In the distant past, the world was nothing more than a playground for the Outer Gods.
It was an age when humanity could do nothing but be sacrificed as their playthings.
That age came to an end through the deeds of four heroes chosen by what were known as the Four Great Divinities.
Messiah’s Sacred Flame.
Alides’s Earth Soul.
Druid’s Verdure.
Ralke’s Dark Shadow.
The divinities did not end with the heroes of that era. They took root in their bloodlines and were passed down.
Those bloodlines became the empire’s Four Great Houses, which had endured to the present day.
Their direct descendants were special from birth.
Among them, those of Messiah’s bloodline were born with the ‘Sacred Flame Physique.’
An Aura of extreme yang that symbolized fire, and overwhelming resistance to demonic power.
The divinities of the other Four Great Houses were remarkable as well, but Messiah’s Sacred Flame was the most exceptional among them.
Its power to negate demonic forces was the strongest.
It would be a lie to say I had not admired that power.
Perhaps that was why I had followed the Commander.
But now, things were different.
‘Messiah.’
I had become a member of the House I had admired so much.
The Second Young Master, Sigmund Messiah.
I, too, had become part of that legend.
***
‘I still can’t believe it.’
I had been born an orphan and lived as Shadow Number One, nothing more than a tool that obeyed the orders of others.
And now I had been born as a direct descendant of one of the Four Great Houses.
But I had to accept it.
“My son.”
The ‘mother’ before my eyes right now was proof that this situation was real.
Selaine, the Second Wife.
She was the Commander’s biological mother, a woman who had died long ago in my previous life.
If she was alive and well before me now, there was no choice but to accept reality.
And that was not all.
“Goo.”
“My little brother grabbed my hand.”
I looked at the girl before me with complicated emotions in my eyes.
She was around seven years old now.
Arwin Messiah.
The Commander of the Messiah Knights who had died by my hand, the hand of a traitor, in my previous life.
With a perfectly blank expression, Arwin played with my cheeks whenever she had the chance.
‘Was she always like this?’
In my previous life, the Commander had not trusted people easily, nor had she allowed them close to her.
I, her vice commander, had been about the only exception.
Even that had been a result I had barely achieved through meticulous effort.
‘Is it because we’re family?’
I had been born as her biological younger brother, someone who originally had never existed.
Even she must have been endlessly soft when it came to blood relations.
Besides, the Commander was still only a child.
“Little brother, grab this one too.”
Without any change in expression, Arwin held out her index finger, her eyes alone sparkling.
I sighed inwardly and grabbed her index finger.
We had been repeating that little game when—
“Lady Selaine!”
A maid hurried into the room and rushed toward the Second Wife.
“Emily, what is it?”
“His Grace has finished subjugating the Demon Dragon and has already passed through the city gates! He’s on his way here now!”
“……!”
The Second Wife’s eyes widened.
‘The Grand Duke of Messiah!’
The undisputed Greatest Sword of the Empire.
I had seen him only once in my previous life.
Even though I had only seen him from a great distance, his presence had been so overwhelming that I could not even muster the will to fight him.
I had admired him as well.
He was a superhuman and a hero who stood in a realm I could never dare to reach.
Thump.
My heart began pounding on its own.
“Didn’t His Grace say he wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow? Why is he already……!”
“He heard that the Second Young Master had been born and hurried back. Lady Selaine, we need to prepare right aw……!”
Before the maid could even finish speaking—
THUD! THUD!
The floor trembled.
Startled, the Second Wife carried me toward the window.
Below, a man on horseback was passing through the main gate.
A group of heavily armed knights followed behind him.
The Grand Duke had returned.
***
“Congratulations, Your Grace!”
The Grand Duke of Messiah listened to the congratulations of his retainers and nodded without changing his expression.
“You’ve been through much.”
“You’ve been through much, Father.”
Leira, the First Wife, and Schubert, the eldest son, stood at the front to welcome the Grand Duke home.
The Grand Duke looked at his eldest son and asked calmly, “Have you been well?”
