"The world of Aetheris… a world that was once without gods.
A peaceful world, and in the beginning, it possessed magic.
However… all of that came to an end when humans began to develop science…"
A woman's voice echoed, reading aloud from a book that contained the records of the past.
"And at that very moment, devastation arrived.
Humans began to wage war against one another… all to hunt down just a single person…"
…
"Sigh…"
The woman slowly closed the book in her hands, then turned to ask someone standing nearby.
"So? It was a difficult journey, wasn't it?"
The person looked back at her.
"Yeah… I guess it really was a heavy journey, huh…?"
The woman smiled, then rose from her throne.
"Yes… that's not wrong either… because it was also—"
Her words faded away, becoming impossible to hear… as if sinking deeper and deeper into a dream…
…
Back to the present, in the nation of Cyranthia.
Felix opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling of his room, feeling a bit dazed… then lifted a hand to calm himself down. He slowly sat up and glanced at the clock, which showed 04:47 AM.
Morning had arrived, but the atmosphere was completely still, and the air was still biting cold.
He opened his bedroom door and looked around the house, which was wrapped in dead silence. As Felix stepped forward, a sudden wave of dizziness hit him, nearly making him lose his footing. He thought that maybe he had just experienced an incredibly heavy dream… or perhaps he had pushed his body too hard during yesterday's soccer match.
Felix felt like that 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.
There, he saw his sister washing the dishes.
"Sis Elen… that's rare. You're washing dishes this early?"
Elena Erratic was the oldest of the Erratic siblings.
Without a hint of surprise, Elena finished up her task and turned around to face her youngest brother with a beautiful, gentle smile.
"Hehe… well, well. Looks like my little brother is already awake, huh?"
Felix felt a bit embarrassed.
"Stop it, Sis… don't say that. I'm a grown-up!"
Elena laughed. But… it seemed like Elena was observing Felix intently, as if she realized he was pushing himself too hard again.
"Are you overexerting yourself again, Lix?"
Felix felt confused, but he wasn't too surprised. His sister always knew just by looking at someone's behavior, no matter how old they were.
"Yeah… I guess so, Sis…?"
Elena could only sigh.
"Alright… next time, don't push yourself so hard. You need enough rest too."
Felix nodded.
"Okay, Sis…"
After that, Elena told Felix to take a shower while she prepared breakfast for them. Twenty minutes passed… Felix finished his shower, went back to his room to put on his school uniform, and then returned to the dining room.
Looking around, it seemed like one person was still fast asleep.
"Sis Elen… is Bro Rhett still not up yet?"
"Not yet. Just let that big rat wake up on his own—"
The bedroom door suddenly swung open, cutting her off.
"Who are you calling a big rat, huh?"
He was clearly displeased with the nickname. Elena and Felix burst into laughter, while Rhett stood there, completely confused about what was so funny.
After that, Felix told Rhett to hurry up and shower because the clock already showed 05:57 AM. Elena added that Rhett always took forever in the shower, like he was performing some kind of ritual.
The morning was already filled with noisy chaos. Thirty-seven minutes passed.
"Wow, a new record, Sis Elen. Bro Rhett just showered for 37 minutes? What on earth was he doing in there?"
Rhett fired back, "Don't think about anything weird."
Elena chimed in, saying he probably fell asleep in the bathroom. Rhett went silent. Elena and Felix stared at him with expressions that clearly said: You actually fell asleep, didn't you?
The morning grew even more lively with jokes and laughter shared among the three siblings. Until it hit 06:53 AM. Everyone was ready and they began locking up the house.
Elena handed the spare key to Felix.
"Like usual, Felix. I might come home a bit late, and Rhett is heading straight to work after college. So make sure you get home early, okay?"
Felix nodded. "Got it, Sis."
The three Erratic siblings piled into the car and drove to drop Felix off at 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 a bit annoyed.
"Well… it's already this heated early in the morning," Felix joked. "Alright then, Sis Elen, Bro Rhett, I'm heading in. Bye-bye!"
He waved his hand. The school bell was just about to ring. Felix walked into the school building and, as usual, greeted the security guard and his usual circle of friends.
