10,000 years ago, before the thousands of demons who stood facing the seven men, the Demon Sovereign, Gargaroth, loomed. His silhouette was visible from the sky as lightning struck a devastated and distorted landscape. This sight was the only thing they had seen since their uprising.
On a hill, six men stood tall, each radiating a distinct aura: green, pure white, golden, blazing red, violet, and turquoise blue. They stood side by side, their auras intertwining.
In front of them stood what naturally seemed to be their leader, an orange aura emanating from him across several hundred meters. He suddenly took flight, followed by the six others.
Each time they crashed into the ground, their impacts destroyed large parts of the battlefield.
***
10,000 years later...
The Schattenkrieg Empire was a kingdom that revered magic. It was also the greatest magical empire in the world. Power was concentrated in the center, with the imperial family, and in each cardinal direction reigned a duchy: in the North, East, West, and South, known as the Four Great Houses.
These houses had shared power in a stable balance for hundreds of years.
***
15 years ago, a bloodied woman wearing a white cloak and hood was flying and teleporting short distances through the forest, a baby in her arms. She seemed both desperate and enraged by what was happening to her.
Behind her, dozens of mages were chasing her, flying and teleporting in short bursts.
— She's been evading us for over nine months! She's the last survivor of that bloodline. Kill her, and the throne will finally belong to the Schattenkrieg family! Long live Emperor Reinhardt! shouted the man who seemed to be leading the group—a man with short brown hair and a vertical scar over his right eye.
Upon hearing those words, the woman's fury seemed to overpower her despair. Her eyes lit up orange, and she floated the baby, wrapped in his blanket, far off into the forest.
She suddenly turned around, and a spear made of basic Ryoku pierced through her body. The dozens of mages caught up shortly after and impaled her from all sides with armed manifestations of their Ryoku.
The woman fell into a river, dragging several of the men who had struck her down with her. The leader saw the look in her eyes: it wasn't the look of someone afraid to die. She almost seemed pleased.
— Metsuen... No. The Chosen One will avenge us. Your downfall is only a matter of time she said before chuckling, as if mocking them, then exhaled her last breath.
The men slowly rose one by one from the water.
— Did anyone see the baby's body? If that truly was her son, then we're in serious trouble the captain said, wiping his face, as the river washed away the blood left by the woman.
— One of our men saw her throw him away. He was probably carried off by the river and drowned replied a subordinate.
— Just in case, search the area. We can't allow a descendant of "that Man" to survive.
Somewhere, on a tree branch, a baby with blond hair and orange eyes, wearing a medal around his neck and wrapped in an orange blanket, had gently landed. Tears streamed down his face, though he did not know why. He was unconscious.
One day later, a young woman with black hair and a rounded belly passed by. She heard a baby crying. She rushed toward the sound, picked him up from the branch, and held him in her arms.
— There, there, it's okay now, my child... I'll take care of you. You'll surely be a wonderful big brother for Heinrich she said, gently stroking her belly.
***
15 years later, in the small village of Fangan, to the west of the Schattenkrieg Empire, lived a 15-year-old orphan. It was the day before the one on which he had been found or rather 'born'. The day before his birthday.
His name was Metsuen.
***
In the forest, a punch violently struck a boy in the face. He was 5'9'', with messy blond hair and orange eyes. Despite the scratch caused by the hit, he didn't flinch. His gaze remained calm and thoughtful.
The boy facing him, with short black hair, was accompanied by two other children.
***
— I don't understand why mother took care of a worthless stray from the forest like you. She should never have bothered with dead weight said the black-haired boy. The other two nodded slowly.
Metsuen placed a hand where he had been hit and wiped it.
— Heinrich… I already put you in your place last time, and now you come back with backup? he said, irritated.
A vein bulged on Heinrich's forehead, and he lunged at Metsuen. But Metsuen caught him off guard, landing a right hook. Heinrich's nose bled as he stumbled backward.
The two other boys then charged at Metsuen. He let out a roar of fury.
***
I was in the forest, at the place where Anne found me. She's the one who took me in, fed me, and treated me like her own son. I am truly grateful to her.
The useless one is Heinrich, Anne's biological son. He always resented me because his mother didn't give him as much attention as he wanted. The way Anne treated me seemed unfairly better to him. We fight often, it always escalates, but I win every time. Not just against him—I never lose against the other village kids either.
But this time, he went too far trying to gang up on me. He won't get away with just a few bruises.
Anne found me with an orange medallion engraved with ten stars and the letters "Metsuen" stitched onto it, tied around my neck.
The two followers charged at me. At that moment, I had only one thought: I wanted to get rid of them… to kill them.
Strangely, a bizarre sensation coursed through my body—more precisely, through my blood vessels. I felt a surge of power, as if I had released Ryoku.
The medallion around my neck began to shine and react.
I heard a voice echo in my head:
[Host Metsuen has been recognized]
[Attempting to access the Hall of Heritage]
[Attempt successful. Metsuen has been recognized as the one and only heir]
[Teleportation]
As the voice spoke those words, I placed my hand on my forehead. My rage hadn't subsided.
The environment around me changed, replaced by a large, cold, completely gray room. I had fallen to the ground, landing on my backside.
It seemed the others hadn't been brought here. But that wasn't what I needed to worry about right now.