Prologue

"Niet minow, aþ’remah lun valdien, sereth ka tal'dun..."

The summoner's voice trembled as she recited the poem in the ancient runic tongue. Just as she finished the final verse, a sharp pain shot through her chest, like a spark from another world.

The girl choked on a gasp, her hand flying to her heart. As if she'd seen a ghost, her breathing grew frantic and her body tense.

It took her a few moments to return to reality. And when she finally lifted her gaze, two eyes were fixed on her from one of the sanctuary's columns, under the rain of nocturnal leaves.

The owner of that gaze was trembling, but not with fear...

With laughter.

"Pfff..." he burst, unable to hold it in any longer, doubled over in laughter beneath the moss-stained marble.

"Hey! That wasn't funny!" the girl protested, spinning around with fury, red as a ripe apple, her chestnut hair spilling in rebellious strands beneath her white hood.

"Then make it sound less funny," he replied with a crooked smile. "Where'd you learn that pronunciation?"

"It's Yurethic, the language everyone spoke in the old times. And you would have learned it too... if you hadn’t skipped every class at the castle."

"I didn’t skip," he said with a vain smirk, placing a hand over his heart dramatically. "I was merely training my evasion."

"Then why didn’t you ever come back?"

"What’s the point of evading my pursuer if I return right after?" he replied proudly. "Training must be perfect."

"No one was chasing you! And besides, you always returned just before dinner!"

The boy tilted his head with the grace of a noble in a painting.

"Hey, you can't expect a young royal heir to eat poorly. I must remain beautiful, strong, and healthy to fulfill my duties."

The girl stared at him for half a second. "Why does he always get away with everything?"

"You’re so annoying..."

"Leonoris!" boomed a deep voice from the entrance. A tall young man strode forward with firm steps, a sword at his side and eyes sharp as judgment.

"He started it!" she cried, raising an accusing hand.

Behind her, her infuriating brother smiled smugly, eyes closed in feigned innocence, sticking his tongue out just as the swordsman walked past.

"Nessus," he said with a chilling tone, turning to him. "If you keep bothering her, I’ll cut out your tongue. And your throat."

Nessus froze like a statue, his "perfectly trained" evasion instincts crushed by his older sibling’s icy glare.

"...Sorry, brother Ettor," he muttered with a smile attempting innocence. Nessus could shift from demon to cherub with effortless grace.

Ettor exhaled heavily, rubbing his face with the weariness of too many sleepless nights. His dark violet hair hung over his forehead, more tangled than usual.

"Do you even understand what this all means?" he asked gravely. His eyes swept over both of them like blades—not angry, but disappointed. "The Drákharn mountains have spoken, and the Goddess's stone has appeared before us. The pirates demand more from our poor people every day. More ships appear on the horizon constantly. And you... are here playing games."

Leonoris lowered her head, fists clenched, holding back tears. She knew Ettor wasn’t blaming her out of spite, but that didn’t make it easier to hear.

"We’re not playing. I... took it more seriously than anyone."

A few seconds of silence filled the chamber like a fog. Ettor turned his heavy gaze toward Nessus’s angelic eyes, who nervously smiled for just a moment.

"It’s the true stone of the Goddess. Just now... I felt something."

They both turned urgently to Leonoris, as if they’d been waiting for those words for a long time.

"You did?" Nessus asked, following a faint thread of hope.

Leonoris swallowed.

"I felt... like someone was on the other side. I don’t know how to explain it, but... they were there."

"There..." Ettor repeated heavily.

Leonoris nodded silently. She wished she could say more, but truly didn’t know how.

Silence returned, even thicker. She noticed her brothers’ faces darken with resignation before Ettor nodded.

"Try again, Leonoris."

Leonoris looked at the stone in her hand. Its edges glowed with a soft, nearly imperceptible white light. That was no ordinary stone.

She thought back to the day before, when the stone fell from the sky and embedded itself in the castle courtyard, just as the Goddess had once promised.

Kounaria was suffering. And they needed her.

Leonoris closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. And began to recite the incantation again, with the firm, clear voice she had practiced so many times, as if the fate of the world depended on it.

As she concentrated, Ettor stepped away from the center of the humble sanctuary, guided by an unease crawling down his spine like an overlong shadow.

And then he saw it.

Something glimmered in the night sky, descending slowly like a wounded star, trailing a dark purple streak.

It wasn’t ordinary light. It was a path of shadow, darker than the sky itself.

One of those ships.