While walking down the hallway to his classroom, he bumped into his close friend, Alexa. Alexa greeted Felix like she always did, and Felix teased her right back.
They were practically inseparable. As they walked to class, Alexa asked him something.
"Hey… Fel… are you free later? I wanted to ask—"
Suddenly, one of Felix's friends called out to him, causing Felix to miss whatever Alexa was saying. Felix wanted to ask her to repeat it, but Alexa refused and looked a bit pouty. Felix was just left utterly confused.
Did I say something wrong…?
The bell rang, and all the students filed into their respective classrooms. As Felix sat down at his desk, Alexa—who sat right next to him—asked,
"Hey Fel, did you finish the assignment Ms. Luni gave us?"
With confidence, Felix answered that he had done it all by himself. Alexa praised him.
"Wow, that's a first. And here I thought you didn't practice using the notes I made for you."
Her words made Felix feel a little embarrassed as he scratched his head.
"Ah… that… I tend to forget sometimes… hehe. But you helped me out a lot too! Thanks a bunch!!"
Alexa immediately blushed. Felix's words made her heart beat significantly faster.
Right at that moment, Ms. Luni entered the classroom, and the lesson began. A few hours passed. The lunch bell finally rang.
Students started leaving the classroom and headed towards the cafeteria. Alexa approached Felix's desk and told him that she had student council duties, so she couldn't join him for lunch. Even so, Felix understood.
Afterward, Felix called his friends over and went to the cafeteria together. While walking down, Felix accidentally bumped into another student from the same year.
Felix's friends started scolding the guy, but Felix stopped them. Felix reached out his hand and helped the student up.
"Thank you, Felix."
The student walked away. As he left, Felix overheard someone mention that the student's name was Alder, a guy known as the smartest student right after Felix himself.
Hearing that, Felix wanted to turn around 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 began heading home. As Felix walked toward the classroom door, he noticed Alexa still hadn't returned from her student council activities.
"Hm… looks like she's really busy… I'll just head back first today."
Felix walked home alone. After arriving at the house, Felix lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling, still thinking about the dream he had this morning.
The more he thought about it, the deeper he seemed to sink back into that dream… Felix shook his head and told himself to stop overthinking it.
Feeling bored at home, Felix decided to go 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 step inside, someone called out his name. He turned around to see who it was. When he looked closer, it turned out to be Alexa, who happened to be there too.
"Oh? Alexa, you're here too?"
Feeling a little shy, Alexa told Felix that she actually wanted to invite him to the mall earlier, but because their conversation got cut short, she ended up not saying anything. Hearing that, Felix apologized to her, and in the end, they walked into the mall together.
"Hey Fel, want to check out the Game Zone first? I'm kind of bored."
Ultimately, the two of them went to the Game Zone and had a great time together.
"Fel, I want to try that claw machine! Come on!!"
Felix nodded since he wanted to try it out too.
"Me first, then it's your turn." Felix nodded.
First attempt — fail.
Second attempt — fail.
Third attempt — fail.
Fourth attempt — fail.
Alexa grew a bit frustrated after failing repeatedly. When it was Felix's turn, he tried his hand at the machine. Using a simple technique, Felix successfully grabbed the plushie.
Alexa, completely shocked, felt a bit sad that she didn't get one. Realizing this, Felix ended up gifting the plushie to her. Alexa was absolutely thrilled and hugged Felix. After that, they continued to stroll around the mall.
As they were walking around, Alexa spotted a photo booth meant for couples. She nudged Felix.
"Fel, want to take some photos first?" she asked. "Eh? Sure, why not!"
Since Felix agreed, they ended up taking lots of photos, spending a little over 20 minutes inside..
After a really fun photo session, they moved on to the next spot. Alexa dragged Felix along to look for clothes.
"This time, let's go look for clothes!!"
Felix could only smile, watching Alexa's incredibly cute behavior.
Once they reached the clothing store, Alexa tried to find an outfit that suited her.
Ten minutes passed..
Still no luck finding the right outfit, so in the end, Felix offered a recommendation.
