📖 Chapter 1: "The Cursed Birth"
> "They say the wind protects this land. But on the night I was born, it never blew."
— Yuji Kazehaya
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🌫️ [Fifteen Years Ago] — Kohari Village, Zeyrus Nation
The storm came without warning.
The winds, which once danced like whispers through the trees, fell dead still. The rain didn't fall — it slammed, like the sky itself had opened in rage.
Inside a fading shrine deep within the forests of Zeyrus, screams echoed through stone walls cracked by time and neglect. A woman lay on an old mat, sweat pouring from her brow, her face twisted between pain and defiance.
The midwife whispered prayers under her breath, her hands trembling.
A child was being born. But something felt wrong.
The flames in the shrine's lanterns flickered violently. Then… they went out.
Completely.
For a brief moment, darkness swallowed the shrine whole. Then came a sound — not the cry of a newborn, but something… deeper.
It was a pulse.
The air shifted.
The midwife stumbled back, eyes wide.
> "His eyes… they're… what is this…?"
Lying in the woman's arms was a newborn boy, silent, staring. His eyes were black — too black — like mirrors with no reflection. And in the center of his tiny hand…
A ring had formed.
Metal? Shadow? No one knew. But it glowed faintly in the dim — a pale gray pulse like a sleeping storm.
The mother, tears in her eyes, held him close.
> "Yuji," she whispered. "Your name is Yuji."
Outside, bells rang in the village center. Horses screamed. Fires ignited without flame.
Soldiers arrived in less than fifteen minutes.
Men wearing dark cloaks with glowing emblems on their shoulders stormed the shrine.
"Where is the child?" one of them barked.
"Secure the source. No witnesses."
The shrine erupted in chaos. The midwife was silenced before she could speak. And within moments, the mother too fell — her final act was pushing the boy into a hidden compartment under the shrine floor.
His last sight of her was her smile — broken and bloody — before the trapdoor shut.
And in that darkness… the baby blinked.
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🌫️ [Present Day — 15 Years Later]
The Zeyrus Nation — one of the Five Core Nations of the world — was known for its dominion over Wind and Ice. Majestic mountains, floating cities powered by elemental cores, and the legendary ADM Corps that upheld peace through power.
But not all of Zeyrus gleamed.
In the southern edges, where cold winds never reached and light rarely lingered, a boy walked through the market alone. His coat was thin. His boots worn out. But his steps were steady.
Yuji Kazehaya, 15 years old.
To the world, he was nobody.
To himself… he was a mystery.
> "I don't remember where I was born."
"I don't remember if anyone loved me."
"But I' JUST WANT TO PROTECT OTHERS WANT TO JOIN- THE ADM CORP FORCES
He had no family. No memories beyond the age of six. Just the name he'd been told… and the faint mark of a ring on his hand that had never changed.
It looked ordinary. Cheap, even. Like a child's imitation of the ADM Gear Rings used by official soldiers.
But for some reason, it never came off.
He had tried, once.
Only once.
The pain had nearly killed him.
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💠 The Dream — Joining the Corps
Yuji stood before the bulletin board outside the Zeyrus Military Tower. Crowds surrounded him — kids older and younger, all staring at the glowing parchment pinned to the post:
> "ADM CORPS RECRUITMENT — ENTRY TEST BEGINS THIS WEEK"
Below it, written in silver script:
> "Only the strong deserve purpose."
Yuji's eyes narrowed.
He wasn't here for fame. Or pride. He wasn't even here for revenge.
> "I want a place to belong. I want a roof. I want food. I want… direction."
Joining the ADM Corps — the elite element-wielding force that protected the five nations — was his only option. It was the path everyone in Zeyrus respected.
And maybe, just maybe…
> "…if I get in, I will protect others that's my purpose
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💠 A Ring That Never Shines
A group of other recruits passed him by, laughing loudly.
"Hey, new guy," one sneered. "You know you need real power to pass the tests, right?"
Another pointed at Yuji's hand. "Is that your ring? That dull little thing?"
Yuji looked down. The old, unpolished gray ring still sat there. Unchanging.
He didn't respond.
> "Let them talk."
He turned and walked down the alley leading to the training gates.
But as he walked away, a strange breeze swept through the street — just enough to scatter loose papers and dust. Several nearby recruits looked up, confused.
The air had shifted.
Not like wind.
Like silence had moved.
Yuji didn't notice.
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🌃 That Night
Yuji sat atop the roof of a collapsed clock tower on the city's edge. He stared at the moon, half-hidden behind clouds. A piece of dried bread rested beside him.
He didn't eat.
He just listened.
To the wind.
To the hum in his ring that only he could hear.
> I want to become like ADM CORP- RYEN SYLVAN
> "Tomorrow, I take my first step."
> "Not toward glory."
> "Just… toward something that will allow me to protect others
He closed his eyes.
And in his sleep, a voice — cold and distant — echoed in his mind.
> "Yuji Kazehaya…"
"…The world already made its choice."
He didn't wake up.
But the ring pulsed.
Once.
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END OF CHAPTER 1