Chapter 1: Prologue – Part 0
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"No… don't do this!"
A hand wrapped in shadows descended from the heavens like divine judgment — massive and relentless. It struck the earth with unimaginable force. Buildings shattered like glass. Streets split open. A wave of screams rose — then was silenced in an instant. Lights flickered, blood stained the pavement and then...
everything vanished.
Adrian woke up with a start, breathless. His chest heaved, and cold sweat drenched his skin, gluing strands of hair to his forehead. The room was cloaked in thick shadows — the kind that seemed to breathe with the weight of a dream not fully consumed.
— Again... the same nightmare — he muttered, staring up at the dark ceiling.
The silence pressed in on him, dense and absolute. Only the ticking of the clock dared fill the void — like the heartbeat of a world that refused to answer.
— Just when I thought... I'd finally found peace?
He pulled his knees to his chest, curling up like someone trying to escape a chill that wasn't physical. His eyes wandered through the darkness of the room, searching not for monsters, but for memories.
— Mom... Dad... — he whispered, voice cracking. — I wish you were still here...
Outside, pale moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting trembling shadows on the walls. The trees whispered with the wind — like voices from another time, murmuring secrets he no longer understood.
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Part 1: Genesis – The Awakening
Adrian Elian, orphaned and lost, had grown used to calling himself ordinary. It was easier than facing the night when everything changed.
He had lived in the orphanage since he was six. Now, at sixteen, a new storm brewed — not in the sky, but within him. While the first rays of sun painted the world in gold, he sat silently by the window, eyes locked on the drifting clouds.
— Adrian! Lunch is ready! — Maria's voice echoed from downstairs, firm and warm, like the reliable creak of old wood.
— Coming! Good morning, Maria! — he replied, forcing cheer into his voice. But the joy didn't reach his eyes.
Maria was more than a caretaker. To the children, she was an anchor. Her calloused hands spoke of labor done without complaint. Her gaze was that of someone who had seen too much — and endured it all. Her rare smiles had the power to calm even the most tormented spirits.
Rumors whispered she had once walked among legends. Others murmured she wielded forgotten powers. But no one dared ask — and she never told.
As Adrian descended the stairs, Maria waited for him. Her eyes met his with a calm that needed no words.
— Adrian — she said gently, yet firmly — what will you choose?
He paused. He didn't ask what she meant — he already knew.
In this world, there were Heirs — people chosen by divine spirits, living legacies of ancient myths. They were few. Some served noble factions, others walked alone, and there were those who bowed for power, offering themselves as servants or subordinates.
And then... there were people like Adrian.
He felt the weight of it all, like invisible chains tightening around his chest.
— And what do you want me to do? — he snapped, his voice sharp, revealing how long he'd been wrestling with it. — The power you get as a servant is pitiful. Heirs pass their true gifts to their bloodline. At best, I'd inherit the brute strength of an orc... or if I'm lucky, the speed of a centaur.
He laughed bitterly.
— And then what? Pretend I can protect a future family with that? Watch my wife… my children… die like my parents did? Because I wasn't strong enough?
Maria didn't flinch. She didn't scold. She didn't offer empty comfort. She just looked at him — truly looked — as if she saw the man he feared to become.
Adrian turned, intent on leaving. His footsteps echoed down the hallway.
But then... the world froze.
Morning light trembled. The air vibrated. Sounds vanished, as if the universe held its breath. And in a blink... he was no longer there.
He was somewhere else.
The room was strange — a place he'd never seen. Ancient symbols adorned the walls. In the center, atop a dark wooden table, lay a diary.
Its black cover seemed woven from shadow, yet pulsed with a golden light from within. Even without touching it, Adrian felt its warmth and heard a voice echo, soft and distant:
"You have been seen."
The diary opened on its own. Pages flipped in a silent whirlwind until they stopped on a blank sheet. On it, a single flaming rune burned brightly.
Adrian stepped back, heart racing.
And then it vanished.
He blinked. He was back in the hallway. Sunlight streamed through the windows as before. The old wood creaked. The scent of aged timber. Everything as it should be.
Panting, he wiped sweat from his brow.
— What... was that? A dream?
Without looking back, he ran out of the orphanage.
Upstairs, in Maria's locked room, an old dusty diary rested untouched for the last ten years. But for a brief moment... a rune glowed on its cover — and faded away.
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