The Months passed by Caelum's birth gently, yet within the quiet home of the Arctis family, the smallest details began to feel different.
It started during a calm afternoon.
Lira was folding blankets when a soft chime echoed in the air like crystalline bells ringing underwater. She froze. The sound was faint, delicate… and impossible. Arctis homes were built to be silent inside.
She looked toward the cradle.
Caelum lay on his back, staring at the air with peaceful focus. His tiny hand was raised toward nothing yet the chime rang again.
Lira slowly approached. "Caelum…?"
The baby giggled softly.
A small swirl of light no larger than a firefly floated above him. Gentle, pale blue, shaped like a drifting mote of mana. But it pulsed… following his heartbeat.
Lira covered her mouth, eyes shimmering with a mix of awe and fear.
"Kael!"
Her husband rushed in, staff in hand, prepared for danger only to stop mid-step.
The mote hovered, rising and falling like a tiny guardian spirit.
Caelum reached out, and the light responded, drifting toward his palm.
"Is he… summoning it?" Lira whispered.
Kael approached slowly, kneeling beside the cradle. He extended his hand toward the floating mana. It pulsed defensively, as if refusing anyone except the child.
Kael withdrew his hand. "…This is beyond infant instinct. This is control."
Lira shook her head gently. "No. Look at him." Her voice softened. "He isn't controlling anything. It's coming to him."
The mote drifted down, touching Caelum's chest before dissolving into a soft glow that faded beneath his skin.
Silence.
Caelum yawned.
Lira laughed breathlessly, tears gathering at her eyes. "He's just… a baby."
Kael placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yes. A baby with a gift we do not yet understand."
He looked at Caelum, a child who summoned mana without intent, drew energy to himself without command, and reacted to the world in ways no infant could.
And yet, Caelum only blinked sleepily, unaware of the weight that his quiet miracle carried.
Kael exhaled slowly. "We must keep this hidden. Until we know what this means… no one outside the settlement must learn of it."
Lira nodded.
Caelum's eyes finally closed, drifting into peaceful slumber.
But the mana around him did not fade entirely; it lingered, a quiet shimmer, as though the world itself leaned closer to listen.
Night settled quietly over the Arctis household. A silver moon hung above the trees, and the ward-lights outside flickered in their usual rhythm. Inside, Lira hummed softly as she laid Caelum in his cradle.
He had been unusually quiet, too quiet even for a baby.
Lira brushed a strand of hair from his face. "Are you sleepy, little star?"
Caelum didn't cry, coo, or wiggle.
He simply stared at the ceiling… unblinking.
Then A soft pulse rippled through the room.
The candles flickered.
The mana-lamps dimmed.
And for a heartbeat, the air thinned as if something had briefly swallowed the light around them.
Lira froze.
"Caelum…?"
Her voice trembled.
Kael rushed in, sensing the disturbance. "I felt a drop like mana was being… drained."
Lira pointed with a shaking hand.
The shadows around the cradle were wrong not deeper, not darker, but emptier, like something had pulled the vitality out of the air itself.
Caelum blinked once.
And a faint veil of grayish-violet mist rose from his skin, swirling weakly before fading again.
Kael's heart pounded. "That… wasn't just mana. That was something else."
Lira swallowed. "It felt cold. Not dangerous… but empty."
Kael approached cautiously, extending his hand over the cradle.
The mana around Caelum did not push him away this time.
Instead, it recoiled…
as if afraid.
Kael whispered, "This is low-tier Void mana. Impossible for an infant. Even high-level Arcanum mages cannot shape it safely."
Caelum suddenly gurgled, smiling up at them.
The shadows snapped back to normal.
Lira exhaled shakily and scooped him into her arms. "He's… he's fine. He's still our little Caelum."
But Kael's eyes stayed on the cradle, where a faint ring of frost-dust lingered, not cold, not physical…but the residue of something that had briefly erased the mana around it.
Something ancient.
Something that should not exist in a human child.
A week later, Kael stood inside the Vyxen Council, a circular structure carved into the roots of an ancient silverwood tree. The air buzzed with mana lines that crossed and spiraled near the ceiling.
