Kael had always known his place in the world: underfoot, overlooked, and utterly insignificant. In the grand halls of the House of Valeris, whispers trailed behind him like chains, reminding him daily that he was nothing. Nothing but the weakest son of a once-proud noble line, reduced to shadows in a world that celebrated strength.
"Kael," his older brother sneered, his silver hair catching the torchlight, "stop sulking. You're the family's disgrace enough without dragging us all into your misery."
Kael's lips twitched, but he said nothing. Words had never protected him. They had only invited mockery. Every meal he ate, every command he obeyed, every glance he made was a reminder of his failures.
Tonight, humiliation would take a new form. The empire demanded a sacrifice. An offering to awaken a legendary power the Valeris line could no longer control. And Kael—useless, forgotten Kael—was chosen.
They dragged him to the Temple of Ash, the sky above burning red as if the heavens themselves mourned him. His hands were bound, his robes torn. The priests chanted words older than memory, promising glory in death he would never taste. His family watched, not with sorrow, but relief. Relief that their failure would vanish.
Kael's heart pounded as the ritual blade hovered over his chest. He should have felt fear—but there was only emptiness. A life of betrayal and mockery had hollowed him out.
And then, everything went black.
When Kael awoke, he was not in the cold stone of the temple. He was standing in the grand hall of the Valeris estate… years earlier. The moment his life first began to crumble.
A voice thundered inside his mind:
[Forbidden Immortal System Activated]
Host has been chosen as the Cursed Heir of Eternity.
Warning: Your existence defies fate itself. The world will try to erase you.
Kael blinked. Something had changed. The weight of his failure, his humiliation, and his death no longer pressed upon him. In its place… a raw, terrifying potential.
He clenched his fists. His family, his betrayers, the empire that had condemned him—they would not survive what was coming. Not because he wanted revenge… but because he had been chosen to reshape the world itself.
A flicker of light danced across the floorboards before him, like a pulse of forbidden energy. Kael's mouth twisted into a smile that had never dared exist before.
"This time," he whispered, "I will not fail. This time… I am the storm."
And in that instant, the world changed.