In the forgotten kingdom of Velmora, where floating islands drifted across a golden sky, a seventeen-year-old boy named Kael discovered a hidden door beneath the ruins of an ancient tower that had not been opened for a thousand years.
Kael stood frozen before the hidden stone door, his fingers still brushing away centuries of dust from its carved surface. The ruins of the ancient tower were silent around him, broken pillars leaning like tired giants under the golden sky of Velmora. Floating islands drifted slowly overhead, casting moving shadows across the cracked marble floor.
The door was unlike anything Kael had ever seen.
It was carved from black obsidian stone, smooth yet cold, and covered in glowing silver runes that pulsed faintly as if they were alive. At its center was a circular symbol — a dragon wrapped around a star.
Kael swallowed.
No one had entered these ruins for generations. The elders of his village always warned that the tower once belonged to the Sky Mages, powerful beings who controlled the floating islands. But the Sky Mages had vanished long ago, and with them, their magic.
Yet this door…
It wasn't dead.
It was waiting.
As Kael stepped closer, the silver runes began to glow brighter. A low hum vibrated through the air. The ground beneath his feet trembled slightly.
Then something impossible happened.
The dragon-and-star symbol at the center of the door shimmered — and glowed in response to the pendant hanging around Kael's neck.
Kael instinctively grabbed the pendant. It was an old relic his mother had given him before she disappeared years ago. He had never known what it meant.
Now it was shining.
A beam of pale blue light connected the pendant to the door.
The runes rearranged themselves.
And slowly…
The ancient door began to open.
A gust of cold air rushed out from the darkness beyond, carrying whispers — faint, distant, almost like voices calling his name.
"Kael…"
He froze.
He was sure he had imagined it.
But then the whisper came again — clearer this time.
"Kael… the last heir…"
His heart pounded.
He had no idea what that meant.
But deep inside, he knew one thing:
Opening this door would change everything.
And with trembling courage, Kael stepped into the darkness.
The darkness inside the doorway was not ordinary darkness.
It felt thick… alive… watching.
As Kael crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind him with a deep, echoing boom that shook the stone walls. For a moment, everything went completely black. He couldn't even see his own hands.
Then the pendant around his neck flared with blue light.
The chamber revealed itself.
He was standing inside a vast underground hall carved entirely from crystal. The walls shimmered like frozen lightning, and streams of glowing energy flowed through them like veins. The ceiling stretched impossibly high, disappearing into shadow.
At the center of the hall floated a massive sphere of light.
It pulsed slowly.
Like a heartbeat.
Kael took a cautious step forward. The air felt charged, almost electric. Strange symbols floated in the air around the sphere — the same silver runes from the door.
Suddenly, the floor beneath him lit up.
A circular pattern formed around his feet.
The sphere brightened.
And a voice — deep, ancient, and powerful — echoed through the chamber.
"You have returned… Heir of the Sky."
Kael's breath caught in his throat.
"I—I don't understand," he whispered.
The sphere descended slowly until it hovered at eye level. Within its glowing surface, shadows shifted and formed images — floating islands, storms tearing the sky apart, and towering figures made of light.
"You carry the Mark of Aetherion," the voice continued. "The last Sky King."
Kael instinctively touched his pendant.
"My mother gave me this…"
The sphere flickered.
"Your mother was the Guardian. She hid you when the Shadow Sovereign rose. The floating realms fell because the heir was lost."
Kael's mind spun.
Shadow Sovereign?
Fallen realms?
Heir?
Before he could speak again, the chamber trembled violently.
Cracks of black energy split across the crystal walls.
The glowing sphere flickered.
A cold, sinister laugh echoed through the hall.
"So… the heir lives after all."
From the shadows at the far end of the chamber, darkness gathered — twisting, swirling, forming into a tall armored figure with burning violet eyes.
The Shadow Sovereign.
Kael's heart pounded in terror.
The ancient voice roared through the chamber, "Run, Kael! The power is not yet yours!"
The sphere shot a beam of light into Kael's chest.
Heat surged through his veins.
The pendant shattered — and the blue light sank into his skin.
A blazing symbol ignited across his palm.
The Mark of Aetherion.
The Shadow Sovereign stepped forward, the ground freezing beneath his boots.
"You cannot escape destiny, boy."
Kael felt fear rising… but also something else.
Power.
The floating islands above Velmora suddenly trembled in the sky.
Storm clouds gathered.
The crystal chamber began collapsing around them.
And for the first time in his life—
Kael felt the sky answering his call.