In 1943, on the outskirts of London, two young brothers- Vernon (9) & Bruce (8)-
live hidden from the world in a lonely house surrounded by the forest. Their parents, once celebrated as the Sages of Innovation, revolutionized the study of Qi and Mana Heights, a breakthrough meant to heal the sick, strengthen the weak, and change medicine forever.

But everything changed when their research was stolen, twisted, and weaponized into instruments of war.

Branded as the creators of humanity’s newest horrors, the parents were hunted, persecuted, and erased from the history they helped build.

One quiet night beneath the stars, as the brothers look through their father’s telescope, the world finally catches up to them.
The home is attacked.
Flames swallow the night.
Their mother sacrifices herself to buy them time.

Now the boys escape into the darkness with their father—wounded, silent, carrying truths even heavier than the children can imagine.

But Vernon and Bruce will soon learn:

Their parents’ lost research was only the beginning.
The world will hunt them next—not for who they are, but for what they might become.

With rumours spreading that the brothers inherited the forbidden power, the world sees them as future monsters… long before they ever choose a path.
As they grow, grief and misunderstanding twist their fates in different ways:
Vernon, forced to mature too young, sees humanity’s hatred as proof the world deserves to burn.
Bruce, still gentle despite everything, wonders if he can save what despises him.
Between war, magic, and the weight of a legacy they never asked for, the brothers must uncover the truth behind the Lost Designs, the real reason their mother died, and the shadowy forces that turned the world against their family.

And in the end, the world may marvel…

Are these boys humanity’s doom…
or its only hope?
___
"Knowledge is a lantern.
Passed down, it becomes a torch." 
- Alice Lily

Chapter 1 - test chapter