Chapter I."Art is life."  The Belmont Family of Paris, France had always been well-known in the fields of art. For many decades, they have earned a name for themselves, not only in France but also, in other places such as America. They have produced countless artists, painters, architects, and even theatre performers which alleviated the name, Belmont. Many people say that once a child is born to this family, his or her future is already set in stone. And to be honest, for Joshua Alexis Belmont, it was the truth and nothing but the truth.

On the 28th of September, Joshua Alexis Belmont was born to his French father, Hugo Belmont, and Filipino mother, Celestine Belmont (née Cruz). He was the second and youngest child, following Jean Simon Belmont. And since his father is a well-known painter, creating hundreds of masterpieces, and his mother, a world-renowned architect, there was already a huge pressure looming over Joshua's head even though, he was still just a baby.

Chapter II. "Darling, you are a work of art." Jean Simon Belmont is the older brother of Joshua. He is only a year older than him and since Joshua was born, Jean Simon was already by his side. He was always glued next to his baby brother, always playing, cooing and gushing over how cute his brother is. Simon will always be seen reading him books, teaching him words, and even training him how to hold a pen or a brush. Simon really loves Joshua unconditionally, yet everything changed as years passed by.

At a very young age, Joshua showed much interest and talent in the arts—much to his parents' delight. His father taught him how to draw, portray, and even paint using both acrylic and oil paint while his mother taught him all about balance, structure, and design. Everyone already expected that Joshua will receive amazing talent from both his parents, but they never would have thought that he will be so good, to the point that he will be called a genius at such a young age. And although, Joshua's parents are very much lax when it comes to their children's talent and career paths, their friends couldn't just let the talent go to waste. Their parent's friends continuously prod the young artist to enter art competitions which only showcased his talent even more. And because of this, Joshua's name rang not only within Paris or France, but has become a common discussion within the fields of art surrounding the continent of Europe.

Chapter III. "Let me taint you with jealousy and frustration." Years had passed, and Joshua has earned many trophies and titles from winning numerous painting competitions. His parents and even their friends were so proud of him, but amongst all the happiness, it was unavoidable that their will be comparison between the brothers. And to say the least, Simon wasn't happy at all. As the two brothers grew up, Simon began distancing himself from his younger brother, filling his heart with hatred, and frustration. And Joshua, being the perceptive and clever little man, noticed these changes in his older brother. It hurt him, to be completely honest, but what can he possibly do? He loves his older brother, but he also loves to paint. He cannot possibly choose between the two. Joshua was so torn, having to choose between the two most important things in his life. But because their parents friends continues to force him to participate in contest, he couldn't stop himself from painting. So, in the end, the gap between the two brothers only increased as they both headed to their designated futures.

Chapter IV. "Creativity takes courage." Their parents have noticed the heavy tension surrounding their two sons however, they don't want to involve themselves with whatever's happening to the two, thinking and hoping that they will be able to fix their problem as the two are now much older and more mature. However, because there was no intervention from their parents, the relationship between teh two only worsen. And when Jean Simon graduated from high school, he immediately flew to Los Angeles, California to study there for his university years, preventing Joshua to rebuild his relationship with his older brother.

Joshua's parents mayh think everything is going swell after Sinom left for California but, as their youngest son continues to enter comeptitions after competitions, and let's not forget winning them, people started talking, spreading rumors about the young man while other competitors began hating and cursing the young man. Of course, all of these rumors fell to deaf ears, but Joshua couldn't help but be sad with all the negativities surrounding his life. First, it was his brother, and now, it was other students and other participants of art competitions. Why does people have to hate him for being good at something? Why can't they be happy for him when all he ever does is fall in love with painting? Though, his love for the arts slowly wavered because of all the rumors and negativities, he didn't show it.. He continued to paint and eneter competitions, yet he was slowly spiraling into sadness as people avoided him for being good at something he loves.

Chapter V. "'Til death, we do art." At the age of eighteen, Joshua stopped entering competitions, to his parents shock. He just wanted to stop, so that the rumors and the hate surrounding him would also stop. So that he will also stop himself from ever hating painting and the arts. But most of all, he wanted to change, he wanted to start over and stop being the passive man he once was. He wanted to change himself for the better. But most of all, he wanted to rebuild his relationship with his older brother. So one morning, after realizing how much he truly loves his older brother, he asked his parents if he can fly on his own to California. To his surprise, his parents gave him permission, finally seeing the change in their youngest son. Immediately, with only a small backpack and a few things, Joshua traveled from Paris to Los Angeles. But little did he know, he will never be able to patch things up with his older brother because he was involve with a car accident, killing him in the process.

Book II. Otto of Midgard

Chapter I. "Stay strong for yourself." Otto was shocked, to say the least. He thought he was dead and that he was either going to heaven or hell, but never in his life would he thought of being reincarnated to a place called Midgard. And although he wasn't alone, he was also not comfortable being with people he doesn't know so, when they all went their separate ways, Otto chose to go alone. For a while he traveled on his own without money and food for survival however, he stumbled upon a village. He was roaming around the place when suddenly, he witnessed something small getting bullied. And as someone who experienced bullying in the past (sort of), he couldn't just let it slide, and immediately went to save the little creature. There and then, he met his new friend, Aki. He was an elf in search of a dwarf named Runnar who specializes in Dark Magic. When Otto heard about this, it immediately peaked his interest and Otto offered to him in his search. Along the way, Otto realized that truth as to why Aki was searching for the Dark Magic holder; it was for him to save his mother, and the only thing that can take the curse of his mother is a high-level dark magic. Along the way, Aki thought Otto how to read and write in Swedish, as well as Norwegian. Otto was having a hard time at frist, but he was slowly getting used to the languages. 

