Across the boundless reaches of the universe, countless stars shimmered in the endless dark, and every world beneath them had its own way of surviving.
Some lands existed far from conflict, blessed with peace and stability.
Others had been consumed by war for generations, where the weak could do little more than struggle for survival beneath the shadow of the strong.
And somewhere beyond the distant sea of stars lay one such mysterious world.
There was no absolute fairness here, nor could anyone rely forever upon birth, status, or privilege to live a peaceful life.
The strong ruled, and the weak were preyed upon.
It was a law every living being was forced to accept from the moment they entered this world.
No matter where one came from or which race one belonged to, anyone who wished to survive had to cultivate and grow stronger.
Only with sufficient power could one protect oneself.
And only with strength could one defend those who mattered when danger finally came knocking.
The inhabitants of this world were divided primarily into four great races—
Gods, Humans, Demons, and Devils.
Among them, Humans and Demons occupied most of the vast continent.
Long ago, relations between the two races had not been nearly as strained as they were now.
Although disputes occasionally arose over territory, resources, and other interests, Humans and Demons had generally lived in relative peace.
Trade and interaction between them were not uncommon.
Back then, both races remained within their own lands and rarely provoked one another without reason.
Neither side was foolish enough to casually offend the distant and powerful Gods.
As for the Devils, even fewer dared approach them.
Their race had always inspired fear.
For ordinary people, even hearing rumors about the Devils was enough to make them instinctively keep their distance, much less willingly enter Devil territory.
Yet the peace that had endured for countless years was completely shattered five thousand years ago.
A devastating war erupted between the Gods and the Devils.
At first, the conflict belonged solely to those two races.
Neither Humans nor Demons had willingly taken part in it.
But that did not spare them from the consequences.
To the overwhelmingly powerful Gods and Devils, a stray surge of energy released during battle might have meant little.
But when such power descended upon lands inhabited by Humans and Demons, it became nothing short of catastrophe.
Mountains collapsed.
Rivers changed course.
Cities and towns were reduced to ruins.
Countless civilians died before they even had the chance to flee, dragged into a war that had never belonged to them in the first place.
Once-prosperous lands became wastelands, and innumerable lives were lost.
Only after the near-apocalyptic war finally came to an end did Humans and Demons truly understand how powerless they were before beings far stronger than themselves.
Even protecting their own homes had demanded an unbearable price.
From that day onward, both races became increasingly wary of the Gods and Devils.
No one wished to experience the disaster of five thousand years ago again.
And no one dared casually provoke either of those overwhelmingly powerful races.
At the same time, the war awakened an even greater hunger for strength among Humans and Demons.
Without power, they could only place their lives in the hands of others.
It was a lesson paid for with countless lives.
Neither race intended to learn it a second time.
Yet no matter how desperately they desired greater strength, directly challenging the Gods or Devils remained impossible.
And so, the Humans and Demons who had once lived in relative peace gradually turned their attention toward one another.
Territory.
Resources.
Cultivation grounds.
Even things that had once seemed too insignificant to fight over became reasons for conflict.
One confrontation followed another, slowly destroying the fragile relationship between the two races.
The exchanges and cooperation of the past disappeared, replaced by suspicion, hostility, and increasingly frequent battles.
Eventually, Humanity severed its close ties with the Demon race entirely.
To restore order and stabilize their lands, the Humans reorganized their territory into five great regions—
East, South, West, North, and Central.
The Eastern Realm was governed by the Azure Dragon Clan.
The Southern Realm belonged to the Vermilion Bird Clan.
The Western Realm was ruled by the White Tiger Clan.
The Northern Realm stood beneath the protection of the Black Tortoise Clan.
And at the heart of the continent, ruling above the other four, stood the foremost of the Five Clans— the Griffin Clan.
Each clan had its own ruler.
The leaders of the Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise Clans were all addressed as Lord, each responsible for governing the affairs of their respective territories.
Only the ruler of the central Griffin Clan carried the title of High King.
He stood above the other four Lords and possessed authority over Humanity as a whole.
The four regional clans were required to report the conditions of their territories to the High King at regular intervals.
Whenever an event arose that could affect all of Humanity, representatives of all Five Clans would gather to discuss the matter before reaching a final decision.
To make it easier to distinguish which clan the people of each territory belonged to, the Five Clans later established surnames unique to their respective regions.
Those who lived within the Central Realm of the Griffin Clan bore the surname Valerius.
Those of the Eastern Azure Dragon Clan carried the surname Draven.
Those of the Southern Vermilion Bird Clan were known as Ashbourne.
Those of the Western White Tiger Clan used the surname Sterling.
And those belonging to the Northern Black Tortoise Clan carried the name Ravenholt.
Beyond this, each Lord was permitted to select trusted members of the clan and train them as close aides.
They could also choose their successors in advance, allowing the future ruler to receive guidance from a young age, gradually become familiar with clan affairs, and prepare for the day they would inherit responsibility for an entire realm.
After countless years of turmoil and conflict, Humanity finally succeeded in rebuilding its own order.
But rules could restrain a person’s actions.
They could not always restrain the heart.
No matter how powerful a person became or how noble their status might be, so long as they possessed emotions and desires, there would always be troubles they could not easily escape.
And among all such troubles, few were more difficult than love.
Once someone truly fell into it, even knowing that the road ahead led nowhere did not necessarily mean they would be willing to turn back.
Yet sometimes, the price of love was not paid only by the two people who had chosen each other.
Sometimes, that price was inherited by children who had not even opened their eyes to see the world.
