Kido pressed his face against the cool glass of his bedroom window, watching the neighborhood kids play in the street below. Mali was showing off again, making tiny tornadoes dance in her palms while the other children cheered. Even little Bren, who was only six, could make flowers bloom just by touching the ground.

"Kido! Breakfast!" his mother's voice called from downstairs.

He sighed and pulled away from the window. Another day in Astoria, another day of being the only fourteen-year-old who couldn't do magic. Not even a spark.

The wooden stairs creaked under his feet as he made his way to the kitchen. The smell of bacon and eggs filled the air, and he could hear his parents talking in hushed voices. They always did that lately - whispered conversations that stopped the moment he entered a room.

"Morning, kiddo," his father said, ruffling Kido's messy black hair. Dad was a big man with kind eyes and hands that were always stained with dirt from working in the monster-hunting supply shop he owned. "Sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I guess." Kido slumped into his chair and poked at his eggs. Through the kitchen window, he could see Mrs. Chen next door watering her garden with magic, the water flowing from her fingertips in perfect streams.

His mother, Lila, sat down across from him. She had the same dark hair as Kido, but hers shimmered with tiny sparks of lightning magic when she was worried - which was pretty much all the time these days. "The Mage Council sent another letter yesterday," she said softly.

Kido's stomach dropped. The Mage Council oversaw everything in their world - from the schools to the jobs to who was allowed to live where. And they really didn't like people without magic.

"What did it say?" he asked, even though he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

His father, Marcus, exchanged a look with his mother. "They want to send you to the Null Academy. It's a school for... people like you."

"People like me." Kido's voice came out flat. "You mean freaks."

"You are not a freak," his mother said firmly, her hair crackling with more lightning. "You're our son, and we love you exactly as you are."

But Kido could see the worry in her eyes. The Null Academy was basically a prison. Kids went in and never came out the same - if they came out at all. Everyone said it was where they taught non-magic people how to be useful to society. Mostly as servants.

"I could help in the shop," Kido said desperately. "I know all about the different monster types, and I can organize the weapons, and-"

"Kido." His father's voice was gentle but sad. "Son, monster hunting is dangerous work. Without magic, you can't protect yourself. The hunters who come to my shop... they have fire magic to burn through troll hide, ice magic to freeze wraith essence, earth magic to strengthen their weapons. What would you have?"

The question hung in the air like a weight. What would he have? Nothing. He was nothing.

Kido pushed back from the table. "I'm gonna be late for school."

"Kido, wait-" his mother started, but he was already heading for the door.

The walk to Astoria Academy took twenty minutes, and every step reminded Kido of how different he was. Kids his age flew overhead on magic carpets or teleported in flashes of colored light. Some rode giant magical creatures that looked like a cross between a horse and a dragon. Kido walked.

At school, things weren't much better. In Magic Theory class, everyone practiced basic spells while Kido sat in the back reading about magical history. In Combat Training, the other students learned to fight with magical weapons and shields while Kido was sent to study hall. By lunch, he felt like he might as well be invisible.

He was sitting alone in the cafeteria, picking at a sandwich, when Zara dropped into the seat across from him. She was probably his only real friend - a cheerful girl with purple hair who could make illusions so real you could almost touch them.

"You look terrible," she said, conjuring a small rainbow that danced over their table. "What's wrong now?"

"The Mage Council wants to send me away," Kido muttered. "To the Null Academy."

Zara's illusions flickered and died. "What? But that's... that's not fair! You're smart, and you're kind, and you work harder than anyone I know!"

"None of that matters if I can't do magic." Kido crumpled up his lunch bag. "My parents think I'm useless. The whole world thinks I'm useless."

"Your parents don't think that," Zara said firmly. "I've seen how they look at you, Kido. They love you."

Before Kido could answer, the cafeteria doors burst open. A man in the dark blue uniform of the Monster Hunter Guild strode in, his face grim. Conversations died as everyone turned to stare.

"Is there a Marcus Ren here?" the hunter called out. "We need to speak with him immediately."

Kido's blood turned to ice. That was his father's full name. "That's my dad," he said, standing up so fast his chair fell over. "I'm his son. What's wrong?"

The hunter looked at Kido with something like pity. "There's been an incident at the supply shop. You need to come with me."

The next hour passed in a blur. Kido barely remembered the ride through town in the hunter's magical carriage, or the crowd of people gathered outside his father's shop. What he remembered was the smoke rising from the burned building, and the way everyone got quiet when they saw him.

