Arcadia.

  That was what the world was called…

  It was said in the ancient times that there were two deities who created this world; Vane, the God of Destruction and Darkness, and Neo, the Goddess of Creation and Lightness. Brother and sister together, they made balance to the world. Where one creates life, the other creates death. Overall, it was peaceful.

  But…

  That soon ended when they made their latest creations. They called them, “The Living”.

  The Living consisted of many beings from man to beast, and the two were worshipped by all of them, which in turn granted these beings skills and magic for their continued worship.

  The world expanded, improved, and most importantly; The Living evolved into many more different forms.

  However...

  The Living feared their creators.

  So with their knowledge, skills, and granted powers from their own deities, they betrayed them.

  Upon the arrival of Neo to observe the creations she made with her brother, The Living ambushed her. Struck her down to the ground, used the powers that she gifted them against her. However, she knew this would happen.

  She knew that her creations will soon fear her way too much. And so, knowing this, she already forgave them. When one of her creations bound her by holy chains, the other struck her down in the chest with a spear. She did not scream nor did she cried, instead, she smiled softly and serene. She had accepted this fate.

  “Your spirits are as pure as the river’s reflection, yet your actions say otherwise. Let it be known that I have no intention to hate you all, for knowing that this is my fate, I have already forgiven you all.”

  Those were the last spoken words of Neo to her creations as the world of Arcadia became silent as it lost its breath of creation, and by the time The Living had noticed it, she was already dead. Fear… They felt that way because they didn’t wanted to be used as pawns for their own creators.

  Yet now, that fear had long since been gone.

  When they realized what they did, they trembled at the sight of one of their creators. Regret and sorrow… They felt it immensely.

  Why did they chose to strike one of the beings that created them life? Why did they felt fear towards their own creators despite them giving their all to make their lands prosper? These questions were asked more and more, but no answer was found.

  In the end, they cried for one of their creators. They didn’t feel any worth of being forgiven, yet their Goddess gave it to them. Why? They were treacherous towards her and yet she forgave them. Why? The answer to those questions were never answered.

  They may have been forgiven by one of their deities, but the same can’t be said for the other.

  When Vane found out what their creations did to his sister, he became vengeful, consumed and filled with rage immediately. So he casted upon them a curse.

  “You who have sullied this land with the blood of my sister shall be cursed upon forevermore for eternity! You who have dared to raise your weapons against us shall know suffering and pain! Curse upon you all!”

  Those were his words when he created the curse of the monsters and demons to reign upon this world. The Curse of the Vengeful God. When this curse was created, the land split into four. Now their lands have turned into four nations ever since as the demons and monsters roam around the world, punishing those who dare commit such treacherous sins.

  The clan that ruled the first nation in the South East is known as the “Solari Clan”, they who wields the power to authorize the voids, stars, and space. They were favored by both the Goddess of Creation and the God of Destruction, meaning they are the fine line between both sides.

  As their clan grew descendant after descendant, that descendant either chooses to be good or evil. Most choose to be good but there are still others who choose to be evil.

  The clan that ruled the second nation in the South West is known as the “Raiden Clan”, they who wields the power to control thunder, lightning, and storms. Their pride of who they are and extreme strength granted them the blessing of the God of Destruction. They became feared but also respected at the same time.

  With their traits as an Oni made them become into strong blacksmiths and thanks to their physique, even a normal human who has trained to gain muscles can be defeated by a skinny descendant of the Raiden Clan.

  The clan who ruled the third nation in the North West is known as the “Pyr Clan”, they who wields the power and lives in flame, lava, and magma. They worship the God of Destruction the most and are the guardians of the Gates towards the Demon World.

  They are often misunderstood as evil, but even a member of the Pyr Clan can be nice to get along with. However, their fiery, demonic trait can turn mad if a single member were to be exposed to too much negativity.

  The clan who ruled the fourth nation in the North East is known as the “Azure Clan”, they who wields the authority to control ice, water, and snow. They worship the Goddess of Creation the most, who wishes to complete her will of a structured and orderly world.

  They often live in isolation due to their cold lands, a freezing cold nation where demons and monsters are forced to adapt to the cold or they’ll die. They’re bodies are naturally colder than that of a normal human.

