Far across the world, in a hidden royal palace, a girl hastily packed her belongings into a sleek black briefcase. She moved with urgency, slipping on her final disguise-a wolf mask over the upper half of her face and a fine veil over her mouth. Her eyes, burning with purpose, reflected the flickering candlelight of her once-lavish chamber.
Without a word, she vanished into the shadows.
Silently, she navigated the winding halls, avoiding the patrolling knights and guards. Every footstep was measured. Every breath calculated. She moved like a whisper between the dark corners of the palace until she reached the old quartz door of the basement vault. She creaked it open and slipped inside, shutting the world behind her.
The basement stretched wide, filled with crates of magical artifacts and ancient materials. Only four guards patrolled the vault-an oversight the girl intended to exploit.
She knocked the lid off a crate and tossed it across the room.
Clang.
One of the knights turned his head. She seized the moment.
A tail of spiritual energy manifested behind her-faintly glowing, transparent, and sleek. A sacred mark bloomed on her neck, pulsing gently.
She lunged.
Her tail wrapped tightly around the first knight's neck, dragging him down. She punched his helmet with ruthless efficiency until it dented inward with a sickening crunch. Blood leaked through the metal. Only then did she stop.
The remaining knights moved in.
One by one, she repeated the strategy: distraction, ambush, and elimination. Until only one knight remained. Realizing the silence around him, he froze.
"Who's there? I don't want to beat up too badly, so jest show yourself."
He backed toward the stairs-too slow.
Thunk.
He walked directly into a fox sculpture-four-tailed, majestic, and bizarrely detailed. Etched across its forehead was a glowing blessed mark: a rose petal cuping a plum blossom, gently held by a hand with marks of lightning on it. His eyes widened in horror.
"Wait..." he whispered. "That's the princess's mark."
The sculpture burst into pink and redish fire.
Its eyes ignited. The knight stumbled backward in fear.
A warmth, soft, and almost loving, coiled around his throat.
The fox's ethereal tail tightened.
"Princess..." he gasped, recognizing her. "Please..."
She stood above him, unmoved.
"Sorry," she said softly. "I can't let his plan succeed."
His eyes watered. "Why in the One Thousand Spiraling Hells... did you leave the healer for last?"
"That," she whispered, tightening her grip, "was a that you will sadly pay for mistake."
She lifted her hand and began to chant, writing glowing sigils into the air using her spiritual energy as ink:
*~In my name, I request the aid of the chaotic spirit,
The one who left towns in chaos,
The one who will die by that same chaos,
I gift you this vessel.
Do your will.~*
From the darkness, a creature of flame materialized-four-legged, five mouths, three eyes, and four curling horns. Its body seethed with untamed fire as it landed beside her. She pointed toward the fox statue.
Without hesitation, the fire spirit merged into the sculpture through the sigil on its forehead.
The fox's eyes flared with the same unholy fire. It turned to the knight and lunged. Armor ripped. Screams echoed. Even as the knight used his healer's blessing, he could only delay the inevitable.
The girl turned away.
She cleared the floor, she took some of the object in the boxes, and used them as the ingredients as she started drawing a massive ritual circle using the arcane ingredients:
Dragon eggshells - in the middle of the circle - where the portal will appear - to create a stable link.
Wyvern eyes - at one end of the ritual circle - eye facing the direction which you want the portal to appear - to see across realms.
Methous bear claws - place anywhere in ritual circle which want the portal to appear - to tear through space.
Giant's brain juice and spinal fluid - use to draw ritual circle - for making mini domain of chamber of knowledge.
She checked the scroll she had for any missing instructions or extra steps but she found none. As she then began her incantation.
The brain matter and the spinal fluid then fused together, growing an illusory gold hue with what seemed like stars in their deep golden liquid.
The wyvern eyes then turned a deeper shade of gray as they sunk now seemingly stairing off into another world and dimension as words then appeared over it's Iris some further then others as they seemed to shin like stars in the eyes gray deep night
the dragon egg shell turned into illusory star dust as they mad as they flyer, making a barrier around circle as it shifted shapes turning into numerous amount of well known buildings and structures before it finally settled as a Dome for the circul
The Methods bear claws raised up shakily as it then swiped in the down as it seemed to catch at something and then it pulled down as a rift started forming and as it finished it then finished it's form turned more illusory
dimensional rift shimmered open in front of her sighed.
"Spirit of chaos," she said over her shoulder, "smash through every box and with that knight. I left something upstairs I need to grab."