Inside what was left of the shop, two other hunters were talking to his mother. She was crying, her lightning magic sparking wildly around her in grief and anger.

"The shadow monsters came out of nowhere," one of the hunters was saying. "Marcus tried to fight them off with the weapons from his shop, but without magic to power them properly..."

Kido couldn't hear the rest. The world seemed to tilt sideways, and suddenly Zara was there, holding his arm to keep him upright.

"Where is he?" Kido whispered.

His mother looked up, her face streaked with tears. "Oh, Kido. I'm so sorry. Your father... he's gone."

The words hit him like a physical blow. His father - big, kind Marcus who taught him everything about monsters and weapons and believing in yourself even when no one else did - was dead.

"It should have been me," Kido said, his voice barely audible. "I should have been there. I could have helped."

"With what?" one of the hunters said, not unkindly but bluntly. "Kid, your dad was a good man, but even he couldn't fight shadow monsters without magic. What could you have done?"

The question felt like a knife in his chest, because Kido knew the answer. Nothing. He could have done nothing at all.

That night, after the hunters had left and the neighbors had stopped bringing food and offering condolences, Kido sat in his room staring at the ceiling. His mother had cried herself to sleep hours ago. The house felt empty and wrong without his father's booming laugh or the sound of him working on weapons late into the night.

There was a soft knock on his door. "Kido?" His mother's voice was hoarse from crying. "Can I come in?"

She sat on the edge of his bed, looking older than she had that morning. "I know this is hard," she said. "It's hard for me too. But we're going to get through this together, okay?"

"Mom," Kido said quietly, "why was I born like this? Why couldn't I just be normal?"

His mother was quiet for a long moment. When she spoke, her voice was soft but steady. "Your father used to say that the world has a plan for everyone. That sometimes the most important people are the ones who seem different." She touched his cheek gently. "He believed you were meant for something special, Kido. Even without magic."

"But what if he was wrong?"

"Then we'll figure it out together." She kissed his forehead. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll start planning what comes next."

After she left, Kido lay in the dark thinking about his father's words. Marcus had always told him that strength came from more than just magic - that courage, determination, and heart mattered too. But right now, Kido didn't feel courageous or determined. He just felt empty.

Outside his window, the magical city of Astoria glowed with thousands of lights powered by different types of magic. Fire magic burned red and orange, water magic flowed in blues and greens, and earth magic pulsed with deep browns and golds. It was beautiful and alive and everything Kido could never be part of.

But as he drifted off to sleep, something strange happened. For just a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of pure white light at the edge of his vision - clean and bright and completely unlike any magic he'd ever seen before.

When he blinked, it was gone. But the feeling of it lingered, like the ghost of something powerful waiting to be awakened.

The house felt like a tomb. Every creak of the floorboards, every whisper of the wind through the broken windows, was a painful reminder of what he'd lost. Kido wandered through the empty rooms, touching familiar objects – his father’s worn leather gloves, his mother’s favorite lightning-shaped hairpin – as if trying to conjure their presence. It didn’t work.

He hadn’t slept properly since the attack. Nightmares plagued him: twisted shadow monsters with glowing red eyes, his parents screaming, and that… light. That strange, pure white light that flickered at the edge of his vision, promising power he didn’t understand.

During the day, he was numb. People came and went – neighbors offering condolences, members of the Hunter Guild asking questions, even a stern-faced representative from the Mage Council. They spoke in hushed tones, their words hollow and meaningless. Kido just nodded, his gaze fixed on some distant point only he could see.

The financial strain hit hard. Marcus's small savings were quickly depleted by funeral expenses and the cost of repairing the damaged shop. Kido’s mother, Lila, tried to reopen, but the atmosphere was heavy with grief, and the customers stayed away. She forced a smile for Kido's sake, but he saw the worry etched on her face, the way her hands trembled as she handled the weapons.

"I can help," Kido insisted one afternoon, trailing after her as she sorted through a shipment of monster bait. "I know the inventory. I can talk to customers."

Lila sighed, setting down a jar of glow-worm attractant. "Kido, honey, I appreciate the thought, but it's too dangerous. What if those shadow monsters come back? I can't risk you."

"But Mom–"

"No, Kido. This is my responsibility. You focus on school."

