The hum of the city was constant.
It pulsed through the metal veins of Veyra Enclave, a rhythm of machinery and life intertwined. The towers stretched high into the pale sky, their surfaces alive with flowing runes of Aetheric light. Hovercrafts glided between them like silver fish in a sea of glass, leaving trails of blue luminescence that shimmered against the morning haze.
Down below, in the lower districts where the light dimmed and the air carried the scent of oil and ozone, a boy worked quietly in a cluttered workshop.
Kaelen Burn was seventeen, though the shadows beneath his eyes made him look older. His hair was black as obsidian, falling in uneven strands that brushed against his sharp jawline. His skin was pale, touched faintly by the glow of the Aether lamps that flickered overhead. But it was his eyes that drew attention, deep crimson, like molten glass cooled too quickly, reflecting both fire and sorrow.
He sat hunched over a disassembled Aether regulator, its core flickering weakly. Sparks danced across his fingers as he adjusted the wiring with a precision that came from years of practice. The hum of the device steadied, then brightened, casting a soft glow across his face.
"Finally," he muttered under his breath, setting the tool aside.
The workshop was small, built into the side of an old transit tunnel. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with scavenged parts, broken drones, cracked Aether conduits, and fragments of old-world tech. The air was thick with the scent of metal and dust, but to Kaelen, it was home.
Outside, the district stirred to life. Vendors shouted over the din of engines, selling everything from Aether batteries to synthetic food packs. Children darted between stalls, their laughter echoing faintly through the narrow streets. Above them, the towers of the upper city gleamed like distant stars, untouchable and unreachable.
Kaelen wiped his hands on a rag and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling where faint vibrations from the city's power grid thrummed through the metal.
Another day. Another repair. Another reminder that he was just one of the countless Nulls, the unawakened, the powerless.
In a world where Aether defined worth, Kaelen had none. He was worthless.
He had taken the resonance test at twelve, like every child in the Enclave. The results had been clear: no Trait, no affinity, no spark. The examiner's expression had been polite but distant, the same look given to all Nulls. His mother had smiled through it, but he remembered the way her hands trembled when she held his.
That was five years ago.
Now, he worked to keep their small home running, repairing old tech for the district's residents. It wasn't glamorous, but it paid enough to keep the lights on and the filters clean.
A soft chime echoed from the corner of the room. The door slid open with a hiss, and a girl stepped inside.
She was tall. A nineteen year old with copper hair tied into a loose braid that fell over one shoulder. Her eyes were a striking shade of silver, faintly luminescent, a sign of Aether resonance. She wore a fitted jacket lined with protective runes, the kind used by scavengers who ventured beyond the Enclave walls.
"Still working in the dark, Kael?" she asked, her tone teasing.
Kaelen glanced up, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "Morning, Lira. The lamps work fine. You just like complaining."
Lira Venn rolled her eyes and stepped closer, her boots clinking softly against the metal floor. She was a Mage Initiate, one of the few from their district who had awakened a Trait. Her ability Resonant Flow, allowed her to manipulate Aether currents made her valuable to the Enclave's engineers, though she preferred the freedom of scavenging.
She leaned over his workbench, examining the repaired regulator. "You fixed this one already? That's the third this week."
"People keep overloading them," Kaelen replied. "They think if they push more Aether through, they'll get better light. Then it burns out, and they come to me."
Lira chuckled. "You should charge more. Maybe then you could afford a real workshop."
He shrugged. "This one works."
Her gaze lingered on him for a moment, then softened. "You could've joined the Academy, you know. Even Nulls can apply for technical training."
Kaelen's smirk faded. "And spend the rest of my life fixing things for people who think I'm beneath them? No thanks."
Lira sighed but didn't argue. She knew better than anyone how the Enclave treated those without power. The Trait-Born ruled every aspect of life, from the Elder Orders who governed the cities to the Guardians who patrolled the walls. Nulls were tolerated, but never respected.
She reached into her satchel and pulled out a small crystal, faintly glowing blue. "Here. Found this on my last run. It's a Lesser Crystal, but it's clean. Thought you could use it."
