Excelsis. The name lingered in the air.
A hoarse breath, then a dull thud. Keiko's legs simply gave out. She collapsed to the floor, eyes fixed on the sky that was no longer familiar, her body turning into a tangled, motionless heap of limbs.
Rady remained standing beside Konstant, still staring upward in silence. His hands twisted together nervously, a small sign of life in a body that seemed frozen in time. Or simply overwhelmed.
Konstant just stood there, trying not to think about the empty cabin waiting for him in a world he could no longer reach.
No one moved for a long moment. The old man waited patiently, as if he understood they needed time to process everything.
It was Konstant who finally broke the silence. "You said you had answers." His voice came out steadier than he expected. "So… let's go. Please."
The old man nodded. "Follow me."
He began walking through the village, and after a brief hesitation, Konstant followed. Keiko pushed herself up on trembling legs and came after them, and Rady followed as well, staying close to Konstant. His eyes still wandered over the unfamiliar surroundings, but he did not panic.
Their walk ended when the old man turned off the main path and led them to higher ground. At the top, isolated and imposing, stood his home. It was clearly the largest building in the village: two stories of wood and solid stone, thick glass windows reflecting the bright sun, and a front door carved with intricate symbols Konstant did not recognize.
Aldric opened the door and gestured for them to enter.
Inside, the house was filled with things. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with books, scrolls, ceramic jars, and strange objects. A large table stood covered in more books and papers. The air smelled of old parchment, dried herbs, and something faintly sweet.
What caught Konstant's attention, however, was an object on the nearest shelf: a crystal sphere about the size of a soccer ball, perfectly transparent except for the purple mist swirling inside it. The mist did not behave naturally. It seemed purposeful, forming patterns that almost appeared meaningful before dissolving and reforming. There was no fire beneath it, no visible source of heat, yet the mist moved endlessly. Konstant stood frozen, hypnotized by the silent, unnatural dance. For how long, he didn't know.
"That can wait," Aldric's voice said, calm but firm, pulling him back to reality. The old man stood beside the unlit fireplace, watching him. "Sit," he insisted, gesturing to the rough wooden benches. "Your questions will not answer themselves."
No one wanted to sit. But after a moment, Konstant gave in and sat on a bench with his back to the wall and his face toward the door. Keiko sat beside him, arms still crossed defensively. Rady took the bench across from them, curled inward but present, his eyes darting nervously around the room before settling on the floor.
Aldric took his own seat, the weight of years evident in his movements. He studied them for a long moment.
"My name is Aldric," he said. "I am the elder of this village. Leader, sage, judge, depending on the day." A faint smile touched his lips. "And you, children, are something very rare."
"Rare how?" Konstant asked.
"Otherworldly Mystics," Aldric replied simply. "Travelers. Such arrivals are not impossible, but they are exceedingly rare. In my long life, I have never seen such a case myself. I have heard stories, ancient legends. But never…" He trailed off.
"Wait," Keiko interrupted, her voice rising. "Other world? You're saying we're not on Earth? That what's out there is real?"
Aldric looked at her with compassion. "Yes, child. This is Excelsis. It is not your world. And I fear that yes, it is very real."
Silence fell completely. Hearing the confirmation so plainly made everything undeniable.
Keiko made a strangled sound. Rady had started rocking slightly again, back and forth, but without making a sound.
Konstant forced the words out. "How do we go back?"
Aldric's expression darkened. "That is a difficult question, young one. And the honest answer is that I do not know."
Konstant's heart sank. He had expected it, but hearing it aloud…
"You don't know?" Keiko repeated, her voice jumping an octave. "What do you mean you don't know? There has to be a way. There has to be!"
Aldric raised a hand for calm. "Let me explain. Travel between worlds is not common knowledge. It is ancient, rare, and in many ways lost. I do not know how to do it. But that does not mean it is impossible."
"But—" Keiko began.
