The morning sun pierced through the curtains of a modest room in the Human Kingdom, casting golden streaks over the scattered books and worn-out training swords. Kael, a sixteen-year-old boy with unruly brown hair and an ever-curious gaze, rubbed his eyes and yawned. Another ordinary day—or so he thought.
Ever since he could remember, Kael had lived a simple life in the quiet village of Eldoria. Yet, that simplicity shattered the moment the villagers noticed the faint, glowing crest on the back of his hand—a mark no healer, scholar, or elder could explain.
"Kael… you're late again!" shouted his childhood friend, Liora, as she balanced a basket of fruits on her head. She was always cheerful, though there was a spark of worry in her green eyes. "The guild master won't wait forever!"
Kael frowned at the reminder. Today was the day he would begin basic training at the Eldoria Academy, but deep down, he felt a strange pull—an invisible thread tugging him toward the mountains beyond the village.
By noon, Kael found himself at the training grounds, sword in hand, facing the academy's rigorous exercises. His strikes were precise, yet there was a restless energy bubbling within him, like a storm barely contained. Then, a sharp scream echoed from the village outskirts. Smoke curled into the sky, dark and ominous.
"Village… under attack?!" Kael's heart pounded as he sprinted toward the smoke. Around him, villagers scattered in panic, but what met his eyes froze him in place. Shadows, tall and menacing, moved with unnatural speed—creatures he had only read about in legends: demons.
Before Kael could react, a searing pain shot through his hand. The Mark of Origin flared, burning bright with a light that seemed alive. The demons recoiled as if recognizing it, and the air around Kael hummed with raw energy.
A voice whispered in his mind, soft yet commanding: "You are the Marked One. Choose—unite the realms, or watch them burn."
Kael staggered back, his eyes wide. The world he knew was gone. The adventure he never asked for had begun.
And from the distant peaks, a shadow watched, waiting for the day the Marked One would step into the realms' chaos.
—To be continued—