In this world, all kinds of races existed. Some were hidden from the world, secluded, living in their own world. While some never stopped flaunting their powers and showed the world what they were capable of. They had the ability to use magic. Magic had existed ever since the creation of the world.

The human race was the weakest race of all the races. They had fragile bodies and a limited life span with little power to use. Even with the magic, the human race was last in the food chain.

After being humiliated and enslaved by the other races, the humans turned to gods. They started worshiping the gods and asked for their protection. The gods answered their prayers and granted them their blessings and protection. Thus, the chosen ones evolved and proved to the world and all the other races that humans also had the right to live.

There was a vast continent in this world, and it had several capitals. But the well-known one was a capital named ‘Clearwater’. It was built at the center of a gorgeous continent and was truly an architectural phenomenon. Its wonder matched by the backdrop of ever-clear skies, which have helped shape the town into what it was today.

The climate these skies brought was of great importance. Still, they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings have been built with lots of glass and light elements to mimic the aesthetics of the blue skies around them.

The great war hundreds of years ago took place in the skies of the town of Clearwater. And the remnants of the war hundreds of years ago were still present, and they were one of the main attractions of the capital.

Currently, there was another great war going on. All the races, including angels and demons, were clashing against each other.

The towns and cities of countries and kingdoms had initiated curfews.

It was a cold night, and there was no sign of life anywhere in sight.

Suddenly, the clouds rumbled with thunder, and lightning flashed across the sky. And soon, the rain started pouring. The night streets were no longer dry.

The streets went quiet, and there was dead silence. Only the sound of rain pouring and hitting the surface could be heard.

The fog had also covered the streets. At a distance, someone wrapped in a cloak ran on the streets of the town of Clearwater, carrying a little boy— who looked around one year old— in her arms.

The body figure and the long hair distinguished that it was a woman. She took long steps and made sure no one saw her as if she was running from someone or something.

She was panting continuously as though she had been running for a long time. She then stopped and looked at the boy in her arms. The boy opened his eyes and looked at the woman. He had black hair and azure eyes, just like the woman.

The woman glanced around as if she was looking for something and her gaze stopped at the empty barrel near the corner of one shop.

The rain didn’t seem to bother her. She slowly walked to the barrel as she kept glancing around and put the boy beside it.

The boy just kept looking at the woman. Finally, the woman smiled at the boy and said, “Everything will be okay, my son.”

She then moved her hands towards the boy and caressed his head with both her hands. As she was doing that, tears started falling from her eyes, and she hugged the boy.

“I am sorry. I am sorry you have to bear all this. But there is always light after darkness. And I am sure your life will be full of light… even though you are a demon.”

She glanced at the bracelet she was wearing and smiled slightly. “I have no other choice.”

The bracelet was a pale blue color and had tiny pearls in it, which gave a little glow with some designs carved on it. The woman took off the bracelet from her hands and placed it on the boy’s left hand. It automatically changed its size and wrapped itself around his hand.

“By this, they won’t sense your presence, and you will be safe. No one will know that you are a demon.”

“When your father gave me this, he begged me to never take it off. He said this would hide my presence and seal my powers. He instructed me that if anything happens to him, I should run away with you to a faraway place and raise you. But…” She smiled bitterly and continued, “If I stay with you, I will just attract more danger, and I can’t let you die because of me.”

“You are our hope, and you need to bring peace to this world, okay?”

The boy tried to touch the woman’s face. Instead, the woman grabbed his hand and said, “You have to grow up on your own now,” she said in a gentle voice.

The boy then moved his hand to the white pendant she was wearing around her neck. The pendant was made of a unique metal that it was said that its beauty even surpasses the moon.

The woman smiled and said, “Do you want it?”

She took off the pendant and wrapped it around the boy’s neck. Then, it changed its shape and wrapped itself around his neck.

“Mama,” said the boy.

“Your mama is here. Don’t worry.”

She bit her lips, and she bit her lip so hard that they started bleeding.

The boy moved his hands to the woman’s lips and said, “Mama.”

She nodded as she tried to wipe her tears. She then removed the cloak a little and revealed the dark blue dress she was wearing. She grabbed the end of the dress and tore a little piece out of it.

She sniffed the cloth and said, “This is your mama’s scent. Remember it well.”

She wrapped the piece of cloth on the boy’s arm.

“Listen well, my son Zeus, you are the son of the greatest demon lord in this history.”

She knotted the piece of cloth as she said, “You will be a strong man when you grow up. Become a man who fights for justice. Become a hero. I know you can do that. But I don’t want to force my decisions on you, so when you grow up and when you are unsure about something, just remember me, and I will come to answer any questions. Then, you will know what you have to do.”

She sniffed and said, “There might be times when you will feel lonely, where you will want to live like others. You will see all those wealthy kids wearing nice clothes, eating tasty food. But worry not my son, I am sure there will be someone to feed you and shelter you.”

“You are mine and ‘his’ sign of love; you have to live and survive to prove to the world that all races can co-exist together. This realm has been in wars with other realms and races, and there is no way out. People are forced to join either side, and that just brings more hate. They lose their family and loved ones. This world is a very cruel place, and you shall not be a part of it. Once you grow up, find a nice girl and fall in love with her, and live your life in peace.”

She grabbed the barrel and covered the boy with it.

She didn’t want to leave her son like this, but she had no choice. The holy soldiers from all over the kingdom were after her.

The holy- soldiers didn’t know that she was carrying a boy with her. But if she had kept running with her son, she would have eventually got caught, and both of them would have been killed by the soldiers.

The only thing she could do was to hide him somewhere, then seal his presence so no one could find him, and wish for him to survive.

There was a tiny hole in the barrel from where the boy stuck out his finger. The woman grabbed his finger with her finger and said, “I trust you. Never lose hope, and always remember; when there is darkness, there shall be light.”

The woman then ran away from there.

“There she is!” shouted the armored knight.

“Catch her!” yelled the other soldier.

“Don’t let her run away!”

“Kill her!”

“Don’t leave her alive!”

There were dozens of knights and soldiers who ran after the woman. The woman couldn’t run far enough, and the knights surrounded her from all sides.

She looked up at the sky, then turned around, facing the direction where the barrel was, and moved her lips to say something.

She didn’t try to fight back as the knights caught her and chained her.

“We got an order to do her public execution tomorrow. Till then, these ‘Letra’ chains will hold off this vampire bitch!”

The soldiers dragged her without any mercy, and the boy kept watching everything from inside the barrel.

======

The girl opened her eyes, feeling a little cold as if the chilly breeze was touching her skin directly.

She glanced around the room and slowly sat up— only to find herself on the bed, naked with a thin white blanket on top of her.

“Aah!” Her head ached as she tried to grasp what was going on.

‘Did I have some kind of dream?’

She looked at her hands and then placed her hand on her chest. ‘How am I alive? And what is this place?’

“Hm hmm hm. Hmm hm hmm.”

She heard a humming sound coming from the other side of the room, and she was confident it was a male’s voice.

She slowly moved her head towards the voice and saw a little boy looking out of the big glass window.

Her vision got blurry as she felt a bit dizzy, and her head ached. She then rubbed her eyes as she looked back and saw a man standing with his back facing her.

He was half-naked. He then moved his hand and placed it on the glass window.

There was a bracelet in his hand, which was pale blue, and it glowed a little. He then tapped his finger on the window as he looked back at the girl and said, “So you are awake.”