***
The Limai Clan was the strongest, greatest, and oldest clan in the Central Continent. It stood as the ruling clan among the three great clans of the land, maintaining the continent's balance and stability.
On the night of the Blood Moon Eclipse—a night long feared as an omen of calamity—it was said that the devil himself had been born On this night. In the next lunar eclipse, the devil spread his corruption, tainting human hearts and tempting them to sell their very souls. During one such eclipse, the Cult of Demon Worshippers emerged. For four thousand years, the three great clans, led by the Limai Clan, waged war to suppress them. Four millennia of relentless bloodshed and slaughter against the cult. And a thousand years ago, it seemed at last to be over—the cult was nearly annihilated, the survivors fleeing north to the distant continent. What followed were the most peaceful thousand years in continent.
The Limai Clan was a righteous clan, ruling with fairness. Its leader, Elder Lin, was a man of vast wisdom. Under his eighty years of leadership, both his clan and the entire continent flourished. Though conflicts would at times rise between the other two great clans—the Meilis Clan and the Volnash Clan—the Limai Clan always stood as the mediator, ensuring disputes did not escalate.
***
Yet on the night of the next Blood Moon Eclipse, dread fell upon the continent once again. Fear spread like wildfire—fear of another catastrophe, fear that the cult of demon worshippers might return.
The cries of a woman in labor echoed through a chamber within the Limai Clan's palace. Elder Lin, despite his old age and Not investing much of his inner energy on his youth, had at last been blessed with an heir. He had long thought himself incapable, yet here was a child of his own blood.
Elder Lin's presence was formidable. His hair had turned silver, his beard thick, and his strength radiated from him still. He stood before the window, gazing at the blood-drenched moon, murmuring to himself:
"Could the cult of demon worshippers truly have perished in the northern continent?"
He sighed, but his thoughts were broken by the wailing of a newborn child in the next room.
"So… here he is. Hmmm… what shall I name him?"
Suddenly, the shrieks of his wife and the servants erupted:
"My lady, please calm yourself!"
"Hold on, lady! Enough, I beg you!"
Elder Lin entered the chamber in alarm.
"What is going on here?!"
The servants stammered in panic:
"M-my lord! It is the lady…"
Before him was a scene of horror—one maid clutching the newborn protectively, while his wife, still weak from childbirth, raged in a fit of hysteria. Her eyes, wide with terror and madness, burned with a murderous intent toward the infant. Two maids struggled to restrain her trembling body, barely preventing her from lunging at the child.
Elder Lin drew a deep breath, then stepped forward. With a swift strike to her neck, he rendered her unconscious.
"Take her back to bed. Let her rest!"
His voice was stern and commanding. Turning toward the maid holding his son, he demanded,
"What in heaven's name happened here?"
Taking the infant into his arms, he lifted his gaze. The crimson glow of the blood moon seeped through the windows as Elder Lin looked down upon his child.