"There are places in Excelsis," Aldric continued, "ancient and secluded, where knowledge has accumulated for ages. Aethérion, for example." The word did not translate fully, but Konstant understood its essence. Not quite a school, but a place where only the chosen, or those with great potential, were allowed to gather to study the mysteries of worlds. "There dwell the greatest scholars of our realm. Libraries that preserve knowledge from past eras. If anyone knows of travel between worlds, it would be them."
Keiko jumped to her feet so fast she nearly knocked over her bench. "Then take us there. Now. If the answers are there, why are we still here?"
"Because it is not so simple, child," Aldric said gently. "Aethérion does not accept just anyone. Only Mystics."
"You said we are Mystics," Keiko pointed at herself, then at the boys.
"Yes, you are. But Aethérion has standards. They do not accept all Mystics. Only those deemed suitable. Those with potential. With enough control not to become a danger."
A cold feeling settled in Konstant's stomach. "How do they decide who is suitable?"
"Every five years, an inspector travels across all regions," Aldric explained. "They visit every corner of the realm, evaluating young Mystics. Measuring their potential, testing their basic abilities, determining whether they are worthy of joining Aethérion."
"And when," Konstant forced himself to ask, though he already knew he would not like the answer, "does the next inspector come?"
Aldric sighed. "In three years."
The silence that followed hit like a stone dropped into a lake of glass, shattering everything.
"Three years?" Keiko whispered hoarsely. Then louder, "Three years?"
She began pacing in tight circles, her hands returning to her hair. "No. No, no, no. There has to be another way. My family will look for me. My parents will… they will…"
Her voice broke completely. She stopped, burying her face in her hands, shoulders shaking with sobs she tried to suppress.
Rady sat perfectly still on his bench, only his fingers moving. His eyes were fixed on the floor, but Konstant could see the first silent tears beginning to trace paths down his cheeks before falling, dotting the wooden planks.
Konstant felt his own chest tighten painfully. Three years. Three years was… an eternity. Too long. How were they supposed to survive three years in a world they knew nothing about?
"You need to understand more about your situation," Aldric said, his voice cutting through the rising despair. "Before you make any decisions. There is more you must know."
"More?" Keiko turned, her face red and wet with tears. "More what? What else could there possibly be?"
Aldric stood. The dry crack of his joints echoed through the quiet room. He moved toward a wall of shelves filled with objects: opaque glass vials, rune-carved stones, unfamiliar metal instruments. His gnarled fingers, marked with old scars, passed over them with absolute familiarity, stopping at a small hand mirror.
He picked it up with care that contrasted with the clutter around him. The frame was bronze so old it seemed to swallow the light, carved with intertwined serpents, spirals, and eyes that appeared to follow whoever looked at them.
Aldric turned back and held the object out directly to Konstant. The metal did not shine. In the dim light, it absorbed it with a deep, dull glow.
"Look at your necks," he instructed, his tone both gentle and urgent. "The left side of the neck. Use this mirror. The Mark of the Mystics does not reveal itself in ordinary reflective surfaces, only in those prepared for the purpose."
Konstant took the mirror, his hands steady only through sheer force of will. He lifted it, adjusting the angle until he could see his neck.
And froze.
There was a mark. Not a tattoo, not a scar. It was as if someone had sewn a fragment of a star into his skin. A five-pointed star, small but perfectly sharp, about the size of a coin, glowed with a soft white light that seemed to come from within. Delicate lines, like threads of light, radiated outward, capturing the essence of whatever had brought them here.
"What…" His voice failed. He touched the spot with his free fingers and felt something. Not heat. Not cold. A subtle vibration, so faint he almost thought he imagined it. But it was real.
He passed the mirror to Keiko, his hands trembling. She grabbed it and immediately turned it toward her own neck. Her eyes widened when she saw the same mark: a glowing white star that should not have been there.
"I don't… when… how did this get on me?" Her voice was a horrified whisper. "Why didn't we see this before? Why didn't we see it on each other?" She dropped the mirror as if it burned her, her hands flying to her neck, rubbing the mark again and again as if she could wipe it away.
Rady picked up the mirror from the bench. For a long moment he just held it without looking, as if afraid of what he would see. Finally, he raised it.