  These four nations together bring balance to the world of Arcadia, with each of their own way of doing so. Though these nations do fight at times, they soon became peaceful once more when they’ve made an acceptable decision to all.

  In each of these nations lays smaller clans than the ones leading said nation. These clans, though small, have gained fame to become nobles or even royalty themselves and these clans are the ones that assists the main clans of that nation.

  Now one of the main clans of the four nations are set in peril.

  North Eastern Nation, Azure Clan. Far south of the burning kingdom of snow…

  The Azure Kingdom has fallen in the hands of one of the demon generals. The cursed being managed to adapt properly to the severe cold along with its soldiers. It was unexpected, clearly the Azure Clan have grown reckless, and so it was an easy victory for the demons.

  The kingdom fell in almost two days. If it weren’t for the activation of the Azure Clan’s Nexus, they would’ve all been dead for sure. The demons and monsters didn’t stop from destroying the kingdom, and with little survivors of the clan, the ones that remained decided to flee.

  “This way, your highnesses! The Clear River is close!”

  A knight clad in blue and iron armor shouted loudly as he led the King, Queen, and Princess of the Azure Clan far south.

  The King, Julian Azure, who wore a blue and white royal suit with a black crown, who had navy blue hair, held a silver sword with intricate design on its guard in his right hand as he held his daughter’s hand on his left.

  “Come quick, Aria! Hurry!”

  “I know, father!”

  Aria Azure, the Princess of the Azure Clan, who wore a beautiful and elegant white dress that had blue intricate designs, who had snow white hair and a single strand of navy blue hair, shouted as she kept following her father.

  “Mother, are you alright? Can you keep going?” She asked as she turned to her mother.

  The Queen, Lilian Azure, who wore an elegant blue dress with a black crown, who had snow white hair, was carrying an infant baby with snow white hair around her arms.

  “I’m fine, Aria. Hurry! Don’t slow down now, dear.”

  The Royal Family of the Azure Clan ran and ran until they managed to reach the Clear River. The river itself was like it was named, a completely clear river with serene untainted waters. It was a blessed river from the Goddess of Creation that connected throughout the whole world, it was the reason why it never froze to begin with.

  “We have reached the Clear River, sir!” The knight with them stated the obvious. “May I ask what made you decide to come here, your highness?”

  “This decision is not the best option that we have come up with, but it will be the safest option.” Julian turned to his wife before he came closer to her. “Lilian…”

  “I know, dear…”

  The Queen gave her infant child to her husband. It was clear that she was suffering from giving birth to her son, she couldn’t help but shed tears at to what was about to happen.

  “Father…?” Aria called for the King’s attention. “What are you doing to brother?”

  Julian hesitated to speak but it was best for Aria to truly know what was happening.

  “Aria, listen to me very closely.”

  He patted his daughter’s shoulder.

  “Whatever happens, know that we all love your brother the most. We’ll find him as soon as our kingdom has been rebuilt.”

  “W-What do you mean, father?”

  Julian sighed. “It’s for your brother’s own safety.”

  When he nodded to the knight, the knight nodded his head and grabbed a basket and a small soft pillow was inside. Julian then placed his only son on top of the basket before covering him with a small blanket.

  It was only after this did Aria realized what her father was trying to do.

  “No! Father, please don’t! We can still bring brother with us!” She shouted loudly as she tried to pull her father’s hands away from her brother.

  “We can’t risk his life, Aria!” Julian shouted.

  “Knowing the demons and monsters will keep on hunting us down, your brother’s safety will be in danger! Doing this is the only option to keep him safe.”

  “But why do this?! We can keep him safe with us and the knights, he’ll be protected severely even from those demons!” Aria protested.

  “As much as I want to agree with you, times have changed, Aria.” The King said solemnly.

  “We’ve changed… For the worst that is. We’ve gotten so used to the fact that our kingdom is a safe haven against the demons and monsters that we were taken by surprised when this invasion started.”

  “It’s best for your brother to survive somewhere else where he can learn how to fight for himself and live a normal life.” Julian added and continued.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “If he lives with us as our kingdom rebuilds itself, he’ll only know the suffering and tragedy of our clan while growing up.”

  “But father—!”

  “That’s enough, Aria!”

  Lilian shouted as she hugged her daughter from behind, tears were evident as Aria felt cold water drop on her shoulder.