The fox didn't need telling.
It was already smashing crates before she finished speaking.
She turned
"Now I have to -"
"Stop right there."
A voice cut her off
Footsteps echoed. A man in silver armor, harder and heavier than quartz, stepped down the stairs. Lightning-shaped symbols of blue and gold glowed across his breastplate.
Her blood ran cold.
(It's him... my father's personal knight.)
She raised her hands, summoning sculptures of elemental animals, each etched with her blessed sigil. Drawing in her energy, she summoned spirits to possess them-but only some answered her call.
The knight said nothing. He moved.
With graceful brutality, he avoided the attacks-cutting through the summoned beasts with devastating precision. Her summons began to fall.
Frustrated, she glanced back at the rift.
"Spirit of chaos!" she barked. "Throw the healer knight at him and defend me. I have to leave now."
The chaotic fox complied before she finished speaking as she started drawing characters in the air using her spiritual energy as the ink.
The silver knight turned just in time after slashing one of the creatures as he caught the healer's limp body.
"Thank you, thank you!" the healer cried. "I almost died! I ran out of mana-"
"You're pitiful," the sliver knight muttered with no real malice in his voice but just pity.
Then louder, "Get behind me and knight. You're old right don't you have a child? You want them to grow up an orphan or something. because i am telling you right now they would like that very much?"
(I can tell you from experience)
The healer choked up, nodding. "Yes, sir..."
Behind them, the fox stood between its master and the knight.
One more eye opened on the fox's head. Five rows of teeth gleamed as four fire illusory orbs hovered around it, spinning chaotically.
The silver knight whispered, "A creature of the untamed... Chaos."
He dashed forward.
The last of the summoned beasts leapt toward him, but he cut them down in a single, sweeping strike. A fireball fly around while he slashed but as soon as it was abou to hit him
CLANG
the sound of metal hitting against metal went off as the fire ball for no reason disappeared
The fox laughed as the 3 remaining fireballs rebelled in the chaos as they grew slightly with each minute.
The silver knight tried to dash forward.
But it was too late.
She had finished writing the final character in the air:
"THE" "FOREST" "OF" "FESTRA"
The rift expanded-glowing, shaking, leaking pure raw spiritual energy.
"No," the knight whispered. "She's leaving the Earthly Realm... We can't find her there."
He moved. So did the fox.
They collided in a clash of elemental force and knightly power. The chaotic orbs grew in size, unstable and flickering.
She smiled and called out, "By the time you recover from this, I'll be ready. Onething will be warned and ready-for his plan. Bye-bye~"
She stepped through the portal.
The knight's eyes hardened. "I will not fail this not under my supervision not under my duty..."
The knight looked deep into the fire eyes of the four-tailed fox
"You like chaos so much, then why don't you die by it."
The fireballs launched at him. his blade then slightly gleamed green as with lightning-speed, he deflected the fireballs, redirecting their path-straight into the ceiling.
BOOM.
The roof cracked. Rubble began to fall.
The fox dodged again and again-but the knight anticipated the final dodge. He appeared where the fox moved, slamming it with a full-force strike of his silver gauntlet he sent it into a massive slab of falling debris. The impact echoed like thunder.
The green gleam in the knights sword shined into something brighter into something, warmer something more illusory and spiritual as it roar to life now, a green illusory fire
The knight looked at the illusory green fire then up at the falling creature. "My blade was made to cut creatures like you the others where lucky because they deserved to be killed but you went ahead and pissed me off so I guess I have to go ahead and kill the true in in that verse"
"Now die creature of the untamed"
*The one who will die by that same chaos...*
The creature's fate was sealed From the beginning.
The knight stood among the rubble, breathing heavily.
He turned to the healer knight. "Inform the king. Our plans are delayed. The princess... is the cause."
The healer saluted. "Yes, Commander."
Without another word, the silver knight stepped into the portal-just as the entire basement collapsed behind him, burying the chamber in stone.
-
Maxi was not in his usual bed or his quiet little castle-the one where only he and Tengen lived, its halls filled mostly with silence and candlelight. No, today was different.
He was seated in one of the dressing rooms in the main BloodHeart castle, perched stiffly on a velvet couch, dressed far too formally for his own taste. His outfit, however, was impressive: a tailored black suit embroidered with the BloodHeart family crest-though it had been altered for him. The stabbed heart's crown, usually dripping blood, had a half-rose blooming from the other side of the crown instead. He wore a gold and white tailcoat with a red bowtie and glossy black shoes, each adorned with a tiny, elegant rose at the heel.
