Karl lay motionless on the cold stone floor of an underground cave. His curly white hair was matted with blood and sweat, clinging to his pale skin.
His handsome face, though bruised and dirty, still retained an otherworldly glow under the faint light. A slow-moving river passed beside him, its waters glowing softly with an unnatural light—shimmering like liquid stars in the dark.
Above the water, a ripple formed without cause. Then, one after another, four figures began to rise from it as if the river was birthing them.
They took the shape of women—tall and graceful, each wrapped in an aura of colored light: one red, one purple, one gold, and one blue. Their hair flowed like silk in water, and their eyes shone with timeless wisdom.
The purple one narrowed her gaze and tilted her head. "I feel something inside him... a familiar aura."
The red one frowned, folding her arms. "It can't be. Not after all this time. After everything."
"Yet it is," the gold figure said softly, her voice like a bell in the night. "Considering our origin... and our age... encountering something like this again should've been impossible."
The blue one knelt beside Karl, brushing her translucent fingers across his cheek. "It's faint... but the scent of fate lingers on him. Do you feel it?"
The others remained silent, their faces growing more solemn. For a long moment, the only sound in the cave was the gentle gurgle of the glowing river.
Finally, the red one spoke again. "He reminds me of him."
They all nodded in quiet agreement.
"Then it's settled," said the purple one, her voice low with conviction. "We help him. Just this once."
Raising their hands, each sister summoned a different light from her body. The powers danced in the air before blending into a single radiant sphere that hovered over Karl's body. It pulsed once... twice... and then slowly began to descend, merging with him.
---
Karl's breathing grew more steady. His eyes fluttered beneath his lids, though he remained unconscious. Inside his mind, the voices echoed faintly, like whispers in a storm.
'Who are they...?' he wondered, lost in the haze between life and death. He couldn't open his eyes. His limbs wouldn't move.
But he felt it—something stirring inside of him, something ancient. It was like a door opening in his soul.
As the sisters of fate poured their power into him, he felt his body repairing itself. Bones snapped back into place. Wounds closed. Warmth rushed through him, chasing away the cold grip of death.
And then—it happened.
His mind shattered for a second. Images flashed before him. He saw scenes from a life not yet lived. A battlefield soaked in blood.
A throne high above the clouds. A city crumbling into dust. But one vision stood out among the chaos: himself, forgotten and discarded, lying dead in a different place, a nameless corpse in someone else's story.
'That was my original fate…' he realized. 'I was supposed to die as nothing. A background character in someone else's legend.'
But now something had changed. Something awakened.
Power surged inside him like a tidal wave. His vision turned purple, glowing from deep within. Symbols danced across his mind—divine, alien, eternal.
[Ding!]
But he couldn't perceive them due to his current state.
---
The sisters of fate stood over him, their faces calm. The blue one smiled faintly.
"We were just passing through," she whispered. "If fate allows... we'll meet again."
In the next instant, their bodies dissolved into light and faded back into the river, leaving no trace behind.
Karl's eyes opened slowly.
Purple light flickered in his irises.
"I'm alive..." he whispered, sitting up. His body felt light, strong—complete. He clenched his fists and marveled at the strength in his arms. "No... more than that."
He stood to his feet. For the first time in his life, he felt mana flowing freely through his veins. A warmth gathered at his core. It was vibrant, alive. He could sense the air, the water, the energy around him. He could command it if he wanted to.
'I've become... an official Knight,' he realized with awe. 'Not just a trainee... but a full Knight.'
At only fifteen years old, that was almost unheard of. At Crimson Magic Academy, students his age were still struggling to grasp basic mana control. And yet here he stood—reborn.
Karl took a step forward, and memories began to flood back.
He remembered the laughter.
The mockery from classmates.
"You'll never be a real Knight, Karl."
"You should quit already."
They had laughed at him. Looked down on him. Even the instructors had given up on him. He was always the last to finish combat drills, the slowest to absorb mana, the weakest in sword techniques.
But one person had extended a hand.
Prince Trixus.
The golden prince, admired by all.
He had shown Karl kindness, treated him like a friend. Karl had been so grateful... so loyal.
Until the day of the Kuzon hunt.
Karl's expression darkened.
The prince had sent him ahead as a "scout," knowing full well that a beast like the Kuzon—a dragon alligator with diamond-hard skin—would kill him instantly.
He had been used as bait. Cannon fodder.
"Just a stepping stone..." Karl muttered, fists trembling.
But he had survived. Not only survived—he had awakened power beyond anyone's imagination.
His gaze drifted to the glowing spring beside him, the one the river flowed into.
Something shimmered at its center—a core of raw mana. Dense. Pure. Alive.
Karl blinked. "This... this is a Mana Spring."
He stepped closer, eyes widening.
'The others must have found a weaker one. That's why they were so desperate to lure the Kuzon away.'
Now that he thought about it, they had used him because the treasure was too great to risk their own lives. And now here it was. The true Mana Spring.
'They had no idea this one was here. But I found it.'
The air around the spring shimmered. Karl could feel his skin tingling just from standing near it. A wave of energy pulsed from its surface and brushed against him.
Suddenly, a translucent screen appeared before his eyes.
[Ding!]
Ding! Supreme Eye Bloodline Awakened.]
[Ding! Supreme Comprehension Awakened.]
[Ding! Supreme Divine Body Awakened.]
Karl stared, blinking. 'What sorcery is this?'
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