Not even the heir of the mighty Central Court escaped such a fate.
At the time, Adrian Valerius was still very young.
By chance, while traveling through the mountains, he encountered a woman of the Demon race who had become trapped there.
Her name was Selene Veyra.
Selene was no ordinary Demon.
She was a princess of the Demon royal family, and her true form was that of a fox spirit.
At the time, she had fallen victim to a curse cast by the Devils.
The curse bound her to the mountain, preventing her from leaving no matter how many times she tried.
She had exhausted every method she knew, yet none had been enough to break free.
Had Adrian not happened to pass through the area and intervened, even Selene herself did not know how long she would have remained trapped there.
To repay him for saving her life, Selene did not immediately return to her people.
Instead, she set aside her identity as a princess and concealed her true origins, remaining beside Adrian under the guise of an ordinary maid and tending to his daily needs.
At first, she wanted nothing more than to repay a debt.
Adrian, too, had never imagined anything would develop between them.
But feelings between two people were rarely so easy to control.
As the days passed and they remained constantly by each other’s side, what had begun as simple gratitude slowly changed into something else.
Adrian grew accustomed to Selene’s presence.
Without realizing when it had happened, he fell in love with her.
And Selene, in turn, gave him her heart.
By the time they finally understood what they meant to one another, what existed between them could no longer be explained by something as simple as repayment.
But both of them understood one thing clearly.
Their relationship would never receive everyone’s blessing.
Ever since the great war five thousand years ago, relations between Humans and Demons had deteriorated drastically.
If Selene’s true identity were exposed, her relationship with Adrian would inevitably face fierce opposition.
More importantly, Adrian was no ordinary Human.
He was the son of the High King, a man of extraordinary status within the Central Court.
With no better choice, Adrian concealed Selene’s true identity and told the outside world that she was merely an ordinary Human woman.
And so, the two remained together.
Eventually, Adrian formally took Selene as his wife.
One month after their marriage, Selene discovered that she was pregnant.
The news filled them both with joy.
At last, they were going to have a child of their own.
But their happiness did not last long.
Disaster was already approaching in silence.
The powerful Devil Overlord who had long desired Selene—
Malachar Voss— soon learned what had happened.
Not only did he discover that Selene had married Adrian, but he also learned that she was carrying Adrian’s child.
The revelation sent Malachar into a fury.
In his rage, he immediately issued an order.
No matter the cost, Selene was to be captured and brought back to Devil territory.
He would deal with her personally.
News of his command soon reached Selene.
She knew Malachar’s temperament far too well.
She knew that man would never let her go so easily.
More importantly, she was no longer alone.
If she fell into Malachar’s hands, the child inside her would never survive.
To protect her unborn child, Selene made a request of Adrian.
She wanted to temporarily leave the Central Realm and seek refuge among the other four territories until the child was born.
If they continued changing locations and she concealed her demonic aura as carefully as possible, perhaps they could evade the Devils long enough for her to safely give birth.
Adrian naturally hated the thought of making his pregnant wife travel from place to place.
But he also understood that keeping Selene within the Central Court would only place her in even greater danger.
In the end, he agreed.
Whether the Lords of the other four realms were willing to shelter them no longer mattered to him.
There was only one thing Adrian cared about now—
Selene had to survive long enough to safely bring their child into the world.
And so, as the child within her grew day by day, Selene began traveling from one territory to another.
Wherever she went, she suppressed her demonic aura with everything she had, never daring to relax for even a moment.
One careless mistake could reveal her whereabouts and bring the Devils down upon them.
At first, she was still able to conceal herself.
But as her pregnancy advanced, the demonic energy within her became increasingly difficult to suppress.
No matter how careful she was, she could no longer hide her presence as completely as before.
Eventually, the Devils caught the traces she left behind.
From that moment onward, nowhere Selene stayed remained peaceful for long.
Strange deaths began occurring one after another.
Someone who had been perfectly healthy the day before might suddenly be found dead the next morning.
No one knew where the Devils were hiding.
No one knew when they would strike again.
And no one knew who their next victim would be.
As the days passed, fear spread through the territories.
Even those who knew nothing about the truth gradually realized that something was terribly wrong.
Selene was not unaware of what was happening.
But she had nowhere left to retreat.
All she could do was continue suppressing her aura while protecting the child within her, moving from one temporary refuge to another with Adrian in the desperate hope of buying just a little more time.
Eventually, they reached the Western Realm.
This was the territory ruled by the White Tiger Clan.
By then, Selene was eight months pregnant.
As the day of her child’s birth drew closer, controlling her demonic aura became increasingly difficult.
At this stage, even with all her strength, she could no longer completely conceal it.
And that made it easier than ever for the Devils to locate her.
Their attacks intensified.
The protective barriers surrounding the Western Realm were struck again and again.
Under the relentless assaults, defenses that had once seemed unbreakable gradually became riddled with cracks.
The warriors of the White Tiger Clan were forced to stand guard day and night, desperately resisting every new wave of attacks.
But even with everything they had, the situation did not improve.
Instead, the number of casualties continued to rise.
At last, the people of the Western Realm could endure no more.
Fear and unease slowly transformed into anger.
More and more people began demanding that Adrian surrender Selene.
They refused to let an entire realm die for the sake of one Demon woman.
They could no longer bear to watch their families and loved ones perish at the hands of the Devils because of her.
And this time, the one who had personally come after Selene was no ordinary Devil.
He was a name feared even among Humans— a being whose very mention was enough to make countless people uneasy.
Malachar Voss.