Today was his birthday.
And apparently, he had to give a speech.
Maxi leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands clasped together, staring at the ground as he spiraled into one of his long, internal monologues.
Why am I even here? What is this life? What's my actual role in all this?
He sighed. Right. Two arranged marriages to pick from. A crowd of nobles to impress. A speech to give. No pressure, huh?
He shook his head slowly. What even is this world? I have three theories, none of which are comforting.
Theory One: He'd been reincarnated into some book or game he never read, where someone else was the main character-and he was just a background extra, destined to die for someone else's growth.
Theory Two: He was in a completely new world, one not tied to anything familiar. No plot, no hidden story. Just chaos and misfortune. He'd simply drawn the short straw.
Theory Three-his least favorite: He'd been reincarnated into the far past of his original world. A time when the gods were still active and freely blessed mortals. Something cataclysmic must've happened-like the War of Blood-that caused the gods to stop interacting with the world. Perhaps everything had been reset, rewritten. The only gods left were now the few allowed or even alive to be worshipped, and Maxi just happened to land smack in the middle of the ancient age where everything began.
He couldn't tell which one was more likely-or which was worse.
Maxi ran a hand down his face and exhaled sharply. Alright, next issue-how the hell am I supposed to get two people to like me enough to request marriage proposals from their families?
His thoughts drifted to what his mother had explained to him about the political system of this world. The nine main families, like the BloodHearts, each had branch families, which functioned like separate government sectors-handling politics, finance, military, and espionage. They weren't just backups. They were vital. In comparison, nobles were practically fluff-sponsors or some times considered rich commoners barely holding onto their titles, often with no real power unless they had ties to the main or branch families or in rare cases one of thier family members names gets spreadout and becomes well-known.
But his father... his father wanted to marry Maxi off to a pair of girls from a fallen branch family-one that had lost its use, relevance, and honor but still had lingering ties to others. It wasn't about romance. It was about leverage.
Maxi scoffed to himself. So that's what I am? A chess piece? A shiny medal to show the other families?
And yet... some instinct -something buried deep within his soul-told him there was more to his father's plan especially since his father told him the other part of his plan if he didn't choose marriage. It wasn't just about salvaging favor with a fallen family.
No. If Maxi, the supposed weakest BloodHeart, could outperform children from other houses, then those families might pressure the fallen one to back off and instead encourage him to marry up-into a stronger branch. And if his performance was impressive enough... a main family might want to claim him outright.
His father plan for him if he chose to delay his blessing ritual was that to show that even the weakest BloodHeart could outshine the best of others, so the same method could be used if he was married off to another that he could out shine everybody to the point of them desperately wanting so in that desperation they would seek to have friendly ties with the son of said shing child.
Maxi thought bitterly, (I'd never do that to my own kids. Use them like currency. I'd let them stumble and grow through trial and error... let them love who they want, not auction them off.)
Maxi sighs again think (this father is nothing like mine cool calm head and quiet bus awesome I wouldn't wish for a nother but sadly I got another father and his ten times worse)
His fingers tapped against the armrest as he thought of his lust passive blessing- that he now called Cupid's Cuteness. A subtle ability that made people lower their guard around him, forgive him more easily, feel drawn to him. It wasn't romantic per se-but definitely useful.
Especially when trying to survive political marriage negotiations at age seven.
Still, he had one more thing to figure out.
A short-term goal.
Something to keep him feeling human, not just a cog in some aristocratic machine.
And then it came to him.
(Alright, first goal: get at least one person interested in me. Just one. Preferably someone with personality-unlike those two 'options' my father gave me. He paused. But no attachments. I still have some lingering adult memories, even if scattered. And even if no one else would know, I would know. No seven-year-old crushes. I'm not about to become the world's most tragic pedophile. Nope. Not when I had a wife and kid's especially kids, I could never look at them in the face if I did that)
He continued thinking:
Second goal: Learn everything he could about the world. Not just the magic system. He wanted to understand its history, mythology, monsters, kingdom etiquette, and social structure. Not just to survive-but to belong.
Third goal: Master at least two magic types. That felt small enough to aim for without overreaching, and if he had to defend himself again-or escape-he needed something up his sleeve.
He looked around the dressing room, vast and golden-lit, its floor polished like water.
Another sigh escaped him.
