VOL. 1: CHAPTER 1 — "THE BOY WHO SLIPPED BETWEEN FATE"

Silchar, Assam, India.

8:17 PM.

The city breathed beneath a blanket of humid night air. From above, Silchar looked like a scattered constellation stretched across the Barak Valley—streetlights glowing through layers of mist, traffic threading through narrow roads, and clusters of buildings packed tightly together beneath the dark outline of distant hills. The city never truly slept. Even at night, it moved with a quiet pulse of life unique to southern Assam.

Hospital Road remained one of those arteries that never stayed still. Running through Rangirkhari and connecting major parts of the town, the road carried an endless stream of vehicles, students, patients, workers, and shopkeepers throughout the day. Pharmacies lined stretches of the road beside clinics, diagnostic centers, medicine stores, restaurants, banks, and small commercial buildings. The glow of signboards painted the asphalt in shifting colors of white, blue, green, and red.

The evening rush had only recently begun to thin. Auto-rickshaws rattled past. Motorcycles weaved through traffic. Street vendors shouted over one another. A distant ambulance siren echoed somewhere toward the medical side of town.

Near Rangirkhari Point, headlights reflected off damp patches of road left behind by the afternoon humidity. A tea stall remained crowded with college students discussing exams while steam rose from large kettles under yellow bulbs. Nearby, the smell of freshly fried singaras mixed with dust, petrol fumes, and the scent of rain-soaked concrete. A pharmacy sign flickered. A dog slept beside a shuttered storefront. The city continued exactly as it always had. Completely unaware that reality itself was about to fracture.

Among the crowd walked a sixteen-year-old boy carrying a backpack that felt far heavier than the textbooks inside it.

Kai Rajput.

A completely ordinary student.

At least, that was what he believed.

He had just finished tuition near Hospital Road and was heading back home through the familiar evening traffic.

The route was one he had walked countless times before.

Past medicine stores.

Past diagnostic centers.

Past roadside tea stalls.

Past the bright white glow of hospital buildings that illuminated sections of the road even after sunset.

Everything was familiar.

Predictable.

Safe.

Kai walked casually beneath a row of streetlights, one hand buried in his pocket while the other held his phone against his ear.

“Bro, I swear if Sir gives another surprise test tomorrow, I’m dropping out and becoming a fisherman.”

A loud laugh exploded from the other side of the call.

“You’re failing before the test even starts,” said Deep Das.

Kai snorted.

Nobody actually called him Deep.

To everyone in their friend group, he was simply:

Dalal.

The nickname had existed for so long that even teachers accidentally used it sometimes.

Another voice immediately joined the call.

“That’s because this idiot studies five minutes before class.”

Kai rolled his eyes.

“And look who’s talking.”

Suraj Kumar laughed.

More accurately—

Kutta.

A nickname he had been trying unsuccessfully to escape for years.

“Listen,” Suraj said, “when you fail, don’t drag us down with you.”

“First of all, that’s rude.”

“Second of all,” Deep added, “you literally spent half the tuition class drawing anime swords.”

“They were important swords.”

“They were not.”

“They absolutely were.”

The three of them continued arguing as Kai walked through Rangirkhari. The familiar surroundings drifted by around him. A medical store still open despite the late hour. A roadside fruit vendor packing up for the night. The glow of ATM signs. A pharmacy billboard hanging above traffic. The distant silhouette of apartment buildings beyond the road. Buses passed intermittently, their headlights sweeping across walls and storefronts before disappearing deeper into the city. Somewhere farther ahead, a cluster of restaurants remained crowded with families finishing dinner.

Silchar’s nightlife was never loud like metropolitan cities.

Instead, it felt lived in.

Warm.

Human.

A city where everyone somehow knew someone. The kind of place where rumors traveled faster than vehicles. The kind of place where people still recognized familiar faces. The kind of place Kai had spent his entire life in.

Kai smiled despite himself.

It had been a long day.

A boring day.

