Path… Fate… Destiny… Meaningless labels.
I will carve my own path. And it will devour them all.
The infant trembled as he was placed on the polished marble floor.
Limbs weak, hands delicate—yet the mind behind them was steel incarnate.
Every fibre of Kael's being calculated angles, distances, and the sequence needed to reach the centre.
Focus.
Ignore the pain.
This body is fragile. My will is not.
Around the circle, the murmurs of nobles and attendants floated like idle winds:
"The third son… so delicate. Surely he'll reach for a coin or a book."
"See the eldest sons? Ranks 4 and 5 swords in their hands already. He's expected to follow in their shadows."
"The Ancestral Sword remains untouched. Perhaps this one will be no different."
...
...
....
.
Lyran began to crawl.
Each movement was agony.
Tiny hands brushed past books and coins, but he did not pause.
He could feel the aura of the swords now—a pressure that threatened to crush his fragile body, an oppressive weight that made every muscle scream.
[Ding!]
[Warning: Host detected in the presence of high-rank aura.]
[Soul energy depleting.]
[Soul energy: 97]
The notifications flashed incessantly, but I ignored them all.
My eyes were fixed on the centre.
Eclipsera.
It called to me. It was mine. I could feel it.
Crawl. Just crawl.
Past Rank 1… past Rank 2…
The suppression grew heavier, a suffocating force pressing on every thought, every nerve.
My tiny hands were raw from scraping marble, but still I moved.
[Soul energy depleting…]
[Soul energy depleting…]
[Soul energy depleting…]
Rank 3, Rank 4… Each step demanded exponentially more control.
The maids whispered, frozen. Servants trembled. Rose Varion's lips pressed into a tight smile, betraying faint unease.
The higher-ranked swords gleamed, their auras blazing and menacing, daring me to falter.
[Soul energy depleting…]
Bile rose in my throat. My vision blurred, edges of the hall dissolving into darkness. My heartbeat rattled inside my chest.
This is the edge. Life and death. And I will cross it.
A glance upward caught Seren's gaze—steady, golden, unwavering.
His aura barely flickered, but it was enough.
Enough to remind me of the sun, the pillar, and the father I once knew as my brother.
Not this time. Not ever again.
I pushed through Rank 5, leaving a faint trail of blood. Maids froze in terror, servants' hands shook, and Rose Varion paled beneath her practiced composure.
"The third young master has crossed the Rank 5 swords…"
Murmurs rippled through the hall like a storm.
My soul aptitude wasn't naturally high—I had raised it externally in my past life to ascend in rank.
Now, my limits were unknown, my body a cage.
But I did not care.
I would forge my destiny with these tiny hands, or I would die trying.
Crawl.
Rank 6 loomed before me—a gauntlet of divine light and ancient power.
The hall erupted.
Gasps, stifled screams, and trembling lips echoed through the marble chamber.
"The third young master… Rank 6… crossed it!"
"Impossible… Seren himself only reached Rank 6, and he was said to be a heaven-defying genius!"
"This… this child—"
[Soul energy depleting…]
The hall seemed to grow heavier, gravity pressing down as if the very air conspired against me.
My body shuddered violently.
A gush of crimson burst from my nose and mouth.
My tiny limbs trembled.
I… I can't…
No.
I will not fail.
I will not die again.
My inner voice — Kael, the shadow that once fell to fire and steel — screamed at the child's body, forcing it forward.
Step by step.
One crawl at a time.
You survived the Betrayal.
You survived the flames.
This is nothing.
Blood trickled freely now, staining the marble, and yet my gaze never left the black edge of Eclipsera.
You are mine.
Mine....
"Impossible… …" everyone was silent , only Lyran's panting could be heard.
[Host Soul Energy Critical — 53% Remaining]
Forward. Forward. Forward.
The shadow does not hesitate.
And then… Eclipsera.
The Ancestral Sword, impossibly radiant in its darkness, waited for me. Its aura assaulted me like a tempest.
The world screamed.
My tiny lungs heaved; my limbs quivered violently.
I ignored it.
I could feel my soul energy tearing apart.
[Soul Energy — 30% Remaining]
The system warned me, cold and precise:
[Warning: Approaching Permanent Soul Collapse]
I felt it—my strength withering.
My vision dimmed.
My heartbeat slowed.
And yet… my hand moved.
Forward.
One more crawl.
One more step.
Just one… and it would be mine.
Blood coated the marble beneath me. My lips cracked, and my tiny palms split. My tears mingled with blood, yet my gaze never wavered.
The sword's aura struck before I touched it. Pain tore through me like lightning. Shallow cuts ran along my infant skin where the blade's edge met flesh. My body screamed. My soul screamed louder.
The maids screamed.
"Impossible!"
"M-master…"
"Th-the third… h-he—"
But it was too late.
I touched it.
###
[Ding!]
[Mission Complete: Claim the Ancestral Sword "Eclipsera"]
[Reward Received: Shadow's Will (Grade ???)]
###
I ignored the notifications.
Pain exploded through me, a white-hot tempest that made the marble beneath me seem to shatter.
Blood poured freely from every wound, yet inside, Kael's soul burnt brighter than ever.
It was mine.
The edge of Eclipsera nicked my palm, etching a mark—a permanent bond, a signature of fate. The sword trembled in response, alive, aware, as if it had waited centuries for my touch.
The hall erupted into chaos.
Maids fainted. Servants screamed.
Rose Varion's lips parted in horror, her composure shattered.
Seren stepped forward at last.
Calm, commanding… But a flicker passed across his golden eyes: curiosity? Concern? Perhaps both.
Our gazes locked.
Father. Sun.
Me. Shadow reborn.
This time… I thought, as darkness claimed me, I would become the eclipse that devours the sun.
The room went black. My blood pooled on the marble. My tiny body slumped, barely alive. And yet inside… the fire of Kael's soul blazed.
The Duke's voice cut through the chaos, cold and unyielding:
"Kill every witness. Every maid, every servant. Leave no trace of this madness beyond these walls."
Steel sang through the hall. Screams tore the air. Blood painted every corner.
Only the shadow remained.
Before leaving, he spoke to his most trusted butler:
"Watch this child closely. Those eyes…."
The Selection was over. But for Lyran Varion, the true war had only begun.