His thoughts turned to his passive blessing, and what Colen had told him. That this ability wasn't a power he owned, but a side effect-a reaction to the connection between him and the gods who blessed him. so some parts of his passive blessing are repressed depending on his connection or relationship with his gods so in some cases if you deepen your connection with your gods you can unlock a whole new aspect of his passive ability.
Maxi did not do that he unlocked an already available aspect of his passive ability apparently Maxi's eyes are the catalyst in which his passive blessing ability show activation.
Maxi hadn't even done anything special-but still, in his fight against Hana, something had shifted. His eyes had changed color-green to yellow-and a connection had deepened.
With the Demon King of Pride.
That realization was... unsettling.
His blessing wasn't evolving randomly. It was responding to something inside of him. Something even he didn't understand.
He frowned. So then...
(What the hell did I do to deepen our relationship?)
As Maxi was still lost in his thoughts, he noticed something strange.
His thoughts... were faster.
Not just fast like they'd been in the past-sharper. More fluid. As if his mind was moving ahead of his mouth, anticipating ideas before they even fully formed. It reminded him of the sensation right after a battle. Like something in him had unlocked-subtle but it was there.
Before he could think on it further, there came a knock at the door.
A voice followed, muffled but familiar.
"Maxi, are you done over there?"
He jolted slightly, then scrambled to fix his hair and straighten his bow tie.
"Y-Yeah! Coming!"
He glanced at his reflection. A small smirk pulled at his lips.
(If I compared myself to my past life... I'd say I look pretty cute. I mean-I am still seven, so maybe I'm being a little biased... but still.)
The door burst open.
In stepped one of his siblings-black hair with brown tips, dressed in a suit similar to Maxi's. Black nails. A faint chain dangling from his pocket. He smiled, shaking his head with casual disdain.
"You're taking too long, Maxi. Come on-it's your big day. I mean, sure, I despised you the first time I heard you were a bastard, but-"
Maxi sighed. "You still despise me, don't you?"
Uvera shrugged. "Despised isn't the right word anymore. But that doesn't matter. Let's go. You don't want to make the old man mad."
Maxi shock his head, suppressing a laugh. The two of them exited the dressing room, walking briskly through the marbled hallways of the royal palace. The corridors curved with elegant white stone, shifting from wood to marble to glowing quartz. Already, the sound of guests entering buzzed below them.
From the upper balcony, Maxi could see nobles and highborns flooding into the massive atrium. Everything was grand-too grand. Everything shimmered like it was trying to make up for the hollow weight in his stomach.
They looped around to the upper podium. There stood his father, cloaked in power and pride. Beside him stood his mother, radiant and composed. She knelt to hug Maxi as he arrived, whispering gently:
"Hey, my sweet angel. Ready for your birthday?"
Maxi smiled. "Hey, Mom."
His father interrupted: "Of course he's ready."
She shot him a side-glance. "Your Highness-please."
The king scoffed, looking away.
She turned back to Maxi. "You've got your speech prepared?"
Maxi nodded.
"Good, good. And you look too." She giggled, ruffling his heai before smoothing it out. She kissed his cheek and smiled. "You've got this. Okay?"
Another nod. Deep breath.
The king stepped forward with the mimic-stone microphone, clearing his throat.
"hello everyone and welcome to Maxi's Bloodheart birthday and we are not just here today to celebrated with him but to get to know him since we keep him in the dark for so long but today today will be the day you will truly meet Maxi BloodHeart"
Applause. A moment of stillness. Maxi stepped forward and took the mimic-stone.
"Hello everyone," he said clearly. "As my father said, my name is Maxi BloodHeart.
He paused.
"And I'll be honest... I don't think I deserve the praise I've gotten so far. I'm just a child. Compared to my siblings- Techxin, Colen, even Hana-I'm... nothing yet. I haven't awakened. I haven't achieved anything. I'm not on their level."
The crowd went still.
"But," Maxi continued, firmer now, "I won't
compare myself to them.
I'll compare myself to me.
My only competition is myself."
He took another breath, letting the words form naturally.
"My goals might not be as grand as theirs. My path may not be as impressive. But that doesn't matter. My goals are mine. My journey is mine. And even if someone else has already done what I'm trying to do-that doesn't make it worthless. What matters is
that I do it Me "
"Because this is my life-not theirs.
"They've had their moments. Their legends. Their paths. But mine is still unwritten. So I'll chase my crazy feats-even if no one else believes in them.
"I'm not their shadow. I'm my own sun. Going a completely different way."
He stood taller now.
"I'm not their shadow. I don't want to be.
