"Mother... mother, I ranked first in school. The teacher praised me for my excellence and said I would be able to graduate soon."

A boy barely fifteen years old spoke excitedly to a woman standing before a sink, washing dishes. The woman turned, her expression growing heavy for a moment before she forced a smile onto her face.

She wiped her hands on her light blue apron before patting her child on the head. His eyes were as bright as ever as he looked up at her.

"When will father return?" he asked eagerly. "I want to show this to him when he comes back. I will be the youngest graduate of the academy, after all."

The woman’s expression twisted once more as she bit her lip. To keep her son from noticing the tears threatening to spill from her eyes, she pulled him into her embrace and gently patted his back.

"... It will take a few more years for your father to return," she said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "He is busy with his mission, remember?"

The boy nodded. Though slightly dejected, he still smiled brightly.

"Yes, mother."

Before the boy could say anything more, she pulled a few copper coins from the pocket of her apron and handed them to him.

"Take this money, Jeremy, and buy yourself a treat." The woman smiled as she looked at him. "Now go before Luna steals your money again."

The moment she said those words, Jeremy sprinted out. "Thanks, mother!"

*** 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Jeremy ran through the familiar slums where their clan was permitted to live. The many vendors and residents greeted him warmly as he passed by, and he cheerfully greeted them back.

His steps felt light as he arrived at his favorite sweet shop. The owner, an old lady, recognized him immediately and smiled warmly while he browsed the rows of sweets behind the glass display.

His mother had given him six copper coins. Exactly enough to buy his favorite sweet, something they could afford barely even on great days. But then... his thoughts drifted toward his mother and elder sister.

Jeremy quickly shook his head.

Luna always steals my money... So why should I think about her? And Mom doesn’t even like sweets anyway.

He tried to convince himself, but in the end... he lost against his own heart. Using all his money, he bought three cheap sweets instead.

He paid the money and carried the sweets, neatly packed inside a small white box. With careful steps, he made his way back toward his house.

But then his footsteps halted as he noticed a crowd gathered beside the small hut he called home. His heart thumped violently as his grip around the box tightened.

What is happening?

Jeremy immediately sprinted forward, a terrible feeling sinking into his chest.

And then he saw it.

His mother was clutching the leg of a man dressed in black robes while the man dragged Luna by her hair.

His mother cried and begged desperately for him not to take Luna away.

Jeremy recognized those robes instantly.

They belonged to the Voidborne Clan, their masters... the people Jeremy had once dreamed of serving someday, just like his father.

His body froze for several seconds, unable to comprehend the situation, the box of sweets still clutched in his hands.

"Poor girl... she had such a bright future ahead of her. If only she hadn’t caught the eye of one of the inner disciples."

"And it’s Shen Luio at that. He’s famous for brutally tormenting his consorts before killing them."

Jeremy could hear the crowd whispering amongst themselves, but none of it made sense to him.

Inner disciple...?

Consort...?

His sister’s scream finally snapped him out of his daze. The box of sweets slipped from his hands and fell onto the ground, scattering across the dirt as Jeremy staggered forward, his steps clumsy with confusion, yet he did not stop.

He dropped to the man’s feet.

"P-Please... leave my sister alone."

"Please..."

"Take me with you instead. I can do everything. I can cook, and I’m smart too. I’ll be graduating from the academy soon. Please... let her go."

He begged desperately, not even fully understanding what he was saying. Yet the man merely looked down at him with cold eyes before mercilessly kicking him across the face.

Jeremy’s body slammed back into the dirt. Blood blurred his vision, but he didn’t care. He forced himself up again, desperate to save his sister.

The man didn’t even spare him another glance this time and kicked his mother away instead... And something inside Jeremy finally snapped.

He knew they were forbidden from using mana outside the academy. He knew the man before him was an inner disciple.

But everything blurred together in his mind as something primal took root within him.

Jeremy slowly raised his hand.

At that exact moment, the space around the entire area began rupturing violently all at once. The inner disciple was completely caught off guard as one of the spatial rifts suddenly opened right above his head.

Before anyone could even react, the rift swallowed his head whole. His headless body remained standing for a brief second before collapsing onto the ground with a soft thud.

The entire crowd fell silent before the chaos erupted.

"He killed an inner disciple of the Voidborne Clan...?"

"Oh no... his entire family will suffer now."

"He will be executed just like his father."

"Poor boy..."

Jeremy couldn’t hear any of it.

His mother pulled both him and Luna into a tight embrace, her body trembling as she cried uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, Jeremy’s consciousness slowly faded. Unable to bear the burden of the power he had unleashed, he finally fell unconscious.

Before darkness consumed his vision completely, the last thing Jeremy saw through his mother’s embrace was the small white box of sweets crushed beneath the feet of the crowd.

When Jeremy woke up again, he found himself surrounded by executives of the Voidborne Clan. They had discovered that his Xuzhe bloodline had awakened.

In exchange for guaranteeing his family’s safety and welfare, Jeremy agreed to their conditions willingly.

He would be sent to another world for the rest of his life... Waiting for the day the clan would finally descend upon it.

***

Back in the present, Jeremy, now far older than the immature boy he once was, stared silently at the sky as the memories of his childhood replayed within his mind.

I wonder if you are still alive, Mother... and Luna.

I will be coming to you soon.

... And when I do, I will ensure the Voidborne repay every ounce of suffering they inflicted upon us.

With those words lingering in his mind, he slowly turned toward the masked man standing behind him.