Tales

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Tales (泰尔斯) 19
Alias(es)	Tales the Black-Haired; “North Star” in Exeter; “Wyatt” while concealing his identity in the Great Desert 9 374 562
Species/Race	Human; descendant of the Radiant Star Royal Family 21 61
Gender	Male 21
Affiliation	Radiant Star Royal Family; Starfall Kingdom; Star Lake Fortress and its guard 61 643
Occupation/Role	Second Prince of Starfall; heir of the Crescent Star Family; Duke of Star Lake 21 643
Status	Alive
First Appearance	Chapter 1: “Beggar” 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Ending Power — Sin of the Hell River	178	Identified by the Black Sword as a rare Ending Power rooted in the will to survive and potentially decisive in combat.
Fate’s Bend and Hell Senses	362	Uses Fate’s Bend and Hell Senses while sparring Nikolai, allowing him to surprise an Apex Realm opponent.
Magistery — threshold ascensions	436	A mysterious Magister reveals that “Old Friends” protected Tales during prior threshold ascensions; rapid ascension risks Loss of Control and loss of self.
Magistery — Material stage	480	Recalled as having “Knocked on the Door” and entered the Material stage.
Magistery — direct contact with magic	638	Ashida confirms that Tales has already contacted magic and bypassed the usual stages of Magister development.

Background

Tales retains increasingly clear memories of a previous life as graduate student Wu Qiren. At age three, he was sent to the Ruined House in Everstar City’s Lower City District, where he spent four years surviving hunger, beatings, crime, and death while protecting the children of the Sixth House. His past-life knowledge and street experience taught him deception, pickpocketing, observation, and subtle probing. 1 4

After Quade massacred many beggar children, Tales deduced Yala’s part in provoking him. He accepted responsibility for Quade’s death, arranged for Yala to shelter the surviving children, and intended to draw the Black Street Brotherhood’s pursuit onto himself as “the only killer.” 9

His escape through the Red Quarter brought him into the conflict between the Black Street Brotherhood and Blood Bottle Gang. Yala protected him against overwhelming dangers, while Tales encountered Magic Users and Echeida Sackern for the first time. 10 12 14 16

Yordel rescued Tales after the Red Quarter battle and brought him to a nobleman whose Bloodline Divine Art confirmed his identity. Gilbert later revealed that Tales was King Kessel V’s illegitimate son and the sole surviving descendant of the Crescent Star Family. 17 21

At Mindis Hall, Tales exchanged life as a beggar for the burdens of royalty. He studied languages, rhetoric, history, and Northern Military Swordsmanship while searching for the truth of his mother, his unusual body, and his connection to magic. 37 43 54

Appearance

Tales was known in the Lower City District as “Tales the Black-Haired.” As a beggar child, he was scrawny, ragged, bruised, and visibly marked by hardship; after being brought to Mindis Hall, he was outfitted as a royal prince. 1 9 20

• Black hair, the origin of his earliest recorded alias. 9
• A scar on his chest left when Quade burned him with a silver coin. 78
• Frequently carries or trains with swords despite being physically outmatched by experienced fighters. 74 529

Personality

Tales is observant, cautious, and difficult to intimidate. Gilbert notes that, even at seven, he responds to revelations about his birth with calm analysis rather than panic. His Lower City upbringing made him alert to hidden motives, power imbalances, and the danger of revealing too much. 21 196

He is fiercely resistant to fatalism and refuses to accept that his path should be determined by kings, Magisters, or circumstance. This defiance drives both his willingness to confront powerful figures and his unease at becoming like them. 9 257 628

Tales’ compassion is often expressed through practical, risky action: taking blame for Quade’s death, helping former Royal Guard prisoners disappear from official records, promising Kez assistance in finding her father, and attempting to protect subordinates despite political costs. 9 359 489 612

In combat and politics alike, he gradually adopts a personal method: engage, observe, subdue. He absorbs punishment, studies an opponent or system, then searches for the opening that lets him reverse the situation. 529 619

Abilities & Skills

Sin of the Hell River

A rare Ending Power associated with survival instinct. It strengthens Tales physically and grants him heightened perception, but its fighting impulse is difficult to restrain. 178 179 526

• Enhances speed, strength, balance, precision, and bodily control when consciously distributed through his body. 526
• Produces Hell Senses, allowing him to perceive obstacles, inscriptions, movement, and hidden physical abnormalities beyond ordinary sight. 350 662 791
• Helps him adapt during combat by reading pressure, momentum, and weaknesses in an opponent’s Ending Power. 527 529
• Can surge toward lethal attacks on its own, forcing Tales to suppress its violent instinct. 526 527

Fate’s Bend

A concealed ability used alongside the Sin of the Hell River. It allows Tales to alter a committed movement or posture, retract an attack, and create deceptive changes in momentum. 362 480 526

• Lets him disrupt an opponent’s expectations during exchanges. 362
• Is one of the abilities Tales deliberately hides from Marius and the Royal Guard. 526

Magistery and Loss of Control

Tales has made direct contact with magic and undergone dangerous threshold ascensions, making him abnormal even by Ashida’s standards. 436 638

