NOVEL WEB Chapter 1: Prologue: The One Who Fell Sideways
The universe didn't notice when Dae was born.
No falling star. No secret prophecy. Not even a mildly aggressive thunderclap.
Just a baby with too much hair and a scream that startled the nurse into dropping her clipboard.
His mother said he was dramatic. His father said he was quiet.
Turns out, they were both wrong.
He was invisible.
The kind of kid you could sit next to for a year and forget existed.
The kind teachers looked through. The kind who never showed up in group photos, even when he was there.
Life wasn't cruel to him. It was worse, it was indifferent.
No villain origin. No magical destiny. Just awkward silences and missed calls that never rang.
Until one day, he disappeared.
Literally.
No witnesses. No explanations. No search parties.
His family didn't remember him. His name was scrubbed from every school list, group chat, even that cringey farewell video from tenth grade.
It was like he'd never existed at all.
Except…
Somewhere, deep beneath the ocean, in a part of the world Google Maps politely avoids…
A light blinked.
A ripple echoed through glass and void.
And something blinked.
Something very, very old.
....
✦ BLACKRIDGE SYSTEM LOG > LEVEL: ULTRA RESTRICTED ✦
Core Facility: BLACKRIDGE ACADEMY
Location: [REDACTED] | Depth: Classified Below Sea Floor
Cloaking Protocol: ACTIVE
Beacon Status: PING RECEIVED
Ring Artifact Detected: [KAIROTH]
→ Unauthorized Sync: Tier Z Signature
→ Match Found: "DAE"
→ Emotional Core: Unstable |Fragmented | Curious
→ Cognitive Lock: Partial
→ Origin Light: Suppressed
→ Suppression Integrity: Failing
...…
✦ ALERT: Crucible Protocol Breach Pending
✦ ALERT: Candidate has entered timeline early
✦ ALERT: He doesn't even know who he is. LMAO.
...….
Meanwhile…
Far, far away. in deep space, orbiting a dead sun wrapped in a failed dimension like cling wrap on cosmic leftovers~a ship stirred.
A relic of a civilization erased from time.
Its name burned in forbidden tongues.
THE HOLLOW STAR.
...
✦ THE HOLLOW STAR: SYSTEM RESUME ✦
CLASS: Leviathan Relic
ORIGIN: Pre-Fall Creator Line
STATUS: Dormant ~> WAKING
LOCATION: Outside mapped reality
FUNCTION: Ring Surveillance & Anomaly Tracking
→ Signal Acquired
→ Artifact: KAIROTH [Active]
→ Bearer: DAE [Tier Z: Unknown Origin]
...
"He's alive?"
"No. Worse."
"He's syncing."
"But the timelines…"
"Already bleeding. The mirror's cracked."
"So what now?"
"…We watch."
...…..
>> START UPLOADING MEMORY THREADS TO BLACKRIDGE
>> INITIATE ECHO LOOP
>> BEGIN TEST SEQUENCE: CRUCIBLE
...…..
He doesn't remember his past.
He doesn't know what he lost.
But the Ring does. The Hollow Star does.
And something that once ruled the universe… just woke up again.
And the worst part?
He still thinks this is all just a bad boarding school dream.
He has no clue that the nightmares haven't started yet.
Or that love, betrayal, and cosmic horror are all waiting in line like it's some divine theme park.
Somewhere, across dimensions, a voice laughed:
"Oh honey. You have no idea who you really are."
.....
>End Prologue.
Chapter 1: "Invisible at Home"