"The world of Aetheris… once a world without gods.
It was a peaceful world, and in the beginning, it possessed magic.
But… all of that came to an end when humans began to develop science…"
A woman's voice could be heard, reading from a book that contained records of the past.
"And at that moment, destruction arrived.
Humans began to wage war against one another… all for the sake of hunting a single person…"
…
"Hah…"
The woman slowly closed the book she was holding, then asked someone standing near her,
"So? It was a difficult journey, wasn't it?"
That person looked at her.
"Yeah… I guess it really was a heavy journey, wasn't it…?"
The woman smiled, then stood up from her throne.
"Yeah… that's not wrong either… because that was also—"
The words became faint, impossible to hear…
As if sinking deeper into a dream…
…
Back to the present time, in the nation of Cyranthia.
Felix opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling of his room, feeling slightly confused… then raised one hand to calm himself down.
He slowly sat up and glanced at the clock, which showed 04:47.
Morning had already arrived, yet the atmosphere was extremely quiet, and the air still felt cold.
He opened his bedroom door and looked around the house, which still felt eerily silent.
As Felix took a single step forward, he suddenly felt dizzy and nearly fell.
He thought that maybe he had just been having an unusually heavy dream… or perhaps he had pushed his body too hard during his soccer match.
Felix felt that the dream kept coming back, as if it were trying to send him some kind of sign.
But he had no idea what it meant.
He shook his head and walked toward the kitchen.
As he did, he saw his sister washing the dishes.
"Elen… that's rare. You're washing dishes this early in the morning?"
Elena Erratic was the eldest of the Erratic siblings.
Not surprised, Elena finished what she was doing and turned toward her youngest brother with a beautiful, gentle smile.
"Hehe… well, well. Looks like my little brother is already awake, huh?"
Felix felt slightly embarrassed by her words.
"Stop it… don't say it like that. I'm already grown up!"
She laughed.
But… it seemed like Elena was observing Felix closely, as if she noticed he had pushed himself again.
"You overdid it again, Lix?"
Felix felt confused, but he wasn't too surprised. His sister had always been able to tell just by looking at someone's behavior, no matter their age.
"Yeah… I guess so…?"
She could only let out a sigh.
"Alright… next time, don't push yourself too hard. You need proper rest too."
Felix nodded.
"Yeah…"
After that, Elena told Felix to take a shower while she prepared breakfast for them.
Twenty minutes passed…
Felix finished showering, returned to his room to put on his school uniform, then went back to the dining area.
Looking around, it seemed like one person still hadn't woken up yet.
"Elen… Rhett still isn't awake?"
"Not yet. Just let that big rat wake up on his own—"
The bedroom door suddenly opened, cutting her off.
"Who are you calling a big rat, huh?"
Clearly unhappy with the nickname.
Elena and Felix burst out laughing, while Rhett stood there, confused about what was so funny.
After that, Felix told Rhett to hurry up and take a shower since the time already showed 05:57.
Elena added that Rhett always took forever to shower, like he was performing some kind of ritual.
The morning was already filled with loud chaos.
Thirty-seven minutes passed.
"Whoa, new record, Elen. Rhett just took a 37-minute shower? What was he even doing in there?"
Rhett replied,
"Don't think weird things."
Elena answered that he probably fell asleep in the shower.
Rhett fell silent.
Elena and Felix looked at him with expressions that clearly said: You really did fall asleep, didn't you?
The morning grew even louder with jokes and laughter between the three siblings.
Until 06:53.
Everyone was ready and began locking up the house.
Elena handed the spare key to Felix.
"As usual, Felix. I'll probably come home a bit late, and Rhett goes straight to work after campus. So make sure you come home earlier, alright?"
Felix nodded.
The three Erratic siblings got into the car and drove Felix to his school first.
Seventeen minutes passed.
Felix arrived at school and stepped out of the car.
"Study hard, Lix. Don't end up like Rhett, who almost sent someone to the afterlife."
Rhett, sitting in the back seat, looked slightly annoyed.
"Well… even though the morning's already this hot," Felix said,
"Alright then, Elen, Rhett, I'm heading in now. Bye-bye!"
He waved his hand.
The school bell was about to ring.
Felix walked into the school building and, as usual, greeted the security guard and the friends from his usual group.
As he walked toward his classroom, he happened to meet his close friend, Alexa.
Alexa greeted Felix as usual, and Felix teased her like he always did.
They were practically inseparable.
While walking to class, Alexa asked him something.
"Hey… Fel… are you free later? I wanted to ask you—"
Suddenly, one of Felix's friends greeted him, causing Felix to miss what Alexa was saying.
Felix wanted to ask her to repeat it, but Alexa refused and looked slightly sulky.
All Felix felt was confusion.
Did I do something wrong…?
The bell rang, and all students entered their respective classrooms.
When Felix sat at his desk, Alexa—who sat beside him—asked,
"Hey Fel, have you finished the assignment Mrs. Luni gave us?"
With confidence, Felix replied that he had done it by himself.
Alexa praised him.
"Wow, that's rare. I didn't even see you practicing with the notes I made."
Her words made Felix feel a little embarrassed as he scratched his head.
"Ah… well… I sometimes forget… hehe. But you help me a lot too! Thanks!!"
Alexa blushed instantly. Felix's words made her heart beat faster.
At that moment, Mrs. Luni entered the classroom, and the lesson began.
Several hours passed.
The break bell rang.
