The grand cathedral of the Southern Territory was bathed in the golden light of a thousand floating magical candles.
The architecture was breathtaking.
The music was triumphant.
And the crowd was filled with the highest-ranking nobles in the Kaelen Empire.
But the atmosphere in the room was completely dead.
Every eye in the cathedral was locked onto the altar.
The spotlight shone down on two figures…. But they didn't look like a legendary Duke and a powerful Duchess.
They looked like two children wearing clothes that were far too big for them.
Standing on the left was the groom…. "And that was me"…
My name is Zion Kaelen.
I am fourteen years old. I stood there wearing a heavy, suffocating white-and-gold Imperial military uniform. My messy, midnight-black hair fell over my eyes, trying to hide the glowing, unnatural crimson ring around my pupils—the mark of my suppressed mana. I kept my posture perfectly straight, but my fists were clenched so tight my knuckles were white.
Standing across from me was the bride, Lyra Valerius.
She was only thirteen. She looked like a fragile doll wrapped in layers of heavy silk and expensive diamonds. Her pale silver hair framed a face that was completely exhausted, but her deep blue eyes were sharp. She didn't look terrified; she looked like someone who had survived years of quiet torture.
She was the "useless" half-commoner daughter of the Duke.
And I was the "cursed" Second Prince of the Empire.
You are probably thinking about this and wondering…
"Why are two kids standing at an altar in front of the most powerful people in the world?"
To understand that, you have to understand how truly messed up our universe is…..
In the Year 842 of the Kaelen Calendar, your life is decided the moment you are born by one thing and that is… "Magic."
There are only three ways to use magic in this world.
First, Weapons—channeling your mana into a blade or a spear, ranked from Low Grade all the way up to the legendary, world-breaking Sovereign Grade.
Second, Spells—bending the elements to your absolute will.
And third, and by far the rarest, forming a Contract with a Magical Beast.
Normally, a person is only born with the talent for one of these.
If you are born with two, you are called a Budla Aditya, a one-in-five-hundred genius. You get to be a noble, a politics leader, or a military captain.
But what if you are born with the talent to use all three? Then, You are a Three Aditya. A one-in-a-hundred-million miracle.
That is what I am. But in my family, they don't call it a miracle….
Because of an ancient prophecy that says the Three Aditya will destroy the continent, my power is considered a demonic curse.
The Imperial Family couldn't kill me without starting a political war, so they did the next best thing….
.. " they threw me away"...
But how did I actually end up holding the hand of Lyra Valerius?
To answer that, we have to go back a few weeks. Back to the freezing, suffocating halls of the Imperial Palace.
A Few Weeks Ago…
The heavy oak doors of the Emperor's war room slammed open, the sound echoing like a cannon shot.
Crown Princess Seraphina stormed into the room.
At sixteen years old, she was already the terrifying peak of the Imperial Academy.
Her Budla Aditya magic leaked into the air around her, dropping the temperature of the room in an instant.
Emperor Aldric Kaelen didn't even flinch. He sat on his throne, his face an unreadable mask of ice, looking over a golden scroll on his desk.
"I am not doing it,"
Seraphina's voice cut through the room like a blade.
"Tell Duke Valerius his proposal is rejected."
I was standing quietly in the corner of the room, doing what I always did—
trying to remain invisible.
"The Duke of the South is the head of the First Ducal Family," Emperor Aldric said.
His voice is deep and emotionless. "He is demanding a tie to the Imperial bloodline. He requested you specifically, Seraphina. It is a brilliant political move on his part."
"He doesn't want a marriage, he wants a weapon!" Seraphina snapped.
Slamming her hands onto the Emperor's desk.
"He wants the Crown Princess in his territory so he can claim he is one step closer to the throne. I belong on the battlefield, Father. I will not be locked in the South as a trophy wife for one of his arrogant sons."
The silence that followed was heavy enough to crush bones.
I held my breath. No one spoke to the Emperor like that.
But Aldric didn't yell. Instead, his cold eyes slowly lifted from the scroll, passing right over Seraphina, and locked directly onto me in the corner of the room..
"Fine," the Emperor said softly.
"If the Crown Princess will not go... the Second Prince will."
My heart stopped.
"Zion?" Seraphina turned,
Her eyes widening in genuine shock.
For a split second, her strict, cold mask slipped.
"Father, you can't be serious. Sending the... the Cursed Prince instead of me? The Duke will see it as a massive insult! He asked for your strongest child, and you are going to send him a fourteen-year-old boy?"
"The Duke asked for Imperial blood. He will get Imperial blood,"
Aldric commanded, his tone leaving absolutely no room for debate. He rolled up the golden scroll.
"Zion will marry the Duke's second daughter. Prepare the carriages. We leave for the Southern Territory immediately."
Seraphina looked like she wanted to argue…
But the Emperor's aura flared, shutting her down completely.
She shot one last, complicated look at me—a mix of pity and frustration—before turning and marching out of the room.
I didn't say a word. I knew my place.
I was just the trash being thrown out of the palace.
(Or at least, that is what I thought at the time. I had no idea my father was actually trying to save my life.)
Two Days Later
The massive iron gates of the Valerius Estate loomed in the distance.
The Imperial carriage rattled as it rolled over the cobblestone path.
I sat in the dark velvet seat, looking out the window at the Southern Territory.
I had never been outside the capital before.
"We are arriving, Your Highness,"
the royal guard outside the door announced.
The carriage slowly rolled to a stop.
I could hear the panicked whispers and the shuffling footsteps of the Valerius family scrambling into a line outside, desperate to greet the Emperor.
I took a deep breath,
Trying to push down the chaos.
Violent mana swirling in my chest.
The heavy carriage door swung open.
It was time to meet my new nightmare.