The same mark. A white star, on the left side of his neck.
Rady lowered the mirror slowly and stared into nothingness, processing. A single tear slid down his face, but he made no sound.
"The Mark of a Mystic," Aldric said, his voice heavy with meaning. "Proof that you have been touched by the divine. That you carry within you a spark of power beyond ordinary mortals."
"The stars," Konstant said suddenly, the pieces clicking together. "The shooting stars did this. They marked us."
Aldric nodded slowly. "Yes. Whatever brought you here left its mark. Quite literally."
Keiko was touching her neck compulsively now, fingers tracing the star's shape again and again. "But what does it mean? Why mark us? What does it want from us?"
"It is not about wanting something," Aldric said gently. "It is about what you have become. Mystics carry fragments of the divine within them. Sometimes it is inherited, passed through generations. Sometimes it is granted by gods in exchange for service. Sometimes…" He looked at them meaningfully. "It happens in ways we do not fully understand."
Konstant forced his mind to work through the shock. "You said it isn't just decorative. That it marks us in other ways too."
Aldric's eyes narrowed slightly, approval in his expression. "Well observed. Yes. The mark is both a blessing and a curse. While it proves your divine nature, it also paints a target on your backs. It makes you visible to ancient, hungry things that lurk beyond the veil of ordinary reality."
A chill ran down Konstant's spine. "What kind of things?"
Aldric walked to the window, looking out at the village. "Excelsis is not only the world you see with your eyes. There are layers. Places between places. Dimensions that exist alongside ours, separated by thin veils." He paused. "And there are things that live in those layers. Creatures. Entities. Beings that wish to enter our world, but cannot. Not easily. The barriers between worlds keep them out."
He turned to face them, his expression grave. "But those barriers are weaker in some places. And certain things can slip through small cracks, especially when drawn by something."
Konstant's stomach twisted. "Drawn by Mystics."
"Yes. Your marks shine like beacons to such creatures. You are… tempting. Sources of divine power they wish to devour, absorb, corrupt. Especially young Mystics who lack knowledge, who do not know how to hide what they are or how to protect themselves."
Keiko stopped touching her mark. She had gone pale. "So… we're in danger? Because of these marks?"
"Most likely, yes," Aldric said bluntly. "If you are not careful."
"But you said the village has protections," Konstant said, clinging to that fact.
"Yes. This village has ancient barriers. Blessings woven into its boundaries, protective symbols carved into the foundations of every home. All villagers are trained to recognize the signs of an incursion. Within these limits, you are relatively safe. The creatures cannot enter easily. They would have to break the defenses first, which would alert us all."
"Relatively safe," Rady murmured, his first spoken words in minutes. "Not… not completely."
"Nothing is completely safe," Aldric admitted. "But the barriers have held for generations. As long as you remain within the village boundaries, you are as safe as you can be."
"And if we leave?" Konstant asked, already knowing the answer.
Aldric met his gaze. "Three untrained children with marks shining like stars, no knowledge of how to defend yourselves, no understanding of the creatures that hunt Mystics, no ability to hide your presence?" He shook his head slowly. "You would not last long outside the village."
Keiko sank back onto the bench heavily, as if her legs could no longer support her. "So we're trapped. Not just in this world, but in this place. For three years."
"Until the inspector arrives," Aldric confirmed. "And even then, only if you are accepted into Aethérion. There you would learn not only knowledge of worlds and your powers, but control. How to hide your marks when needed, how to defend yourselves, how to use the power you carry instead of being consumed by it. How to survive as what you are."
Konstant felt as if the ground had been pulled out from under him. Three years waiting for a chance that might not even work. Three years trapped in a village of strangers, marked as targets for creatures he could barely imagine. And even if they were accepted, there was no guarantee they would ever find a way home.
He looked at Keiko and Rady, thinking of the families waiting for them, the desperation driving them to return. Then he thought of the empty cabin, the silence awaiting him. His next question came not from fear of staying, but from responsibility toward them.
