Just as Lucien blinked into consciousness, the world he knew vanished like smoke in the wind. Darkness swallowed him whole.
Not just darkness.
It was an absence. A void.
"Where am I…?" he asked, his voice swallowed by the blackness.
No reply came. Not even an echo.
The silence weighed on him like a thousand mountains. There was no wind, no ground—only the sensation of floating, suspended in this bleak, empty space.
Then the space shuddered.
A ripple of light sliced through the dark, and suddenly, everything began to morph. The void twisted itself like threads of silk unraveling, forming vague shapes… then solid walls… then textures… then—
A room.
Warm sunlight streamed in through the open windows, casting a golden hue across wooden floors. The faint scent of lavender filled the air. It was quiet. Too quiet.
Lucien stood frozen, staring at the familiar room. He knew this place.
He turned slowly, and what he saw made his chest tighten.
A little boy, no older than seven, was curled up in the corner, his cheeks stained with tears—his younger self. His small hands trembled as he tried to stifle his sobs.
Beside him stood a young girl, about ten, with long hair braided down her back—Evelyne. Her eyes were red, her nose runny, but she bit her lip hard, trying to appear strong. She kept glancing at the bed, her hands tightly clenched.
Near the doorway stood a tall, lean boy with striking silver hair and sharp eyes—Caelum. He looked pale. Concern was written across every inch of his face as he wrung his hands nervously.
On the bed…
Lucien's heart stopped.
A woman lay beneath soft blankets, her breathing shallow. Her once radiant skin was pale, too pale. Her hair—silver-blonde like moonlight—fanned across the pillow. Her lips curled into a soft smile, but even that smile looked exhausted.
Elira Vaelor.
Lucien's mother.
His breath caught in his throat.
"Mother…?"
He took a step forward, desperate to reach her. But when he stretched out his hand—it passed right through a chair.
He couldn't touch anything.
He wasn't really there.
Just an observer.
Lucien's heart ached. A quiet pain started blooming in his chest, sharp and cold.
He watched the little boy—his younger self—drag himself to the bed, tears pouring freely now.
"Mommy… are you gonna be okay?" the child whimpered.
Elira opened her eyes, slowly. Her gaze drifted to him, and her hand lifted, brushing back his small bangs.
"…You've grown stronger already, my little star," she whispered, her voice light as the wind.
Lucien's younger self began crying harder. Evelyne moved closer but didn't say anything. Her eyes were locked onto their mother like she was trying to burn her image into memory.
Caelum walked over, kneeling beside Evelyne and pulling her into his arms. She clung to him, fists clenched around the back of his robe.
"Now," Elira whispered softly, her eyes on the children, "Will you both give me a moment with Lucien… just the two of us?"
The silence that followed was painful.
Caelum's jaw tightened. His lips parted like he wanted to argue, but he saw something in Elira's eyes—an unspoken plea. He looked away and gave a stiff nod.
"Come, Evelyne," he said gently, touching her shoulder.
"But—" she started, her voice cracking.
Caelum looked at her, not sternly, but with a kind of strength only fathers possessed.
Evelyne didn't move.
Tears began to spill down her cheeks again. She stumbled forward, wrapping her arms around their mother.
"I don't want to go! I don't want this to be the last time!" she sobbed.
Elira smiled and stroked her hair. "Shh… the stars are always watching, little moonlight."
It took all of Caelum's willpower to pull her away.
Lucien could feel the sting behind his own eyes, the ache in his throat.
They left the room, the door closing behind them softly.
Now it was just young Lucien and Elira. And Lucien, the observer, standing helpless in the corner.
The young boy crawled onto the bed and hugged his mother. She cradled him as best as her frail arms allowed. Her breath hitched.
"Sorry… Lucien…" she whispered, brushing his cheek. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay… longer."
"Please don't go!" the child cried.
"I have to," she said with a soft, almost amused smile. "There are things even stars can't change."