  “As much as I hate this… It’s the only option that we can do to make sure your brother survives.”

  Aria stopped arguing now as her own tears fell from her eyes.

  Seeing his daughter’s reaction, he can’t help but become sorrowful as well. But a king’s duty must be uphold.

  “Secure our surroundings, knight. Make sure that the area around the Clear River is safe enough for my child’s safety.”

  “Yes sir!” The knight saluted and ran off Far East to take down any potential threats.

  Julian let out a deep sigh as he placed the basket with his son over the flowing water of the river.

  “Listen to me, son. We’ll find you once our kingdom has been rebuilt.” He told his infant son, despite knowing that he still couldn’t understand him.

  “Live a life full of joy and happiness, my boy.”

  With those final words, Julian gently pushed the basket even further away from the shore and the basket soon floated along the flows of the river.

  “BROTHER!!!” Aria shouted loudly.

  “I’ll find you! I promise that I’ll find you no matter what happens! So until then, please survive and live for me!”

  Her cold tears dropped as did her knees as she cried and cried, devastated at what has now happened.

  An hour later…

  South Eastern Nation, Descending Rivers; A location where the streams of the Clear River of the world connects…

  A large carriage decided to take camp under the starry night sky. There were multiple carriages behind them and from the looks of it, it would be a carriage for nobles or royalty.

  Knights have set up posts for themselves to protect the vicinity around the area and have set up small tents as well. It had been a long day.

  The people and knights, however, can’t really be called normal people. They have fox ears and fox tails, but they’re mostly human. These are the “Foxians” of the “Akane Clan”, a medium sized clan that’s allied with the Galactus Clan as their clan was built in the nation of Galactus.

  Among these Foxians, a noble family was sat around a camp fire, admiring the stars as their meal is being cooked.

  “It’s a beautiful night again today, isn’t it?”

  The female Foxian asked her husband. The female had light blonde hair and a single strand of dark red hair on her bangs. What’s more is that she had black horns over her forehead.

  “It is.”

  The male Foxian answered. The male had the same light blonder hair as the female but he had more red strands on the tips of his hair and he didn’t have horns.

  “But it’s more beautiful with you here.”

  “Mom and dad are flirting with each other again!”

  Their daughter, who was holding a light-blonde haired female infant in her hands said loudly. The girl was about five years old, she had the same light blonde hair as her parents but she had black horns as well as more red strands on her hair.

  “Can you at least try not to do something like this in front of Stella?”

  The infant in her hands was named Stella Akane, the noble couple’s second daughter who was born just an hour ago.

  “O’ dear, Amber~.”

  The mother said with a small smile at her older daughter, Amber Akane.

  “No need to be angry. Mommy and daddy just love each other so much.”

  “Hahaha!” The man and father laughed.

  “Indeed, dear daughter! But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to weigh it down a bit. My apologies, Shiranui.” The noble man apologized to his wife, Shiranui Akane.

  “No need for apologies, my dear Aki~.” Shiranui responded to her husband, Aki Akane.

  “Thank you very much.” Amber let out a small smile as her parents shared a small laugh with each other.

  As the noble family enjoyed the quite night under the starry sky, their food was done and so they took a wooden bowl each before taking their desired portion of the food that was cooked over the fire on a metal pot.

  The food wasn’t anything that lavish, just a healthy steak soup with a bit of soft bread that they managed to pack. Although they were nobles, that doesn’t mean that they can’t live a simple life or eat a simple meal. To those of the Foxians, everyone had to start somewhere and work their way up through harships.

  It was something that became a culture to them ever since the birth of their very first ancestor.

  Once more, they ate their meal in silence, admiring the stars. Shiranui finished first and decided to take Stella off Amber’s arms before she started to cradle her youngest daughter.

  *WAAAAAHHH!!!*

  Just as Shiranui was doing so, everyone heard a loud cry of a baby. Aki and Amber turned to look at Stella and when they noticed that she wasn’t the one crying, everyone grew alert.

  “Quickly! Find the infant who was crying!” Aki ordered immediately to the knights around him and his family.

  “Find the infant! A child shouldn’t be around in these parts of the land, especially not a baby!”

  “Yes sir!” The knights scattered everywhere to search for the baby’s cries.

  “Dad…” Amber took hold of her father’s sleeves.

