Aetherthorn Academy – Library Archives, Late Night.
Moonlight spilled through the high arched windows of the library, casting pale silver beams onto the ancient stone floor. The Aetherthorn Library was a monument of knowledge, its walls lined with shelves that reached nearly to the vaulted ceiling. Every inch was packed with tomes and scrolls—many of them forbidden, and some simply forgotten. In the deepest wing of the archives, hidden behind a bookshelf enchanted to slide aside only at a precise knock-and-rune sequence, sat Demian Bentley, cloaked in the identity of Julian Everhart.
A small oil lamp flickered on the desk before him, its flame enchanted to burn quietly and emit no smoke. The shadows it cast danced across the pages of a massive, worn leather-bound tome labeled:"The Veins of Divinity: Evolution and the Ninefold Faith."
Demian hunched over the text, eyes scanning each sentence with urgency. His quill rested nearby, ink dry from disuse; there was simply too much to absorb. Diagrams of phase ascension, divine seals, and the laws of sacred resonance filled the pages. For most students, this was scholarly material. For Demian, it was the beginning of rebellion.
"The Nine Churches each name their spiritual evolution differently... yet every one of them follows the same metaphysical architecture. Seals, trials, and divine acknowledgment." Demian muttered, running a finger along a page.
He turned to the next section—a breakdown of the Celestial Church's phase system. His brow furrowed.
"To even qualify for phase 8... a mortal must endure the Judgement of Cosmos, a law-bound trial administered by reality itself. Only those recognized by their deity and tempered in body, soul, and spirit may survive."
He leaned back in his chair, exhaling slowly. His mind replayed the clash against Cardinal Theodore back in Pelion Forest. Even a phase 6 cardinal had pushed him to the edge.
"And Aurion Seraphael... is rumored to be phase 8. A Half-High Priest.
The weight of that truth settled in his chest. Still, he did not falter.
"No matter how strong they are... gods don't act without agents. If I build my own structure, my own path, then one day..."
He trailed off and looked at the empty journal beside the tome. Slowly, he uncapped his quill and began writing:
Personal Objectives:
1.Uncover the origin and function of the rune seals embedded in my body.
2.Identify and recruit two trustworthy individuals to unseal the second rune.
3.Establish a covert network for information exchange and influence.
4.Investigate the link between the Celestial Church and the Pelion Incident.
5.trying to open the backdoor power copying the power of various churches.
He underlined the second point twice.
"I can't do this alone anymore. I need allies—people I can trust with the truth."
---
Aetherthorn Training Grounds—
The skies above the academy were painted in a warm golden hue, birds taking to the air as light mist clung to the grass. At this hour, most students were still asleep. But the training grounds were far from silent.
Demian stood alone at the center field, executing a series of movements: light footwork, controlled strikes, and a steady breathing rhythm that channeled the spiritual currents within his body.
He wasn't alone for long.
A graceful figure approached, dressed in a white and rose-gold uniform—the emblem of the Golden Wish Church stitched on her shoulder. Arianne Velmora, a phase 2 prodigy, known for her rare dual-affinity: Empathic Light and Binding Soul Threads.
"You don't usually train this early, Julian."
Demian paused mid-step, glancing at her.
"Needed clarity. Too much on my mind."
She tilted her head. "Clarity or strategy?"
Demian hesitated. Then, deliberately, he stepped closer.
"What if I told you I needed your help... not just with training or studies, but something deeper. I need someone I can trust."
Arianne raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you're starting a conspiracy."
"Call it what you want. But I'm not the only one who sees it, am I? The system... it's designed to control. To stifle certain kinds of growth."
There was a long silence. Then she smiled faintly.
"If this is about truth, not rebellion... I'll consider it. But you'll need more than pretty words."
"You'll get results. I promise."
---
Student Guild Halls – Unused Storage Room—
The room was dusty, dim, and filled with discarded alchemy equipment and broken golem parts. Sebastian Thaloré leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"You're insane. You know that, right?"
Demian nodded.
"I prefer the term 'visionary'."
Sebastian sighed. "Let me guess—you want me to join your secret nerd club."
"It's not a club. I need your help. There's a rune inside me—a seal. I can't open the next one without spiritual assistance. That means two people I trust."
Sebastian stared. "You think I'm qualified for something like that?"
"You've seen more than most students here. That makes you ideal."
Sebastian grinned.
"Fine. I'm in. But only because I don't trust those pompous bastards in robes either."
"No uniforms. No rituals. Just results."
Aetherthorn Dormitory – Late Night
Demian returned to his room, shutting the door softly. He noticed the flicker of magical surveillance weakening—Sebastian had disabled the wards temporarily.
He approached his desk, unwrapped the old journal left to him by Leonard, and whispered a key phrase,
"Open the second seal."
The stone ceiling faded away as a gentle fog enveloped the room, as if the physical world itself had been left behind. Ancient rune symbols etched into the walls pulsed faintly, beating in rhythm with the heart of the cosmos.
Light burst from Demian's chest.
One of the twenty-four runes embedded in his body ignited—radiant gold tinged with deep ocean blue, like the sun setting over a mythical sea. Intricate patterns spread outward from his chest into the surrounding air, forming a circle of magic beyond any known discipline.
Sebastian and Arianne had just arrived, drawn by an unseen call. As they pierced the veil of thick mist clinging to the air, their breath caught in their throats.
"What... is this place?" Arianne whispered, frozen in her tracks.
