✦ First Glimpse of Heaven (Age 2) ✦
Heaven isn't harps and clouds. Heaven is… weird.
At two years old, toddling through gold halls, I still remembered Earth: rain, streets, Ray. Blurry dreams, but still there.
And then — Heaven proper.
Crystal skyscrapers stabbing clouds.
Bridges of woven light across terraces.
Flying carriages trailing comets.
Choirs harmonizing with engines that purred with Ryvane.
"They said Ryvane powered everything — the cities, the skyships, even the hearts of gods."
Merchants hawking glowing fruit. Recruits sparring in training yards.
Toddler-me? Slack-jawed.
"This is Heaven? …This is awesome."
Tiny Me:
"Waaaah—!" (excited toddler squeal)
(pointing at skyfruit stall):
"Ooooh—shiny!"
Passing Angel (startled, bows quickly):
"Y-Your Highness, please… do not eat the skyfruit.
It explodes."
"Angels & Flying magic is real! …Wait, I'm a god too. Should I thank myself? Thanks, me."
Baby Me:
"…I wanna eat it more now."
Angel (panicking):
"NO—!! Please don't!"
Background Angel (whisper):
"The Prince is… energetic."
Second Angel (whisper):
"He tried to eat a bomb fruit—he's definitely Tenjin's son."
A soft chirp echoed nearby.
I turned.
A tiny glowbird — a sky-colored creature with wings like shimmering petals — landed on the stall roof.
It tilted its head at me.
Then— FWIP.
It swooped down and sat on my hair.
Just sat.
Like it owned me.
Angel (whispering, horrified):
"T-The glowbird chose the Prince…"
Second Angel (whispering back):
"But glowbirds only perch on Archangels…!"
The glowbird nuzzled my forehead.
Baby Me:
"…Feather kitty?"
It chirped proudly.
Another glowbird fluttered down.
Then another.
Then another.
In seconds, a whole little flock surrounded me — chirping, glowing, crowding my hair, shoulders, arms, and even my face.
Angel (panicking quietly):
"Heaven's creatures are swearing loyalty—
someone get Her Majesty—this is ABOVE our salary!"
Baby Me (laughing):
"Birdy! Bir— HEY don't eat my hair!"
Glowbird army: happy spark noises
But my brain, ever sarcastic:
If gods are gods, why the cars? Shouldn't everyone just… fly?
"The glowbirds suddenly went silent — every feather frozen."
A ripple trembled under the cloud floor.
Wind reversed.
Light bent.
Then—
BOOM.
A massive shadow rose from below.
The clouds below thumped—once.
Like something ancient knocked from under the sky.
Wings snapping outward like two collapsing galaxies.
A Celestial Rift Dragon broke through the clouds:
✦ ZORAXION — The Rift-Born King ✦
• Four wings layered like shattered glass
• Armor-like scales glowing with star cracks
• A crown halo floating above its head
• Tail split into radiant shards
• Eyes like molten white suns
• Body shaped like a massive armored wyvern-meets-god-beast
Every beat of his wings distorted the air.
Angels collapsed to their knees instantly.
Angel (panicking):
"Y-Your Highness—H-HE IS YOUR FATHER'S CELESTIAL DRAGON—
Zoraxion, the Rift-Born King!!!"
I froze.
Me:
"WHAT IS THAT!? WHY IS IT LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!?"
Zoraxion lowered his enormous head.
The ground shook.
He sniffed me—
a slow, ancient breath like he was verifying my soul.
He stared at me…
Then gently booped my forehead with a single glowing claw.
BOOP.
A pulse of light erupted.
Glowbirds went flying backward like glowing confetti.
I didn't move.
Me (stunned):
"…He touched me."
Zoraxion inhaled.
Angels braced for death.
Then—
He made the deepest, most earth-shaking sound imaginable:
ZORAXION:
"Prrrmmmm."
He was purring.
Silence.
Every angel stared.
Even the clouds paused.
Angels lost their minds.
Angel #2:
"HE'S PURRING—!!
HE HAS NEVER PURRED FOR ANYONE!!!"
Zoraxion leaned closer, letting me pat his armored snout.
Me:
"…You're soft?
Why are you soft?! You look pointy!"
Zoraxion's eyes widened—offended—
and he flapped his wings hard enough to launch me into the air.
Me (mid-air):
"WHYYYY—!?"
He caught me carefully on his giant horn crown and set me there like royalty.
I clung to him, trembling and amazed.
Me:
"…Cool."
Zoraxion glowed brighter.
He approved.
Zoraxion lowered his huge crystal head until I was basically sitting on his snout.
A deep purr-rumble shook the entire plaza.
I poked his scales.
Me:
"…big."
He wagged his tail.
The angels panicked.
Angel 1:
"H-He's letting the Prince touch him—??"
Angel 2:
"He doesn't even let the Queen near him!"
Angel 3:
"Please don't breathe near him—he'll sneeze storms—"
Zoraxion ignored them and gently nudged me upward like a child lifting a kitten.
