Darkness. Then, the sound of my own voice, strangled by nothingness.

A scream that never made it past my lips. A body that crumbled and folded inward. I didn’t fall. I was erased.

The ring pulled me through itself. A collapse of time, space… reality. And just like that, I was no longer Noa.

I don’t know how long I was gone.

When I awoke, I couldn’t move. My body was too small, too soft, like it hadn’t yet been taught how to exist. Every movement was clumsy, disconnected. Like my mind didn’t fit inside my own skin.

Then I saw the mirror.

A child. Pale. Jet-black hair. Quiet eyes full of something far too broken to belong to someone so young.

That’s when I knew. I had been reborn. Not just in another world… but as someone else.

My name is Riven Noax now. That boy in the mirror? He’s me. But so is the one who watched his entire world burn in silence.

This world is called Veyrnas.

A world ruled by systems older than memory. By nations etched with power, hunger, and ancient beings made of nightmares. Here, people are born with Innate Skills—mutations, elemental powers, spellbound gifts. A twisted mirror of talent and fate.

But above all else… this world bows to the Shades.

Creatures from a dimension known as the Gloomrift—a realm of shadow, smoke, and something deeper than magic. Shades aren’t summoned. They’re bargained with, tamed, or conquered.

There are three ways to obtain a Shade:

Ritual Binding — Sacrificing a part of your soul to enter a contract.

Domination — Defeating a wild Shade and breaking its will.

Death Duel — Killing a Rift-born Shade when it manifests physically.

Each method leaves a scar. On the body. On the soul.

And every Shade is ranked by Tier:

Lurker (D): Small, fragile, mostly used for reconnaissance or utility.

Stalker (C): Fast and clever, used by novice Tamers.

Warden (B): Defensive and loyal—preferred among the noble guard.

Phantom (A): Unique and powerful. They bend the battlefield.

Abyssal (S): Near-extinct. Pure horror. One of them destroyed a kingdom in a day.

Sovereign (SS/EX): Said to be gods of the Rift. Extinct. Or sleeping.

The Nations of Veyrnas

In my seventeen years here, I’ve learned how this world breathes.

Drelven — The kingdom where I was reborn. Ruled by King Ildren, a tyrant clothed in charm. Nobility is earned by your Shade Tier. If you don’t bond with at least a Warden, you don’t even get a surname. Their academy, The Crest Spire, floats above the royal city—where only the best are allowed to train. I’ve watched it from the ground. Dreamt of storming its gates.

Nyros — A lawless, underground realm crawling with Shade cults. Ritual circles light their streets. They worship something called the Hollow Sovereign, a being so powerful even the Abyssal Shades bow to it. I’ve seen men whisper its name and lose their tongues by morning.

Armathen — A republic of scholars. Obsessed with order and theory. Their elite group, the Eidolon Society, collects forbidden Shade artifacts and dissects them in labs. They believe science can master even the Rift.

Volvryn — A desert of war. Gladiator pits. Blood oaths. Shade-bound warriors are bred like animals and trained in sand-soaked arenas. To survive here is to kill without blinking.

Seventeen years.

That’s how long I’ve walked this world, watched it unfold, studied every cruel inch of it. I’ve kept my head low. But my eyes open.

The ring still sits on my finger—unchanged. Cold. Heavy. It hums at night, sometimes. Like it’s remembering.

I’ve kept it hidden, never letting anyone near it. Not even the Shade-born can sense it. It's wrong. Like it doesn’t belong in this universe.

And maybe neither do I.

I train harder than anyone I’ve met. I’ve mastered five martial arts again. Weaponry. Discipline. Focus. But this world isn’t about how fast you punch. It’s about who follows when you raise your hand.

I have no Shade. Not yet. But I’m close.

“That was seventeen years ago,” I whisper, watching the twin moons above Drelven’s palace. “Seventeen years since I lost everything. And I’m not done losing yet.”

Because this world has no idea what it took from me.

But soon… it will.