In a small shack on the rural outskirts of Etivac, an old woman with pupil-less eyes gazed at the night sky through the cracks of her window. Her voice was soft, yet it carried the weight of prophecy.
"The Chosen One… has been born."
With those words, she closed her eyes, as if her task in this world was complete.
On November 28, Year 1145, in the Cain region of Etivac, a child came into the world. His name was Rai—a strikingly handsome and unusually well-behaved baby. His gentle nature won the love of his parents immediately, filling their home with joy.
Five years later, his younger sister Hera was born. But her arrival brought sorrow instead of celebration. On the same day she drew her first breath, their mother, Cynthia, breathed her last.
The villagers whispered. They called Hera a cursed child, blaming her for the death of the kindhearted woman who had once healed their sick without greed or corruption. Even their father, the respected village head, could not hide his grief. And in his grief, love twisted into hatred.
That hatred reached its breaking point one fateful night.
Blinded by despair, Rai's father carried the infant Hera in his arms, sneaking into an abandoned house at the edge of the village. But he didn't know that little Rai, curious and worried, had followed him in silence.
From the corner of the darkened room, Rai watched, trembling.
"You cursed child!" his father roared, his voice breaking into madness. "Because of you, my beloved wife is gone! If not for you, Cynthia would still be alive! I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Rai's tiny body shook. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he crouched, pressing his hand against his mouth to muffle his sobs. His heart pounded as his father's voice grew more deranged.
"I'll kill you before you bring more misfortune to this village! I'll end this curse here—for the sake of our people! Hahahahaha!"
The blade in his father's hand gleamed as it was raised high above the helpless infant.
At that moment—something strange happened.
Rai's tears blurred his vision, his body trembling in fear, yet in the next instant… he was no longer cowering in the corner. As if space itself bent to his will, the five-year-old suddenly appeared behind his father.
Before the madman could even turn, Rai gripped a small wooden post and swung it down with all his strength.
Crack!
The post struck the back of his father's head.
The man staggered forward, his crazed laughter cut short, as silence devoured the abandoned house.
Rai froze in shock, the wooden post still trembling in his tiny hands. His heart pounded wildly. He didn't understand how he had moved—how he had crossed the distance in an instant.
But one thing was certain.
Something inside him had awakened.
"What… what the hell just happened?"
Rai's eyes widened in disbelief, his tiny chest heaving. He could barely comprehend how he had suddenly appeared behind his father in that strange instant.
As his father groaned on the ground, trying to push himself up, Rai seized the chance. He scooped Hera into his trembling arms and ran out of the abandoned house, his small legs pumping with every ounce of strength.
"I'll protect you, no matter what… even if it costs me my life. Just bear with me, Hera—we'll escape this catastrophe."
He whispered to his baby sister as tears streamed down his cheeks. But before long, the sound of furious footsteps echoed behind him.
"Rai! Stop running!" his father's deranged voice roared through the night. "Give me that cursed child! I'll end her life—for the sake of the village! To rid us of this misfortune!"
His words dripped with madness, each syllable like venom.
Rai bit down on his lip until it bled. "No, Father! I will never give you Hera—even if I have to die!" he shouted back, his voice breaking but firm.
His mind swirled in chaos. Why? Why did that happen back there? How did I move like that? The memory of instantly appearing behind his father haunted him. Desperate, he raised his voice to the heavens.
"What the hell is going on?! Please, God… if I really have that power, lend it to me again! Lend me the strength to protect my sister!"
But nothing came. The strange ability that had awakened in that fleeting moment refused to answer. It had been instinct—born from desperation and the unshakable will to protect Hera.
His father's voice drew closer, filled with insanity. Rai's heart raced. Then, ahead, he spotted a horse-drawn carriage idling at the roadside. Without hesitation, he slipped Hera inside, covering her gently with the cloth within.
He pressed his forehead to hers one last time.
"Hera… I don't know when, or where, we'll meet again. But I swear, I will find you. And when I do, I'll prove to the world that you're not a curse… but an angel sent by God."
With that vow, Rai turned back toward the path—alone.