The man's fingers were cold. His nails gleamed faintly under the lamplight as he pressed them against Jonny's chest, right where the faint glow of the artifact pulsed beneath the skin.
"Hmm… interesting," the master murmured, his voice low and almost reverent. "This is no ordinary artifact. Its mana signature is ancient, older than any Spellbinder craft I've studied."
Jonny stood still, trusting despite the unease curling in his gut. "Can it be removed?"
The master smiled thinly. "Perhaps. But I'll need to probe deeper."
He extended a slender wand etched with spiralling runes, a spellbinder, and whispered an incantation. The wand sank slightly into Jonny's chest, not piercing the flesh, but sinking through the light, as though his body were liquid.
For an instant, everything was silent. The world seemed to hold its breath.
Then, as if provoked by the foreign object the artifact reacted in violent manner.
BOOM!
A shockwave burst from Jonny's chest, throwing the man backward and slamming Cyrano against the wall. Runes across the wand shattered like glass. The artifact's light flared violently, flooding the room in gold and crimson.
Jonny dropped to one knee, clutching his chest as streams of mana poured out of his body like liquid fire. His veins glowed, his eyes shimmered with blinding light, and the very air vibrated under the surge of raw energy as if an ancient beast awaken from slumber.
"Wh–What's happening?!" Cyrano gasped, shielding his face from the sudden gust of wind.
The master coughed blood, his eyes wide with awe and terror. "It's alive… That thing is alive! It's merging with his core!"
Jonny groaned, struggling to breathe. "Cyrano… what did you… bring into my house?"
"I…I only wanted to help you!" Cyrano stammered, but the greed in his eyes betrayed him. The artifact's glow reflected in them like a siren's call, stirring envy and ambition.
"Bastard!" Edward's voice thundered from the doorway. He had burst in when he felt the surge of mana. "You brought this cursed master here knowing it could kill him!"
The air cracked as another rhythm of heart beat came from jonnies Body. Mana surged again, so dense it distorted light, twisting shadows across the walls. The mansion itself seemed to tremble. The runes etched in the stone pulsed in reaction to the artifact's power.
Jonny fell forward on his hands, panting, as the golden light began to fade. When it was gone, the room was silent. Dust hung in the air like fog.
The master lay dead by anger of the artifact. His body had withered to ash.
Jonny, still alive, struggled to rise. But there was a change. His skin bore faint glowing marks, like veins of molten gold shimmering like some ancient runes. His eyes shimmered with a strange depth, no longer fully human.
Edward rushed to his side. "Brother! Are you alright?"
Jonny managed a faint smile, hoarse but resolute. "Alive… I think. But the artifact has fused completely. I can feel… everything around me. Mana, life, the world's flow itself."
Cyrano, shaken but conscious, stared in disbelief. "It… made you stronger…"
Jonny looked at him, as if seeing a stranger and his voice, for the first time, carried a chilling edge. "Cyrano… you brought death into my home."
Cyrano's face twisted in fury and confusion. "You don't understand! You've been chosen by something none of us can comprehend! Why you, and not me?!"
Edward stepped between them. "Enough! He's our brother! That's all that matters."
But something had already broken. The bond that once tied the three together was now cracked beyond repair.
Jonny turned away. "Go home, Cyrano. Whatever we once were, it ends here."
Cyrano's eyes darkened. He clenched his fists until blood dripped down his palms. "You'll regret this," he whispered. "Both of you will."
He left without looking back. Outside, the night wind howled through the alleys of Red City. Cyrano's shadow stretched long behind him, twisting and flickering as though it had a will of its own. From that night onward, Cyrano's heart hardened.
...…..
Years passed. And as the world turned, a new life began quietly in the Everlong mansion.
Kelvin began to Walk. At first, the act seemed like magic itself his tiny legs wobbling as if testing the patience of the world.
"Kelvin, careful! Don't fall!" Bella would call, rushing to catch him before he toppled into a vase or a table.
"Daddy, watch!" the boy would squeal, wobbling forward but managing to keep balance longer than expected.
Edward chuckled, holding his hands just behind his son. "Good job, little one! Steady…"
Even at this age, Kelvin's eyes were sharp, scanning everything like a young scholar. He reached for books, turning pages with clumsy but deliberate movements.
"Kelvin, where did you learn that?" Bella asked while looking at Edward.
Edward laughed, shaking his head. "I never taught you that!"
Kelvin's laugh rang like chimes in the quiet mansion, drawing smiles even from the guards stationed outside.
One evening, a shadow fell across the doorway of the Everlong study. Duke Emanuel, tall and imposing yet radiating warmth, entered.
"Ah, Kelvin, my boy" he said softly, kneeling so that his face was level with the boy. "You're growing so fast!"
Edward bowed. "My lord, your presence honors us."
Emanuel shook his head. "Nonsense. I come as kelvin godfather, not as a noble inspecting my realm. I wanted to see the boy myself."
At the moment a childish voice rang in the room'
"G'ampa."
The entire room froze.
Emanual's war-hardened, feared across the kingdom stared as though struck by lightning. For a long moment, he didn't move. His stern expression cracked, uncertain and almost… fragile.
"...What did he just call me?" he whispered.
Bella covered her mouth, eyes wide. Edward choked on his own breath.
Kelvin, growing impatient, patted Emanual's boot."G'ampa! Up!"
The duke, who had faced assassins, beasts, and nobles—hesitated like a nervous child… then gently lifted Kelvin into his arms.
And for the first time in decades, Emanual smiled.
A real, hearty smile.
"He… remembers me," he murmured, voice trembling just slightly. "This boy… he's truly extraordinary."
From that moment onward, Kelvin was no longer just the Everlong heir.
He became Emanual's grandson in the duke's heart, something no spell, no fate, and no enemy could ever change.