(Prologue) End of the Endless I

(Deep within the dungeons of the Danalith kingdom)

There was nothing else that entered his sight but an ever-so-familiar pitch-black world, one he'd dwelled in since he was born.

He sat motionless, looking lethargic and blank. His clothes were badly tattered and filled with grime, with blood slowly seeping from his poorly bandaged back.

Black iridescent feathers scattered about and seemingly blended in with the gold smudges on the floor, clearly coming from his deeply cut wound. His pale pearlescent skin was bruised with the metal chains pinning down his body, tightly clinging onto his arms and feet. Mana was densely faint in the air.

He looked like a bird trapped helplessly in a cage, albeit looking more ethereal, as if a deity had been dragged out of their own paradise. The silence was an excruciatingly painful torture, more than the pain of a slowly festering wound.

A rattling sound resonated from a distance, as chains surrounding the prison door loudly chimed. Soon enough, light footsteps, almost wary, continued to approach the boy, still unmoving.

A man in his 20's frowned upon seeing the chained boy, as a younger mage accompanied him from behind. They were esteemed mages from the Kingdom of Danalith, ones highly regarded in their fields. And here they were at the lowest parts of the outskirts, summoned by the tower executives to satiate the old men's curiosity over the chained Adonis.

"So, this is the rumored Adonis? She does look otherworldly even at one glance. Yet, too young to be imprisoned all alone in this unsightly environment."

"It's a boy, Your Excellency."

His hair was unusually long and partially covered his entire face, leading the mage to be mistaken.

"Truly? My, looks can be deceiving…" He snorted at the boy's otherworldly appearance.

"How disgustingly hideous."

He curiously scanned the entire room and stared in wonder at the sparkling damp floor.

"It's just as I've heard, he's got gilded blood. How unfittingly grandiose."

"It's a waste that he'll rot here for the rest of his life. For all eternity." The young apprentice shook his head in disappointment.

Vedial quietly beheld the exquisite earring shaped like an hourglass. It oddly gleamed in silver like the boy's hair, its surface not quite looking like metal. He was intrigued by its different kind of luster he'd never seen before.

"But…since when were prisoners allowed to wear jewelry?"

"Ah, so they really couldn't take it out in the end." He crossed his arms and made a carefree expression.

"What do you mean?"

"They tried many ways. They tried breaking it with mana, cutting the hourglass off the earring, and even ripping his ear off. It doesn't budge, and his body recovers faster than the mages recovering their mana."

"Did they not provide the necessary measures for this? Who knows what he'll suddenly pull?"

"You don't have to worry, they said it doesn't react to either mana or those rune glyphs. They even had a cardinal come over to check if it responds to soren."

"Someone as high as a cardinal? From Helgium, perhaps?

"It seems so."

"Then?"

"They said it's most likely just a sturdy piece of fine jewelry. Like an heirloom of sorts."

"I see."

"But sir, don't you think he could easily sell for several million gold with that peculiar appearance alone—?" He continued with a slight perverse smirk but was cut off by his superior.

"Watch your words, Brien. Was an honored magician like you taught to act like illegal traffickers who had nothing else in mind but earning dirty money?" The senior mage turned his head towards Brien with a deathly glare.

"P-pardon me, Sir Vedial Belvadere, I misspoke. It was just that this filthy thing reminds me of those Vendalians." However, he lowered his head not of shame but of frustration, gritting his teeth.

"I did not think that we'd be able to capture one by mistake either, but the Tower Elders found his current state strange. The Vendalians would never dream of treating a high-and-mighty Adonis this way, yet they went too far."

The senior mage couldn't shake his eyes off the roughly cut massive horns on both sides of the chained boy's head, as well as a couple of feathers still in place due to the absence of active wind.

"The Vendalians have always been barbaric war-crazed fanatics since the founding of their kingdom." Brien mumbled in spite.

"Come to think of it, wasn't it today?"

"Hm?"

"Your parents' death anniversary."

"...I'm sorry." He sighed glanced at Brien, who bit his lip while avoiding his gaze before returning his attention to the Adonis.

Vedial carefully kneeled to clear the wild locks covering the young Adonis's face, not minding the stray black feathers sticking onto his tailored slacks.

