In a world divided by power and destiny, two boys were born on the same day, yet their lives could not have been more different.
The first, Kain Sainford, entered the world in the slums, a child of misfortune. Born with only one arm and into a family drowning in poverty, his life was fated to be filled with suffering. His father, a drunken gambler, squandered their last belongings, while his mother, frail and weary, watched over him in silent despair. They had no future, only the struggle to survive.
The second, Lucian Drastiose, was born into nobility. A prodigy from the moment he could stand, Lucian mastered the sword at an age where Kain was still learning to walk. While Kain starved, Lucian feasted; while Kain struggled to survive, Lucian thrived, growing into a warrior admired by all. He was trained by the greatest masters, destined for greatness, while Kain was left to fend for himself in the streets.
By the age of fifteen, Lucian was already defeating knights in sparring matches, earning accolades as a genius of swordsmanship. Kain, however, had just begun holding a sword for the first time, his dreams of becoming an adventurer nothing but foolish fantasies in the eyes of those around him.
When Kain finally gathered the courage to tell his parents his dream, his fate was sealed—not as a swordsman, but as a commodity.
For twelve gold coins, his own parents sold him.
A nobleman, a man driven by greed and power, took Kain as a mere servant—no, a slave. Shackled by fate, Kain was dragged away from his broken home, his heart neither filled with rage nor sadness, only disappointment. As he turned back for one last glance, he saw his parents' faces twisted in delight over their handful of gold. They did not even look at him as he was taken away.
But destiny had different plans.
On the road to his new prison, fate intervened in the form of screaming steel and splattering blood.