Prologue — Before the Beginning

  Before existence held meaning

  Before movement was called "time"

  Before emptiness knew the word "boundary"

  Something appeared.

  It was not life.

  Not will.

  Not power in any comprehensible sense.

  It was the Origin Core of All Life.

  The central point of all reference.

  The thing that allowed "reality" to exist without collapsing.

  When that Core appeared,

  Static Flow began to course.

  Existence branched into countless forms.

  And in the moment all things began to move,

  the Origin Core… split apart.

  One half remained at the center point.

  The other half drifted away,

  directionless,

  nameless,

  ownerless—

  as though waiting

  for someone who would place "all their trust" into it.

  No one knows how much time passed

  before that fragment found a resting place.

  No one knows.

  And no one should know.

  ---

  Long after that,

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  in the Static Great Universe,

  in a domain covered continuously by still light,

  the land called the Realm of Eternal Dawn,

  there lived one being.

  His name was Arthian.

  Arthian was not someone who possessed conspicuous power.

  Not someone who caused tremors in Static Flow.

  He had never been celebrated.

  And had never stood at the center of any event.

  His existence was simple.

  Stable.

  Unwavering.

  Arthian lived alongside Lumis,

  the soul-bound partner he had chosen himself.

  Their shared existence had never been named.

  There was no ceremony.

  No recorded bond.

  Only mutual acceptance.

  And trust placed without question.

  For Arthian,

  Lumis was his "point of reference."

  If his perception ever wavered,

  merely looking toward her existence

  would return everything to stability.

  He had never thought that placing all his trust in another

  was an action requiring caution.

  Because in his world,

  trust was the highest form of Veracity.

  Besides Lumis,

  there was another being in the same domain.

  Kronosvar.

  One who had once existed alongside Arthian's father.

  One who remained,

  even though his father's existence had long since dissolved.

  Kronosvar was the knowledgeable one.

  The guide.

  The one who maintained balance in this Static domain.

  He never demanded.

  Never pressured.

  Never showed ownership over anyone.

  Every act of assistance from him

  seemed to arise from pure intent.

  Arthian respected him.

  Not as a wielder of authority,

  but as one who "never distorted Veracity."

  Lumis felt the same.

  Or at least… she believed she felt the same.

  The Realm of Eternal Dawn thus appeared complete.

  No tremors.

  No cracks to notice.

  If anyone looked in,

  they would see only peaceful existence

  and stable relationships.

  But reality

  does not always manifest in the form of conflict.

  Sometimes,

  it begins with the slightest inconsistency.

  Arthian could not identify when it started.

  He only sensed that

  at certain moments… the Static Flow around Lumis

  had a frequency that had changed.

  Not an abnormality.

  Not a sign of danger.

  Just a "rhythm" that didn't match what it should be.

  Kronosvar began appearing during moments when Arthian was away.

  More often.

  More frequently.

  Without clear reason.

  And Lumis

  seemed "more animated"

  when Kronosvar was near.

  Not happiness.

  Not excitement.

  But a vibration of existence—

  like a response to something deeper than thought.

  Arthian noticed all of this.

  But he did not connect it together.

  Not because he couldn't,

  but because he didn't want to.

  Questioning those he had placed trust in

  would be undermining Veracity within himself.

  And Arthian

  had never intended to do such a thing.

  In the deepest part of existence,

  something watched silently.

  The core that should not shatter

  trembled faintly.

  Not to warn.

  Not to prevent.

  As though it were waiting

  for the moment when Veracity would be completely distorted.

  Because when that day came,

  all existence

  would have to pay the price of trust given with nothing held in reserve.

  And Arthian

  did not yet know

  that the world he stood in

  was slowly beginning to crack from its center.

  In the shadows of the Static domain,

  the half of the Origin Core that had split away

  still drifted,

  waiting for the one person who would give everything.

  And when that day came,

  the simple existence

  would become a tragedy no one expected.

  (End of Chapter 1)