Fate of Fateless

Three years passed like a quiet ripple beneath the still surface of a lake. Yet within the stronghold of the Originus Duchy, time had never once been calm.

In those years, the world slowly moved on from the strange birth that shook the foundations of the Empire. Rumors had dwindled. The Imperial Capital resumed its rituals. The other Ducal houses returned to their schemes. But behind the stone walls of Originus, every heartbeat, every breath, every glance toward the child carried the same question:

What have we brought into this world?

Chris Originus—heir to the mightiest bloodline of the Human Empire—spoke his first words at twelve months old. Not simple sounds. Sentences. Thoughts.

By fourteen months, he walked like a seasoned squire. Before his second birthday, he could lift blades meant for grown knights. He laughed with eerie calm when he fell. Cuts closed in seconds. Fevers came and went like fleeting dreams.

Servants began to whisper,maids prayed beneath their breath. Tutors stammered mid-lesson.

At the heart of it all, Seraphina watched her son with unshakable love—and a growing chill that rooted deeper with every passing day.

Then came his third birthday.

They took Chris to the sealed vault beneath the duchy—to the chamber of the Eye of Selune, an ancient crystal used for centuries to measure mana resonance.

The chamber's glow dimmed as the child approached. The moment his fingers touched the artifact, the entire room was drenched in silence. Not the calm sort. The kind before a storm breaks.

The Eye flickered.

Then glowed.

100.00.

The number shone bright and cruel on the crystal's surface.

Perfect resonance. A value that should not exist.

The chamber trembled. Cracks ran along the ceiling. One of the magi collapsed. The artifact nearly shattered.

They had expected something strong.

But this was not strength. This was beyond.

That night, they gathered in secret: Duke Hepton originus, Seraphina, the old lion Duke Lionheart originus, and two magi bound by unbreakable soul oaths.

None of them spoke for a long time.

Hepton finally broke the silence.

"This can never leave this room."

Just as they started to speak , everyone felt a huge mana fluctuation from sea.

Seraphina clutched her son tightly. "It's happening again."

Lionheart's eyes narrowed. "the Demon Sea."

She nodded.

Lionheart stared at the flickering candlelight. "I fought in those ruins. Magic failed. Gods went silent. We bled steel until the sea receded."

"And now," he added darkly, "it begins again."

Chris sat quietly nearby, watching them. Not smiling. Not speaking. Just... watching.

His eyes reflected the candlelight like stars caught in glass.

Hepton stood. "We will hide his mana value from From the Empire, from the Church, Even the Emperor."

The magi sealed the Eye. The result was scrubbed from all records. The artifact was locked behind a hundred wards.

To the world, Chris would grow as any noble child should.

But in the hearts of those present that night, one truth echoed:

This child was born perfect in a world that punishes perfection.

And something in the deep had already begun to stir.