[ This auxiliary chapter only serves as a guide and explanation to show and introduce the characters that the readers should know, if they dare to read this story. The characters written here are what one may call the key characters in the story's world-building. They may not be the main characters, but they are the ones who play a crucial role in helping the main character grow and become the person they need to be. ]
I know this is not the usual way of introducing characters, but hey, I'm new to this, and I know most newbies will look at their favourite novel or favourite author to see how they deliver this kind of important part.
But I didn't want to be a copycat, and as much as I'd like to inspire someone someday, I decided to take a risk and be my own kind of writer—setting things the way I would appreciate them as a reader. Because though I'm a writer… I'm a reader first.
Anyway, this emotional declaration is for another auxiliary chapter that will come after this one.
So, warning.
These characters, like I've stated before, are not main characters. And even the main character is not the typical good main character, because he's not the main character—he's more like an anti-hero.
So beware: the following characters and their stats belong to the House of Astralux.
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Aethon Astralux
Title – Leader
Power – Tertiary
Rank – S plus
Skill – A plus
Talent – Infinite
Aspect: Shadow Truth
[ This is the power system that allows the user not only to make someone speak the truth, but also forces the victim to speak the dark truth they have hidden beyond the shadows. To achieve this leverage, the user must have total control over one's shadow, which can be done in various ways. ]
Attribute: Joker
[ This power system acts as a start-up grading point before the user can link their attribute with their affinity. It is a dark magic-like spell that makes victims lose their sanity through laughter, giving the user total control over them. They become mindless zombies without free will. If the victim doesn't lose their sanity, they remember nothing afterward. However, careless overuse can leave victims in a vegetative state that may take years to recover—if possible. ]
Affinity: Soul Master
[ The rarest and one of the most powerful power systems. It ascends from attribute to affinity and is considered forbidden. It allows the user to bind souls—turning former victims not into zombies, but into loyal followers whose souls are tied to the user's until the day he dies. In other terms: he has sired them. ]
Divinity: Monarch of Nightmares
[ The most powerful of the power systems, representing one's true identity. The user can invade, walk through, and control people's nightmares. It is extremely difficult to withstand. The only divinity capable of rivaling it is the Monarch of Dreams—and even that is usually not strong enough. ]
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Meliodas Morningstar
Title – Second in Command
Power – Secondary
Rank – A plus
Skill – AA
Talent – Threatening
Aspect: Strings of Fate
[ This power allows the user to control one's fate by accessing their true name or a drop of their blood. It is unpredictable and dangerous; if the user's emotions aren't in check, they may rupture their own fate instead of the victim's. The user can even swap fate with anyone they desire. ]
Attribute: Magician
[ This grants temporary access to magic that does not require mana. Instead, it uses Ki, an ancient power from before the discovery of mana. Ki draws from the essence of all things—earth, fire, water, and air—allowing temporary control of these elements. ]
Affinity: Oracle
[ One of the most sanctified power systems. It allows the user to see the past, present, and future of all things—from catastrophic events of time, space, mind, and soul to human lives. But using it carelessly can distort time itself. Witnessing devastating events can kill the user and cause temporal imbalances that trigger multiple calamities at once. ]
Divinity: Keeper of Destinies
[ This grants the user authority over destinies. Instead of ascending from affinity, it ascends from aspect. Besides maintaining destiny, the user can grant destinies—almost like granting wishes. However, giving someone their destined desire costs the user pieces of their own soul and curses them with what is known as a Flaw. ]
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Ophelia Stone
Title – General
Power – Secondary
Rank – B plus
Skill – B plus
Talent – Overwhelming
Aspect: Siren
[ This power allows the user to cast spells through singing or enchantment, giving her control over minds. The effect differs between men and women: men tend to fall in love, women dream of living the user's life. The spell can be temporary or eternal. ]
Attribute: Cupid
[ This acts as a lucky charm, allowing the user to make anyone—human, beast, or otherwise—fall in love with someone, whether the user or another person. But love can turn into murderous obsession. Victims may commit heinous crimes for their beloved, even offering human hearts to the user. ]
Affinity: Poison Ivy
[ This is a twisted evolution of the attribute. It grants control over emotions and feelings, allowing the user to manipulate visions and force victims to do anything she wants. Too powerful, it can even make victims kill themselves in the name of "love." ]
Divinity: Queen of Hearts
[ A hereditary divinity belonging to the Heart family clan. It grants control over life and death by manipulating hearts. However, every use consumes the user's own heart and shortens their lifespan:
• over an hour = a year gone
• over a minute = a month gone
• over a second = a week gone
By tradition, the dying heart of a family member must be eaten to keep the divinity in the bloodline. ]
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Lexi Moon
Title – Lieutenant
Power – Between Primary and Secondary
Rank – D plus
Skill – D
Talent – Critical
Aspect: Necromancer
[ Born from the darkness of human suffering after the First Calamity. It can awaken the dead—but only those who died after the Calamities, whose souls remain restless and vengeful. The user can raise an army if desired. ]
Attribute: Mortician
[ An evolved form of the necromancer aspect. The user can now speak to the dead and act as a conduit. Weak users risk possession, trapping their own soul in the dead person's place. While possessed, the user loses access to both aspect and attribute. ]
Affinity: Medusa
[ Grants the ability to turn living beings into stone using the eyes. If not reversed, the victim becomes dust. But this power curses the user, damaging the cornea and making them half-blind. ]
Divinity: Fairy Lady
[ Allows travel between realms—the Underworld and the living world. The user becomes a gateway for dead souls to reach their final resting place, but the soul must offer something valuable. Only the Fairy Lady knows what the payment will be. ]
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Draco Knight
Title – Soldier
Power – Primary
Rank – B plus
Skill – C
Talent – Determined
Aspect: Multiplication
[ Allows the user to create duplicates of himself—three at most, though two is most common before exhaustion sets in. Any pain felt by the duplicates is also felt by the original. ]
Attribute: Jester
[ Unlike the entertainers of royalty, this Jester system grants telekinesis and the ability to read and manipulate thoughts. ]
Affinity: Fool
[ An upgrade rather than an ascension. This system allows shapeshifting into anything or anyone, including mimicking aspects, attributes, and affinities. Divinity cannot be copied. To use this ability, the user must "study" the target by refraining from using his own powers for an entire day. ]
Divinity: Jack of All Trades
[ Grants the ability to link all three power systems—aspect, attribute, and divinity. It also allows access to a person's past, present, and future by living their life temporarily, putting them in suspended animation. However, this causes the user to lose some of their own memories. ]
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The House of Thane (Hero House)
These characters belong to the House of Thane—the main protagonist's house, also known as the Hero House.
I won't show their aspect, attribute, affinity, or divinity.
And I know you might be mad at me, but I still have to find power systems strong enough to rival the House of Astralux.
So I'll just name them, that's all.
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Astrid Thane
Title – Hero
Power – Tertiary
Rank – S
Skill – A triple plus
Talent – Doomsday
Arthur Maynard
Title – Right Hand
Power – Secondary
Rank – AA plus
Skill – A plus
Talent – Lifeline
Odessa Grave
Title – Advisor
Power – Primary
Rank – B plus
Skill – B minus
Talent – True Bearing
North Shore
Title – Captain
Power – Secondary
Rank – BB plus
Skill – B plus
Talent – Leadership
Grover Thane
Title – Sidekick
Power – Primary
Rank – C plus
Skill – D
Talent – Servant