I've always said I should write my stories one day... stories about the people who passed through my life, the boundaries I learned to set, the lessons that hit hard, the limits I had to build.
And because I daydream way too much about this universe in my head, I decided: why not mix both? Take the real lessons, blend them with the world I imagine, and turn it all into a novel.
I'm not aiming for perfection. I just want it to feel real, fun, and honest. Maybe it ends up long, maybe it stays short, we'll see.
For now, let's just enjoy the process... and who knows, maybe one day we'll get this thing animated or turned into a show haha.
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Before becoming the Ghost of Empyrea, Ari was just a kid trying to survive beside a mother carrying everything on her own.
His mother had no help, and life never gave her a break. The divorce hit early, long before Ari could form a real memory of his father. After that, it was just the two of them... she was a worn-out woman dragging the weight of a broken marriage while pretending nothing happened.
She left before sunrise, came back after dark, and years of nonstop work hardened her. She wasn't warm or affectionate, not because she didn't care, but because exhaustion left her with nothing to give. As a kid, Ari didn't understand that. He only felt the cold. No hugs. No affection. No softness. Just survival.
They lived in a ground-floor unit of an old house on the outskirts of the capital. The place was cheap, and it showed the moment you stepped in.
One window. A tiny kitchen. A bathroom. And one single room that had to be everything: the bedroom they shared, the living room they pretended was "enough," Ari's study corner, and the fake escape that never actually escaped anything.
Ari never had his own room. Never had a door to close. Sixteen years in the same space meant he was always seen, always adjusting, always shrinking himself. If he wanted to be alone, he just... couldn't.
With no dad, no siblings, and a mother constantly on the edge, he learned everything on his own. No guidance. No blueprint. No one to show him how to be anything. So he built himself through mistakes and trauma.
In high school, he met Chae in first year. They talked a bit online, nothing deep. Year two, they barely spoke. Year three, they suddenly reconnected, and the spark hit fast. Feelings, late-night texts, and a bond that grew more through their phones than face-to-face. At school, they barely shared a few minutes, yet she somehow became his favorite person.
Chae could be introverted and extroverted, quiet and loud, depending on the day, depending on the mood. Kind, happy, and always trying to make people feel comfortable. She helped everyone, even when it drained her.
Sadly, Chae was insecure. Low confidence, low self-esteem, constantly doubting herself even though she had a strong, athletic body she worked hard for. She never saw what others saw... until Ari.
Their gym talks mattered more to her than he ever realized. When she sent him progress pictures and he hyped her up, it stuck. When he sent her videos of influencers who transformed over time and told her, "Look... she was there, now she's here. Keep going Chae. You're already doing great," it meant a lot to her. His encouragement built her slowly. Ari had no idea how much impact he had on her.
And their real connection wasn't the compliments; it was JoJo. She recommended it as a joke, expecting him to drop it after episode two. But he pushed through that painfully slow first season and watched the whole thing. When they started sending memes, dropping references only they understood, something clicked. Not romance. Not drama. Just two people bonding over a show that felt like their own language.
Rain came in during year two. Ari had always struggled to find someone consistent... someone loyal. Rain matched him instantly. They met randomly one morning; Rain was standing alone outside school. Ari had always thought he seemed cool and funny, someone he hoped to be friends with, so he took the chance and said hi. From then on, they walked to class together, hung out during breaks, and never separated. Rain became the first real constant in Ari's life. The first friend who didn't disappear.
Rain grew up in Underhaven, the corrupted underground layer of Empyrea. His family was religious and good-hearted, but the neighborhood swallowed him. Theft, drugs, police chases... the usual Underhaven routine. He didn't choose that life; he adapted to it. But underneath everything, Rain had a clean heart. Good roots. And people always find their way back to their roots. He just needed someone to help him. Ari became that person.
Ari himself was complicated. Not social, not shy. Just a kid who never had the stability that teaches you how to defend yourself. With divorced parents, an exhausted mother, and a home where the smallest misstep could flip the whole atmosphere, he learned early to read every tone and every silence. Inside, survival meant staying quiet, staying small... anything to avoid setting off the wrong mood.
Outside, all that silence exploded. That weight made him overflow everywhere else. At school and with people his age, he was the opposite of how he lived indoors. He let anyone in, held painfully high expectations, and felt every disappointment when people didn't meet them. People used him, crossed him, hurt him. He forgave too fast and stayed too long, still chasing the warmth he never felt growing up.
One good vibe, one real smile, one bit of kindness... and he was already attached.
At the end of second year, they moved. This time into an apartment his mother's brothers bought for her, and everything changed. Two bedrooms, real space, a proper living room, a kitchen that finally felt like a kitchen, and most importantly, a door he could close.
For the first time, Ari had the privacy he used to dream about while tiptoeing in that old house.
And that's when everything began to slip.
Once he finally felt safe, once he had a space that didn't punish him for existing, the outside world lost its meaning. School, people, responsibility... all of it felt distant. Behind that door, he didn't have to read the room or brace himself for anyone's anger. His room was quiet. Predictable... His.
Bed doesn't ask questions.
Bed doesn't judge.
Bed is warm and soft.
Bed is always there for you.
Bed is nice haha.
He could stay inside for days, even weeks. Gaming wasn't an addiction; it was escape. A space where no one demanded anything from him. The more time he spent inside, the heavier the apathy settled.
Even then, in year three, Rain was the only person who could pull him out. Not because Ari became social again, but because Rain made going out feel easy and safe.
With him, studying wasn't pressure, walking to class wasn't effort, and laughing didn't feel like something you had to earn.
And then there was Chae.
Not officially his girlfriend, but close enough. They barely saw each other in person, both anxious, both overthinking... but the chance of seeing her for even a second at school was enough to get him out of bed some mornings. She made the hallways feel less empty. Rain made the days feel lighter. For a while, that was enough.
For two years, life got easier.
Not healed. Just easier.
But dreams don't always move together.
Rain didn't graduate that year, and his future depends on it... he wants to leave the continent and start fresh somewhere far away.
Chae is aiming for the police academy, chasing stability.
And when people ask Ari about his future, his answer is always the same:
"I want to be rich. So I can do whatever I want."
A simple answer for a complicated boy.
Will life keep these three apart...
or pull them back together when it matters most?