The origin was never known; the disease was unleashed from one moment to another, leading the mages to spread chaos and disturb the balance that had reigned for so many years. Some speak of a «curse», but nothing has been clarified even as the centuries passed.

    It all started on a day already laden with anguish, as the kingdom's most skilled healers went to the castle of a mage king to treat his constant nightmares and disordered thoughts. None could anticipate the immunity that this man had developed against hypnotic spells. On that same night, a heart-wrenching scream resonated from his room: the queen, who had never left her husband's side in his moments of distress, pleaded for help as he, overcome by uncontrollable fury, spewed saliva mixed with blood and sweated profusely. In an even greater act of horror, he struck and kicked her to the ground. The woman's loud screams were in vain as he, terrified and craving something, crushed her head with a punch and then lunged for her ears to tear into her flesh and devour it.

    The castle filled with horror and tears. Servants ran for help as they announced, «The queen is dead! The king has beaten her to a pulp and devoured her flesh!»

    The king fled to the kingdom's city in an obsessive quest to find a son he never had. Uncontrollably, he killed anyone he believed was hiding the child from him. Using his fire spells, he razed every home in his path. Trees and foliage came to life under his magical influence, twisting and striking everything around them as the land was cursed with relentless drought through ezdra magic. The king, trapped in continuous screams, only asked over and over, »Where did they bury my wife and child, you cursed enemies of mage kings?!»

    Then, he forged a path through the debris and charred remains of the citizens, leaving a macabre trail of blood, ashes, and destruction. With magical power that could almost be compared to a divine status, the king had annihilated everyone.

    That night marked the emergence of the worst evil known among mages, a mental illness that defied the understanding of all healers and seers. The city was not the only one affected; soon, senseless and politically unorganized wars erupted in other kingdoms, all led by mages. The hunting of innocent people spread, justified by crimes that only existed in the minds of the unbalanced kings. Those who dared to disobey were condemned to death. Soon after, the mages themselves began to hunt down anyone who crossed their path, driven by growing and increasingly terrifying disorder.

    The world suffered an economic collapse; famine and plagues covered the continents, and some spells were so powerful that they caused the extinction of several species and the disappearance of entire islands. The food chain was severely damaged, and the death toll was countless. Because that is how powerful the mages were, and humanity had relied too much on them. They had to pay the consequences as if it were a divine punishment.

    But many nations managed to survive and rebuild their societies under new names, abolishing the system of kings in the world. They studied the situation and concluded that the disease attacked some part of the mages' brains, but a clear answer was never obtained. The idea that it was a curse intensified, and it didn't take long for torturous experiments to begin on young and vulnerable mages who, for some reason, had not yet fallen ill. It was discovered that the disease began a few months after the mage reached the age of nineteen, where they plunged into an instantaneous, progressive, and unstoppable psychosis that seized them until it completely destroyed them.

    The mages were declared an embodiment of evil or a product of the dark god Erebus. The confusion generated more conflicts where the weak perished. Thus, empires arose that ruled with hatred and revulsion toward those born with magic, a new banner that now drove the world forward.

    In this manner, three hundred twenty-two years have passed, and little has truly changed except for the rapid technological advancement propelling societies forward. Ships and vehicles lead a new era of development and prosperity. But the wounds still roar beneath a cloak of false peace.

    Coldness is instilled in children from an early age, conditioning them until they reach six years old, the moment when the awakening of their mana will determine if they are mages or not. This cruel practice has led cultures to become heartless and unbalanced. Institutions have also emerged, dedicated to training warriors to hunt mages, regardless of whether they have been affected by the disease or not. Astonishingly, it is considered a very entertaining sport.

    Meanwhile, young mages continue to be subjected to torture in laboratories, either through openings in their bodies or through the administration of chemicals that alter their organism and genetics. If not, they are locked up in specialized prisons.

    Because hatred and disgust have become a kind of remedy. Although technology and control continue to advance day by day, the answers that truly plague humanity have not made the same progress. Societies have learned to fight but not to find true solutions. The world remains mired in an internal disease, trapped in an endless cycle.

