I'm 6 years old. In the sprawling garden of the Akiyama estate, I'm training alone with a wooden sword at the crack of dawn. The air's freezing, my breath coming out in clouds, but I don't stop. Because if I stop, my mind goes back to that day: The Taigen Seal Ceremony from last year.
---
That day, the great hall was packed. Not just our family, but neighboring nobles, my father's allies, and their spoiled brats had all shown up. In the center of the hall, only the seal papers waited.
In this world, power is determined by colors. The hierarchy's simple: **Green < Blue < Purple < Orange < Red < Yellow**. Most people start at Green. Blue means talented. Purple and above are rarer and more powerful. Yellow is legendary status.
Before the ceremony started, my father told me to greet the guests. I was going around to the other kids in the hall, offering polite bows. One of them approached me—chubby Kaito, the son of some neighboring lord. He had a sugar-coated pastry in his hand.
"Psst! Hey, loser!"
I froze at that disgusting chewing sound coming from behind me. Kaito leaned toward me, bits of pastry still in his mouth.
"You're the youngest of the Akiyama family, right? I heard... you've got a disability."
He wiped the sugar crumbs from the corner of his mouth and smirked.
"I'm curious—think you'll pass the test? Or are you gonna cry and run to mommy?"
I didn't answer. Without even looking at his face, I simply bowed slightly. "Welcome," I said, then walked away.
"We'll see now, little brat," I muttered to myself.
---
---
My father stepped up to the platform in the center of the hall. His voice boomed loud and clear:
"Esteemed guests! Welcome to this proud day for the Akiyama family. Today is the day our children's destinies will be decided, the day our future will shine. No need for long speeches. Blood reveals itself on the stage."
Applause broke out. My father raised his hand and started the test.
First up was my older brother, **Shibuya**. 16 years old, tall, everyone's golden boy. He placed his palm on the white paper. The paper instantly burst into **blue flames**. The flames were so intense that the chandelier overhead trembled.
A murmur spread through the hall.
"Did you see those flames? Such power... and at his age!"
"The Akiyama family's future is bright!"
My father smiled proudly, his chest puffed out.
---
Next was my older sister, **Rie**. 13 years old. She touched the paper. It glowed gently and turned **green**.
My father nodded. "Good. At least the foundation is solid," he said.
---
Then it was my turn.
My mother, my father, my siblings, Kaito, and the other noble brats all stared at me, some giggling. My tiny hands were trembling.
*Come on, kid. At least light up Green. Shut them up.*
The moment I pressed my palm down, I waited for my fingertips to warm up. A tingling sensation, a tiny spark... Anything.
But nothing.
The paper stayed beneath my palm—just a wrinkled, white piece of paper. No reaction. No sign of life.
Silence.
Dead silence.
The earlier murmurs cut off like a knife. Kaito's laughter rang out. "I knew it!"
The smile on my father's face froze.
My father's younger brother, Uncle Dai, rushed forward. His face showed panic, unable to accept the result.
"Wait! Maybe the boy got nervous and couldn't focus his mana! Or the paper... maybe this paper is defective? Sometimes seals lose their properties!"
Second paper. Same result.
Third paper. Still nothing.
My father looked shocked but forced a smile, placing his hand on my shoulder:
"It's alright, Sho. If there's no Taigen, there's still the sword. The Akiyamas can rise through swordplay too."
---
That day, I locked myself in my room and buried myself in bed. I bit my pillow and screamed:
"Damn it... Did I really draw the loser package again? I thought this was a reincarnation! Where's the system? Where's the status screen? God, screw you and your shitty design!"
---
Since that day, I've been training with the sword every morning. Big Sis Miku's been secretly teaching me swordplay.
Miku is 19 years old, with long black hair and ice-cold eyes. When I first saw her, I thought she was just a "maid," but during our first training session, she knocked the wooden sword out of my hands with a single move.
It was after another brutal training session where I'd kissed the ground and gotten my ass handed to me. Lying on my back, gasping for air while staring at the ceiling, I asked:
"Miku... Are you really just a maid?"
She paused. As she wiped my forehead with a towel, she looked away. "Why do you ask, Sho-sama?"
"Because..." I sat up and looked at her. "An ordinary maid can't be this strong. Please, Miku... I'm curious."
She took a deep breath. It was like she was debating whether to tell me or not. Finally, she gave in with a smile.
"I used to be... a knight instructor in the royal army. I even used to compete with your father, Iwata."
"What? With my dad?"
"Yes." Her eyes drifted to the distance. "Five years ago, assassins from the Demi-Human Kingdom cornered me in the city center. I was going to die. But your father... with a single sword strike, he took them all out. Since that day, I've owed him. Serving the Akiyama family is the only way to repay that debt."
"So my dad saved you..."
"Yes. And now I'm repaying that debt by making you strong. You don't have Taigen, Sho. But with the sword... you could become a genius."
Since that day, I've trained even harder every morning.
---
Then there's this: The nosebleeds.
The first one happened three months after the test. In the middle of the night, I woke up suddenly to a pressurized ringing in my head. My pillow was soaked. I felt that warm, metallic liquid dripping from my nose. There was no reason for it. No impact, no nightmare. Just that throbbing from deep within and the flowing blood.
Miku came into my room in the morning and saw the blood on the pillow. She whispered: "Sho-sama... Did it bleed again?"
I nodded. "Yeah, Miku. I don't know why it's happening."