School. Just the thought of it made Kido’s stomach clench. How could he possibly face his classmates, knowing that their parents whispered about him behind his back, calling him "the magicless orphan"?

He tried to help her in the shop to show her what's really happening.

“Alright mom but I want to show you something real quick if you don’t think I can do it after this I'll never help you at the shop if you don’t think I can do anything”

Lila looked at Kido with curious eyes as he went to the sword and pulled it out. It looked like the sword had no weight or anything no magic at all but as he pulled the handle it glowed with bright light as his inner potential seemed to burst to.

His mother was surprised it was only for a second but she had a smirk still

"Kido I thought you were magic-less kid huh"

”Well mom, I guess I proved you wrong huh”

His mom was so happy she started to cry…as Kido got closer to wipe the tears away his moms head got shot off an unknown person killed Lila. All over Kido’s face. “MOM!”

He went to grab the killer, and noticed it was the shadow monsters back for even more. Shadow monsters can’t be seen but the White Legacy can see just how to kill an invisible person. As he grabbed the sword and went to hit the monster disappeared into the shadows. Something or someone was helping them but the question is who?!?

Devastated. Depressed. Wanting to kill everyone and everything in his way. He lost it. His power got so high that he ended up blowing the entire shop killing everything around his path this became a disaster for Kido as he no longer has a shop or a family is truly an orphan now.

He cried and cried until he slept.

"It's not fair," he told Zara one day during lunch, his voice barely above a whisper. "Everyone else can do magic. They can protect themselves. I'm just...useless."

Zara squeezed his hand, her purple hair shimmering with soothing blue light. "Don't say that, Kido. You're not useless. You're the most determined person I know. And you're a great friend."

"A friend who can't even help his own mother," Kido muttered, pushing his sandwich away. He had no appetite.

Zara frowned. "You can be there for her. You can help her keep the shop running. You can remind her why she's fighting."

That night, Kido had another dream. He was standing in a vast, empty space filled with swirling white light. A voice, ancient and powerful, echoed around him.

"You are the White Legacy,” This said multiple times

He bolted upright, gasping for breath. The dream felt so real, so…significant. What did it mean? Was he truly destined for something greater, or was it just a cruel trick of his imagination?

He looked down at his hands, clenching them into fists. He felt… different. Stronger, somehow. As if a tiny spark had ignited within him, waiting to be fanned into a flame.

He stood up from his bed.

He' was going to the place of nightmares. Where his parents last stood and where he will find some answers.

He opened the front door and started running until he was at the shop. He started getting really angry and sad. Noticing small things he was able to react faster than before he was able to run faster he was even able to jump to certain heights that he couldnt before but that didn't ease the pain.

Kido started to shout out loud.

"Everyone wants to get me I just wanna protect all of you!"

There are multiple people looking at Kido because of all the shouting. They start feeling bad for Kido

An Old Man goes to approaches Kido and ask.

"Kido are you okay"

Kido stares at the old man but feels suspicious of some kind. But Kido still said to the man

"I am good Sir"

"Son, I feel your sadness, your anger, your hate. I am here to tell you. You can never do anything about the evil that is gonna come into this world."

"SHUT UP GET OUT OF HERE I CAN DO EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING"

The old man disappeared out of thin air.

Kido was shocked he realized all the sadness he had this entire time.

Kido, after the entire anger issue with the old man, realizes now he has nowhere to go he only knows 1 person.

Zara.

He goes to Zara's house and knocks. Zara opens up the door with puffy eyes.

"Kido...I"

Kido hugs Zara tightly.

As Zara's parents come by they ask Kido.

"Where are your parents, Kido?"

Kido starts crying again.

Zara's Parents let Kido in to explain everything. After 2 hours of explaining Zara's parents felt extremely sad knowing what Kido has been through. They are mages that are not strong but they know a lot about it.

"Kido, we are going to take care of you as our own but. We are not the strongest mages but we vow to protect you with all our might! Is that good enough for you son"

"Thank you"

Kido felt like he belonged to a family again.

Zara's families are strong supporters of the Hunter Guild they always sell weapons to them.

Kido went to go help store weapons with Zara's Parents as hours went by Kido noticed something odd what are shadow monsters doing here?

Kido asked Zara's Parents

"What are shadow monster doing at the Hunter Guild?"

