Late at night, Berline's sprawling cityscape glittered like a sea of stars, except for the forgotten corners—the slums—where shadows devoured the streets.
Outside Kai Adler's old, crumbling residence, figures materialized from the darkness.
They moved with unnatural grace, cloaked in black. Men and women alike, each one strikingly beautiful, skin pale as moonlight. Disgust flickered in their eyes as they surveyed the broken surroundings.
"The target's really supposed to be in a place like this?" One of them sneered, voice tinged with disdain.
"Shut it, Dacian." The leader's voice cut through the night—calm, icy, undeniable. Her piercing blue eyes gleamed beneath the flickering streetlight.
Selene.
Elegant, lethal, ageless. A Vampire, like the others, though the weight she carried set her apart.
Twisting her slender frame within the sleek lines of her black combat attire, Selene crouched by a pile of scorched ashes still faintly smouldering on the ground.
The others fanned out, finding similar remains—charred fragments scattered like silent warnings.
Dacian crouched, his grin exposing the razor-sharp fangs of their kind. "Werewolves. Only good thing about those mutts is how easy they are to track."
A woman with fiery red hair and a sculpted figure folded her arms. "Obviously, the wolves came for the same reason we did," Erica mused, eyes narrowing. "But they failed."
"How can you tell?" another asked.
Erica knelt beside the ashes, her sharp gaze scanning the untouched surroundings. "Look. No signs of prolonged combat. No wreckage. The Werewolves were wiped out quickly, efficiently… burned."
A rare flicker of unease passed across her face.
"Only an Magician could deal with them like this."
The word Magicians was enough to ripple tension through the group. Even the cockiest Vampires straightened, scanning the area.
"Our mission's simple," Erica continued. "Find the target, confirm their identity, bring them back—dead or alive."
Dacian chuckled darkly, the bloodlust in his eyes evident. "Preferably dead."
"It's capture, idiot." Erica snapped, glaring at him. "Klein's orders."
At the mere mention of the name Klein, Dacian's bravado faltered, his expression darkening.
"Still pointless," Dacian muttered. "All we know is the target's twelve and might've been here. We don't even know why we're supposed to kill—capture—him."
"We can wait for the magicians to release him," Erica suggested slyly, casting a pointed glance at Selene, who still examined the ashes silently.
"You volunteering to track every child in Berlin ? In their territory?" Selene's voice was soft, yet colder than steel. "The Association's watching. You won't even see them coming."
Erica's lips curled, frustration flashing in her eyes.
But Selene's gaze remained impassive, unreadable.
Erica stepped toward the ashes Selene had lingered over, crouching low to inspect them. She sifted the blackened remains, fingers delicate, eyes sharp. But… nothing.
No different from the other Werewolf remnants.
Still, suspicion simmered beneath her cool facade. "Klein will want an explanation," she warned.
Selene's lips curled faintly. "Naturally."
Without another word, the group prepared to withdraw.
Selene lingered, her eyes drifting back to the ashes.
There was something… familiar.
That heat, that residual magic—it clung to the air like a whisper.
Could it be… him?
An image surfaced, unbidden: an impossibly handsome boy , eyes of molten Blue , black flames swirling in his palm.
"Kai Adler."
His name escaped her lips like a ghost on the wind.
Moments later, the alley was empty, only silence remaining.
At the Magic Association Headquarters…
Hours had passed, yet Kai and Hermione remained confined to the secured compound, their status as "unidentified foreign Wizards" unresolved.
Uncle Leon, ever the eccentric, seemed in no rush to expose Kai's identity either.
Kai sat cross-legged, examining the faded photograph of his parents. His father, Matthias Adler, was no longer a mystery. Stories painted him as a brilliant but secretive Magician .
But his mother?
Nothing.
Not even the Obscurus—the parasitic shadow bound within Kai—reacted to the information.
It only stirred faintly when the woman—Mintz Corvinus—was mentioned, but never fully awakened.
It's her, Kai thought. That's what you want me to find—the missing piece.
Hermione's gentle voice interrupted his thoughts. "Still no reaction?"
Kai shook his head, smiling faintly. "Not yet."
Leon watched them from across the room, brow furrowed. "What are you two whispering about?"
"Nothing." Kai's reply came easily, carefully steering the conversation away.
He'd learned enough. His father was extraordinary—but so was his mother, in ways even the Association couldn't comprehend. A supposed Muggle, yet immune to aging, unnaturally knowledgeable, perpetually hidden.
And the fact that Matthias never shared details with his closest ally, Leon, spoke volumes.
Family business, Kai reasoned. Best handled by family.
But the realization weighed on him. At some point, this body—the name, the memories—they stopped belonging to another.
They belonged to him now.
A soft sigh escaped as Kai traced his finger along the photograph, committing his parents' faces to memory.
"Uncle Leon," Kai spoke suddenly, voice calm yet firm. "There's one more thing. I need your help investigating a family… The Corvinus line."
Leon's expression shifted, curiosity sparking behind his weary eyes.
"Corvinus?" he echoed, setting down his tea. "Old name… older than even our Magic records in Europe."
Kai's eyes narrowed.
"Good. Let's start there."