Miku wiped it with a handkerchief, her eyes worried. "Should we tell a doctor? This isn't normal."
"Nah, it's nothing. I don't think it's anything serious," I brushed it off.
But deep down, I knew: This isn't normal. On the outside, everyone thinks I'm just the "Powerless Little Loser." But something dark is growing inside me. And if my instincts are right... When it explodes, all hell's gonna break loose.
---
**Two years later...**
I'm 8 years old. It's the middle of the night, and I'm reading old scrolls under my blanket with a flashlight. About Taigen. I don't understand shit, but I keep reading anyway.
"Come on, Sho, just one formula... One clue..." I mutter to myself.
My eyes are closing. I turn off the flashlight and bury myself in the pillow.
---
**Shivering.**
I woke up trembling from the cold. The room was freezing.
"Ghhh... Why's it so damn cold?"
I pulled the blanket over my head, but it was useless. There was a wind sound. I lifted my head—the window was wide open. The curtain was flapping wildly.
"Shit, did I leave the window open? I'm freezing my ass off here."
Grumbling, I got out of bed. The moment my feet touched the floor, I shivered. In the pitch darkness, I reached out and started walking toward the window.
"Let me just close this..."
**THUD!**
My foot hit something hard. I lost my balance and face-planted on the floor.
"Agh! Fuck! What the hell did I trip on?!"
I rubbed my foot and sat up. What business did something have being in the middle of my room for me to trip over?
As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I made out the object on the floor.
A book.
"A book? What the hell?"
An old, worn, leather-bound book. It hadn't fallen under my bed—it was sitting right in the middle of my path. Like someone had deliberately placed it there.
Curiosity piqued, I stopped swearing and bent down. That strange symbol on the book's cover... Was it glowing in the dark? Or was I losing my mind?
I reached out.
"What the hell is this thing?"
I touched the book.
---
**INSTANTLY—**
My head exploded.
"AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!"
My eyes are open but I can't see anything. Just light. Scorching, burning, white light. Thousands of voices are speaking in my ears all at once.
**"Strange... A tough soul... Come... COME..."**
My hands are burning. Actually burning. I'm trying to let go of the book, but it's stuck to my hand.
"LET GO! LET GO, DAMN IT!"
Something hot is flowing from my eyes. Blood. My eyes are bleeding. It's flowing from my nose too. From my mouth. Blood pouring from everywhere.
My knees buckle. I collapse to the floor. The book's still in my hand. The inside of my palms... they're glowing red. Like they're being held over hot coals. Bright red. My flesh is burning.
"WHAT'S HAPPENING?! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!"
"AAAARRRGH! IT BURNS! EVERYTHING BURNS!"
I'm screaming. Screaming at the top of my lungs. The book finally falls from my hand and slides under the table.
---
**BAM!**
The door bursts open. Miku's the first one in. She's already drawn her sword, her eyes scanning for threats.
"SHO-SAMA!"
She rushes to my side. Looking at the blood flowing from my eyes, the pool of blood on the floor, my bright red palms.
Then my father stormed in. Followed by my brother Shibuya, my sister Rie, my mother Naya... They all piled into the room at once.
My father dropped to his knees beside me. "Sho! Open your eyes! Look at me!"
I forced my eyelids open, but everything was blurry. Just trembling shadows...
"D-Dad... It burns... Everything burns... There's something inside me... Something's eating me..."
My father quickly examined my body. He checked my neck, my arms, my chest.
Miku cut in with a trembling voice: "Iwata-sama... His hands! Look at his palms!"
My father looked down at my hands. His eyes widened in horror.
He gripped my palms tightly. They were bright red. Like they'd been held over burning coals, but the skin wasn't burned. The flesh beneath the skin was glowing.
My mother was in the corner, covering her mouth with her hands, sobbing. My sister Rie clung to our mother in fear, burying her face in her chest.
My brother Shibuya remained calm. He'd noticed the wind coming from the window. His eyes narrowed as he created a small blue flame in his palm and walked toward the window.
"This was left open..." he said quietly.
Then his eyes caught on something on the floor, under the table. There was something glowing there.
He bent down, about to reach for it—
**"SHIBUYA, STOP! DON'T TOUCH IT!"**
My father's voice thundered so loud that Shibuya jerked his hand back at the last second and jumped backward.
My father slowly approached the book. There was a familiar look in his eyes. **Recognition**.
He pushed the book out with the hilt of his sword. The book slid into view.
My father looked at the symbol on the cover. His face turned pale.
"This... No. This can't be. These were supposed to be destroyed..."
"Father?" My brother asked. He extinguished the blue flame in his hand as he looked at the book. "What is this?"
My father didn't answer. He just stared at the book. Then he turned to me.
"The Ancient Codex... One of the books used to imprison the souls of demon lords."
Miku's face went white. "Iwata-sama... So this child..."
"Yes." My father turned to me. There was fury in his voice. "How did they smuggle this in here... How did we not notice..."
I'm not struggling anymore. My body's stiff. Just trembling.
The voices in my head are still echoing. But this time, they're not threatening.
**"This feeling... I've missed this feeling..."**
My eyes are closing.
"SHO! OPEN YOUR EYES! DON'T SLEEP!" My father lightly slapped my face.
Miku jumped to her feet. "WHERE'S THE DOCTOR?! Someone run!"
My mother came to my side, sobbing. "Sho... My son... You have to hold on... Please hold on..."
Darkness.