The kind of day he would probably forget by next week.

Which was why he never realized it would become the final day of his life on Earth.

“So,” Deep said through the phone, “you reaching home yet?”

“Almost.”

“Tell your mother not to blame us if you fail.”

“Shut up.”

Kai adjusted his backpack and crossed into a quieter stretch near the roadside.

The traffic noise seemed oddly distant.

He slowed.

“…Huh.”

For some reason, the air felt strange.

Cooler.

Heavier.

The sounds around him began fading.

The honking.

The engines.

The conversations.

The distant barking of dogs.

Even the wind.

Everything became unnaturally quiet.

“Kai?” Suraj’s voice crackled through the phone.

“You there?”

The streetlights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Kai stopped walking.

A strange sensation spread through his chest.

Not pain.

Not fear.

Recognition.

Like it happened before.

And as if something deep inside him had suddenly awakened after sleeping for countless years.

The world around him distorted.

The road bent.

The lights stretched.

The buildings twisted.

Even the glowing signboards lining Hospital Road warped into impossible shapes.

The city itself seemed to bend around him.

“…Guys?”

The phone signal broke into static.

“Kai?”

“Hello?”

“Bro, your voice is—”

The call cut.

A low vibration echoed through reality.

Not sound.

Something deeper.

Something older.

A presence.

Watching.

Waiting.

Calling.

The streetlights exploded into darkness.

For a single impossible moment, the entire world seemed frozen.

The vehicles.

The people.

The city.

Everything.

Kai felt his heartbeat skip.

Once.

Twice.

Then the darkness beneath his feet rippled.

The asphalt cracked.

Not physically.

Conceptually.

As though reality itself had developed a fracture.

The air shattered like glass.

His eyes widened.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING—?!"

A black tear opened directly in front of him.

Not a portal.

Not a doorway.

An absence.

A wound carved into existence itself.

For an instant.

Something stared back.

Something beyond human understanding.

Something that existed outside fate itself.

The pressure hit him like a truck.

Kai's vision blurred.

The world tilted.

His knees buckled.

"...W-What..."

The phone nearly slipped from his grasp.

On the other end of the call, Deep's voice crackled through static.

"Kai?"

"Kai, stop joking around."

Suraj's voice followed immediately.

"Bro? Your signal's messed up."

"KAI?"

The darkness spread.

Not around him.

Through him.

His consciousness began sinking into a cold abyss.

The last thing Kai saw was the impossible fracture widening across reality itself.

The last thing he heard was the frantic voices of his friends.

"KAI!"

"ANSWER US!"

"KAI!"

Then everything went black.

The fracture swallowed him.

And Kai Rajput vanished.

His backpack dropped onto the road with a dull thud.

One earphone bounced across the asphalt.

The other remained tangled around the shoulder strap.

His phone struck the ground screen-first.

A spiderweb of cracks spread across the glass.

The call remained connected.

"...Kai?"

Only static answered.

"Kai, this isn't funny anymore."

"Bro, pick up."

The line remained open for several seconds.

Neither Deep nor Suraj understood why they could suddenly hear traffic.

Or why they could hear people talking.

But not Kai.

Eventually, the call disconnected.

The street returned to normal.

Traffic resumed.

The wind blew.

People walked past.

A motorcycle rolled around the abandoned backpack without slowing.

A stray dog sniffed at the fallen earphone before wandering away.

Nobody noticed that a boy had disappeared.

Nobody remembered the impossible darkness.

Nobody saw reality bend.

And somewhere far beyond Earth.

A sleeping power finally awakened.

An unconscious boy drifted between worlds.

The anomaly had crossed over.

✦ ✦ ✦

In a place where neither stars nor time existed, a lone figure watched the sleeping boy descend into another world.

A faint smile curved unseen lips.

The amusement was genuine.

The affection was not.

«"Go on, little anomaly."»

A pause…

«"The stage is set."»

Then…

«"And every actor is exactly where I need them to be."»