"And if we're not accepted?" Konstant forced himself to ask. "At Aethérion. What if the inspector says we're not suitable?"
Aldric did not answer immediately. When he did, his voice was gentle but honest. "Then you would have to find another path. Perhaps remain here, protected by the village barriers. Perhaps find a mentor willing to teach you privately. There are a few scholars who live outside the great institutions. Other academies exist, but they are in distant realms, weeks of travel from here, and the roads to them are far too dangerous for untrained youths." He hesitated. "Or perhaps… learn to live as untrained Mystics do. Hidden. Quiet. Always moving before the creatures find you."
"That's not living," Keiko whispered. "That's just… surviving."
"Sometimes surviving is all we have," Aldric said softly.
The silence that followed was crushing. Konstant looked at Keiko, her face buried in her hands again, shoulders slumped in defeat. He looked at Rady, curled inward on the bench, arms wrapped around his knees, staring into nothing with red, empty eyes.
The three of them were completely lost in a world that, just hours ago, they hadn't even known existed.
A sudden thought struck Konstant. How exactly had they arrived here? He doubted they had simply appeared inside the warehouse. Someone had placed them there.
"But how did you find us?" Konstant asked, fixing his gaze on the old man. "Were you there? Did you see anything?"
"No," Aldric replied gently. "You were unconscious when you were found. You two," he gestured to Keiko and Rady, "were discovered at the edge of the forest, not far from the fields. Lying on the ground as if you had fallen from the sky. Which, I assume, is exactly what happened."
He looked at Konstant. "You were found deeper in the forest. Much deeper. If not for one of our young ones, a girl of only six who enjoys exploring where she should not, you might never have been found in time."
"A six-year-old?" Konstant repeated.
"Yes. Luna. She was wandering farther than she should have. She saw you and ran back for help, shouting about an injured boy in the forest. The adults went immediately, but she insisted on returning with them to show the way. She even helped to…" He paused, choosing his words. "To pull you closer, to a place where it was easier to carry you. A small child trying to drag someone nearly twice her size. It was… brave of her."
Konstant didn't know what to say. A six-year-old girl he had never met had quite literally saved his life, and he hadn't even had the chance to thank her.
"The forest is not kind to the unconscious and vulnerable," Aldric continued. "There are animals. And sometimes worse things. If Luna had not found you when she did…" He left the sentence unfinished.
"I need to thank her," Konstant said quietly.
"You will have time. Luna lives here in the village. You will likely see her around. It is hard not to. She is quite… energetic." A small smile appeared on Aldric's face. "But there is more. About Luna. She is… special."
"Special how?" Keiko asked, her voice exhausted.
"She is also a Mystic," Aldric said simply. "She has borne her mark for two years now. She too is waiting for the inspector."
Something shifted in Konstant's chest. So they were not alone. There was someone else enduring the same impossible wait.
"So there's someone else like us here," Keiko said, a hint of relief in her voice. "Someone who understands."
"Yes. Though Luna is different from you in many ways. She was born here. She knows this world. Her mark came from different circumstances. But yes. She is like you."
Aldric stood and moved toward the door. "You now have a choice. A real choice, though the options are limited."
He opened the door, sunlight flooding in again. "You may stay here, in the village. We will protect you within our barriers, give you shelter and food. You will be safe, as safe as possible, until the inspector arrives. And perhaps, just perhaps, the academy will have answers about returning to your world."
"But," Konstant said, sensing it coming.
"But we do not offer charity to those capable of working," Aldric said firmly, without cruelty, but without softening the truth. "This is a community of farmers, hunters, craftsmen. Everyone contributes what they can. You are children, yes, but capable children. You are twelve years old. Old enough to work."
He gestured to the village beyond. "We live primarily from agriculture. Grain fields, gardens, small orchards. There is also hunting in the forest when needed, gathering herbs and useful plants, fishing in the river to the east. And all the labor that comes with it: planting, harvesting, storing, preparing food, maintaining homes and tools."
