CHAPTER 1:THE BOOK OF LOST ORIGINS
Candles bled wax along obsidian walls.
The air was thick with incense and sorrow. Worshippers swayed, lost in chant. Some sobbed. Some trembled. All were drowning in faith.
The Prophet Bara stood robed in ash and crimson. Eyes closed. Voice rising.
"From the first stillness, LUCA breathed…"
Siah slouched on the cold pew. Arms crossed. Mind drifting.
His mother knelt beside him, lips pressed tight. She clutched the Book of Origins like it might fly away.
Siah muttered under his breath.
"Bogus propaganda…"
Sally elbowed him—sharp and fast.
"Don't mock the Word," she hissed.
He grunted. Looked away.
Bara's voice deepened.
"Jealous was VIRA, First of Envy.
He bore no breath. He bore no child.
But he bore ambition."
The congregation leaned in. Breathless.
"He came to Archeon, grandson of LUCA, son of Archaea.He whispered:
'Consume Terium, the daughter of Teria—
surpass even your grandfather.'"
Gasps filled the cathedral. Eyes widened.
A woman fainted, caught by the robes of another.
"Archeon did not resist. Hungry for power, he devoured Terium,And from the wound of that sin… was born EUKA—He who transcends."
A cry broke the silence. Low. Wild.
Something clawing its way out of a soul.
Then chanting. Faster. Louder. Conviction wrapped the air like a noose.
Siah sighed. Leaned back. Sally turned sharply. Eyes hard. Silent. He shrugged. Looked away.
Bara raised his arms.
"Newborn of terror and awe,Euka tested his might. He struck down his father Archaea,
Erased his flame from the stars!"
The room trembled. Men screamed.
Some dropped to their knees. Others chanted the name LUCA until it tore their throats.
"But that was not enough," Bara howled.
"Vira whispered again. 'Strike the Source itself—end LUCA—and existence is yours!'"
The crowd stirred.
Hands rose.Some trembled. Others spoke in tongues. Eyes rolled back. A few dropped, overcome. Then chaos.People fell to their knees, twitching. Convulsing. Shaking.
The crowd roared. One woman fainted.
A man slammed his forehead into the floor. Again. Again.
Siah winced. "They're all mad."
The Prophet thundered on.
"Thus began the battle that outlasted time.
Shattering stars. Bent skies. And for a heartbeat, even death forgot itself."
Silence fell like a veil.
Then Bara's voice dropped, dark and trembling.
"In the end, Luca was wounded.
Mortally. He fled—with Teria, his daughter—to the edge of all that is. Euka, enraged, forged legions. Beasts now scour the cosmos."
People wailed now. One tore his garment.
Another foamed at the mouth, chanting "Euka will not win!" again and again.
Siah blinked, disturbed but quiet.
Bara's voice rose again.
"But from the womb of Teria,In the dust of exile and silence—A spark was kindled.
A single hope."
He turned his arms outward. Toward the congregation.
"Santis Grelon. First of the Acmes. Forged—Crowned in flesh, flame, and freedom."
Sally's face was wet now. Her hand lifted,reaching toward the pulpit.
Bara's words rang out like a bell at world's end.
"He comes to reclaim what was stolen. To break the chains of man. To bring breath to the breathless!"
A roar from the crowd.
Sally's back straight like a drawn blade.
Her fingers clutched the leather-bound book, knuckles white.
"He shall guide mankind into the age of Ascension!"
The church erupted. Tongues. Tremors. Collapse.
Sally dropped to her knees. Face against the stone.She whispered, "Our time will come… it will come…"
Siah didn't move.
He looked at the ceiling. At the golden mural.
LUCA with arms outstretched, birthing stars.
The flame—Archaea. The river—Teria. The dark coil—Vira.
A small frown pulled at his lips.