One Hour Earlier
The air was thick with a strange energy the moment Lucien stepped into the Awakening Chamber. Despite the stillness in the room, something shifted—a weight pressing down on his shoulders, foreign yet familiar.
He barely took three steps in before his vision blurred. His knees buckled.
And then, everything went black.
---
When Lucien awoke, he was surrounded by light—no walls, no floor, no sky. Just an endless white space that stretched in all directions.
He sat up slowly, blinking in disbelief. The silence here wasn't just quiet—it was heavy, as if the air itself refused to speak.
"Where… am I?" he muttered, his voice oddly sharp in the soundless void.
"A place within," a calm male voice answered from behind.
Lucien turned swiftly, instinctively stepping back. His eyes widened as they settled on the figure standing before him.
A boy, maybe his age—no, younger in appearance—stood barefoot. He had unruly white hair that fell over piercing crimson eyes. His cheeks were slightly puffed, his stomach rounded, and his posture awkward. That face. That body.
It was him. Before everything.
Before sword training, before mana refinement, before purpose.
"Who are you?" Lucien asked cautiously, body shifting into a defensive stance despite the emptiness.
The boy blinked, as if surprised by the question. "What do you mean 'who am I'? I'm the owner of the body you're wearing."
Lucien's lips parted, but no words came out.
Then, slowly, realization dawned on him like the rising sun. His breath caught.
"You… You're the original Lucien?"
The boy gave a small nod. "Yes."
A swirl of confusion and unease twisted in Lucien's gut. "So… what do you want from me? Your body back?" he asked, trying to steady his voice.
"No," the original Lucien said, a small smile forming. "I don't want anything back. In fact, I owe you a thank you."
Lucien blinked. "What?"
"You treated our family—the family I always wanted to protect—the way I never could. I was stuck in my own grief. Paralyzed by failure. I let everything fall apart. But you…" he looked down, voice trembling slightly. "You gave them something I couldn't. You gave them hope. Thank you."
Lucien's throat tightened.
"I… I'm also thankful," he said after a pause. "I never had a family to care about before. But now I do. Because of you."
A moment of silence passed between them, not awkward but reverent—like two souls on the verge of something profound.
Then, softly, Lucien asked, "So… why are you here now?"
"I've been here ever since you came," the original Lucien said, voice calm. "When your soul entered this body, I couldn't take control anymore. But I could still see. Still feel."
Lucien's brows furrowed. "You've been watching this entire time?"
"Yes," he said. "At first, I was angry—furious. I thought you stole everything from me. But then I watched you train. Watched you struggle. Watched you grow close to Celeste, Lady Seraphina, and Father… I saw you trying to fix what I had broken."
He paused, voice softening.
"And slowly… my anger turned to something else. Gratitude. Hope."
Lucien looked away, unsure of what to say.
"But now," the original continued, "things are different. You're awakening your Codex. And that means your soul is being fully recognized by the world's laws. And since we both reside in this vessel… I was pulled in too."
Lucien turned back to him. "So what happens now?"
"There's only one path forward. We must merge."
"M-Merge?" Lucien echoed, blinking. "What does that even mean?"
"Our souls must become one. If we don't… your Codex will never awaken properly. And I'll remain stuck in the shadows of your mind, dragging you down." The boy smiled, though his eyes shimmered with pain. "Once we merge… I'll disappear."
"You're okay with that? Disappearing forever?" Lucien asked, stunned.
"I am," the original said with surprising calm. "You deserve this life. I've come to terms with it. Besides… I've seen your memories."
Lucien stiffened.
"I know what we are," the boy said. "Just characters in a story. I even know I'm supposed to die… in three years."
Lucien's eyes widened. "How do you…?"
"I saw it. Bits and pieces. Enough to understand. It was… a tough pill to swallow." The boy chuckled dryly. "But eventually, I accepted it."
He looked at Lucien with determination.
"You have a real chance to live. To change everything. And the people I love—they love you now too. They'll miss you if you're gone. Celeste… Lady Seraphina… and Father."
Lucien swallowed hard. "This is… a lot."
"Yeah," the original smiled. "But it's necessary."
Lucien stood silently, heart pounding in his chest. So many questions. So many emotions.
Then, one question slipped from his lips. "You said we'd have to go through two trials after we merge. Why?"
"Because there are two souls in one vessel. Your awakening will test both. Separately and together."
Lucien's lips thinned. "How do you even know that? Or how this merging works?"
The original Lucien paused.
"That part is… strange," he said. "When you lost consciousness earlier, you were gone from this inner space. For a brief time. And during that time… she came."
Lucien's eyes narrowed. "She?"
"A woman," the boy explained. "Her features were foggy, like mist made human. I couldn't see her face, but her voice… it was calm. Powerful."
Lucien's stomach dropped.
"She told me what to expect. How the merging would work. What comes next."
Lucien took a step back. "She accessed my inner mind? Who is she?"
"I don't know," the boy admitted. "But she seemed to know a lot. About you. About this world. About us."
Lucien's fists clenched. "This is insane…"
He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, forcing his mind to still.
I'll figure that out later.
"Right now," he said aloud, "we have to finish this. What do we do?"
The original Lucien nodded. "Come. Stand before me."
Lucien stepped forward.
The white void around them began to shift. The air buzzed, as though charged with raw mana. The ground beneath them—if it could be called that—shimmered with threads of light.
The original Lucien extended his hand. "When we touch, the process will begin. Our souls will recognize each other. Resist, and the process could break us."
Lucien reached out, their palms pressing together.
A sound like thunder cracked through the space.
A surge of energy burst outward, encasing them both in radiant light.
Then, everything shifted.
---
Lucien's eyes fluttered open. He was no longer standing in the void. Instead, he hovered in a vast cosmic space, with constellations swirling around him. Stars shimmered like memories, and rivers of mana flowed through the dark.
Across from him stood the original Lucien—now glowing with a faint blue aura.
"This is the spiritual core," the original said. "Where our souls meet as equals."
Lucien felt his own body lighten, his spirit floating in the gravity-less vastness.
The two of them began to drift toward each other, or perhaps space itself was folding.
"I'm ready," Lucien said, steeling himself.
"So am I."
As they moved closer, light wrapped around them like threads of silk. Their bodies began to blur at the edges, flickering between forms. The memories of both Luciens—joys, regrets, triumphs, and failures—flashed between them.
Pain shot through Lucien's chest.
He saw flashes of a lonely childhood. The mocking of nobles. The sorrow of a mother's absence. The guilt of a father's disappointment.
Not his memories. His.
Then, his own pain surfaced. A past life of obscurity. A second chance filled with confusion and dread. The pressure to be more than a replacement.
The lights swirled faster. Their voices echoed in unison.
> "I am Lucien."
> "I am Lucien."
> "We are Lucien."
The final convergence hit like a shockwave.
The stars exploded in a flash of white—
And everything went still.
---
Lucien gasped as he sat up, back in the Awakening Chamber.
Sweat drenched his brow, and his body trembled. His eyes shimmered with both crimson and blue for a moment, before settling into their usual hue.
But something had changed. Deep within, he could feel it.
He was whole.
The original Lucien was gone. Merged.
But he left behind strength. Memories. Will.
And something else.
A strange warmth pulsed from Lucien's chest—his Codex, now forming. The air shimmered with mana as a sigil carved itself into existence just above his heart, glowing briefly before fading beneath his skin.
Then, a voice echoed in his mind.
> "The trials begin now."
Lucien stood, silent and resolute.
He didn't know what lay ahead in these trials. But he had faced the past.
And now, he would face the future.