Then, as if the world itself held its breath, her body stilled.
Lucien's younger self let out a scream—a gut-wrenching cry that cracked through the air.
The room fell silent.
Lucien stood frozen, every fiber of him screaming to act, to run to her, to hold her—
But he couldn't.
He couldn't do a damn thing.
Then—
Elira's body shimmered.
Her form glowed faintly, and her lifeless body faded. She stood now in the middle of the room, radiant and unburdened, her robes gently fluttering as if stirred by an invisible wind.
She turned—and her eyes landed straight on Lucien.
Not the child.
The one observing.
She smiled. A smile warm as starlight.
"And now... I'll talk to you," she said.
Lucien staggered back, wide-eyed. "Y-You can… see me?"
His voice trembled like a child lost in a storm.
Elira stepped closer, her glow soft but divine. "Yes, I can."
"But how…? I-I'm not really here. This… this is a memory."
"It is," she said, calmly, "But I exist in echoes too powerful for time to bind. It's because of the mana I once held… and the mana you are going to awaken into."
Lucien's heart pounded. "Mana…?"
"Astralis Mana," she said, her smile laced with pride and sorrow. "Born from the light of stars. Rarer than moonfire… ancient as the void between worlds."
Lucien's knees buckled, and he dropped to the floor. "This doesn't make sense… why are you here? Why am I seeing this now?"
Elira knelt beside him, though her feet never touched the ground. "Because you need to understand that this path you're walking… it didn't begin with you."
Her eyes shimmered—moist but unbroken.
"I'm so sorry, Lucien," she said quietly. "Sorry for leaving you. Sorry that I couldn't stay. And… sorry that I've given you a burden that burns brighter than you yet know."
Lucien looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"
She didn't answer immediately. Her gaze drifted to the window.
"The stars have always been watching you. Guiding you. Testing you."
She paused.
"You will become something this world hasn't seen in centuries. But to do so… you must endure. You must suffer. And you must awaken, not just in body—but in soul."
Lucien's breath shook.
"This mana… Astralis Mana…" he whispered. "Is that what this is all about?"
Elira nodded. "It's a gift. A curse. A fate wrapped in light."
Her words were calm, but beneath them was a strange… sadness. As if she wasn't just talking about power—but the price it demanded.
"I'm not strong like father," Lucien muttered. "I'm not smart like Evelyne. I'm just—trying. Every day."
She touched his cheek—this time he felt it. Warm. Real.
The first warmth he'd felt in what felt like years.
"You're more than enough, my little star," she said. "You've always been. Even in the dark."
Lucien's eyes burned. He grabbed her hand, terrified that she would vanish again. "Don't go. Please—stay."
Her smile dimmed. "I can't. This is only a flicker of who I was. A memory caught in the current of fate."
Tears streamed down Lucien's face.
"Then why show me this? Why now?"
She leaned close and whispered, "Because soon, you will be tested again. And when that moment comes… you'll have to remember who you are."
Lucien bit his lip.
She stood, her glow intensifying.
"The Astralis Mana chooses only those who carry starlight in their soul. That light burns brightest in you, my son."
The world began to shimmer again. The walls dissolved. The light flickered.
Lucien tried to speak—but his voice was caught in his throat.
Elira began to fade.
Her last words reached him like an echo across time.
"Shine… even when no one sees you."
And then—
She was gone.
---
Lucien awoke in the real world with a gasp, tears still fresh on his cheeks. But this time, he didn't feel alone.
Somewhere far above… the stars were watching.
A/N:With this the first trial is complete.Many of you must be wondering why Lucien who transmigrated into a foreign body feeling so sad but at the start he got the original Lucien's memory and after the merging he got lucien emotions as well so he isnt that different from the original Lucien but more like a Lucien with knowledge of the future.Also if you are liking the novel,please add it to your library it helps me a lot more than you think.Thanks for reading.