Chapter 1 – The Boy Who Fell Between Worlds
The sky of Elyndra did not darken when the end began.
It fractured.
Light split into jagged veins across the heavens, like a mirror struck by an invisible fist. Floating cities trembled, their crystal foundations humming in distress. Rivers that once glowed like liquid starlight froze midair, then shattered into millions of glowing shards that vanished before touching the endless void below.
Elyndra was dying.
And Aeron Vale stood at the center of its scream.
He was breathing too fast. Each breath burned his lungs as if the air itself had turned against him. Pale light leaked from beneath his skin—faint at first, then pulsing stronger with every heartbeat.
Control it, he told himself.
Don't let it answer fear.
But fear was louder.
Behind him, the ground cracked open, splitting the floating cliff into uneven halves. Aeron stumbled, barely keeping his balance as fragments of stone broke away and disappeared into nothingness.
Then came the footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Unhurried.
They echoed across the fractured stone like a countdown.
Aeron turned.
Kael Morvane emerged from the collapsing shadows as if the destruction itself had parted to make way for him. Tall, calm, wrapped in armor darker than the space between stars. His presence bent the light around him, swallowing color, swallowing warmth.
"You run like the world still belongs to you," Kael said, his voice smooth and terrifyingly certain. "It doesn't."
Aeron clenched his fists. His palms glowed brighter in response, reacting to Kael's proximity.
"You did this," Aeron said. "You're tearing Elyndra apart."
Kael tilted his head slightly, as if amused by the accusation. "No," he replied. "I am correcting it."
Behind Kael, a massive black portal began to bloom—its edges twisting like torn fabric, its center pulsing with dark gravity. The sky screamed again, louder this time. Elyndra felt pain.
"You believe destruction is correction?" Aeron asked, forcing his voice steady.
Kael stepped closer. Each step made the air heavier, harder to breathe. "I believe separation is the flaw. Worlds were never meant to exist alone."
"You're killing millions."
Kael's eyes flickered—not with guilt, but with irritation. "Sacrifice is the language of progress."
Aeron felt something cold coil in his chest.
"You want to merge worlds," he said slowly. "Earth and Elyndra."
"Yes." Kael's lips curved into a faint smile. "And you are the key."
Aeron's heart pounded.
Soul Light—his gift, his curse. A power so rare that even Elyndra's ancient texts barely understood it. Light that responded to emotion, to intention. Light that could heal… or erase.
Kael raised his hand. Dark energy spiraled around his fingers like living smoke.
"With you," Kael continued, "I can force evolution. Without you…" His gaze sharpened. "…I burn what remains."
Aeron stepped back.
The cliff edge crumbled beneath his heel.
Fear surged—not of death, but of becoming something he could never undo.
"You don't get to choose the fate of worlds," Aeron said, his voice breaking.
Kael's expression finally hardened. "Someone always does."
The portal roared behind him.
"Stand with me," Kael said, extending his hand. "Or fall into irrelevance."
Aeron closed his eyes.
Images flashed through his mind—Elyndra before the fractures. Floating gardens. Laughter carried on glowing winds. A world that had taught him wonder, not conquest.
I choose not to be yours.
The light inside him erupted.
It wasn't explosive—it was defiant. A wave of pure white energy surged outward, colliding violently with Kael's dark portal. The portal screamed, twisting unpredictably, pulling at everything nearby.
Kael staggered back, shock flickering across his face for the first time. "No—!"
The force wrapped around Aeron like a storm.
The world tore itself apart.
Aeron fell.
Not through darkness.
Not through air.
Through nothing.
There was no sound. No sensation. No sense of direction. Time dissolved into a meaningless stretch of absence. His light dimmed, flickered, and almost went out entirely.
Then—
Pain.
Cold, solid ground slammed into his back, knocking the breath from his lungs. Harsh air burned his throat as he gasped, coughing violently.
Noise flooded in.
Sharp. Loud. Chaotic.
Aeron opened his eyes.
The sky above him was gray, heavy with clouds that did not glow. Tall structures of stone and glass rose unnaturally high, blocking the horizon. Strange metal creatures rushed past on black paths, roaring like trapped beasts.
Earth.
His magic reacted weakly, flickering beneath his skin like a dying ember. He tried to stand.
Agony shot through his body.
He collapsed again, vision blurring.
I survived, he thought faintly.
But I don't belong.
Footsteps approached.
Human footsteps.
"Okay," a voice said cautiously. "Either I'm hallucinating… or you just fell out of the sky."
Aeron forced his eyes open.
A girl stood a few feet away, holding a bag loosely in one hand. Her posture was alert, defensive—but not afraid. Dark hair pulled back, sharp eyes scanning him quickly, assessing damage, threat, intent.
Her gaze dropped to his hands.
To the faint light bleeding through his skin.
Her breath caught.
Not in fear.
In recognition.
"So," she whispered, more to herself than to him, "it finally happened."
Aeron swallowed. His throat felt raw. "You… you can see it?"
Her eyes snapped back to his face.
"Yes," she said quietly. "And that means you're in serious trouble."
He tried to push himself up again, failed.
She was beside him instantly, steadying his shoulder with surprising strength.
"Easy," she said. "Your energy signature is unstable."
He stared at her. "You know what that is?"
She hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then she sighed, like someone accepting a long-delayed responsibility.
"My name is Iris," she said. "And if I don't protect you—this world won't survive what follows."
Before Aeron could respond, the streetlights flickered.
The air shifted—subtle, wrong.
Far away, something ancient stirred.
Something that had felt his arrival.
Iris straightened, eyes hardening. A faint symbol glowed briefly on her wrist before vanishing beneath her sleeve.
"We need to move," she said.
Aeron's heart raced. "What's coming?"
Her jaw tightened.
"The man who broke your world," she replied.
"And he doesn't lose what he claims."
In the distance, unseen by human eyes, darkness rippled across reality.
The hunt had begun.