✦ ✦ ✦

The first thing Kai Rajput felt… was the wind, cool, clean, Unfamiliar. The second thing he felt… was the ground. Specifically, his face colliding with the ground.

“—BWUAH?! Wh-WHAT THE—!? I WAS JUST WALKING HOME FROM TUITION!!”

Kai’s scream echoed across the silent forest. Leaves shook. Birds fled. Small animals reconsidered their life choices. Kai lay face-down for ten seconds, not because he was injured—but because he was lazy.

“…Nope. Not getting up. I'm done. If a tiger wants to eat me, let it eat me.”

Silence.

Then:

>『Master, your behavior is inefficient. Please stand up.』

Kai’s eyes shot open.

“…Okay. What—who—WHAT WAS THAT!?"

A calm, cold, utterly emotionless voice echoed inside his skull.

>『Designation: Amara.

Authority Skill: Queen of All Knowledge.

Activation: Awakening Protocol Level 1.』

Kai blinked.

Once.

Twice.

“Bro what?? I have a voice assistant inside my head? Did someone install Alexa into my brain?!”

>『I do not know what an “Alexa” is, Master. However, my capabilities greatly exceed that of any Earth-based algorithm.』

“Oh great. It’s sarcastic too.”

> 『Incorrect, Master. I am incapable of sarcasm.』

Kai groaned.

“That’s exactly what a sarcastic person would say.”

He pushed himself up, grumbling—and then froze. He wasn’t in Silchar anymore, the world around him looked like something out of a high-budget fantasy anime. Stretching trees with glowing leaves. Air shimmering with mana, strange symbols floating lazily in sunlight beams.

“…This isn’t Silchar or Assam, in fact this isn't even India or my World”

> 『Correct. You are in Aetheryon. The Sylvarine Forest, Elderwood Sector.』

Kai slowly lowered himself onto the grass.

“I’m hallucinating. I must’ve inhaled insecticide or something.”

> 『Hallucination unlikely. Probability <0.00003%.』

“Can you NOT give me decimal points right now!?”

Before Kai could panic further, a second system-like voice whispered faintly—not sentient, more like a deep vibration.

A cold pressure spread through his chest.

> Authority Skill: ANYparxía… Dominion of Nothingness… Awakening…

Kai felt a chill.

“Okay. Now I’m definitely hallucinating.”

But no. His instincts, his very bones, recognized something. This power wasn’t new, he’d always had it, dormant, waiting.

Amara clarified:

> 『Correction: Master has always possessed both Authorities. However, Earth’s physical laws prevented activation.』

“…So I was walking around with world-ending powers my entire life??”

> 『Correct.』

Kai swallowed.

“Damn. No wonder I never got sick even once.”

> 『That is unrelated, Master. You merely have excellent genetics.』

“…Thanks? I think?”

✦ ✦ ✦

A sudden rustle. Leaves shifting. Footsteps, Kai tensed, instinct told him the people approaching weren’t normal hikers.

> 『Master, three mana signatures approaching. Combat potential: moderate. Suggest caution.』

Kai whispered, “Can they understand me?”

> 『Uncertain. You currently lack the Aetheryan Language Comprehension Skill.』

“Then give me it!”

> 『You do not have permission. Divine language skills must be granted manually.』

“THEN WHY EVEN TELL ME ABOUT IT!?”

Kai gripped a fallen branch like a weapon, branches parted—Silver hair, emerald-green eyes, white-clad armor. A sword glowing faintly with spirit-light, leading a patrol of five was—Princess Lythiriel Sylvaris. Her steps were silent, her posture perfect. Her gaze sharp enough to cut stone.

Behind her, the guards whispered:

“A human? In the Elderwood?”

“Impossible… humans can’t enter this deep…”

“Should we restrain him?”

Kai felt the pressure of their mana—dense, refined, almost tangible.

And then:

Lythiriel stepped forward, sword half-raised.

“Identify yourself, human.”

Kai blinked.

“…Uhhh. Hi?”

