In the opulent halls of House Celeste, beneath the glimmer of crystal chandeliers and the stern gaze of ancestral portraits, a child was born. His name was Yuki. On the day of his birth, an ancient Magic Gauge—a relic passed down through generations—was pressed gently against his tiny hand. The needle trembled and settled at a discouraging Level 1.
Lord Arion and Lady Isolde, Yuki's noble parents, exchanged icy glances as disappointment etched their faces. "A mere Level 1," Lady Isolde hissed, her tone sharp enough to cut glass. "He cannot bear the weight of our legacy." With hearts as cold as the marble floors that surrounded them, they made a swift, heartless decision. That very night, without a backward glance or a word of remorse, they entrusted their only son to the dark unknown and left him behind in the depths of an enchanted forest.
Under the light of a slender crescent moon, the forest was alive with rustling leaves and whispered secrets. The night air was cool and heavy with mist as a humble soldier named Kento made his routine patrol along a winding, leaf-strewn path. His steps were measured and quiet until a faint, desperate cry reached his ears. Intrigued and concerned, Kento followed the sound until he came upon a gnarled oak whose twisted branches reached out like skeletal fingers. There, hidden beneath a patch of tangled undergrowth, lay a small bundle wrapped in worn cloth.
Kento knelt beside the bundle. The soft whimpers of the child tugged at something deep within him. "What misfortune has brought you here?" he murmured, gently lifting the bundle. When the baby's eyes fluttered open for the briefest moment, Kento felt an unspoken promise in those innocent orbs. "Fate has sent me the child I never had," he whispered, a quiet resolve hardening his gentle voice.
Without delay, Kento hurried back to his modest cottage nestled on the outskirts of a sleepy village. The journey was long, but his mind raced with possibilities and a fervent hope for the future. At the cottage's creaking wooden door, his wife Aiko stood waiting, worry mingling with exhaustion on her face. The moment she saw Kento cradling the mysterious infant, her eyes widened and a tremor of wonder passed over her features.
"Aiko," Kento said softly as he stepped inside, "I found him abandoned in the forest. No one could have imagined such a fate for a child born of nobility."
Aiko approached slowly, her gaze fixed on the sleeping baby. "Who would do such a thing?" she whispered, her voice thick with sorrow and amazement. With a tender smile that belied her own grief, she cupped the child's cheek. "He is so fragile… yet so precious." In that moment, the decision was made. They would give the child a new beginning. That night, beneath the humble glow of a single lantern, they named him Yuki—a name that resonated with both beauty and the promise of resilience.
Later, as the candlelight danced on the rough wooden walls, Kento retrieved the ancient Magic Gauge once more. With meticulous care, he pressed it against Yuki's small hand. The device flickered in the dim light, its needle stubbornly resting at Level 1. Though the number brought a sigh to Kento's lips, it did not diminish the hope that shimmered in his eyes. He brushed a stray lock of hair from Yuki's forehead and whispered, "My son, no number can capture the spirit within you. I will train you until your true strength awakens."
Outside, the forest whispered its silent benediction. The leaves rustled as if in quiet applause, and the cool night air carried away the echoes of sorrow. Unbeknownst to the world, in that dark and forgotten corner, the seeds of destiny had been sown. Yuki's journey was only beginning—a solitary path that would be filled with trials, triumphs, and a mystery as deep as the night itself.
As dawn crept over the horizon, casting pale light upon the dew-drenched grass, the abandoned child lay sleeping in his new home—a symbol of hope against a backdrop of neglect. The legacy of House Celeste had turned its back on him, yet in the simple love of a humble soldier and his devoted wife, a future brimming with possibility was being quietly written.
And so, with every whispered promise and every determined vow, Yuki's fate was set in motion—a fate that would challenge the rigid boundaries of nobility and power, and one day, reveal the hidden potential that lay far beyond what any gauge could measure.