One

Once upon a time, in the continent of Larin, there stood the powerful Kingdom of Sora. The kingdom was famous around the continent for its enormous colony. Aside from that, thousands of powerful mages resided in the kingdom and governed the commoners. Even the king himself, Roderick IV, was a powerful archmage.

But despite the prosperity of the Kingdom of Sora, the cruelty and abuse among the commoners could never be ignored.

Even way before the reign of Roderick IV, the citizens of the Kingdom of Sora suffered from the maltreatment of the mages. Men were forced to mine on the dangerous mountains, women were sold as slaves, the elderly were captured to become the offerings for the vicious beasts, and children were abducted and became the subjects for the mages' experiments.

For hundreds of years, the commoners prayed to the gods to save them from the torment that they were in. Until they lost hope that they could ever escape from their misery.

However, one day, among the commoners, there was a boy who was born to had unusual yellow jeweled eyes. His eyes were sparkling as if it's made of diamonds that even the mages took an interest in him.

The boy was frightened as he was aware of the nightmare that he would face once he was caught by the mages. He trembled on his knees while he begged to be spared at the five mages who looked at him in mockery.

"Heh, a little kid like you dared to reject the opportunity to work on the tower? There were a lot of people who were begging us to accept them. Yet you, a tiny street rat, had the nerve to object?" The mage sneered as he kicked the boy on his head.

"Y-your excellency, I. I beg you… spare me. Please spare me." The boy wept as he bowed his head to the ground. Although his head was hurt from the kick, he tried harder to beg for the mages.

Work on the tower? Who among the Kingdom of Sora did not know that the mages wanted him because of his unusual eyes?

Curse. He felt that his eyes were cursed. If only his eyes weren't jeweled like everyone claims. If only his eyes did not capture the interest of the mages. Maybe, just maybe, he could flee to the mountains and live by himself through hunting or farming. Unfortunately, those were only his wishful thoughts.

The boy cried in bitterness. Was this the end for him?

He could not reconcile. He hadn't taken vengeance for his mother yet! His mother was ruthlessly killed just because she gave birth to a bastard of a high mage.

But was it his mother's fault that she was coerced to become a slave at a young age? His mother… his mother was too young. She was only nineteen yet she already had a seven-year-old son.

At her age, the female nobles were still studying to become a mage. Alas, his mother was not a noble, but just a commoner bore from a prostitute.

The boy's body shook as he felt his emotions went haywire. The grief, anger, and hatred that he felt even as a child could not withstand the strong emotions that he had.

"Just drag this rat to the tower. Who cares? It's not as if Sir Henry would care about this bastard." The mage said as he glimpsed at the boy in disdain. The other mages agreed in unison and the shortest among them stepped forward to grab the boy.

"Kid, it's your fortune to be the bastard of Sir Henry. You can die without regrets."

The boy clenched his tiny fist as he heard what the mage said. Fortune? He sneered at the rubbish thing the mage uttered. So what if his father was the respected Royal Magician of King Roderick IV? Wasn't he the same person who ordered to kill his mother just because she gave birth to his bastard child?

Bastard… Bastard…

No, I was not a bastard.

"D-don't come near me." He said as his tiny fist shook from intense hatred.

The mage clicked his tongue in annoyance, "This kid had the guts, huh? Let's see where this guts of yours could take you." He said as he grabbed the boy's thin arms.

"I said don't come near me!"

The moment the boy shouted, a huge amount of mana exploded and surrounded his thin and frail body. He now stood while he glared with hatred at the five mages who were now a hundred steps away from him as they were caught in the explosion of mana. The mage who grabbed the boy's arm screamed as his hand had burnt with golden flames. He tried so hard to use his mana to dispel the flames but unfortunately, it was all for naught. Moreover, he discovered that the more he used his mana, the more the flames burnt his hand.

"You… how the hell have you done this?" The mages were astonished as they saw the huge amount of mana the boy had. It was the first time they saw this powerful mana. Even the strongest mage in the kingdom, King Roderick IV, didn't have this terrifying amount of mana.