"Alexa, what do you think about this one? This outfit seems like it would look great on you."
Upon looking at the clothes Felix pointed out, Alexa seemed delighted with the outfit he had just picked. "Wow, Fel! You actually have really good taste to recommend this."
Felix felt a small surge of pride, "Ah, it's nothing really.."
And twenty minutes passed.. "Hey Fel, since you've been waiting for so long, I'll buy you two outfits! Feel free to pick out whatever you want." Felix could only nod and looked for two simple outfits he could use.
After browsing, Felix finally found the two outfits he liked. At that moment, Alexa approached him, asking him to judge how well her chosen clothes fit before she bought them.
Unable to refuse, Felix agreed, and they spent about 13 minutes going over it..
After all of that was done, they finally looked for a place to fill their empty stomachs.
"Hey Fel, are you hungry? Want to find a place to eat? Coincidentally, there's a ramen place I really recommend, want to try it?"
Since Felix was the type who couldn't easily say no to people, he accepted Alexa's offer. Besides, he was starting to feel hungry too.
Felix followed Alexa to the place. When they arrived, they ordered their food.
"Hey Alexa, I'll just order the same thing as you. I don't really know how it tastes, hehe."
Alexa said it was fine, and they ordered the exact same dish.
Ten minutes passed, and the food was finally served at their table. Looking at the quality of the food, Felix was amazed. This was his first time eating something like this.
"Alexa… did you seriously buy food at this kind of price?"
In sheer disbelief, Felix questioned her. Alexa answered seriously that yes, that was indeed the price. After finishing their meal, Alexa grabbed the receipt and paid for everything.
"My treat this time, Fel. Hehe."
Felix couldn't argue.
After she paid, Felix asked about the total cost.
"Hm? The price? It's just 214 Cyran."
Shocked, Felix told Alexa that such an amount could easily cover his food expenses for an entire month. But since Felix also knew that Alexa came from a wealthy family, he could understand. The clock now showed 05:27 PM.
Alexa had to leave first due to some urgent business. Felix stayed behind at the mall, winding down while watching people play, joke around, and shop.
While Felix was enjoying that quiet moment, an older man approached him and offered him a drink. Coincidentally, Felix was feeling thirsty. Without thinking twice, he accepted it and chugged the whole thing down.
"Fuah… that's so refresh— huh…?"
He looked around. The man who had offered him the drink had suddenly vanished into thin air. Something felt off the moment Felix stood up. He felt dizzy, and an unusual heat began to course through his body. Felix assumed he might be coming down with a fever and decided to head home.
As he walked toward the bus stop, he noticed a massive crowd gathered. Curious, Felix drew closer. When he saw what had happened, it turned out to be the exact same man who had given him the drink—now lying there, dead.
A detective who happened to be at the scene informed everyone that the man belonged to a race that had been hiding for 600 years. The detective stated that if even one of them appeared on the surface, it meant their entire race had already gone extinct.
Hearing those words, Felix started to panic and quickly left the scene, rushing home. Inside the bus, Felix felt increasingly dizzy, and the heat inside his body grew intensely painful. After another twenty-three minutes, Felix arrived home and saw that Elena's car was already parked outside.
Felix rushed inside, barely able to stand as his body began to give out. He opened the door and collapsed, his body burning from the heat.
Elena immediately noticed and rushed over in a panic, helping Felix to his room and placing a cold compress on his forehead.
When Elena touched Felix's body, a strange thought crossed her mind.
Why does Felix's body feel like it's shrinking…?
She quickly brushed it off, thinking she was just hallucinating—but the thought lingered stubbornly.
Eventually, Rhett returned home earlier than usual because his workplace had temporarily closed down. Elena immediately informed Rhett that Felix was sick and asked him to watch over him for a bit.
Anxious, Rhett headed straight to Felix's room and checked on him. He felt the exact same sensation Elena did—something felt entirely wrong.
Felix's body distinctly looked smaller. Rhett doubted his own eyes… yet a part of him believed it. In the end, Rhett chose to just let Felix rest.
—TO BE CONTINUED—