    And so it continues until the day the cause of this calamity is discovered and an answer is found.

    What no one yet knew was about the existence of a mage who had lived in isolation in a forest. Despite being over twenty years old, she had not shown any signs of the disease.

    She was immune and held the answers to the greatest questions.

    But she lived hidden from humanity, using her magic to keep herself calm and with everything she needed in that forest populated only by creatures.

    In that place, she gave birth to a son whom she named Shinryu, a child who resembled the reincarnation of an angel and who loved her fervently, acting like a chick that followed her wherever she went, even if he had to crawl. He knew no other human being besides her, but that was not a problem, as his mother formed a world full of wonders for him and adorned it with supernatural marvels: spells, lights, and colors that controlled the forest through a majestic magical dynamism.

    That's why, rather, the little one felt grateful and amazed to have been born.

    Also, it was common for her to make him laugh by spinning him around, laughter that melted the heart and left an everlasting mark in his memory. Mom smiled at him with a love so strong it hurt. But she also hid a deep fear beneath her loving demeanor.

    She always stayed by her son's side, as the little one needed high protection, for magic was not hereditary but a reservoir of power that gestated silently until it unleashed in a single person within a closed family circle. Shinryu could not be like her, and that often frightened her.

    In that forest, she devoted herself to a task she considered her main purpose: to raise Shinryu to become a knight of honor, of great and noble heart. When she held him on her shoulder, she would tell him how the world, creatures, and empires were born, making him understand what was right and wrong. The baby would open his eyes wide because nothing surprised him more than the existence of other human beings: "Will they be as big as mom or as small as him?" he wondered.

    And when she finished, she would sing a strange song: «No, don't fall asleep, sleepy little rabbit, there are still flowers for you to explore. No, don't tire, sleepy little rabbit, because there are still buds to open. You will be the field that will color the dark mountain. There, in its caves, the greatest flower will open, sheltering all the others.»

    Although their voices were not perfectly tuned, they never stopped singing, laughing at themselves.

    For these reasons, Shinryu was a happy child.

    But one day, close to his sixth birthday, everything changed drastically: mom took him out of the forest to show him the world of humans. The little one looked terrified at the people in the streets of a city, unable to understand why mom had made this decision. He clung to her hands so tightly that he scratched her. Still, mom maintained a confident smile.

    «Everything will be fine, and this is necessary for your growth», she reassured him.

    They arrived at a house where they were assigned something called a «room» and a bed for both of them. She comforted Shinryu and then explained to him that this place was called a hostel.

    The boy managed to sleep on his mother's lap, a little calmer. However, in the middle of the night, something unnatural began to happen: Shinryu heard his mom talking, and he also felt her hair brushing against his face. He tried to move to speak to her, but his body wouldn't respond. At first, he felt too confused, then scared, and finally panicked when his mom's voice faded away, replaced by a sinister, dragging whisper that slithered through the walls.

    Shinryu wished to scream and seek help, convinced that one of those unknown humans had invaded the room, but no force could awaken his body. Panic consumed his mind until the sinister voice suddenly stopped, and his mom's agitated breathing returned.

    He heard his mother getting up, immersed in heart-wrenching sobs. Nothing was heard but her deep and broken lament.

    —I will always remain healthy —she murmured with a broken voice, causing a painfully relieving sensation in Shinryu's heart, like a burning coal embracing him.

    His mother's footsteps slowly moved away, stumbling against the furniture. Finally, she said, with a wheezing and barely comprehensible voice:

    —I will always... live for you. I will always stay healthy for you, my beautiful baby. Forgive me, Shinryu —she begged, trying to stifle an explosive cry with her hands.

    Shinryu was drowning in tears that kept flowing, while his mind crumbled into a horrifying chaos and his chest opened into an incomprehensible void.

    He didn't know how much time passed or what else happened, but when he finally managed to wake up, scream, and thrash his arms in turmoil, he found the face of a man; a man who looked unemotionally composed and keenly analytical.

    On that afternoon, Shinryu learned that his mom had gone, leaving no trace to be found again. He learned later that she had left him in the care of that person, someone who resembled her in no way, not even the slightest: «dad».