Time Skip — Five Years Later
The royal estate had changed.
Children's laughter echoed through the corridors. A small boy with night-black hair and golden eyes darted across the garden, his tiny hands grasping the air like he was casting spells.
"Young Master! You'll trip!"
A maid's worried call was met with giggles as Kaito ran straight into his mother's embrace. Selene, still dressed in a travel cloak, dropped to her knees and hugged him tightly.
"You came back, Mother!"
"Of course I did," she whispered, brushing his hair. "I always will."
That evening, sitting in the sun-drenched balcony chamber, Kaito leaned over the balustrade with a curious expression.
"Mother, can you teach me magic now?"
Selene chuckled. "Magic is a gift of nature, Kaito. Not everyone is born with it."
"But I'm your son, right? I must have it."
Her smile softened.
"It's not that simple. Before anyone can use magic, they must form a mana core. Imagine a second heart—made of energy. The bigger it grows, the more power you can hold.
"To form it, you need years of meditation. You must absorb mana from the world around you slowly and steadily. Rushing it can shatter your core permanently."
Kaito pouted. "You've told me this before! "I try so hard every day… and you're never there to see it." I thought you didn't care…"
Selene ruffled his hair lovingly.
"Oh, you little storm. I care more than you'll ever know. But I also know how long core formation takes. Even the greatest prodigy—me—only sensed mana at six. And I formed my core at nine. Most people do it around fourteen."
She winked. "But you're our child. You'll surpass us all."
"Even my sister?"
The smile faded briefly. Kaito continued.
"I only hear tales about her… I've never met her."
"She's in her final year at the Royal Academy. But don't worry—she's coming home for her break. You'll meet her soon."
"Promise?"
"Promise. Now come, let's train."
In the training chamber, Kaito sat cross-legged. Selene stood nearby, arms folded, watching with a curious smile.
He closed his eyes… and something clicked.
"Wait—Kaito. You're absorbing mana?"
He opened one eye, confused. "Yeah?"
"You're really sensing it? That fast?"
"I've always been able to. I just didn't tell you. You were busy, so I wanted to surprise you…"
Selene blinked. Then laughed. Then—hugged him.
"You're more than gifted… You're divine…"
Her mind flashed back to two years ago when he had altered the shape and flame color of her fire spell… at the age of three.
"Kaito… from now on, I'll be here for every session. But remember—don't push too far."
"Yeah, I'll become so strong you won't ever be worried about me!"
Oh look at you acting like a mature person you little brat.
Chuckles
That night, as servants lit candles across the grand halls, the air was filled with laughter. Selena told Reyzen of Kaito's shocking advancement. The butlers prepared wine. Even the usually silent knight captain Elric smiled faintly.
"He's not just our son…" Reyzen muttered, lifting his cup. "He's a storm cloaked in sunlight."
Kaito curled beside Selene on the couch, fast asleep. She stroked his hair.
"He'll change the world, won't he?"
"...He already has," Reyzen replied.
Later that night —
The celebration had long ended.
Stars filled the sky, and calm silence rested over the Bloodcrest estate.
Inside the royal chamber, torchlight flickered gently against stone walls. Reyzen sat at the edge of the bed, shirtless, while two healers stood nearby—silent, helpless.
The scar still remained.
That strange wound he received five years ago… it had never faded.
Not even the best healing magic could mend it.
Selena had fallen asleep beside Kaito, unaware of the quiet storm raging inside her husband's heart.
Reyzen slowly ran a hand over the mark on his chest. It didn't hurt. Not anymore. But it burned every time he remembered that night.
That nightmare...
Even now, after all these years, the memory was as sharp as ever.
And no matter how much time passed—
He couldn't forget it.
He couldn't share it.
He couldn't run from it.
His eyes darkened. Breathing slowed.
And the world around him faded—
as the nightmare returned.
Fire.
Ash.
The sky was broken.
Reyzen stood in the middle of a battlefield drenched in blood. Giants, beasts, and dragons lay dead around him. The very clouds bled flame.