"Lorenzo." The boy said as he stared at the mages in hatred. The latter was confused as what the former said.

"My name is Lorenzo." The boy continued, "and I would be the one who would annihilate the mages in the Kingdom of Sora!"

---

Lorenzo stood outside the Imperial Capital. The commoners behind him gawked at the situation inside the capital without a blink, afraid that they would miss even a single moment.

The Imperial Capital of the Kingdom of Sora, which stood in the center of the Larin Continent, was continuously buried by the thousands of lightning that fell from the sky. The mages and nobles, who were inside the enormous city were now trapped with nowhere to go, together with their beloved king.

"Bastard! I'll kill you! I would kill you!" Henry shrieked as he tried to run outside the city but unfortunately, even if the gates were broken, there was a barrier that trapped everyone inside.

Lorenzo looked at him without expression. He looked forward to met him as he had thousands of words to say how much he hated him. But as he saw Henry in his wretched state, screamed obscenities while he knelt on the ground as he lost his right leg that was struck by a lightning, he could not manage to open his mouth. Instead, he just stared at him until he was struck by the lightning to death.

After five hours of an intense lightning storm, the skies became clear. And the once-prosperous Imperial Capital of the Kingdom of Sora was now buried in ruins.

The commoners were still unable to believe that the ones who oppressed them were now dead. They didn't know who was the one who started to bawl but by this, everyone was awoken by the stupor. Then, they all cried in bitterness and relief as they felt the freedom they longed for. Some of them knelt while they cried, some hugged their families, and some laughed and shouted while tears streamed from their eyes.

Lorenzo glanced at them but still did not said anything. He lowered his head and clenched his tiny fist. Minutes passed and he quietly left the crowd of people who were rejoicing.

When the crowd started to look for the child who freed them from oppression, he was now nowhere to found.

Many years passed by, but the legend of the yellow jeweled eye boy that saved the commoners from the oppression of the tyrants of the Kingdom of Sora had circulated throughout the entire continent. Some believed it, some only took it as a joke. However, the fact that the Kingdom of Sora was fallen could not be disregarded.

And the one who led the fall of the great kingdom had never been seen since then.

---

"Class dismissed."

When Minerva heard what their teacher said, she hastily closed the book she read and arranged her things. Her classmates did the same thing. Even some of them were outside the classroom.

"Come on! I heard that Zoe released her new song! The song was fantastic that even Peter Oakley praised it!"

"Yes, I also heard it! I told you, Zoe was an amazing singer! She even managed to capture the interest of the famous producer!"

"Of course! She just did not have an amazing voice, she also composed the song and wrote the lyrics! Oh, how I wish I could be as talented as her!"

Minerva swiftly held her bag and left the classroom without an expression. Her footsteps were heavy and even her fist was clenched tightly. Still, she refused to show any ounce of emotion.

"Zoe Rein's latest song 'Autumn Leaves' topped the music chart 2 hours after it was released."

"Peter Oakley praised Zoe Rein's "Autumn Leaves", was a future collaboration about to happen?"

The rain started to pour. Minerva opened her umbrella and crossed the road. She raised the volume of the song she listened to and quietly blended on the group of people.

A few minutes later, she arrived at the apartment she lived in. She heaved a heavy sigh as she found the comfort that she sought while she was in school.

"It felt good to be home." She muttered. At least when she was home, she could breathe a bit better.

Minerva hastily changed her clothes and laid on her bed; quietly hoped that she would fall asleep quickly.

Minerva sighed and had a tiny smile on her lips as she fell asleep. And now that she was dreaming, she saw the silhouette of a guy that would appear in her dreams.

While Minerva slept, what she did not know was that the left hand that was placed above her pillow suddenly emits a strange pattern with a pale blue light.

If she was awake, she would be shocked. As the strange pattern that appeared on her left hand was also the same as the pattern on the book cover she read earlier.

And just like her left hand, it also emits a pale blue light.