Students began leaving the classroom and heading toward the cafeteria.
Alexa approached Felix's desk and told him that she had student council duties, so she couldn't accompany him during break.
Even so, Felix understood.
After that, Felix called his friends and went to the cafeteria together.
While walking toward the cafeteria, Felix accidentally bumped into another student from the same grade.
Felix's friends began scolding the student, but Felix stopped them.
Felix extended his hand and helped the student up.
"Thank you, Felix."
The student walked away.
As he did, Felix accidentally overheard someone mention that the student's name was Alder, someone known as the smartest student after Felix himself.
After hearing that, Felix wanted to turn back and talk to him, but he couldn't because he was with his friends.
Five hours passed.
It was exactly 03:00 PM when the dismissal bell rang, and everyone started heading home.
As Felix walked toward the classroom exit, he noticed Alexa still hadn't returned from her student council activities.
"Hm… I guess she's busy… I'll just head home first today."
Felix walked home alone.
After arriving home, Felix lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling, still thinking about the dream he had that morning.
The more he thought about it, the deeper he seemed to sink back into that dream…
Felix shook his head and told himself not to think about it anymore.
Feeling bored at home, Felix decided to go out to the mall.
He got ready and headed there by bus.
Twenty-three minutes passed.
Felix arrived at the mall, and just as he was about to enter, someone called out to him.
He turned around to see who it was.
When he looked closely, it turned out to be Alexa, who happened to be there as well.
"Huh? Alexa, you're here too?"
Feeling a little embarrassed, Alexa told Felix that she actually wanted to invite him to the mall earlier, but since their conversation was interrupted, she didn't say anything.
After hearing that, Felix apologized to her, and eventually, they entered the mall together.
"Hey Fel, wanna check out the game zone first? I'm kinda bored."
In the end, the two of them went to the game zone and had fun together.
"Fel, I wanna try that claw machine! Let's do it!!"
Felix nodded since he wanted to try it too.
"I'll go first, okay? Then it's your turn."
Felix nodded.
First attempt — failed.
Second attempt — failed.
Third attempt — failed.
Fourth attempt — failed.
Alexa grew a little frustrated after failing repeatedly.
When it was Felix's turn, he tried the machine.
Using a simple technique, Felix managed to grab the plush toy.
Alexa, surprised, felt a little sad since she didn't get it.
Noticing this, Felix eventually gave the plush toy to her.
Alexa was extremely happy and hugged Felix.
After that, they continued wandering around the mall.
Sometimes they took photos of each other, tried on accessories, bought small items, and finally, ate together.
At some point, Alexa recommended a good place to eat inside the mall.
Since Felix was already hungry, he followed her there.
When they arrived, they placed their orders.
"Hey Alexa, I'll just order the same thing as you. I don't really know what it tastes like yet, hehe."
Alexa said it was fine, and they ordered the same dish.
Ten minutes passed, and the food was finally served to their table.
Seeing the quality of the food, Felix was amazed. It was his first time eating something like this.
"Alexa… you seriously buy food at this price?"
With disbelief, Felix asked her. Alexa replied seriously that yes, that really was the price.
After finishing their meal, Alexa took the receipt and paid for everything.
"This time, it's my treat, Fel. Hehe."
Felix couldn't refuse.
After paying, Felix asked about the total cost.
"Hm? The price? It's just 214 Cyran."
Shocked, Felix told Alexa that amount could cover his meals for an entire month.
But since Felix also knew that Alexa came from a wealthy family, he could understand it.
The time showed 05:27 PM.
Alexa left first due to an urgent matter.
Felix stayed around the mall, calming himself while watching people play, joke around, and shop.
While Felix was enjoying the quiet moment, an older man approached him and offered him a drink.
Coincidentally, Felix was thirsty.
Without thinking much, he accepted it and drank it all.
"Fuah… that's so refresh— huh…?"
He looked around. The man who offered him the drink had suddenly vanished.
Something felt off as Felix stood up.
He felt dizzy, and his body felt unusually hot.
Felix thought he might have a fever and decided to go home.
As he walked toward the bus stop, he saw a large crowd.
Curious, Felix approached.
When he saw what had happened, it turned out to be the same man who gave him the drink—now lying there, dead.
A detective who happened to be there informed everyone that the man belonged to a race that had been hiding for 600 years.
The investigator said that if one of them appeared on the surface, it meant that the entire race was already extinct.
Hearing those words, Felix began to panic and quickly left the scene, heading home.
Inside the bus, Felix felt even dizzier, and the heat inside his body became more painful.
After another twenty-three minutes, Felix arrived home and saw that Elena's car was already there.
Felix rushed inside, barely able to stand, his body giving out.
He opened the door and collapsed, his body burning with heat.
Elena noticed immediately and rushed over in worry, helping Felix to his room and placing a cold compress on his forehead.
When Elena touched Felix's body, something felt strange in her mind.
Why does Felix's body feel like it's shrinking…?
She quickly brushed it off, thinking she was just imagining things—but the thought lingered.
Eventually, Rhett came home earlier than usual because his workplace was temporarily closed.
Elena immediately told Rhett that Felix was sick and asked him to watch over him for a while.
Worried, Rhett went straight to Felix's room and checked on him.
His feeling was the same as Elena's—something felt wrong.
Felix's body seemed smaller.
Rhett doubted it… yet part of him believed it.
In the end, Rhett chose to let Felix rest.
—To be continued—