"The Hunter Guild doesn't deal with Shadow Monsters," Zara's father, Thomas, said, his brow furrowed in confusion. He was a kind-faced man with earth-toned robes and a knack for conjuring intricate illusions of flora. "They're creatures of pure darkness, far beyond the scope of ordinary hunters."

"But I saw them," Kido insisted, pacing in front of the weapons rack. The metallic tang of steel filled the air, a constant reminder of the looming danger. "Two of them, lurking near the back entrance. They disappeared when I looked directly at them."

Zara's mother, Elara, a petite woman with fiery red hair and a talent for enchanting weapons, frowned thoughtfully. "Shadow Monsters are exceedingly rare. They only appear during periods of intense magical imbalance, or when someone is actively summoning them."

Kido's blood ran cold. Summoning? Who would summon such creatures? And why?

"Maybe it's nothing," Thomas said, trying to reassure them. "Perhaps you were mistaken, Kido. You've been through a lot lately. Your mind might be playing tricks on you."

But Kido knew what he saw. Those creatures were real, and they were definitely at the Hunter Guild for a reason.

"I need to tell someone," he said, his voice firm. "The Guild needs to know."

"Hold on a moment," Elara cautioned. "We can't just barge in there with wild accusations and claim for what they did to my family! We need proof."

"Proof?" Kido's shoulders slumped. "How am I supposed to get proof? They're invisible!"

"Perhaps not entirely," Zara interjected, a spark of inspiration in her eyes. "I can use my illusion magic to create a 'detect magic' field. It won't reveal the monsters directly, but it might highlight any distortions in the air around them, or any traces of dark magic."

It was a risky plan, but it was the only one they had.

That evening, under the cover of darkness, Kido, Zara, and her parents crept towards the Hunter Guild. The building was a towering fortress of stone and steel, its walls adorned with magical wards and glowing glyphs. Guards patrolled the perimeter, their eyes sharp and alert.

"Alright, Kido, remember the plan," Zara whispered, her hands glowing with arcane energy. "I'll create the 'detect magic' field. You and my parents keep a lookout. If we spot anything, signal me."

Kido nodded, his heart pounding in his chest. He felt a surge of adrenaline, a mixture of fear and excitement that he hadn’t felt since… since his father had been alive. He remembered his father's sword. He wondered what the amulet did, but didn't care at the moment.

Zara closed her eyes and began to chant, her voice soft but clear. The air around them shimmered and distorted, and a faint blue light spread outwards, enveloping the Guild building.

Kido strained his eyes, scanning the shadows for any sign of disturbance. At first, there was nothing. Just the steady rhythm of the guards' footsteps and the hum of the magical wards. Then, near the back entrance, he saw it. A subtle ripple in the air, like heat rising from asphalt.

"Zara!" he hissed, pointing towards the distortion. "Back entrance! Something's there!"

Zara's eyes snapped open, and she focused her illusion magic on the area Kido indicated. The ripple intensified, solidifying into a shimmering, translucent outline. It was vague, indistinct, but it was definitely something.

"I see it!" she exclaimed, her voice barely audible. "It's weak, but there’s a definite magical presence there, one that is cloaked in darkness!"

Suddenly, a pair of guards rounded the corner, their faces grim. "What's going on here?" one of them demanded, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "Who are you?"

"We're just passing through," Thomas stammered, trying to sound innocent. "We didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"There's always trouble with you and your family isn't it?" One guard said with a smirk.

The other guard looks more suspicious. As he casts a spell in the shape of an eyeball to watch everything around him. The eyeball glows and grows to show one specific shadow monster.

As one of the guards tells him "Stop."

"There something happening here that's odd.."

In that moment, one of the people they were looking for shows up.

With big armor and two swords.

"What are you looking at Gary?"

Gary responded to the man with a salute as a sign of respect.

"Sir James someone spotted our shadow monsters. I feel like someone may have found our plans"

Sir James started walking towards them with a grin on his face. With a blink of an eye Sir James starts attacking Zara and her parents killing them instantly.

"If your not with us. YOUR AGAINST US!" yells Sir James

Kido's Potential awakens as he remembers what his parents and Zara and her parents wanted him to do. PROTECT.

He starts to reach his sword that his mom gave him as it turns into an armor-like state.

He gets in front of everyone as he protect's them.

Sir James laughs hysterically.

"HAHAH You think you can beat me! HAHAHAH your a magicless bum who can't even handle killing a slime!"

Gary laughed with Sir.

"We will see Sir James", says Kido.