Kaelen took it carefully, the light reflecting in his red eyes. "You shouldn't waste these on me."
"It's not a waste," she said, smiling. "You make better use of them than most."
He turned the crystal over in his hand, feeling the faint hum of energy within. It was pure, stable and rare for something scavenged from the outer zones. He set it aside gently.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
Lira nodded and glanced toward the window. Beyond the narrow glass pane, the city stretched endlessly upward. The upper tiers gleamed with light, while the lower districts remained shrouded in perpetual dusk.
"Did you hear?" she asked. "Another expedition went missing near the Scourged Belt. They say the storms are getting stronger again."
Kaelen frowned. "The storms never stop. People just forget how dangerous they are."
"Maybe," she said softly. "But some think it's changing. The Aether readings are fluctuating. The Elder Orders are keeping quiet, but…"
She trailed off, her expression uneasy.
Kaelen leaned back, crossing his arms. "You think the Veil's acting up again?"
Lira hesitated. "I don't know. But if it is, the Enclave won't tell us until it's too late."
The hum of the city filled the silence between them.
Kaelen looked down at his hands. It was scarred, calloused, stained with oil. He had grown used to the rhythm of his life, the quiet monotony of survival. But sometimes, when he looked up at the Veil's faint glow through the smog, he felt something stir inside him. A pull. A whisper.
He didn't know what it meant.
"Kael," Lira said suddenly, breaking his thoughts. "You ever wonder what's beyond the Enclaves? Beyond the storms?"
He met her gaze. "Every day."
She smiled faintly. "Then maybe one day, we'll find out."
Before he could reply, a distant tremor shook the floor. The lights flickered, and the hum of the generators faltered. Kaelen and Lira exchanged a glance.
"Power fluctuation?" she asked.
Kaelen grabbed his toolkit and moved to the control panel. "Maybe. But that felt deeper."
The tremor came again, stronger this time. Dust fell from the ceiling. Outside, alarms began to wail, their shrill tones echoing through the district.
Lira's eyes widened. "That's the outer wall alert."
Kaelen froze. "Aetheric breach?"
Before she could answer, the workshop door burst open. A man stumbled inside, his uniform scorched, his face pale with fear.
"Beasts!" he gasped. "They've broken through the southern barrier!"
The words hung in the air like a curse.
Kaelen's heart pounded. The southern barrier was miles away, but breaches were rare... almost impossible. The Enclave's shields were powered by Prime Crystals, maintained by the Elder Orders themselves. For something to break through…
Lira's hand went to the runic pendant around her neck. "We need to get to the shelters."
Kaelen nodded, grabbing his jacket. The air outside was already thick with tension. Sirens blared, and people flooded the streets, their faces pale with panic.
Above them, the sky shimmered faintly—the Veil's light pulsing like a heartbeat.
Kaelen looked up, his red eyes reflecting the glow. For a moment, he thought he saw something move within the light, a shadow, vast and distant, watching.
Then the ground shook again, and the world erupted into chaos.
The lower district descended into panic.
Sirens wailed from every direction, their tones shifting between warning frequencies. The air shimmered faintly as the Enclave's defensive barriers flared to life, casting the streets in a ghostly blue hue.
Kaelen and Lira pushed through the crowd, heading toward the nearest shelter. The streets were a blur of motion, families clutching children, merchants sealing their stalls, Guardians sprinting toward the southern gates in gleaming armor etched with runes.
The Guardians were the Enclave's elite defenders, Enhancers and Mages trained to channel Aether through their bodies and weapons. Their armor glowed with embedded Crystals, each pulse of light synchronized with their heartbeat.
Kaelen had always admired them from afar. They were everything he wasn't; powerful, respected, chosen.
A deafening roar split the air.
The sound was primal, layered with distortion, as if reality itself trembled beneath it. The crowd froze. Then, from the direction of the southern wall, a column of light erupted into the sky-violet and crimson, twisting like a living flame.
Lira grabbed Kaelen's arm. "That's not a normal breach."
He didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on the horizon, where the light pulsed again, followed by another roar. The ground trembled beneath their feet.
A Guardian sprinted past them, shouting orders. "All civilians to the shelters! Move!"
Kaelen and Lira joined the flow of people heading toward the underground tunnels. The shelters were reinforced chambers beneath the city, designed to withstand aetheric surges and Beast attacks.
As they descended the stairway, Kaelen glanced back one last time.
Through the haze, he saw it. A shape moving beyond the barrier. Massive. Shifting. Its body glowed with veins of molten aether, and its eyes burned like twin suns.
A Beast.
But not like any he had seen in the archives. This one was different. It was larger, more defined, almost intelligent.
The barrier flared as it struck, rippling like water under the impact. Cracks of light spread across the shield's surface.
Kaelen's breath caught. "It's breaking through."
Lira's grip tightened on his arm. "Don't look. Move!"
They reached the shelter entrance just as the barrier shattered. The explosion of light was blinding. Aetheric energy surged through the air, distorting sound and sight. The shockwave hit moments later, throwing Kaelen off his feet.
He hit the ground hard, the world spinning. His ears rang, his vision blurred. Through the haze, he saw Lira struggling to stand, her silver eyes glowing faintly as she tried to stabilize the aether currents around them.
"Kael!" she shouted, her voice distant. "Get up!"
He forced himself to his knees. The air was thick with energy, crackling against his skin. The Beast's roar echoed again, closer now.
Then, through the chaos, a figure descended from above.
A man clad in black armor, his cloak trailing sparks of aetheric light. His presence was overwhelming, the air bending around him. He landed between the Beast and the city, raising a hand.
The ground split as a surge of energy erupted from his palm, forming a barrier of pure light. The Beast struck it, and the impact sent shockwaves through the district.
Kaelen stared in awe. He had seen Guardians before, but this was something else. The man's power was immense, his control absolute.
Lira whispered, "A Paragon…"
The title carried weight. Paragons were among the highest-ranked Trait-Born, capable of manipulating aether beyond their natural Trait. They were legends; living weapons of the Elder Orders.
The Paragon turned his head slightly, his eyes glowing with golden light. "All civilians, evacuate immediately."
His voice carried through the air, calm yet commanding.
Kaelen grabbed Lira's hand, and they ran. Behind them, the battle raged, light and shadow colliding in bursts of energy that shook the city.
By the time they reached the shelter, the entrance was closing. They slipped inside just as the doors sealed shut, cutting off the sound of the outside world.
Inside, the air was heavy with fear. Families huddled together, whispering prayers to the Aether. The lights flickered, powered by emergency Crystals.
Kaelen sank against the wall, his chest heaving. Lira sat beside him, her hands trembling.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Kaelen said quietly, "You think he can stop it?"
Lira looked down. "If anyone can, it's a Paragon."
He nodded, though doubt lingered in his mind.
The shelter shook again, dust falling from the ceiling. Somewhere above, the battle continued.
Kaelen closed his eyes, the image of the Beast burned into his mind. The way its eyes had glowed, the way radiating light had pulsed through its body. It was alive in a way that defied understanding, as if it were more than just a creature.
Hours passed before the tremors ceased. When the doors finally opened, the air outside was thick with smoke and the faint scent of ozone. The southern district was in ruins, but the Enclave still stood.
The Paragon had driven the Beast back into the Scourged Belt.
Kaelen and Lira emerged into the dim light, their eyes scanning the devastation. Buildings lay in rubble, Aether conduits sparked weakly, and the once-bright towers were darkened by soot.
Lira exhaled shakily. "We're lucky to be alive."
Kaelen nodded, his gaze distant. "Yeah."
But as he looked toward the horizon, where the Veil's glow shimmered faintly through the smoke, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning.
Something was changing.
The Aether felt different, heavier, restless. The air itself seemed to hum with anticipation.
And deep within him, beneath the quiet rhythm of his heart, Kaelen felt it again. That same pull. That same whisper.
He didn't understand it. Not yet.
But one day soon, he would.
And when that day came, the world would never be the same.