"You would contribute. Work in the fields when needed, help with harvests, perhaps learn hunting or gathering in time. Some families need extra hands. In return, you would have food, a place to sleep, protection from the barriers. And time. Three years to learn about this world, to grow stronger, to prepare for when the inspector arrives."
Konstant processed that. Manual labor. Hunting. On Earth, those were things he partially knew. Six months alone in the forest had taught him some basic survival skills. But here? Everything would be different. The tools, the plants, the animals, even the way things were done. His knowledge might be nearly useless. And working formally, for an entire community…
"And the other choice?" Keiko asked, though they all already knew.
"You go on your own," Aldric said, his voice growing more serious. "You leave. Go wherever you wish in Excelsis. Seek answers on your own, or a path home, or whatever you think you can find." He watched them closely. "And you will likely die quickly. The creatures that hunt Mystics are not merciful. And this world has other dangers beyond them. Bandits. Wild animals. Disease. Hunger. Three displaced children, with no money, no understanding of how things work here, no means to defend yourselves…"
He didn't finish. He didn't need to.
It wasn't truly a choice.
Aldric closed the door gently. "I will leave you alone for a few minutes. To talk among yourselves. Decide together. Then I will return, and you will tell me what you choose."
He left, his heavy footsteps descending what sounded like a staircase to another room.
For a long time, none of them spoke. The silence was heavy, filled only by distant village sounds. Voices, the rhythmic knock of someone hammering, the low moo of an animal.
It was Rady who broke the silence first, unexpectedly. His voice was quiet but firm. "I don't want to die."
It was simple. Direct. Honest.
Keiko let out a sound that was half laugh, half sob. "No one wants to die, Rady." She wiped her face with her hands. When she looked up, her eyes were red, but determined. "We… we stay, right? There's no real choice. We stay, we work, we wait."
"And if we don't get into the academy?" Konstant had to ask. "If we wait three years and the inspector says no?"
"Then…" Keiko hesitated, biting her lip. "Then at least we'll be alive to figure out the next step. Dead people don't help anyone. Dead people don't go home."
She was right. Konstant knew she was.
He looked at Rady. "Do you agree? Staying?"
Rady nodded slowly, his fingers still twisting together. "Yes. I stay. I don't know… I don't know how to do many things. But… but I can learn. I can try."
Konstant looked at Keiko, who was watching him now with those intense eyes. "And you, Konstant? Do you agree?"
He took a deep breath. Thought of the empty cabin. Thought of six months surviving alone. Thought of being trapped in another world for three years with no guarantee of return.
Thought of being alive long enough to try.
"We stay," he said finally. "We work. We wait for the inspector. We try to enter the academy." He looked at both of them. "And we do it together. The three of us. Like Keiko said before. We don't leave anyone alone."
"Together," Keiko repeated. There was something like determination in her voice now. Not hope yet, but the will to fight.
"Together," Rady echoed softly.
It wasn't a perfect plan. It wasn't even a good one. But it was the only plan they had.
And sometimes, Konstant had learned, having any plan at all was better than having none.
When Aldric returned a few minutes later, he found the three of them sitting together, no longer separated on different benches. Konstant in the middle, Keiko on one side, Rady on the other. Three lost children who had decided, at the very least, to be lost together.
"We've decided," Konstant said, his voice steadier than he expected. "We stay. We work. And we wait for the inspector."
Aldric nodded, something like approval in his old eyes. "A wise choice." He stepped closer, standing before them. "Then allow me to say it formally. Welcome to the village of Thornhaven. May this place be your refuge until you can find your way home. May our barriers protect you, our fields feed you, and our people accept you as part of our community."
The words carried weight, almost ritualistic. Like an oath.
"Tomorrow we will begin finding places for you to stay, families who can house you, and work suited to your abilities, or that can teach you new ones. Today…" He glanced out the window, where the sun, that impossible sun with its blue ring, was beginning to set. "Today you rest. Recover your strength. Process everything you have learned."
"There are rooms upstairs where you may sleep tonight. I will bring food shortly. And tomorrow…" A small smile appeared. "Tomorrow, you begin your new lives in Excelsis."