A throne stood atop a mountain of bones.
And seated upon it...
Was Kaito.
Not a child.
Not a man.
Something... between.
Red eyes burned from his shadowed face. His hand rested on the hilt of a jagged, cursed blade.
He looked at Reyzen—not with malice.
But with fate.
"You will stand before me one day… Father."
The voice echoed, divine and demonic—too layered to belong to a boy.
"And on that day… you will bleed."
Reyzen's chest tightened.
Kaito raised a hand.
SLASH.
A burning pain tore through Reyzen's chest. He fell to one knee—blood spraying from a wound no blade had delivered.
His vision blurred.
The nightmare shattered like glass.
Reyzen gasped, his body drenched in cold sweat. His fingers trembled as they traced the scar—the same one from his dream. The same wound that never healed.
"You will bleed."
That voice—so unlike Kaito's childish laughter—still echoed in his skull.
He turned his head slightly, watching his wife and son sleeping peacefully beside him. Kaito's tiny fingers clutched Selene's sleeve, his face innocent, free of the monstrous weight from Reyzen's vision.
Was it just a dream? A premonition? Or something worse?
Reyzen clenched his jaw.
No.
He refused to believe it.
His son was just a boy—bright, mischievous, full of life. Not… that. Not the cold, godlike figure from his nightmares.
But then why did the scar remain?
Why did the dread cling to him like a second skin?
The Next Morning
Kaito bolted upright in bed, his golden eyes wide with excitement.
"Mother! Father! Today's the day, right? My sister's coming home!"
Selene, already dressed in her riding attire, chuckled. "Yes, little storm. Her carriage should arrive by noon."
Reyzen stood by the window, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. The nightmare still coiled in the back of his mind, but he forced a smile.
"You've been waiting for this, haven't you?"
Kaito nodded vigorously. "I've heard so many stories! How she's the top of her class! How she can summon lightning like it's nothing!" He puffed out his chest. "I'm gonna be just like her!"
Selene ruffled his hair. "You'll be better."
Reyzen's grip on the windowsill tightened.
Would he?
At the evening —
Kaito nervously adjusted his tunic for the tenth time.
"Do I look okay, Mother?"
Selena smiled as she fixed his collar.
"She's your sister, not the Empress."
"But the maids said she fought three teachers at once!" Kaito said, bouncing on his feet.
Behind them, Reyzen's hand moved slightly toward his old scar as the sound of horns echoed.
A black carriage entered through the gate—then stopped suddenly.
Before the servant could open the door, it burst open with a flash of violet lightning.
A shadowy figure jumped down from the roof, landing silently. Smoke swirled around her as she stood tall. Her Academy cloak flared open, showing a slim sword on her back. Its handle was wrapped in gray leather.
Kaito held his breath.
Aria Bloodcrest looked over the courtyard, her sharp steel-colored eyes catching everything.
The servants bowed deeper. Even Captain Elric stood straighter.
Then her eyes landed on Kaito.
Before he could say a word, she walked straight up and grabbed his wrist. Her thumb pressed against his pulse. Her hand felt cold as ice.
"Interesting," she said softly, sensing his mana. A faint spark danced on her fingertips. "You're not totally useless."
Kaito swallowed hard.
Aria smirked and let go. Then—before he could react—"She tapped him lightly—one finger, sharp and swift—right between the brows."
"Try to keep up, little storm."
As she turned to walk away, every torch in the courtyard flared with blue flames.
Kaito rubbed his forehead, smiling without meaning to.
This wasn't the warm, smiling sister he imagined.
She was even cooler.
Behind them, Reyzen let out a long breath. Aria stopped beside him and spoke in a low voice only he could hear:
"Still bleeding, Father?" Her eyes glanced at where his hidden scar was.
"What are you becoming… my son?"
Then she walked off toward the palace, leaving Kaito full of questions and Reyzen pale and silent.
To Be Continued.