That same evening, the palace was engulfed in a tormenting silence. The explosion in Rio's room—the newborn baby whose identity as the Ice Dragon had now been revealed—had plunged everyone into shock. The smell of melted ice and smoke lingered in the air, and Maria, Rio's mother, with a pale face, leaned against the wall in a corner of the palace alongside William. Olivia, the tribe's "Seer," had unveiled Rio's true identity to his parents, and they had decided to protect him by isolating the tribe. But Nadia, Rio's older sister, had secretly stood behind the door that day and heard everything. Now, with boundless fury, she was heading toward the room where Rio was being kept.
"Rio… the Ice Dragon… the great devil of legends."
Nadia's heart pounded with rage.
In another room, Rio slept in his new cradle, though his sleep was restless. Cold vapor rose from his breaths, and occasionally, icy sparks scattered from his tiny fingers. Adrina and Setia, two of Rio's other sisters, were by his side. Adrina stared at the cradle with cold, expressionless eyes, as if waiting for something. Setia, however, tried to lighten the mood with a nervous smile, drawing funny shapes in the air with her fingers.
"Think about it, Adrina, a tiny little Ice Dragon! Maybe we can teach him to make snow for us whenever we want!"
Adrina only frowned at Setia's words and didn't break her silence.
On the other side, the door suddenly burst open with a loud bang, and Nadia stormed in like an enraged shadow. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes gleamed with hatred and sorrow. A small dagger she had taken from her room trembled in her hand.
"You two! Get out of the way!"
Her voice echoed through the room like the cry of a wounded soul. Setia, startled, took a step back and covered her mouth with her hand. Adrina, however, stood calmly and said in an icy tone:
"What are you doing, Nadia?"
Nadia approached the cradle, holding the dagger in front of her.
"He's a demon! Uncle died to save this monster, so Mom could give birth to him!"
Her breathing was rapid, and tears welled up in her eyes, but her hatred outweighed her grief. Setia, flustered, said: "Nadia, wait! He's just a baby! I don't understand what you're saying."
But her words were cut off by the sound of an icy spark that shot from the cradle and struck the wall. A cold, glossy mark formed on the marble stones of the room.
Nadia flinched but gripped her dagger tighter. "See? He's cursed!"
Adrina finally stepped forward and, with a swift motion, grabbed Nadia's wrist. Her fingers were like ice, and Nadia couldn't move. "If you touch him, I'll stop you myself." Her voice was calm but carried a sharp, threatening edge.
Setia, now pale, said: "Nadia, calm down! We don't know what's right or wrong… just please calm down!" But Nadia, with a surge of anger, yanked her hand free from Adrina's grip and shouted: "You don't understand! He's not worth any sacrifice!"
At that moment, Rio began to whimper in his cradle. His voice was faint, but with each sob, a wave of cold filled the room. The floor beneath their feet froze, and their breaths turned to vapor. Nadia stumbled, and the dagger slipped from her hand, clattering to the ground. Her eyes were filled with terror, but her hatred still burned. Adrina glanced at Setia and said in a voice that now cracked slightly: "Go get Mom. Quick." Setia ran off, and Nadia sank to her knees, her gaze flickering between the cradle and the fallen dagger. The tension in the room was like a taut rope on the verge of snapping, and Rio, the tiny infant, lay silently amidst this storm.
Minutes passed until Maria and William entered the room with their daughter Setia. Maria, with a pale face, rushed to Rio's cradle and quickly scooped him into her arms. William, upon seeing the dagger on the floor, immediately grasped the situation. The reflection of Nadia in the blade was enough to ignite his fury, though it manifested as a cold, emotionless expression. He clenched his teeth and, in a low, steady voice, said to Nadia:
"Get up."
Nadia rose, a mix of sorrow and anger swirling within her. She intended to confront her father, but a single glance was enough to ignite a deep fear within her. As she saw the terrifying look in his eyes, she began to step back. With each step she took, William drew closer until she had nowhere left to retreat, her back against the wall. Staring down at her, William fell silent. He couldn't believe what he had witnessed, searching for any reason or logic behind his daughter's actions, but there was nothing—only a hatred rooted deep within Nadia, a hatred he couldn't erase. Yet that hatred couldn't justify what she had intended to do. After a moment, William spoke to her in a quiet voice:
"Look at me."
Those simple, brief words were enough to send Setia fleeing to hide behind her mother. William's presence had become so terrifying that Nadia didn't even dare lift her eyes to his face. She was so frightened that she didn't wipe the sweat beading on her forehead. Finally, William lifted her chin with a single finger, forcing her to meet his gaze. After staring into her eyes for a moment, he said:
"Shame on me."