The elders and others sat around the table.
At the center was Duke Elder Seraphon Vaelor, the high authority in the Vyxen Arctists,a man with stern eyes but a calm aura.
Kael bowed deeply. "Honored elders, thank you for granting audience."
Seraphon tapped his staff. "You reported a disturbance around your child. Explain."
Kael inhaled carefully. "Caelum has shown unusual sensitivity to mana since birth. Recently… he manifested something else. Something closer to Void essence."
The elders exchanged uneasy glances.
One leaned forward. "Do you mean true void energy?"
"No," Kael said quickly. "Not true void. Only the faintest trace. A harmless ripple."
Another elder clicked her tongue. "Even a ripple can collapse mana circuits. This is serious, Kael."
Duke Elder Seraphon's voice cut through the tension.
"Bring the child."
Lira stepped in, cradling Caelum. His eyes were half closed, peacefully resting.
Duke Seraphon approached slowly.
He extended his palm toward the child but did not touch him.
The mana in the council shifted like leaves bending toward a silent wind.
A soft, pale glow rose from Caelum's chest but not the blue light from before.
This time it was colorless.
Void-like.
Thin.
Breathing.
The lanterns dimmed.
Runic lines on the walls flickered.
And Duke Seraphon's staff trembled.
The elder removed his hand sharply.
The glow vanished.
The hall returned to normal.
Every elder stared at the child in stunned silence.
Finally, Duke Seraphon spoke, voice steady but heavy:
"…This is no curse. No instability. No accident."
He looked at Caelum as though seeing something both terrifying and sacred.
"This child holds a dormant power not meant for our dimension. You must keep him protected, hidden, and unprovoked. If the wrong forces sense this…"
until Countess Elder Marthen slammed his palm on the table.
"This is madness!" he snapped. "A child who radiates Emptiness(void) traces? This is a threat to the entire Arcanum!… that infant carries something that should not exist in our lands."
Count Elder Varyn, stood as well. "A Void pulse inside the heart of the Arcanum? If it had expanded even slightly, it could've shattered our mana circuits!"
Another elder hissed in agreement. "If that power grows, he could tear our mana wards apart. Or worse invite something to find us."
Lira held Caelum closer, but Kael stepped in front of them protectively.
"He is my son," Kael said firmly. "And he has harmed no one."
Countess Elder Rana stood, voice sharp. "Not yet. But what of tomorrow? Next year? What if he loses control? We could lose our entire clan?"
Duke Seraphon's expression hardened. "You speak from fear, not reason."
Countess Marthen pointed toward Caelum. "Fear keeps us alive! That child is dangerous and you know it."
"A child with unknown power is unpredictable," another elder muttered. "We cannot risk our clan for the sake of sentiment."
Kael clenched his jaw. "He is not a danger, he is still an infant. I will train him, guide him, watch over every breath he takes if I must."
Countess Marthen scoffed. "Kael, you cannot guarantee anything. None of us can."
Another elder muttered darkly, "A child who drains mana… a child tied to that power… this could bring ruin to all of us."
Before the argument could escalate further, Elder Seraphon raised his staff.
"Enough."
The hall fell silent instantly.
Duke Seraphon's eyes remained fixed on Caelum, but his voice was resolute.
"I have spoken," DukeSeraphon declared. "This child is not to be harmed, exiled, or feared. Not unless we know he is a threat. Until then, we observe quietly and carefully. This matter does not leave this hall, he is under the protection of his family and under my watch."
The protesting elders stiffened but could not disobey.
Some elders grumbled under their breath. Others looked uneasy. None dared oppose him openly
Duke Seraphon added:
"Understand this: Fear will not dictate our actions. But caution will. Keep this matter hidden. See to the child's safety… and our own."
His voice lowered.
"…the Arcanum will face storms we are not prepared to survive."
Lira held Caelum closer.
Kael bowed once more, determination hardening in his voice.
"We will protect him. At any cost."
The elders exchanged uneasy looks, but none dared speak further.
Liraa exhaled in relief. Kael bowed his head. And Caelum slept peacefully in his mother's arms unaware of how close he had come to being labeled a danger by the very people meant to protect him