  “Are you sure it’s alright for our knights to scatter like that? What if it’s a trap set by the demons?”

  “Demons do not ever cross this place, little Amber.” Aki patted his daughter’s head.

  “With the Descending Rivers connecting to many other Clear Rivers out in the world, those beasts wouldn’t dare to even try and cross over this place.”

  “Clear Rivers are rivers that are purified and holy, Amber.”

  Shiranui informed her daughter as she placed one of her hands on her daughter’s shoulder while carrying Stella in the other.

  “With Descending Rivers connecting to many of them, like your father said, it’s highly unlikely for demons or monsters to cross them, let alone even be in a near vicinity of one.”

  “I think I understand.” Amber nodded her head in acknowledgement.

  “Sire!” One of the knights clad in a dark red cloak and silver armor approached.

  “We’ve spotted a baby floating on one of the Descending Rivers link to the Northern Clear Rivers. We’ve successfully took the baby to safety.”

  “Is there any clear indication on whose baby it is?” The Nobleman asked.

  “No sire. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any indication of whose child it is.”

  “And with the fact that the Clear Rivers in the Northern areas connect to different links of different rivers, we don’t know whose child it could be.” Aki muttered.

  “Alright, bring the infant here.”

  “Yes sir! Men, bring the basket!” When the knight ordered, the other knights followed and brought the infant in front of the noble family.

  When the basket was brought, everyone’s eyes widened as they saw the crying infant.

  “He’s doesn’t seem to be any older than Stella.” Amber commented at the sight of the young male infant.

  “I don’t think he is any older than Stella, Amber.” Aki informed as he leaned in and took a closer look at the boy. He went ahead and tried to carry the boy—

  “Agh!”

  But his fingers were stung upon a simple graze of the boy’s touch.

  “Dad!”

  “I’m fine, Amber.” The nobleman shook his left hand before stopping and taking in the sight of his reddened fingers.

  “His body temperature is colder than anyone I’ve met before.”

  “Does that mean he’s sick?!” Shiranui panicked, worried about the child’s safety.

  When Aki turned to one of the knights, the knight nodded his head before he grabbed a thermometer and placed it underneath the baby’s armpits. After a few minutes, the thermometer beeped and the knight took it.

  “Thirty-four point eight degrees Celsius, sir.”

  “That’s a lot lower than the normal body temperature.” Aki mused the information. He tried to touch the infant’s forehead.

  “Urk…” Enduring the stinging pain in doing so.

  “He doesn’t seem to be sick though.”

  Everyone let out a sigh of relief but many still found it strange why an infant child’s body temperature is so much lower than normal even though the baby isn’t sick.

  This raised many questions, yet one thing is for certain though. With no indication of whose child it is, and with no other clues on where he could’ve come from other than from north, there was only one thing left to do for the noble couple.

  Although there was still some hesitation in his thoughts, Aki doesn’t have much of a choice. Leaving an infant child in the middle of a place like this with no one to take care of him would mean the baby’s destined death.

  Aki wasn’t sure if this would be the right choice nor does he know if this will change everything for him and his family, but he knew that this choice would mean saving the baby.

  “Hey, Shiranui.” Aki started as he stared at his wife.

  “What is it, dear?”

  “Do you remember about the names that we thought about for what gender our next baby was going to be? “Stella” was the one that we thought about when it was a girl and when it was a boy…”

  Shiranui raised her hand to stop Aki from speaking before she started speaking herself.

  “I get what you’re trying to say, dear. And knowing that we can’t leave this boy out here all alone, I accept.”

  She then smiled as she looked at the infant in the basket.

  “Besides, your father has been wanting to have a grandson for ages now.”

  “Wait, so I’m having a brother too?!” Amber smiled as her eyes sparkled.

  Aki chuckled at his child’s enthusiasm. “Yes, yes, Amber~. With no other choice, we’ve decided to adopt this little one here.”

  Carefully wrapping the blanket around the baby boy, the nobleman carried his new adopted son gently in his arms.

  “Welcome to the world, Steely Akane.”

  Thus the boy was named and thus their lives became anew.

  After a few minutes of packing everything up, along with a new family member in tow, the noble family got inside their carriage and drove away far more towards the east where the Akane Clan’s City was located.

  Thus their story begins.