"This isn't the dormitory anymore..." muttered Sebastian. "It's... another dimension."
Before them, Demian hovered cross-legged in the air, suspended two meters above the stone floor. The aura radiating from his body rippled like candlelight in a storm, yet held a deep and controlled stillness.
And behind Demian stood a towering presence.
The being bowed its head slightly, as if guarding Demian's back with unshakable authority. Michael, the Archangel, loomed with divine majesty, standing eight meters tall. Twelve wings unfurled behind him—six raised in vigilance, six wrapped like a celestial shield.
"J-Julian... what's behind you...?" Sebastian's voice trembled.
Arianne swallowed hard, her eyes wide with disbelief. Her knees nearly buckled beneath the crushing spiritual pressure.
"That's not a normal summoning... he's invoking something far beyond a divine entity…"
The ceiling above them no longer resembled stone. Instead, the **cosmic heavens** stretched out—stars spiraling, galaxies entwining, and fragments of time flowing like a river through eternity. This dimension defied the laws of space and time. Every wisp of mist brushing their skin carried the scent of beginnings—and endings.
Demian slowly opened his eyes. They gleamed with celestial light—his irises no longer human, but vast as the cosmos themselves. He looked at Sebastian and Arianne in silence.
And then—everything dissolved.
The mist vanished. The stars collapsed inward. Space imploded into a quiet singularity.
Sebastian gasped, suddenly finding himself back in the ritual room. Arianne dropped to the floor, her limbs trembling, breath short and shallow.
Demian stood up slowly. The light in his chest had faded. The rune was now etched visibly into his skin—like a divine sigil burned into his flesh.
"What... did you just do?" Arianne asked, her voice barely audible.
Demian looked at them, his face calm but solemn.
"The second seal is open. And with it, the first tether has appeared."
"That wasn't just power," Sebastian muttered. "That was a glimpse of the heavens... or darkness pretending to be light."
Demian bowed his head slightly, eyes closed in thought.
"I didn't summon him. He came... because the rune reminded him of something. Or maybe... someone."
Arianne slowly stood, still staring at the rune mark on Demian's chest.
"If this is just the second seal... I can't imagine what the fourth, fifth—or the final one—will look like."
"We'll never reach them," Demian said quietly. "Not unless we build a foundation strong enough. So I ask you... will you follow me?"
Sebastian clapped a hand on his shoulder, smirking with familiar defiance.
"After what we just saw? Of course I'm in. We just stared heaven in the eye—or something pretending to be it."
Arianne nodded, a faint smile crossing her face, though her eyes still shone with awe.
"I'll join you. But one condition, If you lose yourself along the way, I'll be the one to drag you back."
Demian nodded. A faint light ignited at his fingertip—the symbol of the project they had just begun.
Project Veilfire had truly begun.
He flipped open a new page.
Codename Project Veilfire
Objective Build a secret network inside Aetherthorn. Connect key students with rare affinities. Undermine Celestial influence. Recover the secrets behind the divine rune seals. Find clues about my mother.
He dipped his quill.
And began.
---
Celestial Church, Divine Capital Arx Aurea.
The structure towered above the main temple of the Celestial Church, a colossal circular building surrounded by pillars of starlight crystal. Its walls were carved from white stone that shimmered like ice under moonlight, and the dome above was made of transparent arcanite glass, reflecting constellations scattered across the night sky. The air within the chamber was cold and silent, broken only by the gentle ticking of arcane mechanisms that powered the sky projections and tracked fluctuations in mystical energy.
At the heart of the chamber stood Cardinal Theodore Lucian Gray, clad in a robe of darkened silver, embroidered with golden thread in ancient star-chart patterns. His figure was imposing, his posture like that of a general long removed from the battlefield—yet his eyes still burned with the glow of molten silver.
Before him floated a holographic projection—a cluster of pulsing mystical energy arranged in a complex spiral, shifting colors from deep blue to blood red, then flickering gold. Each hue marked a disturbance in reality, a reaction to a power not yet fully awakened.
A robed attendant in gray, face concealed beneath a deep hood, approached in measured steps. His voice was calm, yet taut with tension.
"Cardinal, sir… a mystical energy disturbance has been detected near Aetherthorn. A minor dimensional shift was observed shortly after. The energy trace is… unstable, but real. The pattern does not match any known phase of evolution."
Cardinal Theodore did not respond at once. He studied the projection with a sharp, piercing gaze, as if deciphering messages hidden within the rhythm of light.
"Unstable… but still present," he murmured. He stepped forward, causing the projection to expand, focusing on the core disturbance, Aetherthorn.
Slowly, he turned. His silver irises glowed faintly, signaling that his senses were actively linked to the Church's sacred surveillance network.
"So, another anomaly," he said coldly. "Continue monitoring. There can be no more room for negligence."
He locked eyes with the attendant—even though the man's face was hidden, Theodore's gaze seemed to pierce straight through the hood.
"If it happens again… don't waste time with the bureaucracy. Report directly to me. Personally."
The attendant bowed deeply. "Your command will be followed."
Cardinal Theodore raised a hand, and the projection dimmed gradually, dissolving like mist swept away by wind. Silence returned to the observatory, broken only by the soft glimmer of the starlight crystals lining the walls.
"We cannot allow another uncontrolled awakening," he said softly, though his voice carried a dangerous edge.
He looked up through the arcanite dome overhead. There, the stars had begun to tremble—a subtle reaction only those attuned to the heavens would perceive.
---