prologue

THE story of the shiyoo

There once was a king who decreed a massacre of all Aldorians with the powerful Shiyoo blood.

Seven dark years of catastrophe and chaos followed his decree. The endangered clans of the Shiyoo came together from all nine regions and declared secession and war against the Aldorian council. Riots broke out and blood was spilled every hour. Throughout the seven years in the regions of Aldora, those with the mark of the Shiyoo were captured and killed in millions.

Among the victimized Shiyoo happened to be the respected High Leader of Region 7, known to be the most powerful Shiyoo of all.

The High Leader knew of what a threat he was to the Palace, so he suggested a compromise to the king: to voluntarily give up his own life, but only in return for his region to be left in peace.

The king agreed and took the life of the heroic leader, sparing the Shiyoo of only Region 7 just like what the promise had required.

However, after the seven-year massacre had ended, the citizens of Region 7 began to despise the remaining Shiyoo and blamed them for killing their beloved High Leader and bringing chaos to their land. As a result, those in Region 7 with the Shiyoo mark were exiled and forced to flee to either Earth or the rogue forests of Aldora.

However, there was one boy who the region encountered difficulty with.

The boy was a half-blood, and he bore the mark of the Shiyoo in only its half stage. The region found no complete reason to kill the orphaned infant boy, as he was not a full Shiyoo and had no other connection to another being.

Unsure of what to do with such a debatable being, the region decided to simply leave him be. They considered him to be of no threat to their region: He was only an infant, and what could an infant possibly do? Even after growing up, it would only be one boy to take care of compared to the thousands of other Aldorian officials in Region 7, which couldn't possibly be of any threat and JESUS CHRIST, HOW WRONG THEY WER--

The door suddenly slammed opened.

"Sir! Mark Tuan has burned down the entrance gates to the Academy!"

The High leader looked at the new intruder in annoyance.

"Minho," He tried to hide his anger, "I'm in the middle of telling a story here--"

"But Sir--"

"Do your job and fix the mess up yourselves. Anyways, Jaejoong, continuing on... JESUS CHRIST HOW WRONG THEY WERE--"

CRASH.

Minho shrieked at the sudden intruder's loud, glass-breaking entrance. The floor was suddenly covered with numerous shards of what had made up the large hole in the window behind him.

"Y-You--" Minho wagged a finger at the newcomer. "Just WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE--"

A red-haired boy who looked about ten or eleven raised his hands up in defense at the High Leader.

"I swear I didn't do it on purpose this time! It was Sehun who forced me to make the fire--"

"Idiot!" Minho grabbed his ear. "Sehun wasn't even here today--"

"I meant to say Baekhyun--ow OW OW!"

The High Leader reluctantly eyed the disheveled, scratched-up, soot-covered boy in front of him without a hint of surprise... much unlike the young man named Jaejoong beside him who seemed to be rather dumbfounded by the messy sight.

He sighed.

"Jesus. Christ. How WRONG they were."

Jaejoong, finally realizing the connection, formed a look of enlightenment on his face. Then utter shock.

"Mark," The High Leader began softly.

"Yes, Sir?" The red-haired boy blurted out.

The old man took a deep breath.

"GO CLEAN UP THAT BROKEN WINDOW YOU LITTLE BRAT. WHAT ARE YOU, FIVE?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THE REPAIRMAN COSTS NOWADAYS?!"

Mark widened his eyes."What?! But I gotta go fix the entrance gates I burnt--"

"AFTER MY WINDOW. NOW."

Mark made a face.

"Fine! Geez, why can't a rich gramps like you just give up a few days of gambling and pay for the repairman yourself--OW!"

Minho gave him a punch on the head. "Don't speak to the High Leader that way, you little punk!"

"But I've always have, ever since I was bor--OW!"

The older chaperone quickly turned around and bowed apologetically, his fingers grabbing onto the boy's left ear. "We'll be making our leave, Sir. He'll be back as soon as possible with gloves and a bucket!"

The old man grumbled what seemed to be a "Yeah."

Minho quickly shoved the protesting boy out the door while clamping his hand over his mouth to keep him from complaining any further. The door shut behind them, leaving the room in silence once again.

The High Leader sighed. He seemed to have aged thirty years older than from before.

"Do you now understand why I called you over here today?"

Jaejoong slightly frowned. He couldn't help but look a bit troubled.

"But, it's been more than a decade since the massacre. How can people still--"

"It's only natural. He was born into a world that had previously been terrorized because of his kind. And he grew up right when we were finishing recovering from that terror. It's only natural that he's seen with hestitation. No one wants to have anything to do with a Shiyoo half-blood. He's trouble-making because no one's there to fix it up for him."

The old man sighed.

"And on top of that, he's reckless by nature. AND he's a fire user."

Jaejoong had to agree on that one that it really .

"I'll be gone soon..."

"Sir--"

"--And I'll rain down hell for you guys up from these very clouds if you do a bad job, understand?!"

After a moment of hestitation, Jaejoon closed his mouth and nodded solemnly.

"... Mark Tuan will continue to be looked down at. But it's your guys' job to make sure that this doesn't continue to happen until the very moment he dies. Up until then..."

The High Leader looked at the numerous papers of students' profiles spread out on his desk. There were twelve of them, to be exact.

"... He'll be fine with the people around him."

In Aldora, only a few with Shiyoo blood now remain.