The child Sylvia had just given birth to released a heavy wave of dark magic into the air, thick enough to make any normal person choke. The midwife Julius had hired dropped the infant onto the bed, collapsing to the ground in shock and horror.
Exhausted, her body aching from childbirth, Sylvia forced herself to move. She scooped the child into her arms, ignoring the oppressive dark energy around him, and quickly cut the umbilical cord with trembling hands.
"That child is cursed! Cursed!"
the midwife shrieked.
Annoyed by the woman's screaming and having little use for her now, Julius grabbed a heavy metallic handle from a nearby table and struck her head hard. Blood splattered across the floor. He hadn't planned on letting her live past Sylvia's delivery anyway.
Sylvia shut her eyes at the scene and tightened her hold around her child.
Julius let out a deep sigh.
"Damn it. I didn't expect it to be like this."
He then pulled out the artifact containing the saint's sealed power and used it to open a portal. From it emerged Lumos, the archmage, yawning.
"Why are you dragging me here in the middle of the night?"
Lumos muttered, rubbing his eyes. His gaze fell to the dead midwife, then to Sylvia on the bed holding the child. His eyes widened.
"Hah! I can't believe you, Julius! You even laid your hands on the saintess? Are you not afraid of the goddess's wrath? Are you even a pope anymore?"
Lumos said with a dry laugh, shaking his head at the absurdity.
"This isn't the time for your mockery. Look at the child. Do you not feel it? Do something about it!"
Lumos stepped closer, his expression sobering.
"What the… It's black magic. A heavy concentration too. Stronger than anything I've ever seen. I'm sure his going to be a strong dark mage if he ever grows up"
Hearing their conversation, Sylvia shouted,
"Don't hurt my child! I won't allow it, even if it costs me my life! I might not have my powers, but I can still sense when you use them. And when I die, my power dies with me. If you harm him, I'll follow him to the afterlife!"
Both men grimaced at her words. Lumos was unwilling to lose the saint's power, while Julius didn't want to imagine a world without the saintess.
"You can't do that. I still have a lot of research to conduct regarding the saint's magic,"
Lumos muttered.
Julius hurried to Sylvia's side and knelt by her bed.
"You can't leave me, Syl. You have to stay by my side,"
he whispered, brushing her dark hair behind her ear.
Sylvia turned her head away in silence.
Finally, Julius relented.
"Alright. We won't kill the child."
"How can I trust you?"
Sylvia demanded.
"I can help with that," Lumos interrupted. He approached the baby and placed a mark on the child's forehead.
"Do you have any jewelry with a stone?" Lumos asked.
Sylvia gestured to a nearby drawer. Lumos opened it and found an emerald necklace, a gift from Julius meant to match her eyes. She had never worn it and left it forgotten in the drawer.
Lumos took the necklace, placed his hand over the gem, and the emerald changed from green to red.
"This will glow the moment the child's life is gone,"
Lumos explained, handing it to Sylvia.
"I'm not as vile as Julius, so you can trust me on this."
Sylvia stared at him, then took the necklace without a word.
Julius silently watched them, his face darkening. His gaze dropped to the infant, thoughts swirling.
This isn't human. This is a monster.
Julius Eris came from a long line of popes, each one raised to hate dark magicians to their very core. Generations of his family had committed genocide against those who practiced black magic. To see his own son marked by it felt like a stain on his very existence.
without Sylvia's threats, he wouldn't hesitate to kill his own child if they belonged to the enemy. But for now, he was trapped.
Sylvia cradled her son, finally getting a clear look at him.
"Dionel,"
she whispered.
"That will be your name."
A few hours later, Sylvia fell asleep from exhaustion and breastfeeding, still holding Dionel close. Julius lingered by the door, weighing his options. The thought of killing the child returned to him, but Sylvia's words echoed in his mind.
In the dead of night, before anyone could wake up, Julius quietly took the child and carried him away.
He locked Dionel inside a windowless, unlit backroom. Where a simple crib was placed in the corner. Without a glance back, Julius left the room and shut the door.
Lumos observed this, noting Julius's indifference. He suspected they wouldn't need to bother killing the boy directly, since at this rate he would just starve to death in the dark.
"Hey, Julius!"
"How many times do I have to tell you? Address me properly. I am the pope."
"I Don't get so formal with my partner in crime," Lumos scoffed.
"Anyway, give me a spare key for this room. Looks like you don't plan to feed him anytime soon."
Annoyed, Julius tossed him a key and walked off.
Lumos opened a portal, planning to fetch baby formula. He wasn't a kind man, but he wasn't so heartless either. The only thing that mattered to him was magic and his studies. His partnership with Julius was born from mutual benefit, support for his magical research in exchange for hunting down dark magicians. The Church, wealthier and more powerful than the royal family, provided him with influence and resources no noble house could rival.
While the nobility still commanded respect, in open war, the Church's vast paladin armies and mastery of healing and purification magic would overwhelm them. And both commoners and nobles followed the Church without hesitation.
Another deal emerged when Lumos began researching the power of saints. Since no saint had been born in over 200 years, his alliance with the Church deepened, trading his loyalty and services to Julius in exchange for rare materials and resources to fuel his experiments. In the end, he became Julius's personal lapdog, handling whatever dirty work the pope demanded.
When morning came, Sylvia attempted to look for Dionel, but Julios stopped her.
"You promised to obey my every command in exchange for that boy's life,"
he reminded her coldly.
"If you act on impulse and reveal the truth, the people will hunt your child down and destroy him. It's better for him to stay hidden."
Sylvia's heart broke at the thought of never seeing her son again. But it was still better than watching him be slaughtered.