The storm that had raged over Manila on the night Kosoku Roche Volkov Nozomi was born had already passed.
Morning sunlight spread slowly across the city, illuminating the streets that had been soaked by rain only hours earlier. Cars returned to the roads, vendors opened their small shops, and the endless rhythm of life resumed as if the storm had never happened.
To the rest of the city, it was simply another ordinary day. Inside the hospital room, however, the atmosphere felt different. It was quiet and peaceful.
Soft rays of sunlight slipped through the curtains and fell gently across the hospital bed where Alisa Natalia Volkov Nozomi rested. Though exhaustion still lingered in her body from the long night, there was a calm warmth in her expression as she held the small bundle resting in her arms.
Kosoku slept peacefully, wrapped carefully in a white hospital blanket. His tiny body rose and fell with slow, steady breaths. The faint silver color of his hair was already noticeable, catching the sunlight whenever it touched his head. Most newborn babies moved restlessly in their sleep, crying or shifting constantly as they struggled to adjust to the world.
Kosoku did neither. He simply slept, calm and quiet. Almost unnaturally so. Alisa gently brushed a strand of silver hair away from his small forehead and studied his peaceful expression. "He's very quiet," she murmured softly.
Near the window, Gabriel Nozomi stood with his arms crossed. The tall warrior had barely slept since the birth. His sharp eyes remained alert as he watched the child carefully, as if searching for something hidden beneath the surface.
"Newborns usually cry more," Gabriel said quietly. Alisa glanced up at him and smiled faintly. "Are you complaining?"
Gabriel shook his head. "No." He stepped closer to the bed. At that exact moment, Kosoku's ocean-blue eyes slowly opened.
Gabriel stopped walking. For a brief moment, father and son stared at each other. The newborn blinked once. Then again.
And instead of looking around randomly like most babies would... He continued staring directly at Gabriel. The warrior narrowed his eyes slightly. "That's strange." Alisa tilted her head. "What is it?"
Gabriel pointed gently. "He's looking directly at me." Alisa chuckled softly. "Of course he is. You're standing right there." Gabriel remained calm. "No," he replied. "He's focusing as if he already knows me."
That word made Alisa pause, she lowered her gaze toward the child again. Kosoku's eyes moved slowly across the room, observing the environment around him before returning to Gabriel once more.
There was something unsettling about it.
Not frightening, just.. aware. Alisa's smile slowly faded into curiosity. "That is unusual."
She placed a gentle hand against Kosoku's small chest. As an S-Rank healer whose Mana was deeply connected to nature, Alisa possessed extremely refined senses when it came to mana.
The moment her palm touched the child... Her expression changed. "There it is again."
Gabriel immediately understood. "The same thing from last night?" Alisa nodded slowly.
"A mana pulse."
Gabriel frowned slightly. "From a newborn?"
"That's exactly what concerns me." Alisa said.
Kosoku shifted slightly in her arms. Deep inside his body, the faint energy stirred again. Subtle, controlled and yet undeniably present.
It was not chaotic like unstable mana often found in awakened warriors. Instead, it flowed smoothly, like a quiet river beneath the surface.
Gabriel leaned closer. "Is it dangerous?" Alisa closed her eyes briefly as she focused on the sensation. After several seconds, she shook her head. "No, not something like that." She looked thoughtful.
"It feels calm." Her brow furrowed slightly. "Too calm."
Gabriel studied his son silently. Years of experience on battlefields had sharpened his instincts. He had encountered countless warriors, monsters, and awakened fighters across dangerous portals but something about this child felt different, different from others.
Meanwhile, inside Kosoku's mind...
The world was not as peaceful as the hospital room around him. Darkness stretched endlessly in every direction. Fragments of broken memories drifted through the void like shattered pieces of glass.
A throne made from black stone, a massive palace swallowed by shadows, a glowing crystal heart suspended above an empty pedestal and distant voices echoing through a vast chamber.
"Did you take the Astral Aegis Core?"
"Yes."
The voice answering belonged to him. But also not him. The memories were incomplete, scattered like reflections in cracked mirrors.
Another voice echoed through the darkness.
"You stand accused of threatening the balance of the entire world."
Chains, cold iron restraints closing around his wrists. A woman's voice whispered desperately. "That's not you…"
Then darkness swallowed everything. Inside the hospital room, Kosoku's tiny face suddenly frowned slightly as he slept. Alisa noticed immediately. "Oh?" She gently adjusted the blanket around him. "Did he have a dream?"
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Newborns don't dream like that." Kosoku's fingers clenched briefly. Then relaxed again.
The fragments of memory disappeared. Silence returned to his mind. Hours passed slowly. Hospital staff moved quietly through the hallway while the doctor eventually returned to check on both mother and child.
He carefully examined Kosoku, checking his breathing and heartbeat. Everything appeared normal.
"No abnormalities," the doctor said with a satisfied nod. "Healthy lungs, stable pulse, good reflexes." He smiled. "You have a strong baby."
Gabriel watched from the side. "Doctor."
The man looked up. "Yes?" Gabriel spoke calmly. "Do newborns normally react to mana?"
The doctor blinked. "Mana?" Gabriel nodded. "Small fluctuations." The doctor chuckled lightly as he continued writing notes on the chart. "I think you've spent too much time around portals, Mr. Nozomi." He shook his head. "Babies don't awaken mana that early."
Alisa and Gabriel exchanged a brief glance.
Neither of them argued because both of them had felt it and they both knew it was real.
Later that evening, the hospital finally cleared them to leave. The storm had completely vanished, leaving behind a calm night sky above Manila, streetlights illuminated the quiet roads as Gabriel carefully carried the baby outside toward their car.
Alisa walked beside him. "Honey are you still worried?" she asked. Gabriel opened the passenger door and placed Kosoku carefully into the baby seat. "Nope."
Alisa smirked slightly. "You've been staring at him all day." Gabriel adjusted the blanket around the child. "I'm observing our son."
"Observing what?" Alisa asked him.
Gabriel paused briefly. "A potential."
Alisa laughed softly as she settled into her seat. "You're already thinking about training him?"
Gabriel closed the car door. "He's my son."
"Honey... he was born today." Alisa answered him quickly.
"Honey if I train him maybe he will surpass me someday." Gabriel laughed.
Alisa shook her head with a smile. "You warriors are impossible."
The car engine started. They slowly pulled away from the hospital and drove into the city streets Manila continued its endless rhythm. Traffic lights blinked, motorcycles weaved through intersections neon signs flickered across tall buildings. No one noticed the small child sleeping quietly inside that car.
No one sensed the faint energy hidden within him. But deep inside Kosoku's mind…
A distant voice whispered again. One name.
Erebus.
The newborn stirred slightly. His small hand moved unconsciously. And for a brief moment— A tiny spark of lightning flickered across his fingers then it vanished. Gabriel noticed it instantly his eyes widened slightly. The spark had lasted less than a second.
But he had seen it clearly. Lightning element just like his. He stared at his son in silence then slowly looked up at the dark sky above Manila.
Gabriel's smiled a little, "Interesting." The word escaped his mouth quietly.
Beside him, Alisa had not noticed the spark. She simply watched the peaceful expression on their son's sleeping face.
Neither of them realized the truth because the child sleeping between them was not just a newborn he was something far more dangerous.
A Prince who had once stood before the rulers of an entire world and though those memories were buried deep within his mind.
They had not disappeared, they were only waiting. Waiting for the day he would awaken.