The battlefield was ablaze. The bodies of monsters and humans were scattered everywhere, and blood stained the stone ground beneath the warriors' feet. In the midst of this chaos stood two figures fighting relentlessly: one wearing a mysterious monster mask, and the other with short blue hair and glowing red eyes filled with rage.
The two opponents, Andris the King of Monsters and Cyrus the hero, were on the verge of exhaustion, yet neither seemed anywhere close to victory.
Cyrus panted and said:
— Well… I think it's time to end this battle.
Andris, catching his breath with difficulty, looked at him in surprise:
— What… do you mean?
Cyrus continued with a deadly smile:
— How about we each unleash our strongest blow—put all of our life force into a single strike?
— Think… fine, Andris replied, hesitant but strangely excited. The idea isn't bad.
They paused for a moment, tightened their grips on their swords, and gathered all their strength in a silent breath before a massive explosion swept across the entire area.
---
A thousand years after the battle, in the mansion of Duke Wilton, the duchess lay exhausted on her bed. Beside her were two nearly naked infants wrapped in white cloth, surrounded by the loyal maid who held one of the babies with great care.
The maid said:
— My lord, you have been blessed with twins…
The duke immediately stood up, tense:
— Quickly, bring the mana measuring device. I want to know their power immediately.
The maid brought the device—a glowing orb that hovered over a decorated wooden table—and began measuring the newborns' mana.
The white-haired baby smirked to himself, speaking in a calm voice despite his tiny body:
— What… where am I? The last thing I remember was delivering the final blow to Andris… Did I lose? Damn it… And who are these fools around me?
The maid said:
— Here is the device, my lord. Let's measure the green-haired child first.
The orb suddenly lit up, and numbers appeared on its surface: 14
The duke trembled, his eyes widening in shock:
— What? Fourteen? That… that's hopeless! No one has ever gotten such a score!
— In our world, power is measured from birth: normal people range from 25 to 48, the gifted between 52 and 78, and geniuses between 80 and 200. Anyone who gets 14 is considered hopeless from the beginning.
The duke laughed mockingly, then pointed at the white-haired baby:
— Fine… measure this one next.
Hehe, surely I'll get at least 200. Haha, I pity that small thing. When I was Cyrus, I scored 298—the highest in history.
The orb lit up again, and the number displayed was: 12
— What?! How—how did I get twelve?! This device must be broken!
The duchess cried out in shock:
— How… how did he get that score?
The duke stared in a mix of disbelief and ridicule:
He turned to the other officials and said sternly:
— The duchess and the third and fourth princes will be exiled to the annex immediately.
— What? the duchess whispered, stunned. — How could he get twelve? The device must be malfunctioning…
What… how could they exile me to the annex?
Wait… what? I got twelve? This… fine.
But… why did they put me in such a small room?
I suddenly fell asleep and woke up here, trapped in a tiny space. The walls were cloaked in darkness, the air was thin, and the faint beams of light barely revealed the size of the room.
Alright, I need to get out.
But… this body is a baby… What will happen to him?
No, that doesn't matter now. I need to get out of this room.
I'm too small… I can't move properly… How embarrassing!
What should I do? Stay here forever? No, impossible.
Fine… I still have my legendary technique, the one no one can rival…
The technique of manipulating physical objects—mana manipulation.
I just need to focus my strength on the door handle… and push… it should open… Come on… just open…
It's so hard… I feel the energy flowing into my hand, concentrating into specific points…
I push… push… and—ah! It worked! The door began to move slowly.
The wood creaked loudly, and air seeped through the small opening…
Suddenly… I heard movement behind me.
What?
I turned quickly, and there he was… the other child.
A baby… with cold eyes, staring at me without a single emotion…
He lifted his hand, and suddenly a mana panel appeared in front of him, glowing with letters:
"Cyrus… you reincarnated here too?"
I raised my brows in shock…
— How… how does he know my name? Could he be the one who put me here?
— And what about me? I thought. Why are the two of us here?
My head spun… my mind overflowing with questions…
This bastard… yes, the same bastard I fought in my previous life.
The same anger… the same power.
I stood in front of the child, a strange feeling curling in my chest.
— Why… why are we together?
— Why am I… here… with him?
The air grew heavier, the silence pressing against my ears.
I felt something strange… as if a deep force was pulling us toward each other…
A mysterious power… something from the past… something I still didn't understand…
Andris didn't speak. He only watched me, eyes filled with caution and readiness.
I also… didn't want to start a fight. But something inside me whispered that I might have to, soon.
To be continued…