The academy gates opened—
And the evening spilled in.
The car park stretched wide beneath a sky painted in fading gold.
Hover vehicles hovered in clean rows—
Silent.
Expensive.
Controlled.
Students laughed.
Parents called out.
Life moved.
Normal.
Too normal.
Ae-cha walked ahead.
Light steps.
Unburdened.
Muhan followed.
Quiet.
Measured.
Then—
He saw her.
Chae-min Lockhart – His mother,…. Their mother
Standing beside a sleek white-and-obsidian hover car—
Not parked.
Positioned.
She didn't demand attention.
She replaced it.
Blonde hair fell in smooth waves down her back, catching the last light like molten gold.
Her eyes—
Emerald at first glance.
But beneath—
A faint blue.
Layered.
Depth that didn't belong to something simple.
Arcanian silk wrapped her form.
Tailored perfectly.
Not extravagant—
Just… unquestionable.
A thick leather band rested on her wrist.
Dark.
Refined.
The Lockhart insignia etched into it—
Faint Aether lines pulsing beneath the surface.
Not jewelry.
Authority.
"…Yes. I've seen the preliminary report," she said into the call.
Her tone calm.
Controlled.
A pause.
"…No. That's not a fluctuation."
Her fingers tapped lightly against her arm—
Once.
"…I'll confirm when I see it myself."
She ended the call before the other side could respond.
Then—
She turned.
Her gaze landed on them.
And softened.
"Welcome back."
Muhan stopped.
Because for a moment—
He didn't see the present.
He saw—
Nothing.
Where she should have been.
A memory that didn't belong here.
Then—
It snapped.
And he moved.
He ran.
Not controlled.
Not measured.
Fast.
Uneven.
A child.
He crashed into her.
Arms wrapping around her tightly—
Too tightly.
His grip tightened—
A fraction too much.
Her breath hitched.
Just slightly.
Then she laughed.
Soft.
Warm.
"Well… this is new."
She bent slightly, one hand resting on his back—
The other brushing through his hair.
"Did you miss me that much?"
A faint voice echoed from another call — Her Husband
"Looks like I've been replaced."
Han Lockhart.
Amused.
Relaxed.
"Miss mommy that much?" he added.
Muhan didn't respond.
He just held on—
And for a second—
Too long—
His breathing broke.
A small hitch.
Barely noticeable.
But not to her.
Ae-cha slowed beside them.
Watching.
"…He's been acting strange today," she said.
Silence.
Their mother's hand paused—
Just for a moment.
"…Strange?"
Muhan didn't move.
Didn't loosen his grip.
"…Muhan."
Her voice lowered slightly.
Not soft.
Careful.
He released her.
Just enough.
"…Nothing happened."
A lie.
Thin.
She studied him.
Not as a mother.
As something else.
Something sharper.
"…I see."
She didn't push.
Didn't question.
But her eyes lingered—
A second too long.
"…We'll talk later," Chae-min's voice said lightly.
"…Don't let him monopolize you."
"…Drive safely."
The call ended.
Silence settled—
But not comfortably.
"…Let's go home," she said.
The hover car lifted.
Smooth.
Silent.
Newton 54 unfolded beneath them.
Neon ignited across the city like veins of light.
Hover lanes streamed with motion.
Magnetic rails pulsed like arteries beneath the surface.
Alive.
Muhan sat by the window.
Watching.
I never knew Aethoria could be this lively…
His gaze drifted downward.
So the academy is in the home realm now…
A flicker—
Cold dorm rooms.
Artificial skies.
The Levelling Realm.
Isolation.
Survival.
Mi-cha—
Across the room.
Distant.
Gone.
"…Different," he thought.
The car moved between towers of light.
Then—
A chime.
Too sharp.
The interior lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
"Incoming Media Broadcast."
The Core AI's voice—
glitched.
"…Me—Media Broadcast."
Ae-cha frowned.
"…Did that just—"
The holographic screen unfolded—
Not clean.
It tore into place.
Static crawling across its surface.
A press room appeared.
Chaotic.
"—Is this a confirmed threat?!"
"—Are we safe?!"
"—Respond, Astral Veil—!"
Voices overlapped.
Cut.
Repeated.
For a second—
The same reporter asked the same question—
twice.
Out of sync.
Then—
It stabilized.
Jonathan Raswa stood at the center.
Composed.
Still.
Too still.
"…We will begin."
Behind him—
Data streams flickered.
One of them—
Moved wrong.
Not flowing.
Watching.
"…The probe we launched—"
He paused.
Not for effect.
Like something interrupted his thought.
"…returned data."
Silence spread.
Unnatural.
"…We expected distortion."
"…Interference."
"…Deviation."
Each word precise.
Then—
"…We did not expect…"
The screen behind him flickered violently—
"…this."
—
TRANSITION
Darkness.
Not space.
Something else.
The probe feed.
Broken.
Stars missing.
Light bending wrong.
Then—
Something formed.
Not fully.