“Yes. I’ve also made progress with the swordsmanship you taught me before you left.”
“Impressive.”
The Grand Duke stroked Schubert’s head, then briefly met the First Wife’s eyes.
Numerous emotions passed between them.
“I heard an unpleasant piece of news during the subjugation. I was told that your family made improper offers to knights of our House.”
“……!”
The First Wife’s expression stiffened.
“We will discuss the details privately later. This is not something to speak of here.”
“Y-Your Grace, that is…….”
“I shall send for you.”
“Ah.”
The First Wife staggered.
Still holding his mother’s hand, Schubert turned his gaze toward the Second Wife for a moment.
Killing intent that could never belong to a child reached the baby in the Second Wife’s arms.
“……Annoying.”
Of course, it did not last long.
By the time Schubert turned his head again, his face had returned to the innocent expression of a child.
The Grand Duke stopped in front of the Second Wife.
“Nothing happened while I was away?”
“No, Your Grace.”
The Grand Duke gave a faint smile and lowered his gaze.
Seeing that, Arwin greeted him politely.
“You’ve been through much, Father.”
“Were you able to sense Aura?”
“Yes. I did what you told me, and I think I can feel it now.”
“Excellent.”
The Grand Duke lightly stroked Arwin’s head before turning his gaze toward the baby in the Second Wife’s arms.
“This child is Sigmund?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“He has not cried even once.”
The presence emanating from the Grand Duke was overwhelming.
Even though he was keeping it contained, there was no helping the faint pressure that still leaked through.
And yet this newborn baby did not cry.
He did not even avert his eyes, instead meeting the Grand Duke’s gaze with bright, clear eyes.
“Excellent.”
The Grand Duke smiled in satisfaction.
***
‘So this is the Grand Duke’s Sacred Flame.’
I could see the brilliant flames contained within the Grand Duke.
As expected of the head of Messiah and the Greatest Sword of the Empire.
The moment I was transferred from the Second Wife’s arms into the Grand Duke’s, I felt his Aura enter my body.
“Hmm?”
The Grand Duke frowned as he examined my body.
FWOOSH!
Then his Aura intensified and swept through my body.
Sensing that something was wrong, the Second Wife cautiously asked, “Y-Your Grace, is there perhaps something wrong with Sigmnd?”
“Let us speak inside.”
He dismissed the knights, then carried me into a room with only the Second Wife and Arwin accompanying him.
Once inside, he deliberated for a moment before speaking with difficulty.
“Hmm…… I am not sure how to explain this. Within the family, we call it the .”
“The Ember of Ruin……?”
“Direct descendants of Messiah are born carrying an ember of the Sacred Flame. Just as everyone is born with different talents, the size of that ember differs from person to person. But…….”
The Grand Duke grimaced.
“The ember inside this child is far too large.”
“Why would that be a problem?”
“Think of it as a child who knows nothing having been given far too much power. He will probably…… have difficulty surviving past the age of three.”
The Second Wife’s face went deathly pale.
The Grand Duke sighed as though ashamed that he could do nothing more.
“My eldest brother was much the same. He had a powerful body and was born with great talent, but in the end, he could not withstand the Sacred Flame and died at seventeen.”
“Ah, ah…….”
The Second Wife collapsed to the floor.
The Grand Duke’s expression darkened as he watched her.
Meanwhile, I fell deep into thought.
‘My Sacred Flame is too large?’
According to what he was saying, didn’t that also mean my innate talent for the Sacred Flame, something only direct descendants of Messiah possessed, was overwhelming?
The ember was the very foundation of the Sacred Flame.
Apparently, I possessed a Sacred Flame so immense that even the Grand Duke was concerned about it…….
“Is…… is there no chance this child can endure it?”
“It is not impossible. But…… I cannot say the chances are high.”
“How could……!”
The Second Wife covered her mouth and burst into tears.
The atmosphere in the room sank completely.
“Father, is my little brother…… going to die?”
Arwin looked up at the Grand Duke with trembling eyes.
“I will not allow that to happen.”
