Lucian's breath caught in his throat.
The world he knew was gone.
No walls.
No ceiling.
No floor beneath his feet.
Only an endless expanse of darkness woven with silver stars, like the night sky, had been torn apart and stitched into a living ocean.
Every breath he took echoed.
Every heartbeat sounded louder than thunder.
Before him stood the two figures.
One male.
One female.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Unreal.
The man stood tall, draped in long dark-blue robes lined with silver runes that glowed like lightning trapped beneath cloth. His hair was long, silver-white, and moved in a wind that did not exist.
His eyes burnt with cold blue light.
Beside him stood the woman.
She wore a black-violet robe that shimmered like shadows wrapped in moonlight. Her long hair flowed down to her waist, dark as midnight with streaks of purple light moving through it.
Her eyes—
Her eyes were terrifying.
Deep violet.
Sharp enough to feel like blades.
Lucian instinctively stepped back.
"Who are you?"
The void remained silent for a moment.
Then the man smiled.
"A reasonable question."
He placed one hand over his chest and gave a slight bow.
"I am Kael Veyron, once known across realms as the Sovereign of Arcane Storms."
The woman looked almost annoyed at the formal introduction.
"And I", she said, voice cold and smooth as ice, "am Lyra Moonveil, former Mistress of Souls and Void."
Lucian stared.
The names meant nothing to him.
But the power radiating from them made his skin crawl.
"What is this place?"
Kael spread his arms.
"The inner void of the pendant."
Lucian's hand instinctively moved toward his chest, but the pendant was no longer there.
Lyra's gaze narrowed.
"More importantly, what exactly are you?"
Lucian frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, Lyra raised one hand.
A violet thread of light shot toward him.
Lucian flinched.
The moment the thread touched his forehead—
Pain.
Blinding.
A surge of energy exploded inside his mind.
He gasped.
Then the darkness around him shattered.
He saw himself standing within a vast inner realm.
Three glowing cores floated before him.
Aqua.
A deep blue sphere of flowing water.
Then—
A second core.
Golden-white.
Radiant.
Ancient.
It pulsed with endless energy.
Kael's calm expression broke for the first time.
His eyes widened.
"Impossible…"
Lyra's face went pale.
"The Origin Core…"
Lucian stared in disbelief.
Origin?
Then the third core emerged from the darkness.
Black-violet.
Cold.
Silent.
Death itself.
Shadows coiled around it like living serpents.
Lyra took an involuntary step forward.
"And… Necro."
The void trembled.
Then something even stranger happened.
Around the three cores, seventeen stone gates slowly appeared in a circular formation.
Each one was covered in glowing runes.
Locked.
Sealed.
Dormant.
Kael's voice lowered.
"Seventeen affinity gates…"
Lyra whispered,
"This child…"
Her gaze snapped toward Lucian.
"Who are you?"
Lucian's breathing grew uneven.
"I don't know."
For the first time since meeting them, the woman fell silent.
Kael slowly walked closer.
His expression had changed.
Less distant.
More serious.
"Tell me everything."
Lucian hesitated.
Then he spoke.
He told them about his awakening.
About the academy.
The bullying.
The pendant from the antique market.
The conversation he overheard between his parents.
The missing sisters.
The hidden clans.
When he finished, the void was silent again.
Kael looked thoughtful.
Lyra looked dangerous.
Finally, Kael spoke.
"The pendant chose you."
Lucian frowned.
"Choose me?"
Kael nodded.
"This relic is not ordinary. It is the Twin Soul Seal, an artefact forged in another world."
Lyra crossed her arms.
"It should never have reached this realm."
Lucian's heart pounded.
"Another world?"
Kael's gaze turned distant.
"Yes."
A storm of blue light gathered behind him.
For a moment, Lucian saw fragments of another realm.
Towering floating citadels.
Ancient mage towers.
A world far beyond imagination.
7
"We were once among the strongest mages there."
Lyra's expression darkened.
"Until betrayal."
Her voice turned colder.
"Our disciple and our… closest companion turned against us."
Lucian noticed the slight pause.
Something painful hid in those words.
Kael continued.
"They shattered our bodies and sealed our souls inside this relic."
Lucian looked at them, stunned.
"So you're dead?"
Lyra's violet eyes flashed.
"Do I look dead to you?"
Kael sighed.
"She dislikes that word."
Lucian almost laughed, but the tension in the air stopped him.
Kael's expression sharpened.
"More importantly, your soul is unlike anything we have ever seen."
He pointed toward the golden-white core.
"The Origin Core is a myth even in our world."
Then toward the black-violet core.
"And Necro affinity is a forbidden path."
Lyra stepped closer.
Her voice dropped.
"You are carrying power capable of destroying nations."
Lucian's throat tightened.
Then Kael looked at the sealed gates.
"These seventeen gates contain additional affinities."
Lucian stared.
"Seventeen more?"
Kael nodded.
"Locked."
Lyra added,
"And each one will require trials, bloodline resonance, and soul growth to open."
Lucian's eyes widened.
That meant—
He could possess twenty affinities.
Kael seemed to read his thoughts.
"Yes."
Lucian's pulse quickened.
For years, he had been mocked as worthless.
Now—
He might be something far beyond ordinary.
Lyra suddenly extended her hand.
A black spear formed instantly.
"Enough explanation."
Lucian blinked.
"What?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"If you carry the Origin Core, prove you deserve it."
Before he could react, she thrust the spear forward.
Lucian barely dodged.
The spear passed by his shoulder with terrifying speed.
Kael sighed.
"This again?"
Lyra's tone remained cold.
"We need to know if he's useful."
Lucian stumbled back.
"You're testing me?"
Kael smiled faintly.
"She means attacking."
Another spear formed.
Lucian's eyes widened.
"Wait—"
Lyra attacked.
The void exploded into motion.
Lucian dodged left.
Then right.
Each strike was faster than the last.
His heart thundered.
His instincts screamed.
Then suddenly—
The Aqua Core pulsed.
Blue energy surged through him.
Water spiralled around his hand.
Lucian froze.
He had summoned magic.
For the first time.
Kael's eyes lit up.
"Good."
Lyra's lips curved slightly.
"Interesting."
Then, without warning, Kael raised his hand.
Blue lightning burst across the void.
Lucian's eyes widened in horror.
"You too?!"
Kael smiled.
"My methods are simply less violent."
Lyra scoffed.
"That's a lie."
The two of them exchanged a glance.
Then, almost simultaneously, both attacked.
Lucian barely had time to react.
Water.
Lightning.
Shadow.
Void.
The training had begun.
And for the first time in his life—
Lucian felt alive.