“Your Majesty! The invaders have attacked the palace!”

When King Elias heard this, he froze, a thousand questions racing through his mind. “How could the invaders breach the palace?” “How did they get past the guards?” But at that moment, none of that mattered. He was only thinking about his pregnant wife back at the palace.

“Brother, lead the soldiers! I need to return to the palace immediately!”

“What?! What are you talking about, brother? You can’t just abandon the battle!”

“My wife is in danger! I must save her, no matter what.”

Harnessing the power of light—a legacy of his people for centuries—King Elias made his way swiftly to the palace. But the scene that greeted him was devastating. All the guards he had chosen to protect the palace lay dead. As he entered, the invaders attacked him, wielding the darkness and shadow manipulations unique to the Umbros race. Fueled by rage, King Elias unleashed a single burst of light that instantly obliterated all the invaders. With anxiety gnawing at him, he ran to his wife’s chamber.

“Lyara!!!”

Opening the door, he saw his wife lying on the floor, covered in blood.

“…no!!!”

In fear and panic, he rushed to her side. Despite heavy blood loss, Queen Lyara was still alive.

“My love…”

“Lyara! Don’t worry, you’ll be alright! I promise!”

“I won’t make it… our daughter… I had to send her spirit away… as a mother, I did it to keep her safe… even if it’s just a slim chance, she could be born to another mother in a different dimension…”

“I understand, my love… please don’t push yourself. You’ll be alright, okay?”

“Promise me. No matter what happens, you’ll find our daughter, wherever she is…”

“Don’t worry, Lyara. I promise, I will find her.”

With that, Queen Lyara smiled and closed her eyes. The spirit of the daughter she had protected until her last breath traveled through many dimensions and was eventually born on Earth as a human.

The Ellison family, after years of struggle, was finally blessed with a baby, whom they saw as nothing less than a miracle. Their hearts filled with joy, they named the baby Evelyn. But as she grew, the family began noticing strange things. Although both parents had brown hair, Evelyn’s hair was a radiant shade of gold. Worse still, when Evelyn turned three, her skin would glow with golden light, entirely beyond her control.

The Ellisons couldn’t understand what was happening to their daughter. Afraid she would be taken from them, they avoided bringing her to a doctor. To protect the one bright spot in their lives, they decided to keep Evelyn hidden from the world. They wouldn’t let her go outside or interact with others.

“Mom, why can’t I go outside and play with the other kids?”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But you’re different from the other children; you’re special. That’s why you mustn’t leave this house. It’s all for your own good, okay?”

“…okay.”

The family was determined to keep their daughter hidden from the world, but fate had other plans. When Evelyn was just six years old, her parents lost their lives in a car accident.

Waiting for her parents to return, Evelyn ran to the door when it finally rang. But instead of her mother, there stood a woman she didn’t recognize.

“Hello, you must be Evelyn, right?”

Evelyn hesitated, never having spoken to anyone outside her family.

“I’m sorry to say this, but your family is no longer with us. You need to come with us now.”

Confused, Evelyn didn’t understand what the woman meant. But she knew one thing for certain: she shouldn’t do what the woman said. Her mother had always taught her that strangers could be dangerous.

“No! I’m not going with you. My mom will be here any minute now.”

“I’m sorry, but your mom won’t be coming. You must come with me. You have no other relatives who can take care of you."

The moment the woman stepped inside, Evelyn panicked. Her mother’s words—“other people are dangerous; stay away from them”—echoed in her mind, and she bolted out the door, running into the unknown.

“Hey?! Where do you think you’re going?! Catch that girl!”

Two others who had come with the woman started to chase after Evelyn. As she ran in fear, her body began to glow uncontrollably. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar street.

Totally lost, Evelyn began to cry in fear and confusion.

“Mom… Dad… where are you?”

As she cried in the middle of the street, her body still glowed with golden light. A few minutes later, a man appeared in front of her. The first thing Evelyn noticed were his blood-red eyes.

Though her mother and father were the only people she’d ever spoken to, Evelyn had never truly been alone. Her family had always been with her, protecting her, solving every problem. But now, she was in an unknown place, completely alone, with no idea what to do next.