Aden's eyes snapped open to the taste of iron and dust.
He was lying face-down on the cold stone floor of his training room, cheek pressed against dried blood that had pooled beneath him. His forehead throbbed like someone had split it open with an axe. A few feet away, the jagged remains of his practice sword lay scattered , blade snapped clean in half, the hilt still warm in pieces.
"Fuck…" he muttered, voice rough.
Painful flashes slammed into his skull without warning.
A woman screaming his name.
His father's face , ice-cold, furious, disappointed.
Then black. Like someone had ripped whole chunks out of his memories with a dull knife.
He sat back against the wall, breathing hard. Moonlight sliced through the tall windows of the Grand Vasco Tower of the Grieckel Academy, turning everything sharp and silver. Far in the distance, the lights of Aetherius flickered like they were mocking him.
Tomorrow night. Grieckel Academy. Grand banquet for the new headmistress.
Everyone would be there , nobles, heirs, fake smiles and sharper knives.
Aden let out a dry laugh that hurt his ribs.
"Yeah… not going."
This morning's letter still sat crumpled on the desk where he'd thrown it. Official seal of House Vasco. Short and brutal: He was relieved of his duties as representative in the Vasco Senate. Effective immediately. A new heir had been chosen.
A soft creak echoed from the shadowed corner near the bookshelves.
Aden froze.
Intruder.
His heart slammed against his ribs. He snatched the second sword , the sleek black blade his grandfather Zwalter had given him the day he was shipped off to the academy. No aura. He wouldn't risk pulling even a spark through that cracked core tonight. Not after what just happened.
Grip tight, knuckles white, he rose slowly, eyes scanning every shadow.
The room looked empty. Too quiet.
But on the heavy oak desk, half-hidden under the crumpled senate letter and torn training notes, sat a thick black book he'd never seen before.
The Blades of Deception.
Pulse racing, he stepped closer, sword tip raised. Using the blade's point, he flipped the cover open.
The pages turned on their own with a dry whisper and stopped dead on page 22.
Bold, cruel lettering stared up at him:
The Fall of Lucius Aden Von Vasco
Aden leaned in, breath shallow, eyes narrowing on the first line.
Aden snorted, lips curling.
"Some pathetic prank. Real original."
He leaned in anyway, eyes scanning the sharp black ink.
"On the night of the grand banquet welcoming the new headmistress at Grieckel Academy, after being coldly relieved of his duties as representative in the Vasco Senate, Lucius Aden Von Vasco lost control during a heated exchange and took the life of Claire Remes, daughter of Duke Chiron Remes. The truth, however, was that Aden Vasco had been perfectly set up."
His chest tightened. Claire Remes? The magic prodigy everyone kissed up to? Bullshit. He barely even talked to her.
"Fuck this," he growled, reaching to slam the page over.
The letters moved.
They lifted off the paper like living smoke, black and oily, crawling over his fingers, burning up his arms in searing lines. Then they punched straight into the cracked core in his chest.
Pain detonated.
Aden dropped to his knees, sword clattering beside him. His vision exploded with images, voices, and blood.
He saw it all in a violent rush , a lone man, Kairus Varkaine, standing atop a mountain of corpses under a blood-red sky. The story slammed into him like a nightmare fairy tale on fast-forward.
Kairus rising from nothing.
His entire family slaughtered by the very house that once protected them — House Vasco.
The cold, calculated revenge.
Allies turned into corpses.
Great Houses crumbling.
And at the center of every fall… Kairus himself.
He clutched his head, teeth gritted, blood trickling fresh from his forehead.
"No… no way"
He knew Count Varkaine. One of the six loyal vassal families under Vasco. A quiet, obedient count. But a son? Kairus? He didn't know...
Yet the book didn't lie.
Everything was written in cold past tense.
As if it had already happened.
Kairus Varkaine was a regressor.
He had struck a deal with the gods themselves, rewinding time just to watch the Vasco bloodline burn. Every death, every betrayal, every scream , all planned, all executed perfectly in this new timeline.
The flood of visions slammed to a stop.
Aden stayed on his knees, chest heaving, sweat mixing with the blood on his face. The black book now lay blank and innocent on the desk, pages empty like nothing had ever been there.
His hands wouldn't stop shaking.
"This… this can't be real," he whispered, voice cracking angrily.
"They already took everything from me… and now they want me dead too?!!"
Aden stayed on his knees, staring at the blank book like it had just spat in his face.
He forced his brain to work through the fog.
The exact lines floated back:
"Dozens of corpses were found in Aden Vasco's room during the academy investigation."
And right after: "Claire Remes's body was discovered deep in the forest, far from the banquet hall."
His blood ran cold.
Bodies… in his room?
His own fucking room?
Someone wasn't just trying to screw him over.
They were building a perfect frame. Dead girl + massacre in his quarters = open-and-shut "mad ex-heir snaps."
Game over for House Vasco's reputation, and for him.
A soft click sounded from the door.
Aden's head snapped up. He snatched the black sword off the floor, heart hammering. No time to think. He slid behind the heavy door, back pressed to the wall, blade raised and ready.
Footsteps. Light. Someone entering.
The second the figure stepped inside, Aden exploded forward.
He slammed the intruder against the wall, sword edge tight against their throat.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
Wide terrified eyes stared back.
A young maid, tray of bandages and water trembling in her hands. The same one the family had assigned for his stay at the academy.
"M-Master Aden… it's me, Lena," she whispered, voice shaking.
"I just came to check on you after… after the training accident."
Aden held the blade there a second longer, then lowered it with a curse.
"Get out. Now. Don't come back tonight."
She nodded fast, almost dropped the tray, and scurried out. The door clicked shut behind her.
Silence.
Then every instinct in Aden screamed.
The windows were wide open.
Two shadows leaped in , black-clad assassins, swords already swinging.
Aden barely twisted away from the first strike.
Steel clashed against steel as he parried the second. More footsteps thundered in the hallway outside.
There were more of them.
A lot more.