Scene: Government Apartment – Present Day
"SIR! That damn Malric has betrayed us!" the woman's voice sliced through the tense silence of the government apartment. Her hands trembled as she slammed down a folder thick with surveillance reports and internal memos.
"He used everything we gave him in the Yunoir Experiment… everything! And now—he's put that brat Reinhard against us!"
The old man at the desk didn't flinch. His tired eyes just narrowed, scanning the papers. The weight of betrayal was heavy, but the weight of foresight was heavier. And deep down, he had always suspected this outcome.
---
Scene Shift: 17 Years Ago
Thunder cracked the sky the moment the message arrived.
"Professor Malric! Your younger brother is dead…" the man announced, out of breath and grave. "He left behind two children—a daughter, Elizabeth, just a year old… and a newborn son, Reinhard."
No information about the mother. Strange, but convenient.
Malric stood still for a moment. Then his lips curved into a smile—a dark, knowing smile.
To most, it would look evil. But to Malric, it was a spark of opportunity.
He had long hated the world's chaotic order. A fractured world where peace was selective and survival was tribal. He believed in a unified order—a world where beings who could coexist should be allowed to thrive. The rest… well, they deserved a humane end for the greater good.
That newborn, Reinhard, wasn't just a child. He was a canvas.
"A child raised with the right beliefs… can move the world," Malric whispered.
Malric bought an entire city in YangPass—one of the few places where aura-restricted people lived, unable to leave. There, he planted his vision like a seed. Hundreds of adults were handpicked, children too. The entire place was to be an incubator for a single purpose.
Three strange laws were declared:
1. Any child who dreams of uniting the world shall be called "Prince."
2. The chosen one, the child in whom teachers believe the most, shall be declared "King."
3. Speaking in favor of unification brings love. Speaking against it brings punishment.
---
Time Skip: Reinhard, Age 3 – First Day of School
Reinhard felt the chill of being ignored. Every child played in pairs or groups. But not him.
Only Kael—the quiet, spectacled boy always lost in books—sat beside him. "She's cute, huh?" Kael nudged, nodding toward a girl presenting in front of the class.
Her name was Hancock. Every child stared at her, enchanted. Reinhard, too, blushed when she passed him. He tried a smile.
She returned a glare. Cold. Dismissive.
His heart sank.
Then—Malric entered. He whispered something in the principal's ear. Unsmiling, he left.
Moments later, the principal stood before the class.
"From this moment on… Reinhard will be our King. He shall unite every being in the world."
Reinhard froze.
And in that moment, a memory surfaced. Just two days ago.
His "mother"—really an actress paid by Malric—had been skinning a rabbit. Reinhard had cried, "Why are you hurting it? Do strong beings hunt weak ones?"
She replied, "Yes… But one day, someone will unite them all."
"Who?" the little Reinhard had asked.
"You," she had whispered.
---
The children bowed. Every one of them.
Reinhard looked around—every face that once ignored him now adored him. They didn't see a lonely boy anymore. They saw a King.
Even Hancock ran up to him, tears in her eyes.
"My dear King… I'm sorry. I'll never ignore you again."
And then—she kissed him.
That moment sealed something deep inside Reinhard. It wasn't logic. It was meaning. For the first time, he felt purpose.
And with that kiss, Malric's experiment began to work.
---
Time Skip: 4 Days Later
"Sir, we discovered something strange about Kael…" a researcher whispered. "He carries the same bloodline as Reinhard. He, too, can leave YangPass."
Malric's eyes gleamed.
Perfect.
Malric met with Kael. Unlike Reinhard, Kael was logical—his mind sharper, less emotional.
"Do you understand the plan?" Malric asked.
Kael nodded. "You want me to act like I disagree with unifying the world. Then the teacher will punish me in front of Reinhard, so he never doubts the plan again."
"And?" Malric pushed.
"And after being punished, everyone—including my parents—will reject me. Reinhard will associate doubt with suffering and isolation."
"Good." Malric smiled.
The plan played out exactly as rehearsed.
Kael stood in class one morning and said loudly, "This dream of uniting all beings is a lie! It won't work!"
The teacher burst in with fury.
Kael was humiliated—slapped, yelled at, isolated. The children whispered words like traitor, mentally broken, sick. Even Kael's "parents" turned their backs.
Reinhard sat frozen. A friend—his only true friend—destroyed before his eyes.
Never doubt again, whispered something deep inside him.
---
Later that night, Kael sat with Malric. His voice was steady.
"Why don't you just tell Reinhard the real plan? That you only want to unite the compatible beings—and destroy the rest?"
Malric lit his pipe, his tone low.
"Because if I teach Reinhard about dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, or the prefrontal cortex, he'll develop logic. And once logic wakes up, doubt follows."
He leaned forward.
"I tested Reinhard's intelligence. It's high. Very high. But I've controlled his environment to starve his logic. Without exposure to real thinking… he'll build
faith, not skepticism."
"And when will he know the real plan?" Kael asked.
Malric's smile returned.
"Oh… when the time is right, we'll shift his brain. Slowly. By then, he won't even know it happened."