“Why did you kill your sister?”

A group of elders sat on a bench. They faced a captured convict. Chains bound his body that attached him onto a peculiar contraption.

“…”

“You’re not going to cooperate?” The elder’s voice held a hint of warning.

The continued silence of the convict enraged the elders.

“Activate it!”

A maid nodded and touched an orb. Her hand glowed as it absorbed her energy.

Du du du…

The body of the convict convulsed. He violently fought against the chains. Despite the pain, he bared his teeth, refusing to speak. His violent struggle stopped after a few moments, and his fatigued body slumped onto the chains.

An elder browsed through a book as he asked.

“Ren Zarstorm, do you recognize your crimes? You rebelled against the clan, murdered countless people, ruthlessly murdered your sister, the last heir of the Zarstorm branch… I could keep going on forever. Your crimes have even infuriated the heavens!” He threw the book in anger. It hit the convict and collapsed. Its pages opened to reveal a list of names.

The book drew the attention of the audience. Several gasps filled the room as their sharp eyes caught on the contents of the book.

“Is that a list of…”

“Silence! This is a trial!” An elder rebuked the whispers of the crowd. After calming the crowd, the elder focused his attention on the convict.

“Ren Zarstorm, we created you to serve the Zelongs. We groomed you from the moment of your birth, not sparing any resources. Yet, you have betrayed our clan, going so far as to kill the last heir of the Zarstorm branch.”

“This betrayal will not be forgiven!” He slammed his fist onto the bench, fury evident in his voice.

“We have let you live until today for a single purpose. We want an answer. You are a failure, but we wish to understand the reasons behind your failure. It should be impossible for you to kill a Zelong! Then, why did you kill your sister?” He roared.

The convict finally moved. He gazed at the elders and grinned in defiance.

“Vile Spawn! Do you realize that today is your last day? If you answer our questions, you can enjoy a peaceful death. Otherwise, you will die with unbearable pain… Pain, specifically crafted for monsters like you.”

The convict finally opened his mouth. His tired voice seemed to taunt the elders.

“Go… ahead…” With immense struggle, he shifted his gaze onto the clock in the room. With each tick, it neared the 12-hour mark.

His response evoked the wrath of all the elders. They gazed at the clock and waited. Just as it touched 11:59, they issued the order.

“Activate it! Kill him.”

Four maids approached the altars surrounding the contraption. They touched the respective orbs on the altars. The orbs glowed, and a loud sound exited the metallic contraption.

Dun dun dun…

The convict violently convulsed. The skin on his body broke, and the contraption turned red.

The audience silently waited. As time passed, the convict’s movements subsided. A few seconds before the clock struck 12, the maids withdrew their hands.

“A failed experiment… Get rid of his corpse.” An elder commanded.

Suddenly, to everyone’s shock the convict’s lips moved. He recited a phrase in a language unknown to everyone.

[“Void Arts: Summoning Death!”]

Before anyone could react, a black fog covered the hall.

"An enemy?" The guards grew alert.

The fog dispersed to reveal a translucent figure of an armored skeleton. It rode a burning horse.

[“Why did you summon me?”] An archaic, disembodied voice resonated across the hall.

[“A… trade...”]

[“Are you certain?”]

[“Yes…”]

The skeleton extended its bony arm to reveal a large scythe. The flames in its eyes glowed brighter than usual.

[“A life for a life. Your wish has been granted. I shall reap your soul.”] It swung the scythe. The weapon passed through the convict’s neck. Weirdly, it did not create a single wound.

The convict froze. His lifeless gaze fell upon the ground.

The monster disappeared, and everyone stared at each other in confusion.

“Can anyone explain what happened? Does anyone recognize that language?” An elder shouted.

No one replied. The servants looked at their blue-haired masters, who were just as confused with the appearance of the monster.

“Stop wasting time and check his body! Is he alive?”

A maid hastily approached the contraption and released the body. With a thud, the convict’s body fell onto the ground, allowing everyone to witness the bloodied figure. Shockingly, it belonged to a child. Besides the blood, they could only see a hint of his blue hair.

The maid ignored the horrid stench emanating from his body. She inspected the body before shaking her head.

“…He’s dead.”

“Then what was that horrendous creature? Why did it come here? Does anyone know?”

Silence greeted the elder.

“Useless! Store his corpse! Prepare him for a Zelong’s burial.” The elder stormed out of the hall, followed by his companions. Many in the audience sighed in relief. They felt glad that the summoned monster chose to spare them.

A couple of minutes earlier, the basement of an isolated mansion.

“It’s almost time. Are you sure that everything is prepared?” A bald man impatiently tapped his feet.

“Yes, everything is ready. The rest depends on the Young Master. Now, please stop disturbing me.” A masked, black-robed figure replied.

However, the bald man didn’t feel assured. He gazed at the coffin in the center of the basement and asked.

“Did we miss anything?”

“Stop irritating me! How many times do I have to answer? Don't distract me. It’s almost twelve.”

“Is the clock synchronized? Could it be off by any chance?”

The black-robed figure sighed and approached the coffin.

Seeing this, the bald man smiled wryly. Despite checking everything for the nth time, he still felt uneasy.

“It’s time. Let’s begin.” The clock had hit 11:59.

The black-robed figure opened a box, revealing a large crystalline lotus. The bald man carefully withdrew the lotus and placed it on the coffin.

