"The Fall of Aethelion"
(Mythic Cosmic Prologue)
Before there were hunters, beasts, or worlds for mortals to bleed upon, there was Aethelion—the cradle of flame-born divinity—and upon its throne sat a king whose grief rivaled the stars. His name had once been Aethon, First Sovereign of the Aethelians, a being forged from living fire and sorrow so ancient it bent the laws around him. In those days, the universe knelt not because he demanded it, but because his existence weighed more than fate itself.
Yet even a king can break.
The skies of Aethelion tore open with the sound of a dying universe, and the Architects descended: beings of pure code, carved from the logic that governed reality. They did not come to conquer—only to correct what they believed was a mistake. A king who felt too deeply. A race built not on order, but on emotion. Aethon met them in silence, knowing the war was lost before the first spear of light fell.
He fought anyway.
Nations burned. Thrones shattered. The oceans of silver flame—born from the spirits of Aethelian ancestors—evaporated under Architect light. And upon the final battlefield, surrounded by the corpses of his own people, Aethon knelt not in defeat but in heartbreak, clutching the last remnant of the woman he had once loved: a small ember containing the bloodline that would one day reincarnate into Lisa.
The Architects struck him down.
The Aethelian Throne cracked. Reality fractured. A dying Aethon whispered a final order to the ember in his hand: "Find a world where sorrow can survive. Find a vessel strong enough to bear it."
And with his last breath, he cast the ember into the human world, letting it drift through cycles of rebirth, waiting for a soul broken enough to awaken the fire of his lineage.
The universe dimmed.
The age of gods ended.
And far away, in a world without magic or thrones, a child was born—fragile, bruised, and unwanted. He would grow into a young man named Jaden, never knowing the weight of the cosmic blood that slept inside him.
The final words of the fallen king echoed across eternity:
"The next throne will rise from weakness."
Then Aethelion died.
And Jaden's story began.