Three days remained before Derek, Joey, and Eliza would return to Brim Academy, one of the most prestigious academies in the world. It was a place where children above the age of ten were sent to train their talents, learn combat, and study the history of the five continents.
For the royal children, attending Brim Academy was both an honor and an expectation.
But for Nox, it was a distant dream.
At only seven years old and with no awakened talent, he could only watch as his older siblings trained in the palace courtyard.
That morning, the training grounds were filled with activity. Derek practiced powerful sword strikes while enhancing his strength with his talent. Joey stood nearby, manipulating wind currents with careful control. Jaret struggled to keep up with the others, and Eliza practiced heat manipulation under the watchful eyes of the palace instructors.
Nox sat quietly on the stone steps near the courtyard wall.
As always, he tried to sense something within himself — some hidden power waiting to awaken.
But there was nothing.
Just silence.
Derek noticed him watching and smirked.
"You're staring again," he said mockingly.
Joey crossed his arms and glanced at Nox.
"Still trying to discover your talent?" he asked coldly.
Nox looked down but didn't respond.
Derek suddenly had an idea.
A cruel one.
"Let's make things interesting," he said with a grin.
Joey raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"We should have a challenge," Derek said. "Let's go to the Cursed Forest."
Even the name of the forest carried a dark reputation. The forest lay far from the palace walls and was known as the habitat of dangerous creatures and beasts.
Many hunters refused to enter it.
Joey smiled slowly as he understood Derek's intentions.
"And what would the challenge be?"
"Simple," Derek replied. "We enter the forest and hunt goblins. Whoever survives for one hour and comes back with the most goblin ears wins."
Jaret looked nervous but excited.
Nox hesitated.
"The Cursed Forest is dangerous…" he said quietly.
Derek laughed.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?"
Joey added, "If you're really a prince, you should prove it."
The words struck Nox harder than they expected.
He clenched his fists.
"I'll go."
Derek and Joey exchanged satisfied glances.
Their trap was set.
What Nox didn't know was that they never intended for him to return alive.
Eliza was not present during this conversation. She was inside the palace preparing her belongings before leaving for the academy.
Later that afternoon, the four boys secretly left the palace grounds and traveled toward the edge of the Cursed Forest.
As they approached the forest, an eerie feeling filled the air.
Cold wind brushed through the trees.
A strange pressure weighed heavily on their bodies — as if the forest itself was warning them to turn back.
Jaret shivered.
"This place feels… wrong."
Even Derek and Joey felt it.
But pride pushed them forward.
They stepped inside.
The forest was dark and unnaturally quiet. Twisted trees blocked most of the sunlight, and distant growls echoed through the shadows.
Legends said that somewhere deep within this forest lived a powerful creature — a beast that ruled over all the monsters inside.
But none of them believed the story.
Not yet.
They had barely walked deeper into the forest when the ground trembled.
A massive shadow appeared between the trees.
Slowly, a gigantic wolf stepped forward.
Its fur was silver like moonlight, and its eyes glowed with ancient intelligence.
The creature towered over them.
It was Fenrir.
A legendary beast spoken of only in ancient myths.
For a moment, none of them could move.
Fear froze their bodies.
Then survival instincts took over.
"RUN!" Derek shouted.
All four boys turned and ran as fast as they could.
Branches tore at their clothes while distant roars echoed through the forest.
But Derek had already made his decision.
As they ran, he suddenly shoved Nox from behind.
Nox stumbled and fell hard onto the ground.
"Sorry, little brother," Derek muttered.
Joey didn't even look back.
Nox looked up in horror as his brothers disappeared into the forest, leaving him behind.
The ground trembled again.
Fenrir was approaching.
Nox forced himself to stand and began running in a random direction.
His lungs burned. His legs trembled.
Along the way, smaller beasts attacked him. He was scratched, bitten, and slammed into tree trunks as he desperately tried to escape.
Eventually, he collapsed.
Exhausted.
Bleeding.
Hopeless.
"So this is how I die…" Nox whispered weakly.
His vision faded.
Moments later, he lost consciousness.
Fenrir approached the fallen boy.
The massive wolf lowered its head and sniffed him.
Then something unexpected happened.
Fenrir froze.
Within the unconscious child, the beast sensed a power — a presence that felt strangely familiar.
It was the same aura as his master.
Fenrir carefully lifted Nox with his jaws and carried him deep into the forest.
Far beyond the reach of ordinary creatures.
To a hidden sacred place.
Centuries ago, Fenrir's master had commanded him to guard this place and protect a powerful artifact until the day his successor arrived.
For hundreds of years, Fenrir had waited.
And now… the one he had been waiting for had finally appeared.
Fenrir gently placed Nox on the ground and used his healing abilities.
A faint golden light surrounded the boy, slowly healing his wounds.
After some time, Nox's eyes slowly opened.
He looked around in confusion.
"Where… am I?"
Then he saw the enormous wolf standing before him.
Nox froze.
But instead of attacking, the wolf spoke.
"Yes… you have finally awakened."
Nox's eyes widened in shock.
"You… can talk?"
Fenrir nodded.
"I have waited centuries for you."
The great beast turned its head toward a stone pedestal nearby.
On it rested a small ancient box.
"My master ordered me to guard that artifact until his successor arrived," Fenrir said. "And that successor is you."
Nox slowly walked toward the pedestal.
For some strange reason, the closer he got to the box, the stronger a feeling grew inside his chest.
It felt… familiar.
Almost like coming home.
With trembling hands, he opened the box.
Inside was a magnificent sword.
Its blade shimmered with ancient runes, and its hilt carried the symbol of the royal bloodline.
Nox's eyes widened.
"This… this is…"
The legendary sword of his ancestors.
A weapon believed to have been lost for ages.
The moment Nox grasped the sword, a powerful surge of energy exploded within his body.
Cracks of light spread across his skin like shattered glass.
Then suddenly—
The seal placed upon him broke.
A glowing screen appeared before his eyes.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
Curse detected…
Curse removed successfully.
Ownership transfer complete.
Nox stared in disbelief as more messages appeared.
TALENTS UNLOCKED
Talent Steal
Time Skip
Master of All Abilities
A flood of power rushed through his body.
All the pain… all the humiliation… all the years of being called useless…
They had all been lies.
Nox slowly turned toward Fenrir.
"Thank you… for saving me."
The great wolf bowed its massive head.
"I have fulfilled my master's promise."
From that moment onward, Fenrir recognized Nox as his new master.
Nox looked down at the glowing sword in his hands.
His eyes hardened with determination.
Now he had only two goals.
To discover who had cursed him…
And to make the ones who betrayed him pay for what they had done.