I ended up riding between his glowing crystal horns.
I blinked.
"…I'm… tall."
Zoraxion hummed proudly.
And that was when Yumi arrived — floating down like judgment day in gold.
Hair = silver waterfall.
Robes = blazing gold.
Entrance = grace itself.
My jaw dropped.
She froze.
Her eye twitched.
Yumi (disbelief):
"…He's letting you ride him."
Zoraxion turned his head away like a guilty dog.
Me:
"…Mama… he fwuffy."
Zoraxion preened, rumbling smugly.
Yumi (tiny whisper, jealous, dramatic sigh):
"He ignores me for three centuries…
but melts for my son."
Zoraxion flicked his tail like
'Correct.'
I patted his horn.
He melted like a cat.
Angels collectively lost their religion.
✦ Departure of Chaos ✦
Yumi (snaps):
"Zoraxion! Stop terrifying the palace staff!"
Zoraxion (deep lazy rumble):
"hmm."
Zoraxion gave one last smug rumble, then gently lowered me from his horns — like a king returning a crown.
Yumi exhaled a mother-level sigh.
Yumi (muttering):
"Good. Now go before you break something."
Zoraxion pretended not to hear.
He stared at me.
Winked.
Then dove back into the clouds with an earth-shaking WHOOM, sending angels tumbling like bowling pins.
Angel #1 (rolling on the cloud floor):
"W-We live…!"
Angel #2 (face-down):
"I can't feel my wings…"
Angel #3:
"PRINCE HAISE, PLEASE DON'T RIDE HIM AGAIN—OUR INSURANCE DOESN'T COVER GOD-BEAST INCIDENTS!"
They tried to bow while wobbling.
Then—FWIP — the glowbirds came back, chirping in full choir mode, as if personally offended Zoraxion stole the spotlight.
I waved.
They bowed.
Angels dragged themselves away.
And just like that…
the chaos left.
Leaving only me, Mom…
and the endless sky.
So I immediately climbed a ledge and jumped.
"OZZZAAAAHHHH—"
…belly-flop into cloud.
Mother scooped me mid-sputter.
Her eyes scolded.
Lips almost laughed.
Yumi:
"Haise! Why are you like this?!"
"Flying isn't for everyone yet, little one. It comes with divine power. Children wait."
Baby Me:
"Fwy! I want fwy!"
Yumi:
"You'll fly when you're older.
Your Veins haven't awakened to Ryvane yet."
I pouted hard.
She tapped my cheek.
"Don't be gloomy. You'll soar one day.
You are heir to the King himself."
For a heartbeat… I saw Ray's grin in the clouds.
Me (quiet to the sky):
"…Still watching me, huh?"
"Ray… I'm really gonna fly someday."
Like he was still watching from somewhere — still wanting to see me fly.
And yeah.
That spark lit inside me.
✦ Mirror, Mirror (Self-Intro) ✦
Later that day, I found a mirror taller than me — polished crystal framed in gold.
For the first time, I really saw me.
Wide eyes, light blue as the sky.
Hair pale white, streaked with faint purple shades — my mother's silver and my father's storm blended into one.
I tilted my head.
Blinked.
"So this is me?"
I grinned, tiny teeth flashing.
"Cool. It's awesome."
Not bad for a two-year-old reincarnate.
Me (posing):
"…Future heartbreaker? Maybe."
✦ The Heir Realized ✦
Born from storm, remade in light.
Yumi's arms.
Tenjin's vow.
Towers of starlight.
Markets alive with Ryvane.
Temples that sang.
Training yards that burned.
And above it all — the Crystal Heart, pulsing with Ryvane itself.
Feeding gods, mortals, soldiers.
Watching me.
When I looked at it, I felt something strange.
Like its light… bent toward me.
Not just recognition — resonance.
"The Heart's light threaded through my Divine veins, testing something — maybe my element, maybe my worth."
Maybe because I wasn't just Yumi's son, or Tenjin's.
I was both — silver moonlight braided with purple storm, blue sky eyes reflecting eternity.
The Heart pulsed once, twice — brighter, stronger — like it approved.
Like it knew me.
Expected me.
Demanded something of me.
For a second, I swore I heard whispers in the silence:
"Child of storm. Child of promise."
Crystal Heart (whisper):
"Stormborn… blessed."
Me:
"…Did the magic rock just talk to me?!"
Maybe imagination.
Maybe prophecy.
But one truth lodged deep:
I wasn't just reborn.
I was chosen. Expected. Placed.
Its glow washed over me, asking the question on everyone's lips:
"Will the Son of the King awaken like the rest… or surpass them all?"
I clenched my fists.
I didn't know yet.
But the sky was watching.
And so was destiny.
Far below the clouds…
something ancient stirred — a dark sigil beating like a second heart.
As if the abyss itself whispered:
"A god that shouldn't exist… has been born."
The air trembled—
as if even Heaven didn't know what it had invited in.
✦ End of Chapter 2 — The Heaven And The Rift-Born King's Favor ✦