“But you just said his chances aren’t high.”
“That does not mean Sigmund will die. Do not worry. Trust me.”
The Grand Duke calmly reassured Arwin before looking down at me in his arms.
‘An incredibly powerful Sacred Flame.’
Everyone else was heartbroken and worried because of me, but I paid it no mind and continued thinking.
‘As long as I can handle it, isn’t that a good thing?’
Think about it.
The ‘danger’ the Grand Duke was talking about was based entirely on an ordinary infant.
A baby with no knowledge of breathing techniques, possessing little more than instinct.
But I was not an ordinary case.
‘Should I try?’
It felt possible.
First, just as he had said, I needed to see what my ember was actually like.
Let’s see how large it was.
“Goo.”
With that thought, I closed my eyes and looked within myself.
FWOOSH!
“……Goo?”
An unbearable heat suddenly surged throughout my entire body.
‘No, this is insane.’
This really was a little too large.
I had expected it to be substantial if the Grand Duke was that concerned, but this was beyond anything I had imagined.
At the same time, I felt curious.
‘So this is the Sacred Flame.’
In my previous life, I had only experienced it indirectly through the Commander.
So this was the true Sacred Flame…….
“Hmm……!”
Noticing my condition, the Grand Duke turned his gaze toward me.
“Y-Your Grace! Something is wrong with Sigmund! What should we……!”
“Wait.”
The Grand Duke stopped the Second Wife as she moved to rush toward me.
“Your Grace……?”
“We should give him a chance. Helping him from the very beginning would not be good for Sigmund either.”
“A chance……?”
His unexpected reaction made even me stare at the Grand Duke with wide eyes.
So he intended to test whether a newborn baby could endure the ‘Ember of Ruin’?
‘He’s insane.’
At the same time, I was grateful.
I had wanted to feel the Sacred Flame myself and try to adapt to it anyway.
“Goo.”
The first thing that mattered was facing it head-on.
I could not allow the pain to overwhelm me and rob me of reason.
It was not as though I had nothing to rely on, either.
Right.
What more needed to be said?
I already knew a breathing technique.
Of course, I knew only part of it, but for now, that was enough.
‘Thank you, Commander.’
……Not that you could possibly have anticipated a situation like this when you showed me your training process.
Either way, thanks to you, I knew the basic principles behind the breathing technique.
First came its initial step.
‘Do not reject it.’
I could not try to forcibly control the Sacred Flame.
The more I did, the more violently it would rampage and injure its master.
The Sacred Flame was one with me, no different from the blood flowing through my body.
I needed to let it naturally spread throughout every corner of my body, not forcibly gather it or drag it where I wanted.
FWOOSH.
I opened a path before the raging Sacred Flame and carefully began guiding it.
Chest, arms, abdomen, legs…….
With every nerve focused on the Sacred Flame, I tried to create a path for it somehow.
It was not easy.
But neither was it impossible.
“Goo.”
Then I guided the Sacred Flame so that it could flow naturally.
At first, it hesitated.
But before long, it began moving of its own accord along the path I had laid out.
Of course, every movement of the Sacred Flame brought pain.
This body had never had the Sacred Flame flow through it before, and I was forcing it to move for the first time.
But I had to succeed.
While I focused entirely on the Sacred Flame, a smile began to form at the corners of the Grand Duke’s lips.
“Excellent. I thought my first and second were both blessed with exceptional talent, but to think I would discover someone who surpasses even them.”
Then the Grand Duke’s Sacred Flame entered my body, and the Sacred Flame within me began to calm.
Before long, it started flowing far more smoothly and naturally than when I had moved it myself.
‘He can bring it under control this easily?’
As expected of the Greatest Sword of the Empire.
To think he could manipulate another person’s power so effortlessly.
I looked up at the man who was my father in this life.
The Grand Duke was smiling with satisfaction.
But I could see it.
The madness hidden within that smile.
‘What?’
And before I could uncover the answer to that question…….
FWOOSH!
The Sacred Flame the Grand Duke had calmed began raging once again.