Altera Earth isn't ruled by kings or emperors. It's ruled by twelve Houses that define what people fear, worship, or resent. They are divided into three groups: the Abyssal Houses, the Radiance Houses, and the Aiding Houses.
The Abyssal Houses are the villains. At least, that's how the story always paints them. They are four in total, united not by loyalty but by ambition. Their goal is simple. They want to control Altera Earth, reshape it and dominate it by any means necessary. And though everyone spits when they speak of them, they cannot deny one truth. They are necessary.
They hunt Fluviums yes, but not like the Radiance Houses do. The Radiance slay monsters to protect people, to defend cities and to inspire hope. The Abysmal Houses hunt them for knowledge. They cut them open, study their cores, extract their Fluvehearts, and experiment with their abilities. Where others see beasts to slay, they see libraries of untapped potential. It is ugly, bloody, and cruel. but progress has always been born from cruelty. Even those who hate them the most have inventions forged from their research.
And yet, hate remains. That's why Reversa University, one of the three Flux Universities, was built. It's a neutral ground where the heirs of all twelve Houses can gather. Here, no blade may be drawn, no Flux may be unleashed and no feud may spill into blood. At least, in theory. In reality, the hatred simmers beneath the surface. The eight Houses outside the Abysmal tolerate them at best and loathe them at worst. Smiles are polite but knives are always ready.
The Radiance Houses are six in number, and the shining lights of Altera Earth. They are paragons of virtue, or so they brand themselves. Each Radiance House is tied to a Flux ro inspire admiration. They are the Houses the common folk cheer for and the ones poets write songs about. In the game, the heroine and some of her five love interests all come from Radiance bloodlines. Heroes are always cast from Radiance cloth.
Then there are the Aiding Houses. There are just two of them, but never to be underestimated. They are not warriors, nor scholars, but they keep the world alive. They do not produce love interests in the game yet their influence is critical in every arc. They are the scaffolding that keeps Altera Earth from collapsing and are neutral again the Radiance and Abyssal Houses.
But the Abyssal is where I belong. And within them, there is one name that rings louder than the others: the House of Argemenes. They are not the strongest because of numbers or wealth. They're the strongest because they alone possess the Concept Flux.
Flux defines life here. Some can bend fire, some wield lightning, some heal wounds, while others command steel or shadow. But all those Fluxes are anchored to nature. Concept Flux is different. It is rarer than rain in a desert, feared and revered in equal measure. It deals not with the tangible, but with the intangible and why they are the strongest of the Abyssal. And within Argemenes, two names shine above all throughout the game.
Xaessiarerich Vecria Argemenes, the prodigy of the House. She is admired, feared, hated and envied. To the fandom of Masquerade of Dreams: Shattered, she is the villainess who sneered, belittled and trampled everyone, especially over the heroine and her brother. She was beautiful, untouchable, and monstrous in her pride. She's a character people loved to hate.
And then there's me, Phasnovterich Vecria Argemenes. In the game, he was her shadow. But even in that story, there were traces that hinted at his true potential. His Flux was Concept too. He was not meant to be weak. He was not meant to be her lapdog. He was meant to rise, maybe higher than her. The fandom knew it. They mourned it. They hated the writers for snuffing him out before he could bloom.
I walked down the marble-floored hallway, my sneakers squeaking faintly against stone polished so well I can see my reflection in it. The University's training wing is on the far end. It's one of those ridiculous state-of-the-art facilities that can withstand a lot of combat. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the University Arc.
It has six acts all into three years of story squeezed into events I only knew from sitting in my room. I'm in Act One which is called The Azure Blade Shining In Moonlight. I never thought I'd actually be able to say that out loud without sounding like some overdramatic narrator, but hey, here I am.
This act introduces the first love interest named Thales Erdict, one of the heirs to the House of Erdict, one of the six Radiance Houses. The Erdicts are an angel race. They're the golden-feathered, noble, painfully perfect type. In the game, Thales was the poster boy of poster boys. He had platinum hair, eyes and the type of face that made half the fandom swoon and the other half scream. And honestly, standing here, knowing he's real, I can't even be mad. He really is that disgustingly good-looking.
In the story, this whole act revolves around one of the Primal Synsiline Treasures: the Azure Blade. It's like Excalibur, but turned up to eleven. Instead of being stuck in a rock, it's inna mushroom cave. According to lore, whoever pulls the blade out becomes the rightful heir, the leader of the Erdict House for all eternity, regardless of whether they're in the bloodline or not. Thales has a few brothers who are both competent and ambitious. And the Erdict bloodline don't hand over leadership with hugs and kisses. They make it a brutal competition, which is where the protagonist comes in by helping Thales prove himself worthy.
That's how the game plays it. I remember grinding through his route, choosing dialogue options carefully, watching his stiff princely demeanor soften as the heroine supported him. It was sweet, even if he wasn't my favorite. And of course, as if this weren't dramatic enough, Xaessiarerich had to butt in. And the reason she's meddling with all this was not for some grand scheme or because she hates the heroine. She's trying to stop Thales from moving forward for one very simple, very tragic reason.
She was having a crush on Thales.
The fandom lost their minds over it when the route dropped. People either hated her with a burning passion or pitied her so much they cried during cutscenes. I was… in the second camp, honestly. I only pitied her. She can't be with him. A Radiance House cannot fall in love with an Abyssal House.
And as far as all transmigration novels are, once you're in the story, the plot will change whether you like it or not. So, in case I might end up with the two on an adventure, I might as well prepare myself for the upcoming mission. Because now, I met the heroine earlier than expected. That single act changed the entire plot of that story and I was now in it. I'm not stupid to avoid the story from going on. In fact, I'm going to use it to get stronger.