WebNovels

Chapter 1 - The Awakening of Soluva

Shiora was a single plane: the Light, the neighboring Void, and, at the farthest reach, the Dark—all side by side. At the center stood a Sun—gold to those who looked from Light and Void, a silent black sun to any gaze from the Dark. On that same plane, a pale Moon drifted in quiet.

In the Sun's calmest heart, a smooth shell hung, untouched by heat.Inside it, something waited—like a breath not yet taken.

Then the first hairline crack cut the hush.The shell split.

Flame opened like twin wings.From within stepped a fully grown woman—washed in light, standing tall in bare fire. Her sun-flame hair caught the light; every strand cast a gold glint. A six-rayed star kindled on her chest; each ray lit in turn, as if a heart were finding its rhythm. Her face was calm, and beneath that calm shone the clear light of a guarding soul.In her movement, the spark of one who loved to fight showed—bright, energetic.

And then the music began.

Wordless—a note born straight from light.

A single, pure bell-tone stretched out; then it multiplied.A symphony opened: strings trembled like a low choir.Rhythm became heartbeat, warmth became heat,breath became life itself…

Each vibration carried meaning—sprouting became growth, attention became sense,and the opening and closing circle became will.

The sound strengthened the Light, balanced the Void,and reminded the Dark of its old silence.

The whole plane went still, then listened.Even the deep Veliathens lifted their heads.They did not attack.They listened—not from fear,but because they remembered a law they had forgotten.

The fire parted to make way.The woman stood straight in the center of the flames.Her eyes were as clear as a newborn day.

At that moment, a figure came down into the heart of the Sun—through a white seam, entering the fire as if there were no heat.

"I am Valuva," he said; his voice was clear—not hostile, simply natural. "Keeper of Time and Eternity."

The woman studied him—no shock, no emptiness; only clear recognition. The star on her chest shone again, softer this time.

Valuva bowed his head."You were born in the Sun. We have been waiting for you—and your twin," he said. "Your name is Soluva."

Soluva's lips curved slightly; she did not hide her curiosity."How strong are you?" she asked.

Valuva laughed—short, warm, sincere."It has been a long time since a soul like yours arrived," he said. "Your mind is clear… steady. True power is first measured there."

Soluva nodded once."I understand. The Light… the Void… the Dark… I can hear them all at once."

"Yes," said Valuva. "A soul born from life's energy hears life's present. It is a fine gift, but don't hold everything at once. Narrow when you must, open when you must. Choose what you will hear."

Her expression was not thanks, but readiness."And now?" she said.

"Now, just walk," said Valuva. "Let the language of fire settle in your body. Sort what you hear. You were born today; however strong you are, you are still new."

The Symphony of Life grew quiet.That single bell-tone hung like a thin ring inside the Sun, then thinned away.The three regions on the one line fell back into silence.

Valuva did not step back. He did not hurry.At last he said, "Welcome, Soluva. The three regions of Shiora have greeted you. This is your home now." Then: "In time you will meet Seluva as well. Of your siblings, the one closest to you is the Moon spirit, as you are the Sun."

Soluva bowed her head slightly—not submission, not challenge; simple acceptance.The star on her chest shone again.And when the flames learned her new breath, the Sun—for the first time—felt set in its place.

They moved along the Sun's wide ring for a few hours,letting the light carry them more than their feet.

Walking beside her without stirring the heat, Valuva asked,"Before we begin, is there anything you want to know?"

Soluva watched the bright edge. The six-rayed star on her chest answered with a slow pulse."Just this," she said. "Where should I start?"

"Anywhere," said Valuva. "But choose one line and follow it. Curiosity can scatter a soul faster than the sharpest blade."

Soluva nodded once—then the spark in her eyes leapt."Then start with me," she said, her smile breaking. "Fight me. Please."

Valuva's mouth curved. "Already?"

"Now," she insisted. The Sun threw gold into her flame-colored hair; it was as if the light itself cheered. "I like to fight."

"We could test the wards first, map the boundary, the—"

"Fight me," she said again, softer now—the kind of softness that bends steel. "Please."

Valuva smiled—his first in a long time, quiet as a breath."You ask well for a fight," he said, then: "Very well."

He turned his palm. Time clicked.

Photons became lanterns. The ring of light stretched; each wave turned into a glassy band. Seconds folded once, twice—origami time—and they settled inside a held breath, a round practice ground.

"The rules," said Valuva. "I keep the time. You keep the fire. No killing. No tearing the plane."

"Agreed."

