The night the child was born… The sky broke.
Not cracked. Not split.
Broke.
Thunder roared across the heavens with a sound so violent that the earth trembled beneath it. Windows shattered. Towers shook. Horses screamed in their stables.
People rushed into the streets of the kingdom of Valenor, staring upward in fear.
The clouds had turned red.
Not sunset red.
Blood-red.
Lightning tore through the sky again and again, brighter than daylight, striking the ground with terrifying force. The air smelled of burning stone, and the wind howled like a wounded beast.
Old men fell to their knees.
Children cried.
Even battle-hardened soldiers felt fear creeping into their hearts.
Because storms like this… Did not happen naturally.
High above the city, inside the royal palace, chaos erupted.
Servants ran through the marble corridors, their footsteps echoing loudly. Guards shouted orders, their voices tense with panic. Priests lit sacred candles, whispering desperate prayers.
And at the very top of the tallest tower…
A queen was fighting for her life.
"Push, Your Majesty!" the royal healer shouted.
Her hands glowed with blue light as healing magic flowed from her palms. Sweat dripped down her wrinkled face as she focused every ounce of strength on keeping the queen alive.
The queen screamed.
A raw, desperate cry filled the chamber as another wave of pain tore through her body. Her fingers clawed into the silk bedsheets.
"I can't…" she gasped.
"You must!" the healer insisted.
Another bolt of lightning struck outside, so close that the entire tower shook violently. Dust fell from the ceiling. The torches flickered wildly.
The storm was getting stronger.
Too strong.
Suddenly—
The healer froze.
Her magic flickered.
Then vanished.
Her eyes widened in horror.
"That's impossible…" she whispered.
She tried again, raising her trembling hands. Blue light surged from her palms.
Then died instantly.
Again.
And again.
Her magic kept disappearing, as if something in the room was rejecting it.
A cold chill crawled down her spine.
Outside the tower window—
The storm stopped.
Not slowly.
Instantly.
The thunder vanished.
The wind disappeared.
The rain froze in midair.
Everything went silent.
As if the world itself had taken a single, terrified breath.
Then—
The baby was born.
The queen collapsed against the pillows, exhausted and barely conscious. The healer caught the newborn in her trembling hands.
For a moment, the room was completely still.
No cry.
No movement.
No sound.
The child lay silently in her arms.
Too silent.
Fear tightened around the healer's chest.
"Why isn't he crying?" the queen whispered weakly.
The healer swallowed hard.
She slowly lifted the baby toward the candlelight.
And her heart nearly stopped.
The child's eyes were open.
Wide open.
Newborn babies were not supposed to open their eyes so quickly.
But this one did.
And those eyes…
They glowed.
A faint silver light shimmered within them — cold, ancient, and emotionless.
Not the eyes of a baby.
The eyes of something that had been watching the world long before this moment.
The healer stumbled backward.
Her hands began to shake.
"Your Majesty…" she whispered.
The queen forced herself to sit up, panic rising in her chest.
"What is wrong?" she asked.
The healer hesitated.
Then slowly placed her hand over the baby's chest.
Her magic flared to life once more, bright and powerful.
Searching.
Scanning.
Looking for the one thing every living being possessed.
Mana.
The energy of life.
The source of magic.
The force that flowed through every creature in the world of Eryndor.
Seconds passed.
Then—
Nothing.
The magic vanished instantly.
Like a candle blown out.
The healer's face turned pale.
Her lips trembled.
And in a voice barely louder than a whisper, she spoke the words that would change the fate of the world forever.
"He has no mana."
Silence filled the chamber.
Heavy.
Unnatural.
Terrifying.
In this world, mana was life.
Every human had it.
Every animal had it.
Even monsters had it.
Even dying people had it.
But this child…
Had none.
The queen's breathing became uneven.
"No…" she whispered.
"That can't be true."
Tears filled her eyes as she reached for the baby with trembling hands.
"My son…"
The healer checked again.
And again.
And again.
Each time, the result was the same.
Empty.
Completely empty.
Her hands shook uncontrollably.
"This has never happened before," she said.
"Not once in recorded history."
Far away, beyond the kingdom…
Something stirred.
A massive creature sleeping beneath a mountain slowly opened one glowing eye.
Deep within a ruined temple, shadows shifted.
In the frozen north, an ancient sword buried in ice began to tremble.
Across the world, powerful beings felt it.
The disturbance.
The imbalance.
The impossible.
Back in the tower…
The baby moved.
Slowly.
Calmly.
He turned his head.
And looked directly at the healer.
Not randomly.
Not instinctively.
Deliberately.
A sudden wave of fear washed over her.
This child was not normal.
Not weak.
Not powerless.
Something else.
Something unknown.
Something dangerous.
Then—
A voice echoed inside the baby's mind.
Cold.
Mechanical.
Emotionless.
Ancient.
"System initialized."
At that exact moment—
Deep beneath the palace…
An ancient stone seal cracked.
A thin line of glowing light spread across its surface.
Dust fell.
Chains rattled.
And from the darkness below, a deep voice rumbled:
"After a thousand years…"
"…the forbidden child has returned."