A thousand years ago, when humanity was on the brink of extinction in the looming War of Races, the Emperor of Humans, ruler of the continent, found himself in a dire situation. Humanity's survival depended on the outcome of this war—they would either endure or perish.
In the midst of this crisis, the Emperor gathered his ministers to discuss the matter. During this meeting, the Imperial Court Mage revealed that he had a method to ensure humanity's victory in the war.
Emperor: "Speak. Tell me what you have; perhaps it is worth trying."
Court Mage: "What if we created superhumans—humans with abilities derived from other races, such as dragons, giants, demons, or even elemental forces and other beasts?"
In the middle of the Mage's explanation, the Minister of War interrupted: "This is nonsense! We are here to decide the fate of humanity, not discuss absurdities."
Emperor, addressing the Minister of War: "Silence. Let the Mage continue."
Court Mage: "Very well. The idea works by enhancing human genes, integrating them with various genes, or merging them with natural elements. This process creates superhumans capable of wielding innate abilities similar to those of other races. They can even use magic without relying on the mana that normal mages require—by becoming one with the element itself, such as wind, water, fire, and other types of magic. Essentially, we merge the human essence with the essence of the target creature or element."
When the Mage finished his explanation, the Emperor asked: "And how can this be done? Do you have a method to create these mutants?"
Court Mage: "Yes. It is a special magic I have long sought to perfect. By merging the essence of elements and other creatures with humans, and if done correctly, it will produce a true superhuman. Once we have all the necessary resources—"
The Minister of Finance interrupted: "No problem. We can provide whatever is needed for this project."
Once all preparations were in place, only the Emperor's approval remained. With a sigh, he said: "You have permission to begin."
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After the meeting, the Mage began his work and successfully created the first mutants. Thus, the War of Races began. Humans, once the weakest of all races and seemingly doomed, managed to repel the attacks from other races that came from neighboring continents.
After the war ended, humanity celebrated their glorious day of victory—but their joy was short-lived. Another war erupted, bringing destruction and ruin.
This time, the war was between humans and the Court Mage, who had awakened the power of Dark Magic and turned against the Empire. When the Emperor ordered the cessation of the human experiments, he realized that although the mutant project seemed promising, the gruesome experiments conducted in secrecy were far worse than anyone could imagine. Hundreds of thousands of humans had died in the process, and only a few thousand survived. The birth of one mutant from every thousand humans was considered an achievement.
Yet the Mage's greed blinded him. His hidden army grew in secret, and he eventually turned on the Emperor, killing him and slaughtering the princes one by one, declaring himself the new Emperor of the continent.
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When the people discovered the truth about the Mage's experiments and the mutants he had created, they rallied behind the last true heir—the Seventeenth Prince—the only one who survived among his siblings.
He led hundreds of Imperial Mages, thousands of Imperial Knights, and five hundred mutants who were on his side. Together, they destroyed the mutants created by the Dark Mage, who had been controlling them with his magic.
As night turned to dawn, the Mage finally met his end. Shivering and cursing the world, he stabbed his dagger into the ground and placed a curse upon humanity. This became known as the Curse of the Mutants.
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Years passed, and a new generation of human children began to show signs of mutation at birth. The Mage's curse had taken hold, depriving those destined for greatness and talent of their potential, and forcing them to be born as mutants in this world.
The Seventeenth Prince ascended the throne and ruled the Empire for many years. As his life neared its end, he faced a dilemma: he had nine sons, all highly capable, and choosing a successor was nearly impossible. The Emperor passed away without naming an heir. Humans feared this would lead to a war among the nine princes, causing countless deaths.
Amid the unrest, the wise First Minister of the late Emperor gathered the nine princes and asked them to decide who deserved the throne. Yet no agreement was reached, and war seemed inevitable. To prevent this, the Minister proposed dividing the Empire into nine kingdoms, with each prince ruling one. Humanity thus avoided a needless war.
The nine kingdoms were established, and the Empire's wealth, army, and even the remaining nine mutants who survived the wars were divided among them. Each of these last mutants founded an academy to train and cultivate new mutants born among humans.
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Centuries of peace and prosperity followed. Yet ninety years ago, the alarm of danger sounded once more. The War of Races, which occurs once every thousand years when continental borders are removed, was approaching again. Only a hundred years remained, and the greatest threat emerged: Dark Magic had returned in the hands of an organization calling itself Erebus Remnants.
The world began to change. The organization kidnapped children, experimenting on them in an attempt to create a mutant army, much like the Court Mage had tried long ago. The kingdoms quickly realized the danger, and in a historic gathering, the rulers of the nine kingdoms united their efforts to eliminate the organization before the next War of Races could reach them.
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End of Chapter 1