They traveled for days—maybe even weeks—until one day they stumbled upon a house in the middle of a huge forest. Inside the tiny house was the man, or dwarf, they were looking for. The High-level Dark Magic Dwarf, Runnar. However, Runnar didn't want to leave his house, refusing to help the elf. Aki begged and begged for the dwarf to come with him and save his mother but still, Runnar refused to leave his abode. In the process of making a bargain, Otto suggested that Runnar train him in dark magic so, they can save Aki's dying mother while Runnar doesn't have to leave his home. For months, they trained day and night to the point that sometimes, Otto doesn't sleep at all. At first, Runnar was reluctant to teach Otto more than the cure for the curse however, he saw how dedicated the young man was and when he realized the Otto was a half-dwarf, he opened up to the boy even more. For several months, Otto learned as much as he can under the apprenticeship of Runnar until the time they need to leave and save Aki's mother. Otto swore to come back and continue his apprenticeship with Runnar and the dwarf agreed.

Otto and Aki were just in time when they arrived to where Aki lives. The moment they stepped inside the house, they headed straight for the sick mother. They cured the  curse off her, much to Aki and his mother's gratefulness. After saving the life of his friend's mother, Aki reject Otto's offer to travel with him, and Otto agreed knowing that Aki needs to be beside his recovering mother. After a day or two, Otto leaft Aki's house and went on his way.

Chapter II. "Getting lost will help you find yourself." For a few more weeks, Otto traveled on his own. Now, one of his problem has already been fixed. He can now read and write in two languages Midgard use—though not proficiently in Norwegian but still, it's progress. But rather than returning back to Runnar immediately, he went off looking for a job. He thought of being part of the Adventure Association but, he saw that the rank F missions were not really well-paid jobs so, he thought of something else. He was looking, asking and searching for jobs in the town when suddenly, a weird-looking man in front of a merchant shop called out to him. Otto entered the shop and met its owner, Arvo. Looking at the outside, one may think that it was merely a merchant shop, but when Arvo showed his true colors, that's when everything started to change. He offered Otto a job, involving a high ranking official. He was tasked to spy and gather as much information as he can regarding the official. And at that time, Otto thought it was a great deal, earning a lot more money compared to F ranked missions.

For months, Ottos served as on of Arvo's go-to spies and after earning Arvo's trust and proving to him that he was good—and even better than other spies and assassins, Arvo became Otto's middleman, giving him jobs and other information. From then on, Otto went on stealth, espionage, and spying missions that later turned into assassinating. And although, he didn't like tainting his blade with other people's blood nor does he like killing people in general, the news and information gathered about political personalities just disgusts him sometimes. He hates how they can be this charismatic person then later on, be the cruel slave trader. And because of him killing this important personalities and other unwanted vermins in Midgard, he earned the name, Garm, the houd dog of Hel.

As he became more famous in the field of assassination, the harder the jobs get. And although he wanted to help more people by giving back to them with what he stole from the undeserving rich families, he knows he has to get stronger first. So after completing one hard job, and giving some of his earnings to those who need it, he told Arvo that he will be gone for a fe more months since, he will travel in search of an old friend. And Arvo bid him good bye, though reluctantly, for now.

Chapter III. "Getting stronger each day." Otto went back to where Runnar was, and the dwarf accepted him with open arms, saying that he was hoping that the young half-huma, half-dwarf would come back to learn more from him. As time passed by, Otto learned a lot from the dwarf. He even treated Runnar as his adoptive father in his stay in Midgard. He learned more and became much stronger, he even learned a few Air Magic from the old dwarf. After months and months of training, Otto was ready to go back, though his training isn't complete yet, but really he thought he still have a lot of time in Midgard so, he can take things a little slow. He bid Runnar for the time being, promising to come back in a few months.

On his way back to the village where Arvo is, Otto stumbled upon a group of thieves. Among them was a young man tied. A hostage, he thought. And since he couldn't just ignore what was happening before him, he rescued the man, killing the thieves in the process. As he rescued the young man, he realized that he was all alone with a huge cello-like instrument. The young man introduced himself as Kalle, and began befriending Otto. He followed him to Otto on his journey back to the village. At first, Otto was quite reluctant to bring Kalle with him, knowing that he has quite a dangerous and ununsual job, but the young man stuck to him like glue. Along the way, the two got to know each other. Kalle even taught Otto Norwegian which Otto appreciated, and by the time they reached the village, they were already pretty close to each other.

As Otto went back to his assassination jobs, he didn't let Kalle know about his job, thinking that he will detest him if he knows. After a very long job, he was returning to a hotel (tavern, or something) where they were staying, he received a mail from Eir. As he could remember, it was the name of one of the reincarnated person. It was a letter inviting him to join the newly-formed guild, Hiraeth.

Book III. Otto of Hiraeth