“Mom…
why are they doing this?” The boy’s trembling voice echoed through the cold stone cave.
His name was Raizen.
He was only ten years old.
Sitting on the hard floor, his wrists were tightly bound by heavy iron chains.
Across the cave, his parents were prisoners as well.
Raizen could barely understand what was happening.
He only knew that something was wrong.
Very wrong.
His mother slowly raised her head.
Her face was exhausted, but her eyes remained fixed on her son.
“Raizen…” She took a shaky breath.
“Don’t look.” “Leave my parents alone!” Raizen pulled against his chains with all his strength.
“Please!” The chains refused to move.
“Mom!” His mother looked at him one last time.
Despite everything, a faint smile appeared on her face.
“Raizen…
stay alive.” The boy froze.
“What…?” “Stay alive, my only son.” Her voice became weaker.
“I love you, Raizen.” His eyes widened.
“No…” He slowly shook his head.
“No, Mom.” He pulled against the chains again.
“Stay alive!
Mom, please!
Stay alive!” His voice echoed through the cave.
But there was no answer.
“Mom…?” Silence.
Raizen stared at her.
For several seconds, he couldn’t move.
He couldn’t think.
He couldn’t understand.
His world had suddenly become completely silent.
Then— Clang.
The sound of metal echoed through the cave.
Raizen slowly turned his head.
The soldiers had drawn their weapons.
His heart pounded against his chest.
“No…” His voice trembled.
“NO!” Something changed.
A faint darkness appeared beneath his feet.
Raizen stopped breathing.
He looked down.
“What…
is this?” The darkness slowly spread across the stone floor.
It wasn’t smoke.
It wasn’t a shadow cast by the soldiers.
It moved on its own.
Almost as if it were alive.
One of the soldiers stepped backward.
“What the hell is that?!” Another raised his weapon.
“Don’t let him get up!” Raizen didn’t hear them.
His entire body was trembling.
He stared at the darkness surrounding him.
He had never seen anything like it.
He didn’t know what it was.
He didn’t know where it came from.
And he didn’t know that such power existed inside him.
His breathing became faster.
His fingers curled into fists.
His mother’s final words repeated inside his mind.
Stay alive.
Raizen lowered his head.
A tear fell onto the stone floor.
Then another.
His fear slowly turned into anger.
His anger turned into despair.
And his despair…
became hatred.
The darkness beneath him suddenly trembled.
The soldiers froze.
“What…?” The entire cave began to shake.
Cracks appeared across the stone floor.
Raizen slowly raised his head.
His expression had changed.
The fear was still there.
But something else had appeared behind it.
A cold determination.
One of the soldiers shouted, “Kill him!” The soldiers rushed forward.
Raizen didn’t move.
He simply stared at them.
The darkness suddenly surged outward.
BOOM!
A wave of dark energy exploded from his body.
The soldiers were forced backward.
The iron chains around Raizen’s wrists shook violently.
Crack.
Raizen looked down.
A small crack had appeared across one of the chains.
He stared at it in disbelief.
Crack.
Another crack.
His eyes widened.
“What…?” The darkness gathered around his arms.
The chains began to break apart.
CRACK!
The first chain shattered.
Raizen slowly lifted his hand.
He was free.
But he didn’t feel free.
The second chain broke.
CRASH!
The soldiers stood frozen.
For the first time, they weren’t looking at a helpless child.
They were looking at something they didn’t understand.
One of them tried to cast a spell.
“Fire—” The darkness rushed toward him.
His spell disappeared before it could reach Raizen.
“What is this power?!” Another soldier attempted to attack.
The darkness spread across the ground and rose around him, forcing him to retreat.
Raizen remained motionless.
He looked at his hands.
Dark energy slowly moved around his fingers.
His voice was barely a whisper.
“I don’t understand…” He looked toward where his parents had been.
“But…” His fists tightened.
“…I don’t care anymore.” The darkness erupted once again.
BOOM!
The cave was swallowed by darkness.
When everything finally became quiet…
Raizen was standing alone.
The soldiers were gone.
The chains lay broken on the ground.
And the boy who had entered the cave that night was no longer the same.
He had awakened a power he couldn’t understand.
But he had also lost the only people he had ever loved.
Raizen lowered his head.
For the first time in his life…
He was truly alone.
Several Hours LaterThe Streets of Valthera Night had completely covered the city.
The main streets were almost deserted.
One by one, the lights of the buildings went out, leaving the narrower streets covered in darkness.
Raizen walked alone.
His footsteps echoed softly against the damp stone.
He didn’t know where he was going.
He had no home.
No family.
No one waiting for him.
He simply continued walking.
One step.
Then another.
His eyes were empty.
The city around him continued to live as if nothing had happened.
People laughed behind closed doors.
Shops closed for the night.
Families returned home.
But Raizen had nowhere to return to.
Eventually, he entered a narrow alley.
Old crates were stacked against the walls, and a few discarded bags lay scattered across the ground.
Raizen continued walking.
Then— Clang!
He stopped.
A strange noise had come from the end of the alley.
Raizen slowly turned his head.
Two children were searching through a pile of discarded objects.
A young girl held an old axe in her hands.
Beside her stood a boy carrying a worn sword.
His eyes were closed.
Raizen stared at them.
The girl noticed him.
She tilted her head.
“Are you looking for something?” Raizen didn’t answer.
The boy slowly turned toward him.
His eyes remained closed.
After a moment, he spoke.
“He’s like us.” Raizen frowned.
“Like you?” The girl lowered her axe slightly.
“Abandoned.” Raizen lowered his gaze.
The word struck something inside him.
For the first time that night, someone had understood him without asking for an explanation.
Silence settled over the alley.
The girl gave him a small smile.
“My name is Kaira.” The boy placed one hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Zayden.” Raizen remained silent for several seconds.
Then, quietly, he answered.
“Raizen.” The three children looked at one another.
Three strangers.
Three abandoned children.
Three lives that should never have crossed.
And yet…
On that cold night in Valthera, their destinies began to intertwine.
None of them knew it yet.
But this meeting would one day become one of the most important moments in the history of Étheria.
To Be Continued…
— Kurotsuki