Three years old. Two spells mastered. One life taken.
They still dressed me in silks and smiled sweetly, as if I were a harmless little boy chasing butterflies in the royal gardens.
But I knew now—I was being watched.
And not just by servants or tutors.
There were eyes behind eyes. Voices behind voices. A plot was already in motion… and I was the first piece on the board they wanted removed.
So I did what any logical tactician would do:
I played the fool.
The palace gardens were vast—a fusion of natural wonder and magical refinement. Trees whispered in Old Elvish. Flowers shimmered with living mana. My mother, Queen Lira, often walked here barefoot, communing with nature spirits.
She believed it calmed me, made me more "childlike."
It did the opposite.
Today, I sat beneath the silver-thorned shade trees, pretending to draw crude shapes in the dirt with a stick. I was actually sketching a rough mana circuit design.
[Blueprint Engine active. Mana Battery – Tier 0.]
[Design complete. Material Requirements logged.]
"Look at the little prince! What a clever boy!"
Two noble ladies strolled past on floating carriages of light, their laughter too practiced to be innocent.
[Audio Detection: Active. Speech Analysis Engaged.]
I didn't look at them, but I listened.
"They say he's strange, you know. Never cries. Never laughs like the other children.""The Queen says he's gifted.""Gifted children don't survive long in politics."
That was it. A passing remark to anyone else.
To me? Threat confirmed.
Later that evening, I requested my private tutor Elrin, the old mage.
He was one of the few people in the palace I hadn't yet classified as a potential threat.
"Your Highness," he said gently, "shall we continue with the Elemental Chanting?"
"No," I replied with deliberate softness, "I want to understand mana flows between dimensions."
He blinked.
Once. Twice.
Then stared.
"That subject… is not meant for someone of your age."
"Then let's pretend I'm not my age."
A long silence passed between us.
And then—for the first time since I'd arrived in this world—someone laughed honestly.
"You truly are her son," Elrin whispered, voice thick with awe. "Your mother could see mana threads before she spoke her first word."
I locked onto him. "And my father?"
Elrin's eyes darkened. "The King does not wield magic."
I tilted my head. Curious. "Then what does he wield?"
The mage's face paled slightly.
"Will."
That night, I made my second visit to the Vault of Echoes. The security enchantments did not trigger—my growing familiarity with dimensional phasewalking (based on Earth's quantum tunneling theory combined with Aetherra's shadow-step spells) let me pass silently.
I wasn't here to learn today.
I was here to plant something.
[Deploying Blueprint: Mana Sensor Node v1.]
[Concealed, remote-linked, passive-scan mode engaged.]
If anyone else entered the Vault now, I'd know.
They had their eyes.
Now I had mine.
Three days later, the garden changed again.
This time, a child sat beside me. Older than me by a few years. Amber hair, aristocratic face, a boy born of nobility.
He smiled. "You're the prince, aren't you?"
I nodded.
"I'm Cassian. My father's the Duke of Thornspire."
A ducal heir. Why was he here?
"I heard you don't talk much," he added, leaning closer. "That's good. Means I can trust you."
[New Character: Cassian Thornspire – Age 6 – Status: Cautious Ally]
Then he leaned close, whispering into my ear like we were old conspirators.
"They say someone tried to kill you last week."
I didn't flinch. "They failed."
He blinked in surprise… then smiled wider.
"I like you."
Cassian left shortly after, escorted by a royal steward. But he'd confirmed something I already suspected.
Whispers were traveling through the court. Faster than truth.
That meant I needed allies—even ones who didn't yet know the full game.
I needed time.
And I needed to accelerate my plans.
Because by my estimates…In five years, I'd Awaken.
And when that day came…
The war wouldn't start.
It would end.