They've already walked their path-now it's my turn to walk mine.
I will reach different places. I'll do different things. And when people speak of the BloodHearts in the future... they'll speak of me, too.
Not as a copy.
Not as an echo.
because echo repeat with no difference
and rest assured, I am not an echo of what there was
I am the voice of what is now
But as someone entirely new."
The audience remained quiet, respectful, contemplative. His voice-childish, but filled with sharp sincerity-cut deeper than expected.
But then... a sound echoed.
He paused-heart thudding.
And then-the doors opened.
A strange silence fell.
A presence entered. One so overwhelming that it drew breath from the room.
Every step the man took echoed. The floor seemed to breathe beneath him. His light pink hair shimmered like woven silk. His eyes were peach-pink, warm, and dazzling. His clothes flowed in layers of loose fabric, elegant and ethereal.
One amethyst-scaled serpent curled lazily around his neck. Another rainbow-scaled snake coiled up his waist, tail wrapped around his leg like a jeweled chain.
Women gasped.
Men stared in awe.
He didn't just walk in-he floated on joy. His aura overflowed with happiness, love, and life. Like a walking embodiment of beauty itself.
From the crowd, a woman with red hair stormed forward. The moment their eyes met, the man opened his arms wide. But instead of embracing him-she slapped him.
Gasps.
And then... she hugged him tightly.
He chuckled, full of light, and patted her head gently.
A cry rang out.
"MOON!!"
It was Techxin's mother. She picked up her dress and ran to him, no care for etiquette.
The man's eyes lit up. He ran too, catching her mid-air as they spun together, peach petals swirling from beneath his robes like wind-kissed flower storms.
When they landed, he whispered softly, "Qill, how have you been?"
She giggled, pressing her forehead to his. "I've been good... just missing you, big brother."
Moon turned toward Maxi and waved brightly. "Sorry! Were you giving a speech, right?"
Maxi, still reeling, stammered, "N-no... it's fine. I just wanted to say... you should expect a lot from me, even if I'm not the strongest BloodHeart. Thank you."
And with that, he stepped down, cheeks burning.
(Gods... this child embarrassment is the worst.)
His mother snatched the mimic-stone, calling out both Moon and Qill, scolding them for stealing her son's moment. They both apologized.
But the damage was done.
Maxi tried to mingle afterward-talking to other kids his age-but it was impossible. They were too busy ogling Moon or chasing conversations that didn't include him.
Defeated, Maxi grabbed a slice of cake and sat down in a quiet corner.
(Mission failed...)
He sighed, face in his arm, chewing a bite of cake when he heard a small voice beside him.
"I... really liked your speech."
He turned, blinking.
There, standing just a little awkwardly beside him, was a girl in a soft purple kimono, decorated with four sharp petal-shaped flower symbols. Her hair was lavender streaked with black, tied partly into a low ponytail, though strands messily hung over her face. A headband oddly held nothing-just floated behind her hair.
She had the shy face of someone who didn't speak often-but when she did, it meant something.
"You did?" Maxi asked, surprised.
She nodded, gently.
"Especially the part where you said it doesn't matter if someone already achieved your dream. That... really resonated with me. My family's done a lot. Achieved so much. I always felt like... there was no point chasing the same goals. But hearing you say it lit that fire in me again."
Maxi chuckled. "That's... really good to hear."
"Oh!" she gasped suddenly. "I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Kate! But don't say Kate like usual. Say it like... cat."
Maxi raised an eyebrow. "Cat?"
She nodded seriously. "Like the meow-meow kind!"
Then-without warning-she raised her hands in tiny paws and did a cat pose.
Maxi turned away, face burning red.
(That's the cutest thing in the world-what the hell!?)
He turned back, still blushing.
"Hi, Cat. You, uh... don't know this palace too well, do you?"
Kate tilted her head, then shook it gently.
"Me neither," Maxi said. "I've only seen like four rooms in this massive place. Want to explore with me?"
She paused... then nodded.
Maxi grinned. He cut a small piece of cake with his fork and, with surprising confidence, offered it to her.
She blushed deeply as she accepted the bite.
Peach petals from Moon's earlier swirl still floated through the air, drifting down gently around them.
Maxi took her hand. "Come on."
"Okay..." she whispered, fork still in her mouth.
They walked off together, small and quiet, disappearing into the halls.
From the far corner, a girl with a folding fan covering her mouth watched the whole scene. Behind the delicate paper, her lips curved into a smirk.