The skies above Caelwyn City glimmered with a strange hue that evening—tinged with pink and gold, as though the sun itself was caught blushing.

  In a quiet neighborhood nestled between hills and runic lamp posts, the Virelios household stirred to life.

  "Aeon! Your breakfast's going cold! If I have to time-stop this plate one more time, I'm casting you back into infancy!" Isara Virelios’s voice, sweet yet dangerously playful, rang through the manor.

  "Coming, coming!" Aeon called back, shirt half-buttoned and hair still wet.

  Thalor Virelios, the father, leaned over the kitchen counter, sipping coffee with a smile that only fathers who’ve survived literal wars—and marriage—could wear. "Let him be, Isa. He saved a cat from a tree yesterday; I think that counts as exercise."

  "He levitated the cat. That’s cheating," Isara scoffed, sliding a plate in front of Aeon's seat.

  Aeon dashed in and plopped down. "I used effort, Mom. I looked at it really hard."

  "You looked at it and the tree lifted too," Thalor muttered. "The mayor called again."

  Cue awkward silence.

  Then, laughter.

  This was Aeon's morning. Warm. Chaotic. Confusingly peaceful.

  And none of it made sense.

  Because deep within Aeon, something ancient stirred every night he closed his eyes. Dreams he could never recall. Stars he’d never seen, whispering in a language older than sound.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Gravemere Academy – Lunaris District

  The academy loomed like a cathedral from an era that hadn’t happened yet—all runed towers, floating gardens, and time-shifted halls that were occasionally out of sync with reality.

  “Late again, Virelios,” muttered Kairo Vornhart, the sarcastic, overly combed prefect.

  “I operate on cosmic time,” Aeon replied with a shrug, glancing toward the crowd gathering near the dueling arena.

  “More like comic time,” Lysira Caelwyn snorted, appearing at his side, long crimson hair glowing faintly in the sunlight. “You’re lucky you're handsome. That’s the only reason anyone tolerates your chaos.”

  Ryssha Noctelle, all black lace and sharp wit, leaned in. “Or maybe it’s because he's the only one who can make Professor Zarath yell in three different dimensions.”

  “I swear that desk is still vibrating,” Elian Myrrhos added, grinning.

  “I meant to reverse the gravity field, not the professor’s age,” Aeon said with exaggerated innocence. “He looks good as a toddler, though.”

  Darion Zepharynx clapped him on the back. “You're the only guy I know who nearly destroys the school and gets away with it because the Headmistress thinks you’re charming.”

  “That and the magical exams keep showing 'unreadable' whenever they scan me,” Aeon said, quietly.

  The truth was… he didn’t know why he was unreadable.

  Why no spell could analyze him.

  Why his dreams kept showing a face that wasn’t his… but felt like it.

  Elsewhere…

  Vael Virelios watched the mirror ripple.

  In its surface danced images of Aeon’s life—his family, his school, his laughter. Vael’s eyes were cold, calculating.

  “He still doesn’t know,” whispered Zelphira Dyvra.

  “He will,” Vael replied. “And when he does, he’ll either return to what he once was… or fall trying.”

  Tavin Grynth stepped from the shadows. “Should we begin placing obstacles?”

  “No,” Vael smirked. “The world will do that for us. But add a little spark. Send Varek to Gravemere. Let’s test how far Aeon’s ‘normal life’ can bend… before it breaks.”

  Back at the Academy…

  “A duel?” Aeon blinked. “With who?”

  Kairo pointed at the courtyard. There stood Varek Khoran—towering, draped in obsidian-red robes, and grinning like someone who enjoyed breaking rules… and bones.

  “A transfer student,” Kairo said.

  “No, thank you,” Aeon said.

  “He challenged you directly,” Lysira added.

  “To what, a sarcasm contest? Because I’d win that.”

  “He said, and I quote, ‘Let’s see what makes the unreadable boy tick.’”

  Aeon’s eyes narrowed.

  Somewhere inside him, something pulsed.

  Not fear.

  Recognition.

  Walked as Man. Aeon’s world may seem like a typical magic academy setup, but hidden within every smile, every duel, and every quip is a web of truths waiting to be unraveled. His past is more than ancient, and his enemies are already in motion. Don’t miss the next chapter—where the duel begins, and the cracks in “normal” start to spread…