arms. The young man seemed rather calm. There was so much turmoil outside, but he stayed quiet. Aside from that, the girl was able to sleep in his arms? Something strange is going on with these two! Bahram frowned. He was astounded all of a sudden. He was not sure if it was an illusion, but he saw traces of a scarlet flame in Linden's eyes under the moonlight. It had the same creepy red color as the scorched corpse in front of him.  "What is that?" Bahram was taken aback! When he looked intently again, everything was the same as before. Is he the culprit? Bahram had an uneasy feeling about this.  Could that young man be a sorcerer?