Chapter 1: Sealing of the Chi Core
The vast lands of Hundun were divided into multiple clans fighting relentlessly for hegemony. Every human was assigned a destiny from birth by the Oracle, and no one had ever been able to escape its verdict.
Ten years ago, a child was born with a cursed destiny...
...
The Sword Clan was considered one of the five greatest clans of Hundun. Its reputation rested on the unique mastery of the sense of the sword that its warriors developed from a very young age, as well as their exceptional chi. The Sword Clan was organized into four great families reminiscent of the four Seasons.
*Sword Clan, Domain of Winter*
The room where the two people stood had a medieval appearance but was luxuriously decorated. Frescoes depicting the clan’s battles covered the walls. A large fire burned in the fireplace, but it was not enough to completely dispel the coolness that characterized this domain.
A black-haired man of imposing build stood in front of a woman seated near the window. His armor was covered in still-fresh blood.
"I am sorry for your loss, Lady Persephone." he said in a voice filled with sadness.
"This is nothing, Swordmaster Dorian." The young woman replied in a completely casual tone.
She was a stunning dark beauty. Her long white hair, carefully tied in a bun. She held a cup of fine porcelain tea between her fingers and drank it calmly, her eyes fixed on the snowy horizon beyond the window.
This woman was the Matriarch of the Sword Clan. Despite the death of her husband, she remained impassive. Her name was Persephone El Dagon, and throughout Hundun, people feared her ruthless personality as much as her power.
The door opened abruptly at that moment. A ten-year-old boy stood on the threshold, his hands trembling against his thighs. He was the heir of the Sword Clan. He had his mother’s golden eyes, the same ones that stared at him with contempt. His jet-black hair, on the other hand, undoubtedly came from his father.
"Mother, you summoned me..." The boy spoke in a hesitant voice.
He was visibly nervous in his mother’s presence, and this nervousness prevented him from noticing his uncle’s presence in the room. Dorian stood motionless in a dark corner, observing the scene without making a sound.
"Mother, I swear I will seriously start training tomorrow..." The kid scratched his head with an awkward gesture. "For real this time. I... I promise you."
Persephone did not give him a second glance. She set her teacup back on the saucer, then turned her head toward Dorian.
"I heard that your son has reached the first Sense of the Sword, Swordmaster Dorian?"
Dorian bowed slightly. "I learned it upon arriving, Lady Persephone. Kristian reached the first Sense faster than I did at his age. I am quite surprised by his talent." A note of pride pierced through his deep voice.
The little boy jumped at the sound of this familiar voice. His golden eyes widened, and he spun around to face the man in the bloodstained armor.
"Oh, Uncle Dorian! I had not noticed you." The boy immediately bowed, hands joined in front of him.
Dorian advanced toward his nephew with an expression full of sadness. He crouched down in front of the child to be at his level, then ruffled his black hair with a gentleness unusual for this powerful warrior.
"I just arrived, Daemon. Only a few minutes ago."
Daemon lifted his head, a smile forming on his lips. "The pacification of the No Man’s Land must have been difficult, Uncle. I heard the servants talking about it, they said it was a real hell out there." He glanced around. "Where is father? I did not see him when I arrived."
Dorian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He was embarrassed to speak, unable to find the right words to explain what had happened. His hands tightened on his nephew’s shoulders, and his eyes looked away.
It was then that Persephone rose nonchalantly. She smoothed the folds of her white dress and took a sip of her tea.
"The Patriarch died today in the No Man’s Land, and his remains were devoured by the savages."
"Lady Persephone!" Dorian tried to dissuade her from saying more.
"What... What are you saying, Mother?" The child’s eyes widened. His lower lip began to tremble, and his fists clenched at his sides.
"Your father died in the most disgraceful and useless way possible."
Daemon blinked several times, as if hoping the reality would disappear with each blink. But his mother remained there, motionless, without the slightest emotion on her perfect face.
Dorian embraced his nephew in a protective gesture. "Daemon... I am sorry you learned it this way. I wanted to tell you myself."
"Stop whining, Daemon. Are you as weak as your father?"
Daemon, outraged by his mother’s remark, could not help but scream in rage. "How dare you speak of him like that! Father was not weak!"