In mere moments, they placed a few other items on the coffin and waited.

Time passed and with each second, both of them grew anxious. Yet, they did not even dare to breathe loudly.

12:00 PM. The clock rung.

1 second… 3 seconds… 5 seconds…

‘Is it too late? Did we fail? Then the Young Master…’ The bald man despaired.

Whooo!

A sudden gust of wind shocked him. The lotus glowed and absorbed all the miscellaneous items on the coffin.

A dark fog filled the basement. It possessed a horrid stench of rotting flesh. Within moments, it dispersed to reveal an armored skeleton. The skeleton grabbed the lotus and pretended to smell it.

[“A perfect sacrifice!”] A disembodied voice resonated throughout the basement.

Without mentioning anything else, the skeleton disappeared along with the lotus, leaving two dumbfounded people.

“Was it a success?” The bald man hesitantly asked.

Thud! Thud!

They heard a banging on the coffin. Excited, they opened it and a young child's torso exited the coffin.

She panted heavily, taking in as much oxygen as her little lungs could carry.

“Young Miss!” The bald man shouted; disbelief and joy were evident in his voice.

The young girl glanced at the two people and recognized them.

“Aren’t you... my brother’s… Huh? Right. I died… How am I alive?” Mumbling with confusion, she touched her neck. An irritating headache tormented her, worsening her condition.

The black-robed figure helped her out of the coffin. The blue liquid from the coffin splashed and stained the floor.

“Young Miss, please follow me. I have prepared a change of clothes.” Seeing the drenched girl, the two adults were delirious with joy. Their hard work over the months hadn’t gone to waste.

“Wait! I don’t understand. I should have died… Why am I... alive?” The young girl asked. Her headache grew as she recollected her last bits of memory.

“Young Miss, we can explain later. Please take a bath and eat something first.”

“NO! I must know! Tell me! How am I alive?” She shouted, her blue eyes flashed with an angry glint.

The bald man hesitated. Seeing her insistence, he withdrew a letter and handed it to the young girl.

After reading the letter, the girl collapsed onto her knees.

“No… Why… NOOOO!!” Shrieking, she pounded the floor. Tears uncontrollably ran down her eyes.

Seeing this, the bald man’s eyes grew wet.

“Young Miss, please stop this. You have to eat and regain your energy.”

“Why didn’t you stop him?” She clawed at the bald man's feet. With anger clouding her mind, she stood and punched the bald man’s abdomen, only to hurt her little fist.

Nevertheless, it did nothing to curb her anger as she kicked him.

“Where is he? I must see him now!” She decided to leave, but the bald man stopped her.

The black-robed figure tapped her neck, and she collapsed into the bald man’s hands, unconscious.

“You disobeyed the Young Master’s order.” The black-robed figure rebuked.

“The Young Master is dead. From today, she is our master. She deserves to know the truth.” The bald man hid his sadness.

The black-robed figure hesitated before agreeing.

“Fine. Anyways, let’s leave. We can’t stay in the Southern Domain anymore.”

The bald man nodded, and they left the basement.

The Zelong Clan’s Headquarters.

A few guards protected a certain storage room.

“He’s dead. I can’t believe it! Now, the Zarstorm branch is no more. Is this good or bad?”

“I don’t know, but that monster is finally dead. That is good news to me. Have you seen the list of people he has killed? It’s ridiculous. Keeping such a monster alive is bad news.”

“But he’s just 10… Isn’t that too young? Could it be that someone was manipulating him? I can’t visualize a child killing so many innocent people.”

“Heh, what do you know? You should have paid more attention to the conversations amongst the Lords.”

“Conversations? What are you talking about?”

“Ha… You’re hopeless! Many of the guards already know this. The Zarstorm branch specially groomed him to become a monster. Apparently, they failed and the monster killed the last member of their branch. Ironic, isn’t it?”

“Do you even-”

““Lord!”” The guards stopped their discussion and saluted a middle-aged man. His blue hair gave away his prestigious identity.

“Open the door.” The blue-haired man commanded.

Without hesitation, the guards opened the door and respectfully bowed. The man strode towards an open coffin. A young boy’s corpse laid submerged within a blue liquid.

‘Where did the Zarstorms go wrong? Technically, they should have done everything properly. I must study him in detail.’ He opened his suitcase when he frowned.

‘The temperature dropped? And this peculiar smell… What’s this?’ His gaze roamed across the room before stopping on the young boy’s body. An incorporeal wheel arose from the corpse. It rotated, and a black hole appeared in its center. The hole absorbed the body.

“Impudent!” The blue-haired figure roared. He withdrew a sword from his suitcase and slashed at the wheel.

His sword passed through the wheel as though it were air. The blue-haired man watched in despair as the wheel disappeared, along with the corpse of the boy.

“ENEMY ATTACK! There's an intruder!” He shouted at the top of his voice, alerting everyone within the headquarters.

The Wilderness, a large distance away from the Zelong clan’s headquarters.

A carriage passed through these barren lands. A hooded girl stared towards the south.

‘Big Brother, I will avenge your death. The Zelong clan will pay the ultimate price. Then, we shall meet again. Until then, goodbye.’ She clenched her fist, flames of fury raging within her blue eyes.

She shifted her gaze from the south. For now, they were heading north.