1 Chapter 1: Harsh truth

It was total darkness; I couldn't see nor feel anything in this vast, seemingly endless space. Even my mind ceased to work properly or generate any type of thoughts. This total silence was weirdly calming and comforting, like basking in the warm light of the sun. If I were able to think, then I probably would've panicked or at least questioned my situation. But no such thing happened, and only this beautiful feeling invaded every pore of my body and seeped into my soul, erasing any normal reactions I could do.

An unknown amount of time passed with me floating aimlessly, swimming in an infinite space that couldn't spit me out. But suddenly, an odd-shaped ball appeared out of nothing in front of me. The small sphere was shining with a silver hue; It gave a mysterious aura, something that does not belong to this world. The light was very faint, but because of the surrounding darkness, it appeared pretty clearly. It looked like a shiny star in the endless abyss that consumed me.

After floating for a couple of seconds, the sphere started closing up on me before entering my mind through my retina. I didn't feel anything, nor did I care about it as my mind was in its own colourful world.

But before any changes happened to me from the weird ball, The darkness around me disappeared like it never existed, and I was pulled from this dreamy state. I felt a splash of cold water on my face, and the hoarse voice of a man woke me up completely. "He's waking up." It was rough and annoying, like the sound of screeching of an animal or the disgusting cries of a crow.

When I finally opened my eyes, I was welcomed with an overwhelming scene. A massive, almost mystical hall that could make anyone stupefied surrounded me. In the middle of this dazzling piece of architecture, six middle-aged men with an aura of nobility were sitting on high-quality chairs, almost looking like thrones surrounding me. They were sitting around a large table made of costly looking wood.

When I tried to move, the shackles that restrained my movement shook. Feeling my confusion, one of the six men suddenly spoke.

" Quite daring from you to make us wait, brat. Wasting time on a lowly demon, tch" His voice was cold, devoid of any emotions coupled with his attitude gave me a clear idea of how he thinks of me. I knew this person very well. He was Marcel Kleiton, the Head of the Kleiton family and one of the rulers of the Holy Kingdom. I looked closely, and to my surprise, the six men were all the heads of the six founding families of the Holy Kingdom.

Maybe it was the shock or maybe another stimulus that woke up the memories inside my mind. I remembered everything up to this point, How I was suddenly prisoned for unknown reasons. How I was tortured and abused and how I ended up in this situation. The horrible treatment I got destroyed my mind and sent me to the brink of madness and insanity.

I finally spoke with a barely audible voice, "Why am I suddenly getting imprisoned? Are you trying to get rid of The Rosenberg Household now that my parents are dead?" Even though I was scared, I tried to hide that fact behind the veils of a cold face. But even these small words were hard to say as the pain from the torture took a toll on my body and made any small movements a tough challenge.

Small and big injuries scattered across my body, and the blood that trickled down soaked my clothes with a crimson red colour.

Hearing my words, One of the six men started laughing mockingly as if my words were some kind of a silly joke. "Do you think we really care about your family? Since those fuckers died, your family went downhill, and no one considers you one of the founding families anymore. Kid, you are here for a whole other reason." I couldn't bear the insult towards my late parents, and I looked at him angrily.

but before I could say anything, The man who sat in the middle and who was the only one that didn't look at me at all as if my existence was nothing worthy of his attention suddenly spoke. "Serton, enough of the useless words. Ray Rosenberg, as the sole member of the Rosenberg family, you're from here on unworthy of your title as a noble family, and you shall be kicked out of the Holy kingdom and to never be allowed to come back again." His words were like a bolt of lightning that struck me.

"WHAT?!! WHY?!!! My family served this Kingdom for centuries, and we were one of the biggest reasons for its prosperity. You have no fucking right of kicking me out!" I shouted with an agitated voice, not understanding the reason for this. The Rosenberg family was not only a founding family but also, at one point, was the ruler of the Kingdom while the other six families were mere nobles working under it. We were the most powerful and led it towards winning wars and climbing higher.

"Who said we don't have a reason to kick you out? we're not some heartless and vicious people, are we?" the same man responded in a calm yet authoritative demeanour. "We found out that your mother is from the Lower Realms." He added, Another bombshell was dropped, but this time it rendered me totally speechless. The shock was just too big. The first thing I did was to deny this as there's no way I could accept what he said.

"That's a lie! The lower realms is a place where demons live. It's said they are a cruel and heartless race that seeks chaos and destruction! How could my mother be of that place? She's a human, for god's sake!" How could I believe that my loving mother, the one that cherished me and raised me to be a worthy leader of the Rosenbergs to be a filthy demon, a sinful creature?

"Save your voice, brat. We're not here to join a pointless argument. After your parents died in the Fourth holy war, we found a diary that your father wrote himself. In the diary, he stated that your deceased mother was actually a demon and that he met her during one of the expeditions years before your birth. And for some reason, your sorry-ass of a father fell in love with her and decided to foolishly make her his wife and allow her to step into this Kingdom and tarnish this holy place." he talked as he threw a book in front of me casually. I knew that book very well as my father used to talk about it a lot. Even when I was young, he would write in his diary every single day without exceptions and never allowed me to read it. It was something dear to his heart, and yet these bastards git their hands on it.

"Now enough of the chit-chat. Your parents committed a grave sin, and they paid for that with their lives. But, you, as their son, have demonic blood running through your veins. Thus, I, Mordios Klaus and the five heads of the founding families deem you unworthy of living in this kingdom, and you shall go back to the lower lands where you belong."