The guards stiffened.

Lythiriel’s brows narrowed.

“You trespass in the sacred territory of Sylvarine. State your purpose.”

Kai opened his mouth.

And then realized, he couldn’t speak their language.

His words came out as gibberish.

“Uh—Amara??”

> 『Understood. Temporarily decrypting Sylvan language norms. Translating.』

Kai tried again.

“Uh—hi? I think I’m lost? Like… really lost.”

The guards surrounded him instantly, swords drawn, bows raised, magic circles forming.

“Princess, he may be a spy.”

“Or a demon in disguise.”

“Or some kind of trap—”

Kai raised both hands.

“Woah, woah—calm down—!!”

Lythiriel stepped closer, her presence was sharp, like moonlight cutting through darkness. She studied his clothing.

“Strange fabric. Strange stitching. Strange aura.”

She circled him once, analyzing.

Suddenly…

“…Your mana signature is irregular.”

Kai tried to laugh.

“Yeah, uh, puberty?”

Her eyes narrowed further.

The guards murmured:

“His mana is off-scale.”

“No human should have this much.”

“He feels… unstable.”

Kai coughed nervously.

(He was absolutely stable… physically. Emotionally… debatable.)

Lythiriel raised her sword slightly.

“You will come with us.”

“Wait wait WAIT—” Kai said panicking.

But before further debate, a roar shook the forest. A demonic, twisted, bone-crunching roar. The trees warped, mana thickened. A tear in space opened.

> 『Warning: Abyssal-class entity detected.』

Lythiriel snapped into action.

A guard shouted instructions,

“Formation! Protect the Princess!”

Kai blinked.

“Wait—protect you?? Aren’t YOU the princess??”

Lythiriel ignored him, a monstrous shape emerged. All claws, black mist, and trembling corruption. Abyss-Touched Direwolf Alpha. Huge, hungry, corrupted by the Abyss. Its eyes locked onto Lythiriel.

“…Elf… flesh…”

Lythiriel slid into stance.

Spirit Arts ignited.

“Moonweaver—First Form: Radiant Bloom Slash!”

She vanished, reappeared above the beast, and slashed downward.

A brilliant crescent of white light cut through the air.

Kai’s jaw dropped.

“…Okay she’s cool.”

But the beast regenerated instantly.

Lythiriel’s eyes widened.

“Tch—Abyss corruption—! Everyone, back!”

The wolf lunged, the guards weren’t fast enough.

Kai sighed.

“…Guess this is my cue.”

He stepped forward, raising one hand lazily.

“Amara, how do I kill that?”

> 『Master, minimal force is required. A basic conceptual touch of ANYparxía will erase it.』

Kai nodded.

“Cool. ANYparxía—Concept Break.”

He tapped the air casually. A ripple, a whisper, a moment of silence. And then—The entire monster simply ceased to be. No explosion, no scream, no corpse. Just absence, like it had never existed. The elves froze in horror, the guards trembled.

Lythiriel stared at Kai as if seeing a ghost.

“…What… was that…?”

Kai scratched his cheek.

“Uh… A small trick?”

Everyone:

“THAT WAS NOT SMALL!!”

Lythiriel’s sword nearly dropped, her voice quivered.

“You… erased it. Not killed. ER ASED.”

Kai awkwardly laughed.

“…Yeah, sorry. I swear I’m normal?”

“YOU ARE NOT NORMAL!!”

Kai coughed.

“Uh… look, I can explain.”

Lythiriel stepped back, sword trembling.

“Human… just what ARE you?”

Kai hesitated.

Amara whispered:

> 『Master, revealing Authority Skills is not recommended.』

Kai took a breath.

“…I’m Kai. Just Kai.”

The forest wind blew gently. Lythiriel stared at him conflicted, scared, curious. A starlit genius swordswoman facing a boy who slipped between fate itself.

And deep in the woods…

A whisper echoed…

> “…The anomaly has awakened.”

✦ ✦ ✦