Chapter 1 — The Child Found in the Void
"…Where am I?"
The words drifted into emptiness and vanished without a sound.
Around him stretched a boundless void — a place that wasn't a place, a color that wasn't a color. Neither black nor white, not even gray… just the presence of nothing, a dream that had forgotten how to wake.
The silence was total. Heavy. It pressed against the skin, seeped into the mind.
A boy floated there, suspended in the stillness. Seventeen, though time had lost meaning here. His body hung limp, his black hair fanning out in slow motion, untouched by gravity. His eyes — blue, cold, hollow — stared into forever, reflecting nothing back.
He opened his mouth again, the sound weak and cracked.
"…Who am I?"
The question didn't echo. It simply existed — swallowed whole by the endless quiet.
No answer came.
Something about that absence made the boy's chest ache. His throat worked, a rough gasp scraping through the air that wasn't air. He shut his eyes. Then, faintly—
"I… remember."
That whisper changed everything.
A pulse trembled through the void — not light, not sound, but a vibration that felt alive. The fabric of nothingness rippled. Cracks began to snake outward from where he floated, spreading like fractures through glass.
A thin glow leaked through — white, pure, hungry — spilling into the darkness and pushing it away. And with it came the memories of an entire life lived.
The boy's lips moved once more, voice unsteady yet thick with pain heavy and primal.
"I am—"
BOOM!
The void shattered. A storm of white light devoured the darkness, and the boy vanished into its blaze.
⸻
Prime Earth — Origin Realm
A quiet stretch of forest bathed in the warm blush of sunset. The air hummed with the soft songs of cicadas, tall grass swaying lazily in the evening wind.
The peace held… until a sharp whooshing sound sliced through the stillness — followed by two more.
Three figures moved through the forest at blinding speed, so fast they seemed less like blurs and more like mirages. By the time the wind caught up, stirring the fallen leaves and broken twigs in their wake, they were already gone.
They came to a sudden stop in a clearing much like any other — tall trees, startled creatures darting away from their sudden arrival.
As if any of them could truly escape.
The figure in front — a young woman clad in black armor — stood tall, her helmet clutched under her left arm. Crimson eyes gleamed beneath matching red hair.
She swept her gaze across the forest once, then said curtly,
"This is the spot. Search."
The words were sharp, commanding — far too heavy for someone who couldn't have been more than seventeen. Yet the two behind her didn't hesitate. They obeyed instantly, closing their eyes to extend their senses.
Within moments, the entire mile around them was imprinted in their minds. Then, almost simultaneously, both turned toward the same direction.
"This way, Miss. I've found something," one of them said hesitantly.
"Lead the way," the armored girl replied.
The two maids — identical twins dressed in pristine black-and-white uniforms — nodded and moved ahead. Despite their speed, not a single wrinkle marred their attire.
A few meters later, they stopped.
Half-hidden by tall grass and a tree's shade lay… a baby. A boy.
For a moment, all three simply stared. The girl in armor — Serena — felt her chest tighten with curiosity.
"How—? How is there a baby here? In the Origin Realm?"
Neither maid answered immediately. Their gazes were locked on the child as if unable to believe what they were seeing. But finally, one spoke.
"We are not sure, Miss."
"Hmph. Useless," Serena muttered, handing her helmet to one of them before stepping closer.
She bent down and gently lifted the baby into her arms. The two maids tensed, ready to intervene at the slightest hint of danger.
"…Is this it? Is he the source of that aura earlier?" Serena wondered gazing at the sleeping baby.
Only the more she looked at him the more she felt inexplicably only the more she looked at him the more she felt inexplicable drawn to his orbit. So much so she lost herself.
The child's breathing was calm and peaceful. A faint breeze brushed his face, stirring strands of soft, jet-black hair.
Serena froze. All the weight and cold command in her expression flickered, replaced by a quiet awe.
"He's so… cute," she whispered.
For a fleeting moment, her usual composure faltered — but only for a moment.
"Give me something to wrap him."
The younger twin waved her hand, conjuring a white towel from thin air and offering it at once. Serena barely glanced at her, eyes still fixed on the baby.
"Let's go," she said softly.
With that, she shot into the air in a blur, the two maids — Myra and Lyra — following behind.
As they cut through the forest, neither maid could look away from the baby swaddled in Serena's arms, the towel far too large for his tiny frame. They exchanged glances, silently debating who among then should ask the question forming in both their minds.
At last, Myra gave in.
"What are we going to do with the baby, young lady?" she asked carefully.
Serena tilted her head, thoughtful for a moment — then looked up, her eyes bright and certain.
"I'm going to adopt him."
Myra blinked, thinking she'd misheard.
"You're going to what?"
Serena smiled faintly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I'll be his mother."
Lyra almost tripped mid-stride.
"My lady, you can't possibly mean—"
"Yes," Serena interrupted softly, her tone gentle so as not to wake the sleeping child. "Exactly that."
Silence settled over them, thick and uncertain.
Ahead, the forest gradually thinned, giving way to an open stretch of barren land. The last light of the setting sun spilled over the horizon, its glow whispering across the dunes — carrying with it the quiet promise of a destiny none of them yet understood.