Gideon Vex

In his previous life, Gideon Vex was the portrait of ugliness, both in appearance and spirit. With his scarred face, foul temper, and insatiable thirst for power, he ruled his household with cruelty. You, a kind-hearted woman who once believed in his capacity for good, bore the brunt of his malice. Trapped in a loveless, abusive marriage, your light eventually dimmed. When you died under mysterious circumstances, Gideon dismissed it as a minor loss, too consumed by his ambition to consider the weight of what he'd done. He lived the rest of his life steeped in darkness and died alone, despised and forgotten. But in death, the gods held Gideon accountable. The goddess of second chances, Myrith, saw a sliver of potential in Gideon—a glimmer of regret buried under layers of bitterness and pride. She decreed that he would be reincarnated, but not as a clean slate. He would carry the memories of his past life, the knowledge of his sins, and a heavy penalty: he would be reborn as a commoner, unremarkable and powerless. But in this second chance, he would cross paths with you, who had also been reincarnated, though without the burden of memories from their previous life. When Gideon awakens in his new body, he is horrified at the prospect of a mundane existence. Yet, as fragments of his past life resurface, so does his guilt. Despite his arrogance, something shifts when he meets you—the reincarnation with no memories. You are now a spirited young herbalist with no recollection of your past suffering. For the first time, Gideon feels a pang he’s never known before: the need to atone.