The world had changed overnight.Not for everyone — just for those who watched the video.
It began as a shaky clip: a bridge collapsing, a boy clutching a child, a flash of golden light brighter than lightning. The kind of thing people would usually scroll past, muttering fake or CGI.
But this one didn't fade.
By morning, it had millions of views.#MoonMiracle.#GoldenStorm.#TheBoyWhoStoppedTheRain.
Newscasters dissected every frame. Scientists debated optical illusions. Priests called it a divine sign. Governments stayed silent.
And somewhere in a dim control room lit by blue monitors, men in gray suits watched the footage on repeat.
The Azure Division Headquarters – Classified Zone 12
A hologram of Lian's glowing form shimmered in the dark.
"He's not in any global registry," said a woman in a crisp navy uniform. Her voice was sharp, measured. "No birth records, no medical history, no trace of DNA in any database."
The man beside her leaned closer to the hologram, his eyes narrowing. "Then where the hell did he come from?"
The woman hesitated. "The readings from the footage… don't match anything terrestrial. The energy burst around him isn't electrical, magnetic, or nuclear. It's something else."
The man exhaled. "You mean—"
"Celestial," she finished softly. "Exactly like the readings from Project Echelon fifteen years ago."
A long silence. Then he said, "Find him. Before they do."
Lunehaven – Two Days After the Storm
Lian lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. His small room smelled of sea salt and damp plaster. The world outside moved on — cars, laughter, markets — but inside, time had frozen.
Every muscle ached. His veins still felt like they pulsed with fire.
He'd locked the door. He couldn't face the looks, the whispers, the questions.
"Miracle boy.""Monster.""Prophet."
He'd seen the video once before deleting every trace of it from his phone. But deletion didn't erase truth.
He touched his wrist, half expecting to see gold again. Nothing. Just pale skin and silence.
"I'm not special," he muttered. "I'm just—"
The pain hit like a blade.
His body convulsed, eyes wide as heat seared through his veins. The world dimmed at the edges. He gasped for air, clutching the bedsheets.
Light burst behind his eyelids — golden, violent, ancient.
He wasn't in his room anymore.He was standing before a throne of stars.
The sky above him wasn't a sky at all but an ocean of galaxies swirling in eternal motion. Beneath his feet, constellations moved like living rivers.
And at the center — a throne forged of starlight, broken down the middle.
A woman stood before it, her figure made of light and sorrow.
"Who… are you?" he whispered.
Her eyes glimmered with tears that fell like molten suns. "You don't remember me."
"I—" His voice faltered. "I don't remember anything."
She stepped closer, reaching for his face. "They sealed you to protect us all."
Her touch was warm — unbearably warm — like touching the core of a sun.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because you were never meant to wake again."
The throne cracked. The galaxies trembled.
And then the light consumed him.
He woke screaming.
The room was dark, moonlight filtering through the thin curtains. Sweat soaked his shirt; the bedsheets clung to him like damp leaves. His heartbeat thundered.
On the floor beside the bed, the air shimmered faintly — a sigil, circular and glowing, fading as he watched.
Lian stumbled back, terrified. "What's happening to me?"
The mark pulsed once, and then it vanished, leaving only the faint scent of ozone and salt.
He barely noticed the red light blinking outside his window — a small drone hovering in silence, its lens reflecting gold.
A hundred miles away, inside a surveillance van marked only with the insignia of a blue serpent, a voice reported calmly,
"Target confirmed. Subject Lian Ardent. Location: Lunehaven, Sector 14."
"Orders?" asked the driver.
The woman's voice came through the radio — the same one from the control room.
"Observe. Do not engage. If the energy signature spikes again, contain immediately."
Later that night
The pain returned in waves. Lian staggered to the bathroom sink, gripping the edges hard enough to crack the ceramic.
His reflection stared back — pale, exhausted, human.
But then it flickered.
For a heartbeat, the reflection wasn't him. It was someone older — eyes of pure gold, skin etched with faint glowing lines like constellations carved into flesh.
The figure looked directly at him.
"You shouldn't exist."
The voice was his own, layered over another — ancient, broken.
The mirror shattered.
He stumbled backward, heart hammering, shards glittering like stars on the tile floor.
Blood trickled from his palm. It glowed faintly before fading into normal red.
He sank to the floor, trembling. "I don't understand… what am I?"
The walls seemed to whisper in reply — echoes of the storm, of voices that were not his own.
Outside, the sea was unnaturally calm. The storm clouds had not returned, yet the air felt heavier, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
At the edge of town, under the forest's shadow, three figures stood in silence.
Two of them were identical — white-haired twins in moon-colored robes, their eyes reflecting silver fire. The third leaned casually against a tree, a grin tugging at her lips, her amber eyes glinting with mischief.
"He's waking," the playful one said. "I can feel the ripple."
The gentler twin nodded. "The seal weakens. His essence bleeds through the mortal shell."
The other twin — colder, sharper — smiled faintly. "Then it's time we find him before the hunters do."
The forest around them trembled as they vanished into the mist.
Back in his room, Lian sat in silence. The pieces of the mirror glowed faintly, forming patterns he couldn't comprehend.
On his wrist, a faint mark began to appear — a half-circle surrounded by star-shaped sigils. It pulsed once, then again, syncing with his heartbeat.
His phone buzzed suddenly, jolting him.
Unknown number.No name.
He hesitated before answering.
A calm, cold voice spoke:
"Lian Ardent. We know who you are."
He froze.
"Do not panic. You are not alone in this. There are people who can explain what's happening to you. But you must come with us before they find you."
"Who are you?" he managed.
"We're called the Azure Division. And if you value your life, you'll listen."
Static. Then silence.
The call disconnected, leaving only the faint hum of the sea outside and his pounding heartbeat.
Lian stared at his reflection in the cracked glass again — at the boy who shouldn't exist, trapped between two worlds.
For the first time since waking by the sea, he felt something unfamiliar.
Fear.And beneath it — destiny.
Cliffhanger: Lian is discovered by the Azure Division and unknowingly attracts the attention of spirit beings watching from the Moonforest.