Nadia's eyes filled with tears at those words, for William meant his failure to control his own child. She turned toward the door, her fists clenched, and muttered under her breath:
"This creature is not my brother, and it never will be."
With that, Nadia left the room. On the other side, William stared at the wall opposite him for a few moments before a tremor in his legs forced him to lean against it. Adrina, seeing this, rushed to her father and took his hands.
"Are you okay, Father?"
William took a deep breath and, with gratitude to Adrina, replied:
"I'm fine, my daughter. How's your brother?"
Adrina hesitated for a moment before glancing at Rio and saying:
"My brother is only a few days old, but the aura and magic surrounding him are anything but natural."
William straightened himself with the support of his daughter's shoulders and then walked toward his wife. Reaching his son and Maria, he caressed both their faces and smiled. Maria took his hands and said in a worried tone:
"What do we do, William? What exactly do we do?"
William paused for a moment before replying:
"We live, and we protect everything we've built together."
Five Years Later…
Five years had passed since Rio's birth into this new world, and he was now a five-year-old child with white hair and silver eyes that occasionally sparkled with icy glints. In his previous life, Rio had been a solitary boy, someone who spent his entire existence pursuing his goals, growing distant from his family. His parents, whose blurred faces he could still recall, were distant memories he sometimes remembered with regret. But in this world, his resolve was different. He wanted to be a boy others loved, a boy close to his family. Yet his path was far from easy.
Rio had grown up in an isolated tribe, where his parents, Maria and William, hid him from the outside world to shield him from the hatred of the other dragons. Maria embraced him with endless affection, and William watched over him with stern authority. Rio loved being near them—Maria's lullabies and William's firm gaze gave him a sense of security. But the tribe regarded him with fear. The children avoided him because his hands would sometimes freeze without warning, or the ground beneath his feet would turn to ice. He wanted to be their friend, but he didn't know how.
Nadia, his older sister, was a wall between him and his dreams. Even after five years, her hatred for Rio lingered like a thorn in her heart. She blamed him for their uncle's death and pushed him away with sharp words whenever he came near.
"You're a monster, Rio. You'll never change."
She had said this many times. One day, when Rio awkwardly tried to take her hand with a shy smile, Nadia shoved him back and shouted:
"Stay away from me, you cursed thing!"
Adrina and Setia still stood by him. Adrina protected him with her cold demeanor, while Setia tried to make him laugh with her playful antics. But the rift with Nadia only grew deeper.
Meanwhile, the reincarnated world around him was full of wonder and danger: magical forests with whispering trees, strange jellyfish-like creatures, and dragons roaring in the sky. Rio watched these from the palace windows, marveling at them. Magic was unfamiliar to him. When he was three, he consciously released his first icy spark, and Maria had smiled and said:
"This is your power, my son."
But no one taught him how to use it. William rejected his every request, saying:
"Not yet. It's still too soon."
Maria would simply hug him. Rio didn't understand—his power awakened at times, like when he was angry and a wall froze, but he had no control over it.
Reading was another distant dream. In the tribe, no one came close enough to teach him. Maria told him legends of dragons, but the letters on scrolls and the few books in the palace were meaningless to him. Once, he picked up a scroll, but William barked:
"Don't touch it. You're not ready."
Rio didn't try again. In his past life, reading had been a tool for his goals, but in this world, even that was out of reach.
Yet Rio held something greater in his mind: the god of this world, X. When he was reincarnated, X had told him he would come for him at age ten and give him a mission. Every night, he wondered: Who was X? What did he want? This anticipation was a hidden hope in his heart. Sometimes he thought of his parents from his previous life—his quiet mother and his father who smiled at him. He missed them, but he didn't want to drift away from Maria and William as he had before.
Now, at five years old, Rio was a curious and determined boy. He wanted to bring his family closer, even Nadia. He didn't understand his magic, couldn't read, and the tribe rejected him, but he awaited the day X would come and make everything clear. Until then, with every smile from Maria and every look from William, he promised himself that this time, he wouldn't choose solitude.
On a particular spring night, Rio stood by one of the palace windows, gazing at the night sky. He was captivated by the stars, for in this new world, their positions and galaxies were different—a new universe to explore, an endless beauty that felt like touching paradise. But it didn't take long for Rio to slap himself hard across the face. He clenched his fists, stepped away from the window, and headed toward the palace's grand hall. Along the way, he muttered to himself:
"Idiot, idiot, idiot. Don't let yourself get distracted again. Family—that's the only thing that matters. Don't prioritize your stupid dreams and goals over the ones you love. Focus on your family, or you'll lose everything again."
As he whispered these words, Rio made his way to the dining table. After a relatively long time, all his family members were gathered together, and for Rio, this was a joyful feeling—A feeling he wanted to experience every moment of it....