The power flowing through my veins was not natural; it was cold, dry, and desolate like a forgotten grave. Kayan's scream shook the stone courtyard. His face, which had been radiating arrogance moments ago, had now transformed into a canvas of terror and suppressed pain. The black shadow energy that burst from my hand coiled around his leg like starving serpents, draining the mana from his body.
"You… you're absorbing my power!" Kayan shouted as he tried to gather his own flames to push me away, but his veins seemed as though they had frozen solid.
Elara, who had been watching the scene in shock, finally regained her composure. "Stop, you monster!" she screamed, raising her hand to form a blazing sphere of fire. But before she could release it, I felt an overwhelming pressure descend from the sky—pressure so immense that the air itself grew heavy upon my chest.
"Enough!"
A voice like thunder shattered the stillness. Suddenly, the ground split between Kayan and me under a sharp wave of blue energy. I stepped back several paces while Kayan collapsed to the ground, gasping, his leg covered in strange black patches.
From behind the courtyard pillars, two men emerged wearing the clan's official robes adorned with golden engravings. The first was Baron—my uncle and Kayan's father—and the second was the Fourth Elder, an old one-eyed man whose gaze pierced through bone. Both had reached the "Magic Stage – Level 5," a rank that made them akin to minor gods compared to someone in my condition.
"Father! Kill him! He used forbidden magic!" Kayan cried, clutching his trembling leg.
My uncle Baron looked at me with a gaze in which I saw no anger—only deep contempt, as though I was not even worthy of his rage. "Forbidden magic?" Baron said in a calm, terrifying voice. "This trash? Kayan, you allowed your fear to paint illusions before your eyes. This boy does not possess a single grain of mana. What you saw was nothing but a desperate spasm from a dying body."
The Fourth Elder stepped forward. The mana pressure radiating from him made my knees crack. "Boy," the elder said coldly, "you have been a stain upon the Shadow Clan for years. And now, on top of your weakness, you dare to lay a hand on the clan's heir?"
I tried to stand straight, even as the system flashed red warnings before my eyes:
[Warning: Massive external mana pressure detected… Technical Level: Magic (Grade 5)]
[Advice: Do not engage. Survival probability: 0.01%]
Uncle Baron smirked mockingly as he watched my struggle to remain standing. "Leave him, Elder. Killing him now would stain our reputation. People will say we fear a nameless piece of garbage. Let him live in this palace as a servant—or as a pet—so he can witness with his own eyes how Kayan and I will lead the clan to glory, and how Elara will become the lady of this place beside my son."
Baron grabbed his son Kayan, while Elara followed them, casting me one final look filled with disgust—as though she regretted even wasting her time breaking off the engagement. They all left, leaving me alone in the middle of the courtyard with my wounds and shattered memories.
I returned to my dilapidated room at the edge of the palace—a place no one had visited in years. I sat on the cold floor and began gathering the fragments of my mind. The memories surged forward…
Mother… that gentle woman who used to hide her food to give it to me—she vanished suddenly three years ago under mysterious circumstances. And Father, the man who had once been the pride of the clan before his power weakened, went to search for her in the Forests of Silence and never returned. Six months ago, news of their deaths officially reached the clan. From that day on, everyone around me turned into wolves.
"Mother… Father…" I murmured, feeling a single tear carve its path down my dust-covered face. "Even if the whole world stands against me, I will not fall again."
In that moment of stillness and focus, the air before me trembled. For the first time, the system interface appeared fully and clearly—an interface unlike anything I had ever seen in my previous life as a homeless wanderer in Tokyo.
[Hell System Interface – Main Status]
Name: Ren (Currently without a family title)
Age: 14 years
Identity: Sole heir of the Lost Shadow Branch / Nameless Boy (Formerly)
Title: [Heir of Hell] (Partially Locked)
Level: Trainee (Stage 0 – Level 1)
Soul Power: Unlimited (Alert: Current body can only withstand 0.001% of this power)
Mana: 0 (Alert: Mana veins have been replaced with "Black Veins of Hell")
Reputation: Clan Trash (Grants 5% increased absorption of treachery energy from enemies)
[Active Skills]:
Eye of Truth (Level 1): Allows the user to see enemies' weak points and energy levels (Activated).
Shadow Strangle (Level 1): A combat skill that converts the host's shadow into tangible claws (Requires Hell Energy).
[Current Mission]:
Survive and Grow: Unlock the first five "Veins of Hell" through meditation in places filled with negative energy.
Reward: "Cursed Blade of Orphanhood."