It was an ordinary day in the mortal realm, or at least for most of its inhabitants.
In the Blackthorne family mansion, residents of the Amberfall Empire, a somber atmosphere filled the air. What should have been a day of celebration had turned into a nightmare. The wife of the family head was giving birth, but the delivery had become complicated, and the doctors were struggling to save both her life and the life of her child.
Although, due to her cultivation level being at the Grand Master stage, she should have been able to pass the pregnancy without problems thanks to her resilient body and high regeneration, the baby that was about to be born was draining her life force, leaving her weak and in a worse state than a mere mortal.
The family head, William Blackthorne, a burly man who appeared to be in his 40s, with blonde hair and blue eyes, couldn't help but lash out at the doctors due to his well-known impulsive nature.
"HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE BEST DOCTORS IN THE EMPIRE CAN'T EVEN HANDLE A BIRTH?!" William shouted in anger.
The lead doctor, an elderly woman in her final years, frowned. "Not even the best doctor in this world could do anything in this situation, let alone us." Seeing that William wouldn't calm down, she continued, "Besides, don't forget that your status doesn't allow you to touch the royal court doctors. One wrong move, and it will be the last day for your family." the doctor threatened.
William, knowing she was right, swallowed his pride; the royal family was invincible. In a world where strength was everything, one had to be overwhelmingly superior to rule, a requirement that the rulers of the Amberfall Empire more than met, as they had an ancestor at the Emperor stage.
All he could do was wait and pray that at least the baby would survive. He didn't care much for his wife, but rival families had a talented younger generation that would surpass their parents. Fearing for the family's future, William married a talented woman to sire a child with enough talent to take the Blackthorne family to the highest peaks.
His hopes grew as he witnessed the baby absorbing his wife's life force, something that shouldn't have happened and could perhaps indicate that the child had far superior talent than his parents, requiring more energy to fully develop.
Hours passed as William's wife lost vitality, until...
"Wah-wah," the cry of a baby was heard.
William quickly approached the baby.
"Williams, we have bad news," said the doctor.
Williams, impatient to see the condition of the baby, replied, "I don't care about the death of that bitch; it was for the greater good."
The doctors, seemingly familiar with Williams, did not flinch at his words. It was normal for people in power to use others as tools, even their own family.
"I'm afraid that's not the only bad news," the doctor continued. "Your child has been born completely blind, and it cannot be cured."
"Th-that can't be! You saw it, just like I did—how he drew life force from his mother, a cultivator at the Grandmaster stage, while being nothing more than a newborn mortal! HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT HE'S DISABLED?!" William lost his temper.
The doctor, seemingly unable to understand what had happened, responded, "This is unprecedented. The only explanation I can think of is that it might be the result of a curse or related to some special physique. But, given his disability, the latter is practically ruled out."
It was common knowledge that those born with a disability had little to no talent for cultivation. On the other hand, if a genius failed to awaken their physique at birth, they would still be exceptionally talented and far superior to their peers.
William didn't know how to react. He had lost his wife, and when the other leaders learned of his son's condition, he would become the laughingstock of the empire. As for the possibility of a curse, it was almost entirely ruled out, as the number of curse experts in the world could be counted on one hand. Why would any of them waste their time on an ordinary family from the Amberfall Empire?
Yes, the Blackthorne family was powerful within the empire, but in the grand scheme of things, they were nothing more than ants pretending to be lions.
Williams had no choice but to hope for the best: 'Maybe it's due to a special physique. I should wait for the talent test before getting rid of him.'
With those thoughts, he dismissed the doctors and approached his son.
"You will be called Adam Blackthorne, and you'd better make up for the ridicule I'll endure for the next five years because of your pathetic existence," Williams said, giving him a deathly glare as if the newborn could understand him.
The news of Adam's birth spread like wildfire, as did word of his condition. Among the general population, the nickname "cursed child" began to take root, spurred in part by rival families. This greatly angered William, who wanted the situation to go unnoticed for as long as possible, at least until the talent test took place.
As for the Blackthorne family, while they remained respectful toward William in his presence, they couldn't hide their disdain for the new young master of the family. Some even began conspiring with other families to overthrow William.
Little Adam was practically abandoned by his father, who left his complete care to the family maids. Hearing the rumors, the maids tried to spend as little time as possible with Adam, fearing the supposed curse. This led them to feed him only once a day, something that should have caused the death of any normal baby. But, for some strange reason, days went by, and Adam remained alive.
Although this situation should have raised alarms, there was no one paying enough attention to notice, and so 5 years passed with Adam being practically alone and engulfed in darkness due to his blindness.