"Damn it..." he muttered, eyes closing with pain. As the eldest of the royal house, he had sworn his devotion to the people of Kounaria since he was a child. All those souls were his responsibility. And being powerless hurt like a thousand blades.

"Are they scouting again?" Nessus asked, appearing beside him unnoticed.

Ettor opened his eyes but kept them fixed on the distant vessel.

"I don’t like any of this."

Nessus crossed his arms.

"Tell me about it. I counted five ships at the harbor today. Five. And that’s not including the ones that hovered overhead like hungry crows."

"Five?"

"One of them landed just to steal beer. Beer! From Old Halvan’s tavern. Can you believe that?"

Ettor frowned, trying to catch his brother's thought.

"What do you suggest?"

Nessus looked at him seriously. You knew things were dire when Nessus looked serious.

"They’re not just here for gold or food, but for something else. The crystals. They’re testing how far we’ll bend before they break us."

Ettor nodded grimly., as he thought the same

"If this continues... it’s only a matter of time."

They both looked up. The purple trail still sliced through the peaceful night like a threat.

Suddenly, the air behind them seemed to contract, forcing them to turn and stifle a gasp.

"Leonoris!" They rushed to their sister.

She stood still at the center of the sanctuary, surrounded by a distinct white light emerging from her body like an expanding halo.

The hood still covered her head, letting strands of chestnut hair fall over her face. Her hands trembled. Her lips no longer recited, yet the energy pulsed around her as if Solaria herself had descended.

"Leonoris...?" Ettor murmured, stepping forward, but Nessus held him back.

The glow changed color before their eyes—

A deep, warm orange enveloped her completely, spreading across the stone channels of the sanctuary like living circuits. The earth quaked. Leaves rustled. The altar began to hum.

Never before in all of Kounaria had magic appeared in any color other than white.

Never.

"Just like the legend..." Ettor knew it instantly. "‘An orange light shall shine. Do not fear, for orange is a colour of hope…’"

Nessus clicked his tongue. His earlier arrogance was gone, replaced by awe, reverence, and a tingling dread that raised goosebumps.

"Wait... this is really happening."

The forest fell silent. It was as if time had been caught in an invisible sphere.

Then, with a trembling breath, Leonoris opened her eyes—and collapsed.

Her light body hit the ground hard. The hood still covered her head, her emerald eyes barely visible.

"Leonoris!" Nessus shouted, kneeling beside her and lifting her head gently.

She raised her gaze slightly, eyelids heavy. Beside her, the stone still glowed—a soft orange now visible with her eyes open.

"I really did it..." she whispered.

The trees creaked around them, moved by residual magic instead of wind.

Ettor knelt beside her and, without hesitation, pressed a small mana crystal to her forehead.

"Recover your ether, Leonoris. Come on."

She took a deep breath. Slowly, color returned to her cheeks. Once she had just enough strength, she shared the news.

"We have our Hero."

A sacred silence wrapped the clearing.

Ettor held his breath. Nessus blinked, as if struggling to absorb the words.

"Can you sense him?" Ettor asked with urgency.

She closed her eyes again. She couldn’t cast anything more, but the location was fresh in her mind.

"Yes... southwest, not far from here."

"Good," Ettor said, standing up. "Lead the way. Move, we don’t have—"

"Wait..." Nessus interrupted, raising a hand as he lifted Leonoris. "Quiet."

For a moment, only the rustle of branches and the faint hum of the crystal remained.

Then, a massive branch cracked above them, falling.

But Ettor was already in motion.

"Hah!"

He infused light magic into his blade, a white spark racing along the edge.

He drew with precision, slicing the branch mid-air into four, raining splinters.

The pieces fell around them, touching no one.

"Classic Ettor," Nessus muttered in admiration.

"Let’s go," Ettor ordered, sheathing his blade.

Nessus helped Leonoris to her feet.

"You know I could’ve repelled it myself..." she mumbled indignantly.

"Sure," Nessus said. "In this state, a fly could knock you over."

"So mean..."

"Hey, I’m not the one attracting bad luck."

Leonoris puffed her cheeks but said no more.

Ettor was already mounted. Between him and Nessus, they helped her onto the horse in front of her middle brother’s saddle. They had only brought two horses, knowing she wouldn’t be able to ride alone after the summoning.

"Good job, sister," Nessus murmured as he mounted his steed. "I just hope your Hero isn’t a complete idiot. We’re counting on him."

And so, the sanctuary was left empty again, covered in silence, as the horses vanished among the trees of the nocturnal forest, following the trail of a Hero who had yet to realize the mark he would leave on that world.