Morning crept into Veloria City beneath a grey shroud. The streets glistened with leftover rain, the air thick with the smell of damp stone and ozone. Evan Lysander sat by his window, staring at the skyline as the last drops of water slid down the glass.
He hadn't slept. Every time he closed his eyes, the same visions clawed at him burning skies, a throne swallowed by light, and that woman with silver hair whispering a name that wasn't his.
Cael.
He said it once under his breath, and something in his chest ached in response. The pendant on his desk pulsed faintly, gold flickering beneath its surface like a heartbeat.
He dragged a hand through his hair. "This isn't real. It can't be."
His apartment felt smaller today, like the walls were leaning in. The hum of the refrigerator, the ticking of the old clock, the muted sounds of traffic below , everything was too sharp, too alive, it all felt weird.
Evan picked up the pendant. It was warm.
"Elarion," he muttered, testing the word that had haunted his dreams. The light in the crystal shimmered, as if recognising its name.
He dropped it instantly, stumbling back.
"No. No, no, no."
A knock at his door made him jump.
"Bro, you awake? I swear, if you skipped breakfast again…"
Liam's voice was the only thing that sounded normal anymore. Evan exhaled and opened the door. His best friend stood there in his usual half-buttoned shirt and lopsided grin, holding two takeaway cups.
"Wow, you look really bad," Liam said, squinting. "Did you pull another all-nighter?"
"Something like that."
Liam handed him a cup. "Caffeine therapy. Works on everything, heartbreak, exams, and whatever ghost movie you watched at 3 a.m."
Evan forced a smile, but his hand trembled as he took the coffee. "Thanks."
They sat on the couch, the steam curling between them. For a while, neither spoke. Then Liam glanced at the pendant glinting on the table.
"That thing again? You always wear it. Family heirloom or just your fashion statement?"
Evan hesitated. "...Something like that."
"You okay, man? You've been off lately. Since the storm, actually. You keep zoning out lately it's like you're listening to voices or something."
Evan looked up sharply. "Voices?"
Liam blinked. "Uh, yeah. I mean, metaphorically. Unless..."
"No. Nothing like that."
He turned away quickly. But as he did, he caught a glimpse of the pendant again and saw his reflection in its curved surface.
For an instant, the reflection wasn't his.
A figure with golden eyes stared back at him the same sigil glowing across his collarbone, the same aura of insane power. He blinked, and it was gone.
The cup nearly slipped from his hands.
"Evan?"
"I'm fine."
He wasn't. The world around him kept… bending. The edge of the room flickered faintly, as if the light couldn't decide where to fall. The hum in the air grew louder a vibration that lived under his skin.
*Something's waking up again.*
Campus life that afternoon should've been normal. Students rushing between buildings, drones hovering to deliver packages, chatter about assignments and weekend plans. But to Evan, everything felt wrong off by half a second, like reality lagged behind him.
When he stepped onto the main walkway, the holo-board at the gate glitched. Words rearranged themselves mid-sentence, forming a pattern of glowing symbols before snapping back.
He froze.
Those symbols, he'd seen them in his dreams.
"Evan!"
Liam jogged up beside him, headphones around his neck. "You daydreaming again? You're gonna walk straight into a wall one of these days."
Evan forced a laugh. "Just tired."
"Then get some rest before you start hallucinating."
Too late.
He could feel it again, that pulse, that faint vibration through the air, like something just beyond human hearing. The pendant beneath his shirt had grown warm, almost hot.
A sudden gust tore through the courtyard. Students yelped as papers and umbrellas scattered. The air shimmered faintly with gold dust that only Evan seemed to see.
Then time… slowed.
Voices stretched into echoes. The fluttering paper froze mid-air. Even the raindrops from a distant drizzle hung suspended in motion.
Evan's heart slammed in his chest. "No, not again "
The world turned silent. He was alone in a frozen city.
From the centre of the courtyard, the ground cracked. Light seeped from the fissure like molten gold. And then, through that light, something stepped out.
A figure cloaked in white and gold, face hidden behind a mask etched with runes.
"Cael Lysandriel," the figure said, voice calm but resonant, like thunder whispered. "The Heir to the First Dawn lives still."
Evan stumbled back. "Who...who are you?"
The figure tilted its head. "You have forgotten your name. Forgotten your realm. But the mark of Elarion cannot be erased."
Evan's mind spun. Realm? Heir? None of this made sense.
The figure raised a gloved hand, and the golden light pulsed. "The veil between worlds weakens. The Nightborn will come for you soon."
"Nightborn?" Evan repeated, shaking his head. "Look, I don't know what you're.."
The air cracked behind him. A shape formed tall, shadowed, humanoid but wrong, its eyes burning violet. It hissed, voice like shattered glass.
"Found… you…"
Evan's pulse exploded. He stumbled backward as the shadow lunged, claws slicing through frozen rain. The world blurred everything alive again in a blink screams from students who suddenly saw the thing emerging from the air.
The shadow roared, sound warping reality. Lights shattered, windows exploded, alarms blared.
"Run!" the masked figure shouted.
Evan didn't need to be told twice. He turned and sprinted, but the thing followed, distorting the air around it like smoke and flame. His heart pounded; the pendant seared against his skin.
He dove behind a fountain as the shadow struck, cracking marble.
"Why me?" he gasped.
"You are the seal," the masked one said, stepping forward. "And now it has been broken."
The shadow screeched, launching forward again. The figure raised a hand and a barrier of gold light flared, stopping the blow an inch from Evan's face. The impact rattled the ground.
The force was too much. The barrier shattered, and the masked figure was thrown back.
"Evan! Move!"
Evan's instincts took over. He reached for the pendant and it answered.
Light erupted from his palm, searing through the storm. The runes from his dreams flared across the air, forming a circle around him. The shadow reeled back, screaming as its form disintegrated into mist.
Then silence.
Evan collapsed to his knees, chest heaving. The pendant dimmed, the runes fading. Around him, students whispered in panic, filming the shattered courtyard with trembling hands.
"Dude, what the hell was that?" Liam's voice came from behind him, trembling.
Evan turned, eyes wide. "You… you saw it too?"
Liam nodded slowly. "Everyone did."
Sirens wailed in the distance. The masked figure stood, slightly limping, and looked at Evan one last time. "The veil is open. You cannot run from what you are, Cael."
Then, in a shimmer of gold, the figure vanished.
Evan stood frozen in the rain, the pendant now dull and cold against his skin. His mind felt split half drowning in fear, half burning with something ancient and fierce that whispered one truth:
*This is only the beginning.*
Above the city, clouds swirled again and for the briefest moment, a golden crest flickered in the sky, unseen by most.
But in that moment, somewhere deep in the world's heart, something woke.
And it remembered his name.