Before becoming the Ghost of Empyrea, Ari was just a kid trying to survive beside a mother carrying everything on her own.
His mother had no help, and life never gave her a break. The divorce hit early, long before Ari could form a real memory of his father. After that, it was just the two of them.
She was a worn-out woman dragging the weight of a broken marriage while pretending nothing happened.
Years of nonstop work hardened her. She wasn't warm or affectionate, not because she didn't care, but because exhaustion left her with nothing to give. As a kid, Ari didn't understand that. All he knew was a house where care was practical, not tender, meals, clothes, education, and nothing more.
They lived in a ground-floor unit of an old house on the outskirts of the capital. The place was cheap, and it showed the moment you stepped in.
One window. A tiny kitchen. A bathroom. And one single room that had to be everything: Ari's study corner, the bedroom they shared, the living room they pretended was "enough."
Ari never had his own room. Never had a door to close. Sixteen years in the same space meant he was always seen, always adjusting, always shrinking himself. If he wanted to be alone, he just... couldn't.
With no dad, no siblings, and a mother constantly on the edge, he learned everything on his own. He built himself through mistakes and trauma.
In high school, he met Chae in first year. They talked a bit online, nothing deep. Year two, they barely spoke. Year three, they reconnected, and the spark hit fast. Late-night texts and a bond that grew more online than face-to-face. At school, they barely shared a few minutes, yet she somehow became his favorite person.
Chae was kind and always trying to make people feel comfortable. But she never really saw herself clearly... until Ari did.
Their gym talks mattered more than he ever realized. When she sent him progress pictures and he told her she was doing well, it stayed with her.
And their real connection wasn't the compliments; it was JoJo. Memes, references, a language only they spoke. Not romance. Not drama. Just two people finding something that felt like theirs.
Rain showed up in year two. Ari had always struggled to find someone consistent, someone loyal.
Rain matched him instantly.
They met randomly one morning; Rain was standing alone outside school. Ari had always thought he seemed cool and funny, someone he hoped to be friends with, so he took the chance and said hi. From then on, they walked to class together, hung out during breaks, and never separated. Rain became the first real constant in Ari's life.
Rain grew up in Underhaven, the corrupted underground layer of Empyrea. His family was religious and good-hearted, but the neighborhood swallowed him.
He didn't choose that life; he adapted to it. But underneath everything, Rain had a clean heart. Good roots. And people always find their way back to them. He just needed someone to help him. Ari became that person.
Rain didn't graduate, and his future depends on it... he wants to leave the continent and start fresh somewhere far away.
Chae is aiming for the police academy, chasing stability.
And when people ask Ari about his future, his answer is always the same:
"I want to be rich. So I can do whatever I want."
A simple answer for a complicated boy.