A Cage called Home
Akemi was dragged through the grand halls of Arthuria's royal castle, her wrists bound by enchanted chains, her ankles shackled with magic-infused restraints that sapped her strength.
She didn't struggle.
She didn't fight.
She never did.
Because she already knew—resistance was pointless.
The Queen—her own mother—had made sure of that.
For as long as she could remember, her power had been a curse.
Ever since she was a child, magic pulsed within her uncontrollably.
It would crack walls, shatter windows, send waves of destruction through the castle.
She never meant to.
She never wanted to.
But it never stopped.
And the Queen?
She never forgave her.
At six years old, Akemi was still too young to understand her magic, but one tragic moment changed everything.
She had been training with the Queen's younger sister—her beloved aunt, the only person who treated her with kindness.
Her aunt would always say,
"You're not a monster, Akemi. You're just a child who needs guidance."
She had been the only warmth in her cold, isolated world.
But then—
It happened
Akemi lost control.
Magic exploded from her body like a wild storm.
When the dust settled—
Her aunt lay on the ground, barely breathing, drenched in blood.
And Akemi?
She sat there, on her knees, staring at the sky, tears streaming down her face.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to undo it.
But there was no undoing what she had done.
Then—her mother arrived.
The Queen's expression was unreadable as she looked at her fallen sister.
She didn't cry.
She didn't mourn.
She simply turned to Akemi.
And slapped her.
So hard that the force echoed through the broken chamber.
"You monster."
Her mother's voice was cold. Empty.
"I should have never given birth to you."
Akemi didn't fight back.
She didn't speak
She just sat there, accepting every word.
Then the Queen turned to her guards.
"Take her."
Her voice was sharp, unyielding.
"Lock her away."
The soldiers obeyed.
Akemi was dragged to the castle's underground prison, bound in enchanted chains.
And from that day on—
She was no longer a daughter.
She was a caged beast.
For two years, the Queen visited Akemi's prison cell every single day.
Not to see how her daughter was doing.
Not to offer comfort.
But to break her.
She came with rage in her eyes and cruelty in her hands.
She would strike Akemi down, beat her until she could barely move, yet she always made sure she wouldn't die.
Because death was mercy.
And mercy was something the Queen did not give.
Akemi endured it all.
She endured the bruises, the wounds, the screams that echoed in the cold, dark walls of the dungeon.
She endured the nights spent alone, bleeding, shivering, drowning in the pain she couldn't escape.
But she never broke.
She never begged.
She never gave her mother the satisfaction of seeing her submit.
Then one day, something changed.
The Queen stopped hitting her.
Not out of kindness.
But because she had realized something.
Akemi's raw, uncontrollable power was too great to waste.
She was a monster, yes—but a monster the Queen could use.
And so, the lessons began.
Mages from across the kingdom were brought in to teach Akemi to control her magic.
But they didn't last long.
One by one—
She killed them.
Not because she wanted to.
But because her power was too much.
Too unstable.
Too deadly.
She would unleash waves of destruction, eruptions of raw energy, blasts of magic greater than anything ever recorded.
Until no mage dared to stand before her.
4 years have passed since the disaster
And after all the suffering and training nothing was of use.
And so—her mother came.
The Queen herself stepped into the dungeon, her golden eyes cold and calculating.
"You are useless."
Her voice was sharp as a blade.
"A beast without direction."
Akemi said nothing.
"But that will change."
Then—without warning—the Queen unleashed a direct killing spell.
A wave of energy so powerful it should have erased Akemi from existence.
But at the last second—Akemi defended.
She didn't think.
She reacted.
And that was what her mother wanted.
Not control.
Not focus.
She wanted Akemi's instincts to sharpen.
She wanted to mold her pain into power.
Day after day, the training continued.
The Queen would step into the dungeon, hurling deadly spells without hesitation.
Forcing Akemi to defend, to attack, to fight back.
To survive.
But no matter how much she suffered—
Akemi never broke.
She endured.
She grew.
She became stronger.
Stronger than any mage in the kingdom.
Stronger than any knight, any warrior, any enemy her mother could have ever imagined.
But not in the way the Queen wanted.
Because Akemi didn't learn to control her magic.
She only learned to hate.
The Queen of Arthuria was not a woman who believed in mercy.
She believed in power.
And now, that power had slipped through her fingers.
The Ring of Destruction—the artifact she had spent years plotting to obtain—was stolen.
A thief now walked free with a power that could challenge even her.
And if there was one thing the Queen refused to accept, it was being powerless.
So, she made her decision.
She would do what she had always planned to do.
She would forge a weapon.
Her daughter, Akemi.
The girl who had been nothing but a burden—nothing but a beast—would now serve her true purpose.
But first, she needed control.
Raw strength was not enough.
Not against the ring's power.
Akemi needed someone who could sharpen her strength, refine her magic, and turn her into an unstoppable force.
And there was only one man who could do that.
A man feared across the world.
A man who lived in isolation,
surrounded by the sea, on an island untouched by time.
Takuma sensei.
One of the Five Great Mages.
A legend.
A warrior.
A teacher.
The Queen reached out to him, but not as a tyrant.
No.
She was smarter than that.
She spoke with elegance, with warmth.
She wove a story of love and concern, of a mother desperate to help her troubled daughter.
Her words were sweet as honey.
And like all great liars—
She made herself sound like the hero.
Takuma sensei listened.
Then, after a moment of silence, he agreed.
He would take Akemi.
Train her.
Teach her to control what no one else could.
And when he arrived at the castle, Akemi was waiting.
She expected another monster.
Another tormentor, another figure who would try to break her as her mother had.
But when she looked at him—
She didn't see cruelty.
She saw kindness.
His presence was calm, almost gentle.
He did not glare.
He did not command.
He simply looked at her and said—
"I will train you."
"But not here."
"You will come with me, far away, to an island where you will train alongside others."
For the first time in ten years, Akemi felt something unfamiliar.
Hope.
For the first time since she was a child, she smiled.
And with that, she left Arthuria behind.
Left the chains.
Left the pain..
Left... the Queen