1 Blessing or a curse?

It was just another day in the life for a couple who owned a small poaching shop. Sam and Mary were a happy couple who lived each day to the fullest.

As one of the few cultivators in this small town, Sam was at level 6 body refining stage which was considered the peak strength you could get in this town.

"It sure is freezing today, Sam." Mary said to her husband as she clung closer to him trying to warm herself up.

'It seemed like the winters this year would be harsh again' thought Sam as they continued walking. The couple were walking back home after closing their shop early as winter approached and the darkness crept in early.

"*Sigh* how much longer shall I wait, Sam? I just can't seem to get pregnant. We've tried everything and it's been 5 years" Mary kept mumbling to herself in a remorseful way.

Sam and Mary got married at a young age of 18 when Same became a hunter. She used to work in the adventure guild as a receptionist and the two developed feelings for each other in under a year.

But fate was not on their side. Sam and Mary had been trying for a child for 5 years in hopes to start a family but no matter what they tried or what medications they took nothing seemed to be working.

"Patience my dear patience. One day we'll have a child. I have hope and so should you" even Sam knew at this point it was only false hope. He had always wished to start a family and have a child purely because he was an orphan and never truly had a family.

Just then the couple heard faint sneeze coming from an alleyway that they were about to pass through. It sounded very similar to a child's.

"Did you hear that, love? I just heard a child sneezing from that alleyway." Mary questioned her husband who hadn't heard a thing. "Your ears are just playing tricks with you, Mary."

Just as they were about to walk past by they heard another sneeze and this time it was loud enough for both of them to hear it. "I told you I heard a sneeze" Mary left her husbands side and rushed towards the dark alleyway. "Wait, Mary, it's dangerous going into alleyways at night!" Sam rushed after her only to come to a crashing halt when his wife suddenly stopped

"S-Sam look" she struggled to find words as she pointed in a dark corner to which her husband's eyes followed and went wide open.

At the end of the dark alleyway laid a little child no more than a few months old staring back at them with his deep red eyes. Those eyes both scared Sam and filled him with curiosity. He had never seen anyone with red eyes and brown skin. What frightened him was the fact that the child's hand was covered in blood and next to him was a puddle of blood.

All of a sudden Mary started taking steps towards the child. "M-Mary stop we don't know if this is dangerous or not" but her wife completely ignored his word and simply made her way towards the child who stared back at her

Her hands went down and she picked up the child who at this point was as cold as a frozen popsicle. The child as if sensing a touch of another person on him moved his tiny little hands and touched the woman's cheeks.

Mary who was holding the boy suddenly began to tear up as the child's tiny little hands touched her. His little hands were so cold yet all Mary could feel was warmth coming from them. All these years she had been feeling guilty and pain for not being able to provide Sam with a child. She knew he would never blame her for anything but what woman didn't want a child of her own?

All the anxiety and pain suddenly got washed away as the child touched her. "Sam let's keep him. This is a blessing given to us by God." the woman turned around and smiled at her husband.

The one being more realistic Sam knew what a child thrown in such a dark alleyway at this time of the year meant. It was a total abandonment and disregard for life. He was thrown to die here.

Something like this was very common in tiny towns as not everyone was well off to provide for their whole family. Sacrifices had to be made and Sam had seen such things in his life when he was working as an adventurer.

Guilt and pity consumed Sam as he saw his wife's face. It was true that she had suffered a lot from the constant jeering from the other women in town to blaming herself for not being able to have a child. He could not deny her this happiness

"If that's what you want then so be it" he came up to her and smiled to which for the very first time he saw true happiness in her eyes. The same happiness as the day he proposed to her on that very night.

"Did you hear that little one? From now on I'm your mother and this big man will be your father." Mary said to the child with a massive smile. Sensing her smile the child too smiled and laughed

"What shall we name this little one? Frankly, I've never seen a child crimson eyes. It's shockingly beautiful and his skin colour is not native to our lands. It makes me wonder where he came from" he said while touching the kids head

"I want him to be free. I want him to live a good life and be strong. Let me name him Kai so one day he can be as free as the ocean and become the king of kings if he so desires" she smiled hugging the child close to him as they slowly walked out of the dark alleyway.

Little did they know the child they had picked would one day be known across the Forgotten Lands as the Dark One.

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