Kael and Riven, twin brothers born to a family of illegal immigrants in the borderlands between the Kingdom of Eldran and the Dominion of Varkun, lived a quiet and humble life. Their parents, Elian and Marella, were simple herbalists, hiding in the wooded outskirts to avoid detection. Life was simple, filled with hardship, but also with love and the laughter of the two boys. Riven, the mischievous and daring twin, often led Kael into trouble, while Kael, more introspective and observant, balanced his brother's fire with calm.
One day, while helping their mother sell herbs in a nearby market, Riven convinced Kael to steal a strange book from a pompous merchant. The tome, bound in leather and etched with ancient runes, pulsed with a dark glow. That night, guards stormed their home. The family was dragged from their shelter. The merchant had reported the theft.
Unknown to them, the merchant was no ordinary trader — he was a Sacred One, part of an ancient and mysterious order that guarded divine relics. His background was shrouded in enigma, and the book, called the Book of Light, was a relic tied to paradox forces.
Kael and Riven tried to flee. As they clutched the book and ran through the forest, a trap was sprung. Riven was mortally wounded while protecting Kael. In a final cry, he screamed Kael's name as the book in Kael's hands exploded with light.
When the light faded, Kael was found alone in a forest clearing by members of the Hildemar Guild — Yureth, the paradox user, and his companions. His memory of the event had been erased by the strange book's backlash, leaving only the name "Riven" echoing in his mind. Unbeknownst to Kael, his latent paradox ability, Reversal, had partially activated to preserve his sanity, shielding him from his darker instincts.
In the year that followed, Kael, now 15, lived and trained with the Hildemar Guild. Though his memories remained fragmented, he proved himself an adept hunter. Despite having no clear recollection of his past, Kael developed strong bonds with fellow guild members — Ayra, a keen-eyed archer with tracking magic; Fenric, a brave yet reckless sword fighter; and Sylvi, a quiet healer with empathy-based restoration magic. They often trained and hunted together, forming a strong team.
Kael was viewed by others as an average hunter, but Yureth — the guild's paradox user — kept a watchful eye. Yureth's ability, Reverberation Wrath, allowed any damage inflicted on him to reflect atomically upon his attacker, making him nearly untouchable in combat.
Kael's paradox ability, Reversal, had lain dormant, acting reactively without his awareness. At night, Kael often dreamed of shadowy forests and a mirror of endless depth. Sometimes, he heard a name—Riven—though it slipped away upon waking. Small fragments of memory occasionally returned in these dreams, hints of the life he had before the light.
When strange seismic tremors were reported in the western ridge of the Mistvale region, Yureth led a team to investigate. Kael and his companions followed.
They encountered the beast known as Ekrinox, a dragonlike entity with six wings and a body forged from mirrored bone and black fire. Ekrinox was no ordinary monster — it was a creature born of the Paradox Imbalance, designed to hunt paradox users and restore equilibrium by purging unstable forces.
Yureth fought valiantly, using his paradox to reflect Ekrinox's brutal strikes. But the creature adapted, targeting Kael directly. Yureth was knocked aside, bloodied and unconscious, as the creature's attention focused fully on Kael.
As Kael stood frozen, a whisper filled his mind — low, ancient: "Your path is not over yet." His eyes darkened. Energy surged around him, distorting the air. With a flash, Kael obliterated Ekrinox in a single, brutal attack.
He collapsed afterward, unconscious.
The guild was left in awe and fear. The boy they thought ordinary had just annihilated a threat even Yureth couldn't defeat.
As the guild tended their wounded, Kael awoke days later, unsure of what had happened. The name "Riven" still lingered — and now, a new voice haunted his dreams.
That encounter changed everything. Kael chose to leave the guild, driven by the flickering memory of his twin and a yearning to discover the truth of his past. Ayra, Fenric, and Sylvi insisted on joining him. The parting was emotional. Guild members expressed concern, but also respect.
The night before his departure, Kael sat alone at the edge of the cliffs beyond the guild walls. Sylvi approached, sitting beside him. She whispered, "Whatever we find out there… we'll face it together."
Fenric and Ayra made light of the journey, teasing Kael about becoming a "hero of mystery." But tension simmered. Yureth called Kael aside.
"The power you hold is no longer sleeping," Yureth warned. "You'll draw attention. And not all who come will speak first."
In private, Yureth met with the guild master, a paradox user who could see into both future and past. "Should we really let him go?" Yureth asked. "He could unbalance the world."
The guild master answered, "Kael's path is not one we can control. He must walk it."
On their first night away, camped beneath old pines, Ayra told a story by the fire:
"There was a time," she said, "when all lived in peace. There were no powers, no monsters, just balance. But then one day, a crack split the sky. From it fell a flame of knowledge… and with it, power. Some called it a blessing. Others, a curse. The world began to change. People fought. Lands twisted. And from that crack came something terrible… something still watching."
The firelight danced in her eyes. No one spoke.
The next morning, the journey east began. They made their way toward the ruins of the Fallen Sanctum, said to contain ancient knowledge of paradox lore. The road was long and treacherous.
They passed through old battlegrounds, overgrown forests, and quiet towns that still bore the scars of paradoxic fallout. Kael trained daily, but he still could not control his power. He feared its activation, especially after what happened with Ekrinox. The others noticed his hesitance but said nothing.
They encountered Nullborn — twisted animals corrupted by unstable paradox energy. The creatures were fast and aggressive. Kael used only his blade and tactics, holding back the power surging within him.
In a monastery ruin, they found carvings about "The Fracture of Balance," a mythic tale of a boy born in imbalance. The figure in the carving looked strikingly like Kael.
At night, he dreamed again of Riven — and of a mirror with a silhouette behind it. The whisper returned: "You are not broken. You are the cause."