The first thing Velrion felt was warmth.
Not the stale warmth of dusty blankets in a crumbling apartment, but something rich and real — the kind that filled your lungs, made your heart beat steadier. A breeze swirled past his face as birds chirped somewhere high in the canopies above. The ground beneath him felt like polished stone, smooth and cool to the touch.
He slowly opened his eyes.
He was lying in the middle of a stone circle, deep in the woods. Strange blue petals floated lazily in the air like snowflakes, and sunlight filtered through trees that were too tall, too luminous to exist on Earth. The air was vibrant, humming with invisible life.
He sat up, groggy but alert, his hand instinctively checking the dagger sheathed at his side.
Then he saw it.
Floating before him, a glowing transparent panel, like a screen made of light, pulsed gently in the air. Words shimmered across it in golden letters, clear and impossible to ignore.
NAME: VelrionREAL NAME: Ronan WinterAGE: 17STATUS: The Borrowed, The ChosenAURA POINTS: 1004
His heart stopped for a second. A part of him had hoped, foolishly, that everything so far had been some fragmented hallucination. A lucid dream. Maybe the result of sleep deprivation.
But this?
This was real.
He reached a hand out, hesitating before his fingers brushed the glowing screen. The letters rippled like disturbed water and then adjusted to his touch.
More information appeared:
Bloodline: ???Affiliation: NoneLast Accessed World: Earth – Tier 0Current World: Altherion Class: UnawakenedPotential Rating: High UnknownFated Role: Hero or Cataclysm
He blinked hard. The words blurred, not from the light, but from the weight they carried. "Hero or Cataclysm"?
"What the hell…" he muttered.
"Quite the range, huh?"
Velrion whipped his head around.
Standing just beyond the edge of the stone circle was a cloaked figure — not the same boy who appeared in his apartment, but older, maybe early twenties. Lean, sharp-eyed, and carrying a twisted staff on his back.
The man stepped forward casually. "That little profile doesn't lie. You're either going to save this world, or you're going to end it. No pressure, right?"
Velrion stood slowly, the dagger tightening in his grip. "Who are you?"
The man raised his hands. "Chill. Name's Kael. I'm one of the scouts for the Awakened Order. We monitor Borroweds like you."
"Monitor?"
"Well, we keep tabs. You guys tend to, uh… mess with fate just by existing." Kael's eyes flicked toward the glowing panel still hovering in front of Velrion. "That thing only appears to those with a fate string. You've got one the size of a galaxy, apparently."
Velrion glanced back at it, the words 'Hero or Cataclysm' still etched into his mind.
"And how do you know I'm not just a guy with a knife who's very confused?"
Kael smirked. "Because only Borroweds arrive in the Trial Grove. You didn't wake up here by accident."
"Trial Grove?"
"You'll see."
With a sharp whistle, Kael turned and began walking toward a stone path hidden beneath a bed of glowing moss. "Come on, there's someone who's been waiting to see you."
Velrion followed, hesitant but curious. The world around him was unreal — trees with bark like glass, rivers that floated in midair, flowers that whispered things when brushed. Every step made him feel less like Ronan… and more like something else.
Something closer to Velrion.
They reached a high cliff edge that overlooked a strange floating city — a mix of temples and towers woven into the cliffs and clouds. It looked like a city built inside a storm, humming with floating orbs, silent bridges, and creatures that defied shape.
"Welcome to Altherion," Kael said. "Home to Seers, Summoners, and people who definitely won't believe you're seventeen."
Velrion narrowed his eyes. "This still feels like a dream."
Kael looked at him seriously. "It's not. You just haven't remembered enough of who you are yet."
"Remembered?"
"You think your life began in that apartment? Kid, you've been Velrion before. The 'Borrowed' part isn't about bringing someone new — it's about bringing back what the world once lost."
Before Velrion could answer, the screen in front of him flickered again.
AURA POINTS DETECTEDINITIAL UNLOCK POSSIBLE: [YES]Unlock Class? [Y/N]
He stared at it.
Kael nodded at him. "This is your first step. Your aura points are high — weirdly high. Like… royal-high. But you've got no class yet. That panel's giving you a choice. Tap yes, and you start waking up. Real fast."
Velrion exhaled slowly. The fear in his chest had dulled. The confusion was still there, but alongside it… something else.
Resolve.
He raised his hand.
Tapped YES.
The moment his finger hit the glowing button, the world shuddered.
Blue light surged around him like a cyclone, rising from the ground and wrapping his limbs in symbols he couldn't understand. The trees swayed. Wind howled. His heartbeat thundered like war drums.
Then silence.
The screen reappeared, now with an additional line.
CLASS: Nightborn (Hidden Class – Locked Origins)AURA TYPE: Obsidian VeilTIER: InitiateBLOODLINE: Unsealed – PendingFATE THREAD: Active
Kael stared. "…Nightborn? That's not even on our charts."