"One more thing." His gaze sharpened. "I am the spirit of Eternity and Time. I do not cheat—but I do not stop."

Soluva's smile grew. "I am the justice-spear of flame and living spirit."

She raised her hand. The star on her chest gathered into her palm; with a single ding it poured into a line of light—the single, pure note of the Symphony of Life. When the light drew back, a plain and noble weapon remained: a golden flame spear. Warmth wrapped her without burning.

Valuva curled two fingers. The first lesson came without warning.

A seam opened in the air—a second turned on its edge, clear like a blade. Not evil, only perfect measure, cutting toward her.

Soluva moved.

"Speed" was not enough; "belief" fit better. She believed she could already be there—closer—already in motion—and she was. The spear kissed the coming second. Time rang like crystal. The shard split; bright crumbs of an un-lived moment fell away.

Valuva's eyes softened. "Good."

He stepped; the still rings stirred. From his arm, a thin silver coil of a watch-spiral swung and wrapped Soluva's wrists—not a chain, a timetable.

Soluva laughed with joy—energy was her nature. The spear bent. Heat gathered at its tip like a dawn held too long."Timetables can't hold me," she said; when her trust crossed an unseen line, the spear-tip flashed white. She tapped the spiral—snap—and each loop slackened, as if time forgot how to be a line.

"Again," she said.

Valuva obeyed.Between them he raised an impassable wall of reality and time—clear as air, exact as law. Dim reflections of possibilities stood upon it.

Soluva ran.

The spear shone like a sun. She did not test the wall; she chose to pass. The ground under her foot was conviction; conviction fed the flame. With a single stroke she split Valuva's reality barrier; it fell as a soft rain of glass. The wall might have been unbreakable; not for her.

Valuva's rare, quick smile showed. "Do you know what you just broke?"

"A barrier that pretended it could not be crossed," she said; her breath was steady, but inside she laughed like a child from pure excitement.

"Close enough," said Valuva, "but you did not fully shatter it."

He lifted his hand. The symphony woke.Time divided into strips: fast, slow, pausing.For a moment Soluva blurred, then came clear in the gaps; she stepped where the flow thinned.With her spear she cut the fast strip; the current calmed.She turned on her heel and struck reverse; the slow strip woke.She laughed—not mockery, true joy.

"Stronger," she said. "Please."

"Very well," said Valuva. He rose and showed Eternity.

Not movement; duration.Ages stacked; history settled on his shoulders like a ring.It was heavy—too heavy for a soul new to life.

Soluva faltered for two heartbeats.Then her belief rose.

The star on her chest did not only shine; it declared.The spear took a note beyond gold.She set her foot: "I am Soluva."

The ring cracked.Reality splinters chimed, and when they touched her fire, they turned to vapor.

Valuva smiled. "It has been a long time since I have seen a soul like this," he said. "Your mind is clear and steady. Power is first measured there."

"Then measure," said Soluva, and leapt.

The ground was honest.Valuva tried stillness; Soluva wove through it.He tried to rewind; Soluva refused to be an echo.He built a wall from dated days; Soluva cut it with a promise to the future.He cast her into a pocket where only tomorrow existed; Soluva believed in today so strongly that tomorrow yielded.

With each clash, a short, clean bell-note returned.Short names were enough: cut, hold, warm, grow, notice, endure.

They paused for a breath.Steam rose from the spear tip; the gold softened.Soluva laughed, sun-bright. "Again?"Valuva—one who could pretend to be bored and hide behind wisdom—tilted his head, amused."Tomorrow," he said. "You will want your flame for building."

Soluva turned her wrist; the spear unmade itself and became a quiet star on her chest."Tomorrow, then."

Time flowed again. The practice ring loosened; photons ran free. In the distant Dark, something very old—perhaps a Veliathen—stirred; from very far away, it watched the bout.

They finished the orbit in friendly silence. The Sun breathed; the plane held.

"Choose a line," Valuva reminded gently, while the Sun combed its light through Soluva's hair.

"I chose," said Soluva.

"Which?"

She let her gaze pass over the Light, touched the border of the Void, and named the Dark, leaving it far."Founding," she said. "I will build something worth defending."

Valuva bowed his head. "Then we will speak tomorrow, and fight tomorrow. Today—walk. See what your flame already knows."

Soluva walked with quick, willing steps; her steps left no marks—only a warmth that faded back into order. As the Sun carried her beside it, it felt more like itself; hours fit their sockets more truly. And in an unseen place, the Black Sun kept its count, patient as an unopened door. 

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