Karon Valkyrisen.
No—Karon Basilisk.
The child had been born carrying a venom so lethal that even he couldn’t control it.
If that had been all, it might have been a blessing in disguise.
With his unnatural regenerative abilities, he would have eventually developed resistance to the poison.
But Karon’s venom didn’t remain the same.
The moment his body adapted to one form, it evolved into something stronger. When he built resistance to that, it transformed again, becoming even more potent...
The Basilisk family had always conducted experiments, striving to create stronger and more powerful specimens.
Karon was the most significant result of their experiments—and, in the end, the most toxic failure.
"This one’s useless."
He’ll be consumed by his own venom someday.
That was the common consensus within the Basilisk family when they observed the test subject known as Karon.
Uncontrollable power was worse than having no power at all.
No matter how much the body was reinforced through experiments, living beings had limits.
His body would collapse.
Eventually, they concluded that his venom would someday devour the Basilisk family itself.
Naturally, he should have been disposed of.
But the Basilisks, who upheld the law of the strong, decided to make use of him instead.
He wouldn’t live long anyway. Might as well exploit him while he was still alive and let him die on his own.
The child who survived was finally given a name when he turned four: Karon.
Karon, the ferryman who carried the dead across the river to the underworld.
The name was a message—he wouldn’t be able to control his own venom and would eventually die from it.
And [N O V E L I G H T] in the end, what was his life if not the same as that ferryman’s?
"You look so small and weak."
"......"
"Valkyrisen always had a habit of picking up troublesome beastfolk. And you just happened to be young enough to fit the bill..."
Nyx Basilisk.
The very man responsible for "creating" Karon as a resource of the Basilisk family.
"They say you can wring use out of anything if you squeeze hard enough. You might actually be useful."
"......"
"Why not get noticed by Valkyrisen? You won’t have to take on assignments for a while—you’ll get to sit around and do nothing."
No clear orders. No explanation. Just a vague, knowing smile.
"Take whatever Valkyrisen gives you and live comfortably."
"For how long?"
"Until you die."
Not long after that, the Basilisks assigned Karon a mission.
Unleash his venom and erase a village without leaving a trace.
It wasn’t his first time receiving such orders.
His poison, more relentless than even the wrath of the heavens, had always been meant for mass slaughter.
Not that a four-year-old child had any choice in the matter.
And then—Eisenhartz found him.
At the time, Eisen had temporarily set aside his title as duke.
"What’s a kid doing here?"
That day, for the first time, Karon failed a mission.
All he had to do was release his venom into the air. A simple task.
Yet, he had been stopped—subdued instantly by Eisen.
The old man had seized him with his bare hands, without a hint of fear, and took him to Valkyrisen.
Valkyrisen...
For the first time, Karon was among people.
They looked after him, though he barely spoke to them.
Just being near living, breathing people...
I shouldn’t be here.
He should have hidden himself away, far from others.
That thought had flickered in his mind.
But the room Valkyrisen had given him was too warm.
Maybe that was why he couldn’t think straight.
Warm.
Karon stared blankly at the flickering fire in the hearth.
Even though he knew this was no place for him.
And then, in that brief moment...
Disaster struck.
His venom grew stronger.
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He had collapsed from the sickness it brought. Lost consciousness.
When he woke up—
The bodies around him had turned black.
The servants who had watched over him while his living arrangements were being decided.
It’s a relief I never answered them.
A relief I ignored them when they tried to talk to me.
A relief I never asked their names. Never remembered them.
For Karon, this was routine.
But for Valkyrisen...
Would they kill me?
He wondered.
The herbivore beastfolk of Valkyrisen, wary and quick to sense danger, had immediately recoiled in fear at the sight of him.
Even the predator beastfolk—who were used to living alongside them—refused to come near him.
There was no way they would let someone as dangerous as him remain in this peaceful land.
After all, he carried the blood of criminals.
And whether by choice or by nature, he had done exactly as that blood dictated.
Yet instead of executing him—
They summoned the Ratson High Priest.
"A venom that can’t be neutralized?"
"Such a poison shouldn’t exist. It can’t occur naturally, nor should any human body be able to produce it."
"Then it’s artificial?"
"Not just the poison. The child, too."
The High Priest had seen through him instantly.
A Basilisk. A test subject.
"So even Your Holiness can’t purify it. No way to control it, either."
"That’s right. He is not a creation of the gods, so he does not receive their blessings."
Or perhaps I am simply lacking in ability.
I’m not as gifted as my predecessors, after all, the High Priest had murmured, a bitter smile on his lips.
"Who knows? Perhaps someone will come along who can reach out a hand to the child even the gods have abandoned."
From that day forward, Karon was a burden no one knew what to do with.
Sending him to an orphanage was out of the question.
But they didn’t cast him out of Valkyrisen either.
If they did, the Basilisks would just reclaim him.
"What does it matter if they use me?"
"That’s what I was made for."
Karon couldn’t understand it.
"I’ll take him in as my youngest son."
Liana Valkyrisen.
"A child who has been through so much... Isn’t it time he lived like the others?"
"Like the others?"
How could a monster—one that could kill with a single breath—ever be normal?
It made no sense.
But regardless, from that day on, Karon’s circumstances changed.
Liana handed over Serenity Palace to him entirely.
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"If being around others is dangerous, just use the whole palace by yourself."
And that was that.
From that day forward, Karon had a home.
Not a sealed glass chamber.
And Liana, along with her husband Benjamin, taught him things.
How to light a fire. How to cook simple meals. How to clean. How to read...
Of course, since he spent most of his days bedridden, they had to communicate through projection spheres rather than face to face.
Perhaps this is what people call salvation.
After coming to Valkyrisen, Karon was finally freed from the endless cycle of slaughter.
Of course, his condition hadn’t changed.
He still couldn’t control his venom. His life hadn’t improved in any significant way.
But at least...
At least I’m still breathing.
Even if I am a failure, at least I am alive.
If I can live like this until the end... I won’t ask for anything more.
I won’t be alive for much longer anyway.