After hours of pain that seemed endless, the child was finally born. As per the family traditions, Kray was not allowed to see him after his birth. Instead, he was handed directly to Lara, who wrapped him in a white silk blanket while her hands trembled like autumn leaves in the wind. Her face was pale, as if she carried a secret that weighed heavily on her shoulders. Her anxious gaze kept darting toward the child and then away, as if she feared that merely looking at him might burn her.
Kray, still exhausted from the ordeal, stumbled toward Lara. Her voice was faint, trying to hide the anxiety gnawing at her heart:
"What's wrong, Lara? Why are you looking at him like that? Is something wrong with him?"
But Lara hesitated, her lips trembling before she muttered in a barely audible voice:
"No… nothing, my lady…"
Yet her frightened eyes told a different story. She looked at the child as if she were seeing a ghost from the past or an omen of the future.
---
In the Naming Courtyard, the family's lords and warriors had gathered to witness the sacred ceremony that would determine the child's fate. The head of the family, Rayner Knoxfire, stood at the center of the courtyard, his crimson eyes glowing like embers under the torchlight. Today, he would decide whether this child would carry the family's prestigious name or not.
Kray, despite being Rayner's youngest daughter, sat in the shadows, far from the others. She no longer had a place among her family. To them, she was the traitor who had run off with a common man, unworthy of their lineage. Now, after his death, she had returned only to protect her son. But deep down, she knew that protection here might be impossible.
---
Lara entered the courtyard with heavy steps, carrying the child in her arms as if she were walking to her doom. Her trembling didn't subside, as if she were holding something beyond her comprehension. When she reached the stone altar designated for the ritual, she carefully placed the child down and took a step back, as if afraid to touch him again.
The family's priest, Father Caldric, stepped forward and began the ceremony.
The ground trembled softly, and the sacred blood of the family materialized as a dark crimson mist, swirling around the altar like a hungry serpent. The blood danced in the air, searching for something… a sign of the child's belonging.
But… the blood didn't touch him.
It hovered above him, hesitating. As if an invisible barrier prevented it from getting closer.
At that moment, the silk wrap slipped from the infant's body, revealing his snow-white hair under the torchlight. Whispers spread through the courtyard like wildfire.
"He hasn't inherited the blood!"
"It's a sign that he's not one of us!"
This child was different. The Knoxfire family was known for their coal-black hair and blood-red eyes, but this child… was the complete opposite.
---
The air began to stir, and the ground shook as if in reverence. The blood continued to swirl in relentless circles, trying to breach an unseen barrier. Then, suddenly, a glowing blue energy began to emanate from the child. It resembled the mana of sorcerers, yet it carried the aura of a sword. But it was neither. It was something entirely different, something no one had ever seen before.
Moments later, the blue energy burst forth from the child's body with overwhelming force, colliding with the blood. The two powers merged into a whirlwind of colors, and then the blue energy pierced through the blood. On the child's hand, the sacred emblem of the Knoxfire family appeared, his skin branded with a glowing red mark—a sign granted only to those who carried the pure bloodline.
---
A heavy silence fell over the courtyard. No one could believe what had just happened. Everyone was wondering… what was this?!
Amid the shock, Rayner Knoxfire finally stepped forward. He stood before the altar, gazing at the child in silence, then spoke in a commanding voice that shattered the stillness:
"This child… resembles the former head of the family."
In the next moment, he raised his head and looked at his children with sharp eyes before declaring in a tone that brooked no argument:
"This child shall bear the name of the family's founder!"
His words struck the crowd like a thunderbolt. The anger was no longer contained, as Joshua, the second banner-bearer, shouted in protest:
"This is unacceptable! How can this child carry the forbidden name?! He's just the son of a traitor!"
Some of the children supported him, while others remained cautiously silent, watching the family head's reaction. But Rayner paid them no heed, as if their words were nothing more than whispers in the wind.
---
The ceremony ended, and the news spread like wildfire throughout the estate. But Kray didn't care. She had returned to her room, clutching her child tightly, silent tears streaming down her pale cheeks. She couldn't stop thinking:
"Why is he so quiet… too quiet?"
"Why isn't he crying? Why does he seem so different? Why hasn't he opened his eyes yet?"
She rocked him gently, humming an old lullaby, but the anxiety gnawed at her heart without mercy.
Then, suddenly, as if he could sense her, the child patted her chest with his tiny hand, as if reassuring her and telling her to calm down.
---
At the same time, in Isaac's consciousness:
In the deep darkness, where his soul was still adjusting to its new body, a mocking inner voice echoed:
"So, I've truly been reborn… but this feeling is new to me."
He paused for a moment, then continued with a faint sneer:
"And to think, I'm a disgrace to kings… I've wet my pants."