• Can manipulate an object without touching it, demonstrated with an invitation from the Bone Prison. 638
• Possesses a connection to Matter and experiences episodes of Loss of Control. 20 436 480
• Risks losing his consciousness and identity during further threshold ascensions. 436
• Refuses Ashida’s offer to fully guide his Magister path because he will not abandon his obligations as royal heir. 638

Swordsmanship

Tales trained in Northern Military Swordsmanship under Jinnie and later received instruction from Marius in the Seventeen Swords of the Knight. 37 524

• Learns quickly through analysis; Gilbert observes that he grasps the basic spirit of Northern Military Swordsmanship within two hours. 37
• Trains against multiple guards to test his Ending Power against defensive, flexible, and aggressive styles. 528 529
• Lacks the battlefield instinct and experience of veteran fighters, causing him to panic under real pressure. 289
• Uses observation of skilled warriors to shape his own combat style rather than simply copying theirs. 480 529

Political Analysis and Negotiation

Tales applies his survival instinct to court politics, negotiations, and factional conflicts.

• Deduces hidden connections and motives from incomplete information, including Yala’s role in Quade’s downfall and Putilai’s actions in Dragoncloud City. 9 293
• Uses public testimony and political theater to expose Jann Cavendish’s corruption and turn an armed confrontation in Emerald City to his advantage. 656
• Challenges King Kessel directly over the “Sand King” operation and offers to participate in the kingdom’s political struggle. 620
• Persuades the Rasia Family to support his effort to restore order in Emerald City by using their history and vulnerabilities. 749

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Netherworld Edge — A crimson Legendary Anti-Magic Weaponry dagger that reacts to Tales and calls him its “blood brother.” 177
• The Watcher — An ancient imperial sword that Tales uses to test and warn his personal guards. 512
• Black dagger sheath — A gift from Yordel, inscribed: “Kings are not honored by bloodline.” 57
• Gortaksa (“The Covenant”) — A bone ring associated with Nekaroo’s ancient pact with the Orcs; King Kessel gives it to Tales. 632
• Time Crossbow — Entrusted by Tales to Kuaishang as the latter’s “thirtieth deal.” 490

Relationships

• King Kessel V — Tales’ biological father and the Supreme King of Starfall. Their relationship is defined by distrust, conflicting values, and tense political cooperation. 19 21 620 628
• Gilbert Casso — Caretaker, teacher, and political mentor who explains Tales’ heritage and continues to advise him after his return to the royal capital. 20 21 520 521
• Yordel Gato — Masked secret guard who rescued Tales from the Red Quarter, protected his identity, and repeatedly prioritizes Tales’ survival over all else. 17 50 430
• Yala — Sunset Tavern barmaid and assassin who helps Tales escape the Red Quarter after Quade’s death. Their relationship begins with suspicion but develops into mutual reliance. 9 10 14
• Lady Jinnie Bakerville — Tales’ instructor in Northern Military Swordsmanship and a stern protector concerned for his growth. 37 54 529
• Echeida Sackern / Ashida — Air Elementalist who introduces Tales to the secrets, dangers, and pacts of Magistery. Tales remains curious about his teachings but distrustful of his motives. 163 311 638
• Serena Corleone — Political ally bound to Tales through a Covenant that requires him to provide her blood. 37 50
• Wyatt — Attendant officer and trusted companion whose reunion with Tales reveals their enduring loyalty to one another. 112 612
• Marius — Captain and instructor who identifies Tales’ Sin of the Hell River and pressures him to understand its limits. 524 525 656
• Kez / Christina Ramon — Formerly distrustful companion who relies on Tales to escape the Black Path; Tales promises to help find her missing father. 358 359
• Kuaishang / Morale Walton — Mercenary, swindler, and complicated ally. Tales discovers that Dant’s Greatsword originally intended to exploit him, yet ultimately entrusts Morale with the Time Crossbow. 374 490

Major Arcs

Lower City District and the Red Quarter

Tales survives as a beggar, protects the Sixth House children, kills Quade, and becomes trapped in the gang war between the Brotherhood and Blood Bottle Gang. His escape leads directly to the revelation that he is of royal blood. 1 9 17

Heir of Starfall

At Mindis Hall, Tales becomes the Second Prince of Starfall and publicly appears before the kingdom’s nobles as Kessel’s sole blood descendant. He struggles to reconcile this imposed identity with the life and name he earned as a beggar. 21 57 61

Exeter and Dragoncloud City

Sent north as a hostage, Tales enters Dragoncloud City amid hostility toward Starfall and becomes involved in the city’s succession struggles, the legacy of King Noon VII, and the mysteries beneath the Palace of Heroes. 126 133 753

Great Desert and Return

After becoming stranded in the Great Desert, Tales survives with Dant’s Greatsword, encounters Orcs and former Royal Guards, and returns to Everstar City changed by combat, captivity, and political betrayal. 374 429 489 520

Duke of Star Lake and Emerald City

As Duke of Star Lake, Tales is ordered to Emerald City to depose Jann Cavendish and eliminate Jann’s enemy. Instead, he turns the mission into a struggle over corruption, civic order, royal interference, and the nature of legitimate rule. 643 656 727 749

Notable Quotes

“To find Tales the Black-Haired. To find the one who killed Quade... The only killer.” 9

“Engage. Observe. Subdue.” 529

“North Star!” 562