The last thing Rivan remembered was rain.
Cold. Relentless. Drowning out everything—his heartbeat, his breath, his thoughts.
Then light.
Blinding, white… and then nothing.
When his eyes opened again, the silence felt wrong.
He blinked. The ceiling above him wasn't familiar—wooden, polished, carved with glowing lines that pulsed faintly like veins of light.
The air smelled of herbs and something metallic.
Warm. Sharp. Foreign.
He pushed himself up, groaning as his muscles protested.
"Where… am I?"
His voice cracked. It didn't sound like his.
A window stood to his right—tall, arched, spilling orange light from two suns hanging low over strange towers.
Two suns.
Rivan's breath hitched. He froze for a moment, just staring.
No city he knew looked like this. No sky. No light. Nothing.
He turned toward the mirror across the room.
His reflection stared back—same face, same jawline. But the eyes… his eyes were glowing faintly gold, like they held sunlight inside.
"What the hell…" He touched his cheek, half expecting the image to vanish. It didn't.
Before he could think further, the door creaked open.
A woman stepped inside, graceful and sharp-eyed. Black and silver uniform. Calm, practiced posture. Someone used to command.
"You're awake," she said, tone polite but distant. "That's… unexpected."
He blinked. "Unexpected?"
"You've been unconscious for two days," she replied, placing a tray beside the bed. "Your mana core was unstable. Most don't survive something like that."
Mana. The word snagged in his mind.
"What… mana?"
The woman tilted her head, studying him. "You don't remember?"
"I… might've hit my head."
It was the best excuse he could manage.
She sighed softly. "I see. Then rest. You're at Arcanis Academy. The healers say your condition is… unusual."
Rivan glanced down. His hands trembled slightly.
There was a faint golden shimmer beneath his skin, like veins of light shifting with his pulse. He could feel something moving—like warmth flowing through his blood.
Not normal warmth. Something alive.
The air itself hummed, faintly vibrating against his skin.
He swallowed hard. Is this… mana?
He didn't understand it, but somehow, he could sense every flicker around him—the glowing runes on the ceiling, the faint trace of energy on the tray, even the subtle pulse from the woman herself.
It was too much.
Too real.
Liora—that was her name, she'd said—adjusted something on a crystal device beside him.
"If you need anything, call for me. Until your mana stabilizes, avoid channeling any energy."
Rivan nodded absently, though he didn't even know what that meant.
His fingers brushed the edge of the table—
and it glowed.
A thin ripple of golden light danced across the wood before fading into sparks.
Liora froze. Her composure cracked for just a second.
Rivan jerked his hand back. "I—I didn't—"
Her voice lowered. "Don't show that to anyone."
"What?"
"That glow," she said, almost a whisper. "It's not something you want people asking about."
"Why not?"
"Because power draws eyes," she murmured, glancing toward the door. "And not all of them are kind."
A crash sounded from outside—loud enough to make the walls tremble.
Then a shout. A name he didn't recognize, yet somehow… it felt familiar.
Liora's eyes narrowed. "Stay here. No matter what happens."
Before he could reply, she was gone.
Silence. Again.
Rivan exhaled slowly, trying to calm the storm inside him. But the air kept shifting—vibrating with energy that wasn't his.
His heartbeat quickened.
Something pulsed deeper in his chest, bright and wild.
Then came the voice.
Low. Distant. Ancient.
"Awaken, Starborn."
His breath caught.
Light burst from his hands—raw, golden, fierce. The runes overhead blazed in response, flooding the room with heat and brilliance.
Pain and power surged together. He gasped, clutching his chest.
It felt like his body was breaking apart—yet something inside him whispered that this was right.
"This… can't be real," he muttered, voice shaking.
Outside, hurried footsteps. Shouts.
But inside the room, Rivan stood at the center of a golden storm.
He didn't know where he was.
He didn't know who he was anymore.
But one thing was certain—
whatever he had become… it wasn't human.
---
Author note
Hey everyone, author here
This is the beginning of Starborn Awakening, a story I've wanted to write for a long time.
It's about a young man who wakes up in a world that shouldn't exist—where magic, mystery, and fate collide.
No one knows who he really is. Not even him.
The story will slowly uncover his past life, his hidden power, and the truth behind the word "Starborn."
Expect mystery, academy life, growth, a bit of chaos, and a main character who learns to survive by pretending to be ordinary… when he's anything but.
If you enjoyed the first chapter, please add to your collection, leave a comment, or drop a power stone — it really helps a lot in the early stages
Thank you for reading. The journey's just beginning.