Chapter 1 The Awakening of a Forgotten Star
The sky was not falling; it was bleeding. Crimson embers, the last dying breaths of distant stars, scarred the heavens.
Lyon Kael woke to the scent of damp earth and the chill of an alien wind. His body ached, his mind a jumbled mosaic of a life that should have ended—a flash of a burning lab, the roar of an explosion, then… nothing. Now, there was only the whispering of strange leaves and the ghost of a memory.
"Where… am I?" The words were a ragged whisper.
The universe answered. A screen, impossibly blue and coldly geometric, flickered to life before his eyes.
[System Activation Complete]
Welcome, Host, to the Realm of Aetherion.
Initializing Origin Ascension Protocol…
This wasn't a story. This was real. His heart hammered against his ribs. Transmigration.
He looked down, taking inventory of a body that was not his own. Leaner, younger, clad in the rough-spun tunic and breeches of a peasant. And at his sternum, a faint, warm pulse—a dormant ember waiting for a spark.
The screen expanded, its message stark and unforgiving.
[System Binding Complete]
Title: Origin Seed Bearer
Rank: Mortal (Unawakened)
Main Quest: Awaken your Aether Core before the Blood Moon rises.
Reward: Full System Access.
Penalty: Death.
A shaky, almost hysterical laugh escaped him. "Straight to the point. I like your style."
The system offered no camaraderie.
He staggered to his feet, his new world coming into focus. Towering trees of crystalline bark refracted the light of twin moons. Rivers of luminous mist—raw, liquid magic—coiled through the valleys below. The very air was a drug, thick with power.
Then came the footsteps. Purposeful. Multiple.
Lyon turned, muscles coiling.
A group of youths emerged from the treeline, their uniforms a blend of practical leather and dark cloth, marked by the silver wing of the Aetherion Imperial Academy. At their head was a girl whose golden hair seemed to mock the night. Her eyes, however, were chips of glacial ice.
"Identify yourself," she commanded, her voice cutting through the hum of the forest. "You are trespassing on Academy grounds."
Lyon mustered a wry grin. "Uh… foreign exchange student?"
Her expression didn't flicker. "Enough." She let her cloak fall back, and the pressure around them shifted. Mana condensed, a tangible weight pressing down on Lyon's soul.
[Warning: Host under threat]
Activating Emergency Mode.
Fire erupted from Lyon's chest—a raw, untamed power that scorched the air and carved a sigil of light into reality. The shockwave threw the acolytes back. The golden-haired girl alone held her ground, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and recognition.
"Impossible…" she breathed. "An Origin Seal."
As the light faded, Lyon stood panting in a circle of scorched earth. His veins thrummed with new energy, his eyes flickering with stolen starlight.
[Origin Core Awakened]
Rank: Essence Novice (Stage 1)
Skill Unlocked: Adaptive Comprehension
System Message: Congratulations. You have defied natural order.
The girl's gaze hardened from shock to cold assessment. She turned away with a dismissive sneer. "You're coming with us. The Headmaster will decide your fate."
Lyon brushed dirt from his patched sleeves. "Nice to meet you too, Ice Queen."
Her eyes flashed with genuine anger. "My name is Aria Valeheart. Remember it. You won't survive long enough to use it again."
They escorted him across a stone causeway into the heart of an impossible city. Towers rose like carved amethysts, arched bridges spanned canals of flowing mana, and in training yards, students clad in reinforced leather sparred with blades of pure energy. It was a symphony of magic and engineering—a functional, living metropolis of power.
So this is my new world, Lyon thought, a slow grin spreading across his face.
As they crossed an obsidian bridge, Aria spoke without turning. "If you truly bear the Origin Seal, you may be the one the prophecies foretold." A pause. "Or the doom they warned of."
Lyon's grin widened. "Either way, it sounds like fun."
They left him in an infirmary that was more workshop than temple—a place of efficient healers in leather aprons, their hands glowing with mending energies as they applied poultices and salves. Lying on a cot under a moonlit window, Lyon replayed the system's words.
That night, as the sentry lights dimmed and the city slept, the system pulsed once more.
[New Quest: Survive the Academy's Entrance Trial]
Difficulty: Extreme
Time Limit: 24 hours
Reward: Origin Skill Slot + 10 Aether Points
Failure: Erasure of Soul.
Just before sleep could claim him, a soft rustle came from the doorway. A young scholar stood there, wrapped in a midnight-blue mantle—the kind worn by apprentices in the inner libraries, not the ornate ceremonial robes of archmagi. Lyon's mind filed the observation away. Robes exist, he realized. But they are not for the field. They are for rituals, for study, for those who weave the world's laws slowly and carefully. They are rare, respected, and dangerous.
He exhaled, staring at the twin moons through the glass.
A new world.A deadly academy. A system that saw him as a pawn.
But deep within, the forgotten star he now housed flared to life, its hunger a fire that eclipsed all fear.
If the universe gave me a second chance, he vowed, I will climb. I will conquer. I will burn the very heavens if they stand in my way.