Amidst the howling wind, a middle-aged man with grizzled hair stood in front of a gravestone. He placed a bouquet of pure white flowers in front of it.

"I'm back, Roselle. I've found a way to reverse everything. I'll make sure that none of this happens."

The man's voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time. His eyes, however, were clear and determined.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, ornate pocket watch. Its surface was engraved with mysterious symbols that seemed to shift and change as he looked at them.

"The Sealed Artifact... I've finally completed it. With this, I can send someone back. Someone who can change the course of history."

The man opened the watch. Inside, instead of clock hands and orders, there was a swirling vortex of darkness that seemed to absorb all light.

"I've chosen someone, Roselle. Someone who will understand the value of knowledge, the importance of caution. Someone who can navigate the treacherous waters of the hidden world without being consumed by it."

He snapped the watch shut and looked up at the darkening sky.

"The Blasphemy Slate has shown me the path. The ritual will begin at midnight."

As if responding to his words, thunder rumbled in the distance.

The man smiled grimly.

"It's time."

---

Zhou Mingrui's head was pounding. The fluorescent lights of the office seemed unusually harsh today, and the constant clicking of keyboards around him felt like needles being driven into his skull.

"Hey, Zhou, you don't look so good," said a coworker, peering over the cubicle divider.

Zhou Mingrui managed a weak smile. "Just a headache. I'll be fine."

But he wasn't fine. The headache had started three days ago and had been getting progressively worse. He had taken painkillers, tried to get more sleep, even visited a doctor, but nothing helped.

He turned back to his computer screen, where he had been proofreading a translation of a fantasy novel. The words swam before his eyes, and he blinked hard, trying to focus.

The novel was called "Lord of the Mysteries," and it was about a world where people could gain supernatural powers by consuming potions made from mystical materials. Zhou had been enjoying it, finding the magic system particularly intriguing. It was different from the usual cultivation novels that flooded the market.

As he read, a particular passage caught his attention:

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era will walk upon the gray fog and end the history of the Gods."

Something about those words resonated with him, making his headache spike. He winced, rubbing his temples.

"I need some air," he muttered, standing up from his desk.

He made his way to the office balcony, stepping out into the cool evening air. The city stretched out before him, a sea of lights against the darkening sky. For a moment, the fresh air seemed to help, the pounding in his head receding slightly.

Then, without warning, the pain exploded. It felt like his skull was being split open from the inside. Zhou Mingrui clutched his head, a scream tearing from his throat as he fell to his knees.

The world around him began to distort, the city lights stretching and blurring like watercolors in the rain. He heard voices, distant and echoing, speaking words he couldn't understand.

And then, darkness.

---

Klein Moretti woke with a start, his heart pounding in his chest. He had been having the strangest dream, about a world filled with towering buildings of glass and steel, where carriages moved without horses and people carried small devices that could communicate across vast distances.

He sat up in bed, running a hand through his tousled brown hair. Sunlight streamed through the window of his small apartment, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.

"What a peculiar dream," he murmured, trying to hold onto the fading images. But like water through a sieve, they slipped away, leaving only a vague sense of disorientation.

Klein swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stretching. He had a busy day ahead. The Divination Department at Khoy University had announced a new job opening, and he was determined to secure it. With his background in mysticism and his decent grades, he had a good chance.

As he moved to his washbasin to splash water on his face, a wave of dizziness hit him. He gripped the edge of the basin, waiting for it to pass.

Strange... he hadn't felt this way before.

When he looked up into the small mirror above the basin, he froze. For just a moment, he thought he saw a different face looking back at him—a face with features similar to his own, yet distinctly foreign.

Klein blinked, and the illusion was gone. His own familiar face stared back at him, brown eyes wide with confusion.

"I must be more nervous about the job than I thought," he said to himself, trying to shake off the unsettling feeling.

He quickly washed and dressed, donning a clean white shirt, brown vest, and matching trousers. As he knotted his tie, his fingers moved with practiced ease, yet somehow the action felt... new, as if he was performing it for the first time.

Klein dismissed the thought and grabbed his coat and hat. He had no time for strange fancies today. The future awaited, and he was determined to meet it head-on.

As he stepped out into the bustling streets of Tingen City, he couldn't shake the feeling that something fundamental had changed. The world around him was exactly as it had always been—the cobblestone streets, the steam-powered trams, the people in their early industrial-era clothing—yet it all seemed slightly foreign, as if he was seeing it through new eyes.

"Get a hold of yourself, Klein," he muttered under his breath. "It's just pre-interview nerves."

He straightened his back, adjusted his hat, and strode purposefully toward the university, unaware that his life had already changed in ways he couldn't possibly imagine.

Unaware that he was no longer just Klein Moretti.

Unaware that he was now also Zhou Mingrui, a transmigrator from another world.

And unaware of the ancient powers that had orchestrated it all.