However, a prisoner across them spoke in a hoarse tone and interrupted the Vedial's curious intent.

"Don't..."

Vedial turned his head upon hearing the weak voice, light panting evident as he also appeared unruly like any other prisoner in the underground encampment.

"...And who may this be?"

"He's one of the captives from Vendalius. Specifically, a former Knight Captain of that independent military organization." Brien answered.

"Ah. And what do you mean by not touching the Adonis, Sir Knight?" Vedial asked in slight amusement.

"Sir, I believe it's best not to listen to that man's words. Who knows what kind of scheme they've been—"

"Silence, Brien."

"I'm afraid I cannot, Your Eminence. He's one of those who slayed tons of our brothers during the war! You know very well how much Danalith suffered against the oppression of Vendalius!"

"That was a mere history after the real catastrophe appeared. Get your head together. Something of the past is the least of our concerns especially now that the Continent is slowly collapsing."

"It's not...a matter of whether or not...he is allowed to be touched. Never gaze into that boy's eyes. Never...ever be tempted to. If you do, the entirety of Danalith will know of a greater catastrophe." His last words resonated strongly despite being spoken in a low manner.

Vedial fell silent and subconsciously retreated his hand, who had yet to graze at the boy's hair.

He was planning on removing the blindfold covering the captive's eyes but proceeded to be cautious upon hearing the Vendalian knight's words.

Although doubtful, he did not immediately dismiss the warning, recognizing the fact that the peculiar boy in front of him was no human.

"Are you prepared for the consequences of your words, Vendalian?"

"It's Evander. Evander...Lursein, mage of Danalith."

"Must you continue to listen to his words, sir?" Brien continued to press on.

"You should calm down; you smell of opium." He whispered warily.

At this point, Vedial was slowly losing his composure at his subordinate's emotional response. However, he knew Brien's reason for his sudden outburst.

He understood it very well, as he himself despised Vendalius.

"...Even your family was massacred at the hands of those Vendalian bastards. I don't understand your nonchalance. The village I grew up in was burned by those very knights, all in the name of religion!"

Nevertheless, he duly kept in mind the real reason why he came here.

"...It's not nonchalance. I am simply weighing both sides on whether I can safely comply to the Tower Elder's wishes. I have a duty to report back to them concerning the Adonis."

"It's best...not to find out anything about that boy. Do not be swayed by the thrill of seeing...an actual deity...your rivaling kingdom once devoutly worshipped." The prisoner, Evander, continued. He dryly coughed in between his words.

Brien's jaws tightened that his veins became visible. He clenched his fist in frustration. For a moment, his rage reached its limit and clouded his reasoning.

"Ha! I've had enough of your nonsense, Vendalian!" Brien sneered with an uncomfortably distorted face, seemingly forgetting the presence of a certain senior mage beside him who gave a rather level-headed response.

As if to mock the prisoner, the apprentice mage rushed to the boy and roughly pulled out his hair, which earned no particular response from the latter's seemingly lifeless gait. Vedial's eyes widened.

"Stop it, Brien!" However, the ignorant mage did not stop.

"I demand you to stop or I'll strip you of your right to practice magic!" Vedial fumed at the insubordination, about to forcibly grab the apprentice by the shoulder.

"Just what part of this weak boy screams death? Is it his lineage? His wings aren't intact to flap them about wildly. Neither are his supposed sharp and majestic onyx horns to channel that high and mighty Sorenian blood of his to presumably destroy everything in sight! And his eyes! Record says he hasn't once opened them—!"

The boy remained unmoving despite how rough his hair was pulled that it lifted him from the ground.

" —He was abandoned for being rendered powerless! So why must you be afraid, sir Belvadere, of the mere shadow of what was once a god?!"

But just then, as he finished his words filled with contempt, the ravens cawed.

It was eerie, dissonant in hymn.

—and chaotically horrifying.

Brien's head rolled to the ground.

His grip on the Adonis loosened as his severed body fell, which made the latter's feet touch the ground. It was no elegant landing.

His body was weak and tattered, and his legs were visibly shaking so much that it wouldn't be a surprise to say that he could barely stand. But his right fingers noticeably dyed red as they twitched, sending chills down Vedial's spine.