In the kingdom of Saloum, the seventh prince, Lloyd De Saloum, ventured with the Adventurer’s Guild into a forest teeming with monsters unlike any they had ever faced. These creatures bore the mark of dark magic—the most corrupt, dangerous, and forbidden kind known to sorcery. Yet, Lloyd couldn’t shake a nagging question: why was such vile magic here, in their world?

After a fierce battle, the last monster fell. But the victory was short-lived. A black mist began to swirl, thick and suffocating, consuming the forest in an eerie silence. Then—soft, almost fragile—a child’s voice pierced the gloom. The voice belonged to no one older than Lloyd himself.

Through the shadows, a figure emerged: a boy with hair as white as snow, and eyes that defied nature—one a piercing blue, the other a burning red. Black mist coiled around his fingers as if it were an extension of his very being.

Lloyd’s heart quickened. Who is he? he thought, though his curiosity soon overpowered caution. It didn’t matter who he was, not yet. What mattered was the boy’s mana—Lloyd had to study it, see how he controlled such dangerous dark magic.

Sylpha, sensing Lloyd’s intense gaze, narrowed her eyes. “Prince Lloyd…” she whispered, a note of warning in her voice, alerting the others to the boy’s presence.