After her parents' funeral, the house felt unbearably empty.
Sarah Mortayne sat alone at the dining table, staring at the untouched food in front of her. The house had always been quiet, but this silence was different. Before, it had been filled with expectation—waiting for her parents to return. Now, it was permanent.
Even though Adrian and Alena Mortayne were rarely home, they had never abandoned her. They called whenever they could, asked about her health, her studies, and whether she was eating properly. They sent gifts from distant countries and left notes she often pretended not to read.Only after losing them did Sarah understand how much they had cared.And how much she had cared for them.
Nights were the hardest.Grief pressed down on her chest, making it difficult to breathe. Sometimes she woke up shaking, her body burning as if something inside her was trying to tear free. Her heart would race, and an unfamiliar energy would surge through her veins, wild and uncontrollable.Before, she had thought she was sick.But now she knew it was something else.
The blue crystal necklace resting against her collarbone pulsed softly whenever the strange energy rose. A cool sensation spread through her body, calming the chaos inside her. Her breathing slowed. The pain eased.Without the necklace, she felt certain she would lose control.Lucas hadn't just given her a gift.He had given her balance.
As the days passed, Sarah slowly began to think clearly again. And the clearer her mind became, the more one truth stood out.Her parents did not die naturally.The nightmare replayed in her thoughts—the black-robed figures, the spells, the lights pulled from her parents' bodies. At first, she had dismissed it as a product of fear and grief. But the postmortem report made no sense.No wounds.No illness.Two heart attacks at the same time.Impossible.
Late one evening, Sarah sat on her bed, clutching the crystal tightly in her hand."If someone did this to you," she whispered, her voice trembling, "then I'll find them."Her sadness did not disappear—but it changed.It became determination.She began searching through her parents' belongings. Old files, travel records, sealed documents they had never spoken about. There were gaps—trips that were never explained, meetings that had no records.
And then there was Lucas.He had come to her before everything fell apart.He had known something was wrong.He had given her the necklace at the exact moment her body began to change.Lucas knew more than he was telling her.
Standing by the window, moonlight spilling across the floor, Sarah Mortayne lifted her head."I'll find out who killed you," she said quietly."And I'll find out why."Outside, the night wind stirred, and for just a moment, the blue crystal around her neck glowed faintly—as if answering her vow.
School felt unreal.
Sarah Mortayne sat in her classroom, her eyes fixed on the window while the teacher's voice faded into meaningless noise. Since her parents' deaths, the world seemed distant—as if she no longer fully belonged in it.
When the final bell rang, she didn't leave immediately.
She already knew who was waiting.
Lucas stood near the empty corridor, leaning against the wall as if he had been there all along. Students passed by without sparing him a second glance, unaware of the tension thickening the air between them.
Sarah walked up to him, her grip tightening around the blue crystal necklace.
"We need to talk," she said.
Lucas met her gaze. "I know."
They moved to the rooftop, where the wind carried away unwanted ears. The moment the door shut behind them, Sarah turned to face him.
"You gave me this necklace," she said, holding up the crystal. "It stopped whatever was happening to me. So tell me—what is it really?"
Lucas didn't answer immediately.
"And another thing," she continued, her voice steady but sharp. "Do you know my parents? And… the dream I had. The night they disappeared."
At that, Lucas stiffened.
"You saw it," he said quietly.
Sarah's heart skipped. "So it wasn't just a nightmare."
"No," Lucas replied. "It was a memory echo. Your mana reacted to what happened to them."
Silence stretched between them before Lucas finally spoke again.
"Sarah… I'm not from this world."
She stared at him, waiting for him to laugh, to say it was a joke.
He didn't.
"I am Lucas Angelo," he continued. "Second prince of the Angelo Empire—a world ruled by mana and bloodlines."
The wind grew stronger.
"Your father," Lucas said, his voice heavy, "was my uncle. Adrian Mortayne—once known as Prince Adrian Angelo. He was a holy knight, blessed with divine mana and praised as the empire's strongest protector."
Sarah felt dizzy.
"My father… a prince?"
Lucas nodded. "He was exiled."
"Why?"
Lucas's eyes darkened.
"Because he fell in love."
The words hung in the air.
"Alena Mortayne," Lucas continued, "was not human. She was a high-ranking demon—one who abandoned her realm for him."
Sarah's breath caught.
"The empire forbade it. A holy knight loving a demon was considered the greatest betrayal. Adrian was stripped of his title, his name erased from history, and cast out of our world."
Sarah clenched her fists. "But they still stayed together."
"Yes," Lucas said softly. "And they had a child."
His gaze locked onto hers.
"You."
Sarah's chest tightened as Lucas spoke the final truth.
"You are the first being ever born with both holy mana and demonic power. A miracle… and a threat."
The wind around them trembled.
"That is why your mana awakened so violently," Lucas continued. "And that is why the blue crystal necklace is necessary. It balances the opposing forces inside you. Without it, your power would destroy your body."
Sarah's thoughts raced.
"And my parents' deaths?" she asked.
Lucas's expression hardened.
"They were hunted," he said. "By those who fear what you represent."
Sarah's hands shook—but she did not look away.
"So my entire life was a lie," she whispered.
"A protection," Lucas corrected. "Your parents hid you in this world to keep you alive."
Sarah looked down at the crystal glowing faintly against her skin.
Then she lifted her head.
"If they killed my parents because of me," she said, her voice calm but cold, "then I'll make them regret it."
For the first time, Lucas smiled—not with amusement, but with pride.
"The blood of Mortayne does not break easily," he said.
And somewhere beyond the sky, ancient forces stirred—aware that the impossible child had finally learned the truth.