Unlike Persephone, who was a cold woman, greatly feared by all who met her contemptuous gaze, Lloyd Dagon had been a loving father. He laughed with his son, took him fishing in the frozen rivers of the domain, and told him stories of heroes before bed. Daemon was therefore much closer to his father than to this distant and icy mother.
"Your father died like an idiot, without protecting anyone. He charged headfirst, and look where it got him. He leaves only shame as his legacy..."
At the last moment, Daemon broke. "I hate you! I hate you, Mother! You never loved father, and you never loved me either!"
He screamed with all his strength, his voice broken by tears and anger.
Dorian remained frozen.
"Daemon!"
He looked at Persephone, expecting a reaction, but the Matriarch was already walking toward her son.
*Slap*
The slap was so violent that Daemon staggered on his legs, but he did not fall.
"You dare raise your voice to your mother, pathetic child?" Her voice was calm.
Daemon clenched his teeth so hard that he tasted iron in his mouth. Then he turned his head and looked his uncle straight in the eyes.
"Uncle, please... Be my master. I will be diligent, I swear to you. Take me as your disciple, and I swear that I will avenge my father—."
"It will not be necessary."
Before Dorian could react, she sent a palm strike toward Dorian that sent him flying across the room and crashing against the wall.
"What are you doing, Lady Persephone!" cried Dorian as he got up with difficulty.
But she had already grabbed Daemon by the throat. The child struggled, his feet leaving the ground. She extended her free hand in front of her. Immediately, five flames appeared at the tips of her fingers.
"Matriarch, you want to ruin your son’s future!" Dorian rushed toward her, but a barrier of incandescent flames suddenly rose around her, preventing him from approaching.
Then Persephone plunged her flaming fingers into the middle of her son’s chest.
Daemon screamed. The pain was indescribable, as if his soul was being torn from his body. He felt like he was burning from the inside.
< Sealing of the Chi Core.>
The child fell unconscious, and Dorian caught him just before he hit the floor.
"What have you done!" Dorian’s voice trembled with rage and horror. "You have sealed your son’s energy center! He will never be able to use chi again in his life! He will never be a swordsman!"
"Dorian." Persephone’s voice was calm. "I forbid you to unseal it. And I forbid anyone else from doing so."
"Why? Why do you hate your son so much?"
Persephone picked up her teacup again. Then she looked through the window, toward the snow-covered mountains that stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Instead of protecting his family, Lloyd died uselessly... Who will protect Daemon now, Dorian? You and I know very well what his destiny is."
"But... there may be another solution. We could hide him as we have always done—."
"There is no but." She interrupted him firmly. "The Oracle was clear. Daemon will be the bearer of the Mark of the Beast. Is that what you want, Dorian? For him to become the number one enemy to be eliminated by all the clans? For him to turn into a monster that everyone will hunt until his death?"
Dorian lowered his head over his nephew’s unconscious body. "No... I do not want that for him."
"I want my son to live his life carefree." Persephone placed her cup on the windowsill. "That he does not put his life in danger like his father. That he makes friends. That he lives a normal life, far from battles." She paused.
"It may be selfish. But if Daemon must hate me so that I can protect him from others and from himself... it is a price I am willing to pay."
Dorian remained silent. He could say nothing, because he was one of the few people aware of the Oracle concerning the heir of the Sword Clan. If others learned of it, not only would Daemon be in danger, but the entire clan would be dragged down with him.
"I will not always be present to watch over him, Swordmaster Dorian." Persephone turned to face him. Her face had become impassive again and her golden eyes shone in the dim light.
"Keep him away from those vipers and from politics. If you do not do it for your late older brother, do it for the feelings you have toward me. Protect him as your second son."
"Lady Persephone..." Dorian’s voice broke.
"Convene the Clan Assembly!"
"Daemon Shaytan Dagon has had his chi core sealed by the Matriarch. Anyone who unseals it will be considered an affront to the charters of the Sword Clan. Daemon, being unable to use chi, is stripped of his title as heir and banished from the Domain of Winter."
Persephone looked at her unconscious son, still in Dorian’s arms.
"May you one day forgive your selfish mother who only wants what is best for you..." she murmured to herself.
...
One year later, Persephone El Dagon disappeared without a trace. And Dorian Dagon became the new Patriarch of the Sword Clan.