Never fully.
A curve.
Depth.
Something—
opening.
An eye.
If it was an eye.
Too large.
Too still.
It didn't reflect light.
It swallowed it.
The feed trembled.
And then—
It looked.
At—
us.
—
BACK TO PRESS ROOM
"…We observed… an eye."
Jonathan's voice returned—
slower.
"…If it was an eye."
A reporter spoke—
"Director Raswa, are you saying—"
The audio cut.
Mid-word.
Gone.
"…When it looked—"
Jonathan's eyes shifted.
Not to the room.
Past it.
"…it did not react."
A beat.
"…It recognized."
Silence.
"…It stared at us."
The screen flickered—
For a frame—
There were two of him.
One speaking.
One—
watching something else.
"…as if it knew…"
The car dimmed again.
No one touched anything.
"…we were watching it."
A pause.
Longer this time.
"…And then—"
He stopped.
Completely.
"…it watched us."
- Chapter 4 - "We might not be alone in the universe"
Silence.
Then—
A sound.
Not from the broadcast.
From inside the car.
Low.
Resonant.
Muhan's fingers tightened—
against the seat.
Too hard.
"…That wasn't part of the feed," Ae-cha whispered.
Their mother didn't respond.
Her gaze fixed on the screen.
Sharp.
"…That signature shouldn't exist here."
Silence.
Muhan's eyes flickered.
Because he knew—
That wasn't something a normal person should say.
The broadcast stabilized again.
Jonathan inhaled slowly.
"…We may not be alone in this universe."
His eyes darkened.
Not with fear.
With something worse.
Understanding.
The feed cut.
Gone.
The lights returned.
The city continued.
Unaffected.
"…That was creepy…" Ae-cha muttered.
Their mother didn't answer.
Muhan didn't move.
Because something—
lingered.
Not in the screen.
Not outside.
Closer.
For the briefest moment—
He felt it.
Looking.
Not at the world.
At him.
The hover car slowed.
Silently.
Gracefully.
Like it respected where it was about to land.
Below—
The city of Newton 54 still burned with neon life.
But here?
At the outskirts—
Everything changed.
The air grew… still.
Not empty.
Not quiet.
Controlled.
And then—
The estate revealed itself.
Not a mansion.
Not a palace.
Something beyond both.
The Lockhart Estate stood like a concept given form—
White structures layered across floating platforms, suspended in perfect alignment.
Bridges of light connected them.
Runic arrays pulsed beneath the surface—
Not decorative.
Defensive.
Ancient.
Alive.
At the center—
A towering structure spiraled upward.
Elegant.
Untouchable.
Watching.
Even the space around it felt… claimed.
The hover car descended slowly.
And for the first time since returning—
Muhan's gaze shifted.
Not emotionally.
Not visibly.
But internally—
He registered it.
"…So it's still here."
In his past life—
This place had burned.
Not destroyed.
Not conquered.
Erased.
His fingers tightened slightly on his lap.
No one noticed.
The car touched down.
Soft.
Precise.
Final.
The doors opened.
"Home," Chae-min said lightly.
But her voice—
Carried weight.
Ae-cha stepped out first.
Then—
Muhan followed.
The moment his foot touched the ground—
Something reacted.
A faint pulse—
From beneath the estate.
From the runes.
From the foundation itself.
Recognition.
It was subtle.
So subtle no one reacted.
But Muhan felt it.
"…Even this place remembers."
Not him.
Not fully.
But something in him.
Something older.
Before the thought could settle—
"—You're late Mom."
A voice.
Calm.
Sharp.
At the entrance—
She stood.
Seo-yoon Lockhart.
Blonde hair.
Not soft gold—
But something brighter.
Almost radiant.
Emerald eyes—
With a faint blue undercurrent.
Like depth hidden beneath clarity.
Just like her Mom's
She leaned casually against a pillar—
Arms crossed.
Posture relaxed.
But the air around her—
Wasn't.
It bent.
Slightly.
Subtly.
Not from power.
From authority.
Chae-min smiled softly, knowingly
"…Dinner was ready ten minutes ago," she continued.
Her gaze moved—
First to Chae-min.
Then—
To Muhan.
And stopped.
Just for a fraction of a second.
"…Hm."
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Assessment.
Muhan met her eyes.
Silently.
And for the briefest moment—
The world felt… thinner.
Like two things—
That should not fully perceive each other—
Almost did.
Then—
She looked away.
"…You look smaller," she said flatly.
Ae-cha laughed.
"Unnie, he's three."
Seo-yoon didn't respond.
But the corner of her lips lifted—
Just slightly.
"Come inside."
She turned.
Walked.
No wasted movement.
No unnecessary presence.
And yet—
The entire estate felt like it followed her.
Muhan watched her back as she walked ahead.
"…She was always like this."
In his past life—
Seo-yoon wasn't just strong.
She was—
Unreachable.
And yet—
She trained me.
His gaze lowered.
Just slightly.
"…Not this time."