Destined

[WP] After a child is born, a symbol of the child’s power will materialize on their forehead, disappearing after a few seconds. How long it takes for the symbol to show has a direct correlation with the extent of the child’s power, the longer it takes, the more potent the power. 

It was the 1st day of January, year 20XX. Magic and technology have been incorporated into each other that it has become inseparable. People still relied on their magic, however and even in the onset of a more advanced civilization, people still believed in old prophecies passed down since the founding of their civilization. They had to. The throne had been abandoned for so long that their world was now falling into chaos.

“We’re under attack!!!” The leader of the revolutionists all but shouted as Ice came rising from the ground and some booming explosions caused such powerful shockwaves that some buildings became reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes.

“We won’t make it” His wife had been having a hard time keeping up with the move. She was already in labor and was in no condition to even move. Each quake of the earth made her worry. Will the protective barrier her husband put up last long enough for their child to be delivered. 

“We will! Even at the cost of my own life!” He was on the lookout, making sure to reinforce the barrier whilst helping with the attacks every now and then. He was thankful for magical weapons else his mana would have been depleted with just the barrier. 

In the midst of the madness, a child was born. In such a magic fueled world, Magical capabilities will always determine a child’s future. The stronger they are, the more they are sought for, and in such rare cases, they become the next ruler. As for what their child would become, they can only tell as time comes. 

The look of relief and pain was evident on his wife’s face as she held their now crying babe. It was a boy. A healthy baby boy whose forehead was marked with a symbol unknown to them. It was probable that it was a new class of magic that was created for war but what was unusual was that the mark never faded. 

In all their cases, the mark would eventually fade but that was not the case for the boy. Not only was he marked differently but what was more shocking was the magical extent of the child. 

When it would fade would be the question the parents would need to know as soon as possible. 

The child was named Ezekiel. And for the entirety of his life, all he knew was war. War and the belief of the revolutionists. He grew to the teachings of his parents and also hoped for a fairer treatment of those with lesser magical capabilities than the so called elitist who wanted to rule the world  in replacement of a formal ruler. The rulers were powerful, yes. As for their marks he only heard that some lost their marks when they were older but never did the mark stay after their 20th year of life, thus the extent of their capabilities. He was 19 and it was almost concerning.

“Make sure you come back after this mission, Ezekiel. And keep your mark covered!” His mother told him sternly as he rushed off into the tunnels. The tunnels were their only way into the capital. Revolutionists were executed in public because of the damn elitists thinking they could just get away with anything thus why the tunnels were their only way around without being seen. 

“Which way is it? Ezek?”A young girl asked, Jana, her best friend. 

“This way, make sure you don’t fall into the water, it can melt you” He glanced at the smoking water that must have been infused with some sort of acid from the elitist dogs. 

“So the plan is a sneak attack on the castle?” He nodded then flashed his lamp on one of the gratings that blocked their path. One which she melted with her heat magic

“And hopefully to make it home for my birthday”  He flashed her a cheeky smile before going ahead into the next tunnel. 

An hour until midnight. Nobody was even awake at this time. It was the golden hour of their attack. 

After melting the next layer of steel gratings, they were in the palace interior. Somewhere in the gardens. They had hoped their spies were more accurate with their map making but they went with what they had, and right now, coming out from the garden was the best thing they could do. 

They went to set up the equipment as Ezekiel signalled the rest of the troop to follow from the tunnels. Within a matter of minutes, the guys came in one by one and positioned themselves as they had practiced countless times before. 

“One… Two… Three!!!” At the count of three, fireballs and icicles poured from the sky and came crashing through the castle walls. 

The few guards on duty were wiped and the back up would take a while to arrive. It was their chance to advance into units. Each unit consisted of at least 4 protector class. They needed the protective barriers to be as strong as possible but also they functioned magnificently as healers. They also had 6 offensive class which of course, was the heart of the attack. 

“Scatter and destroy!” That was the order Ezekiel gave as the current commanding officer before joining in and scattering with a unit of his own but their goal was different. It was his unit’s mission to claim the throne. 

The revolutionists who had just fought to survive were given a newfound hope when the mark on Ezekiel’s forehead had not disappeared after almost 20 years since his birth. It was believed that the previous ruler who had caused the chaos carried the same fate. And if the mark were to disappear as soon as the clock struck 12, then they had at least managed to fight back against the elitist that had relentlessly raged war against them. 

5 minutes until midnight and the throne room was still nowhere to be found. The unit had planned to separate into pairs to make the search faster but in an instant, the ground quaked and they were thrown against the wall. 

Ezekiel looked at the caster and was fairly surprised to see a teen was their attacker. But she put her attack to a halt when she saw the mark that was on Ezekiel’s head. 

“You- how old are you!” But before he could even reply, the clang of the grand clock resounded everywhere

“20.” With a smug smirk, he got up to his feet and walked up to the teen 

“I- I’m so sorry for attacking, your highness! I was merely doing what was ordered by the people in charge” She was about to get down on her knees and offer a bow but he had caught her by the arm 

“I’d like you to lead me to the throne room instead of bowing, young miss”  She frantically nodded then scurried ahead where she paved a new path for them with her magic

On his 20th birthday, Ezekiel had been given the best gift he could have hoped for. A kingdom to rule and hopefully his ruling would be a prosperous one where he could fulfill the wishes of the revolution and his parents. The mark never disappeared and he finally found out that his magic was unique. That the mark he had was the mark of wisdom needed to rule for the rest of his lifetime.