I. The Whispering Wind of Neon
The world of Neon stretched wide and endless beneath the skies of soft violet and burnt gold. It was a land unlike any other—a breathing continent of living forests, floating isles tethered by lightning-chains, and seas that shimmered with prism hues under twin suns.
Here, magic was not merely conjured—it was inherited.
And its source, its law, its mystery, came from the ancient relics that had fallen from the heavens in a time now known as the First Descent.
Six thousand years ago, the skies of Neon cracked open like an eye awakening for the first time. From that divine rupture came down a storm of light and shape, a rain of cubes made from crystalline energy—some no larger than a fist, others the size of temples. They pulsed with colors of red, blue, green, yellow, purple, white, black—each hue alive, vibrating with an essence that spoke to the very soul of the world.
Scholars would later name them Neon Cubes. But the old tribes of the plains called them by another name:
"The Heartstones of the Forgotten Stars."
No one knew why they came. No one knew from where. But they came with purpose.
The cubes chose their wielders. They embedded themselves into chosen bloodlines. Some granted dominion over fire and flame; others, over wind and cloud. A rare few controlled time, illusions, and reality itself.
But with power comes division. And with division, came war.
II. The Land Divided by Color
Neon was no longer one world—it became seven, all trapped within a single plane. Each kingdom forged its identity around a color, an element, and a Cube School that dictated hierarchy and survival:
Crimson Ignis – Land of flame-wielders. Its lava-ridden mountains birthed a brutal, honor-bound warrior class.
Azure Mareen – A coastal empire where sea and mist magic reigned; ruled by matriarchs known as the Tideborn.
Verdant Thorne – A kingdom veiled in forests and wild growth, protected by nature-bonded druids and beastkin.
Celestalia – A floating archipelago where wind and sky sorcerers sculpted cities from clouds and starlight.
Obscura Nocturne – The dark lands; home to shadow walkers, death priests, and moonlit assassins.
Lux Caelis – The radiant empire of light-wielders, steeped in divine rituals and holy crusades.
Tenebris Vale – The abyssal realm of black magic, sealed off after the ancient wars—its knowledge outlawed.
Peace was fragile, built on alliances between schools and guilds. But beneath the surface, an ancient grudge burned like embers beneath ash. The White and Black Cubes—the most powerful and mysterious of them all—were once thought to be opposites.
But those who studied them closely knew the truth.
They were twins.
III. A Girl Among Stars and Silence
High atop the snow-veiled cliffs of Solaria's Reach, where the stars seemed close enough to whisper, a girl named Eve Caelestis stood alone on the balcony of a glass tower. Wind tugged at her silver cloak, and her white-blonde hair shimmered like starlight.
She was only sixteen, yet her name was already spoken with reverence—and fear.
Not just because she was the heir of House Caelestis, one of the six ruling noble lines of Lux Caelis.
But because she alone possessed what should have been impossible.
On the back of each of her hands were embedded cubes, pulsing gently beneath her skin like living tattoos—one glowing white as dawn, the other black as a moonless void.
The White Cube of Lux and the Black Cube of Tenebris.
Two forces that were never meant to coexist.
As a child, she was told it was a blessing. As a teenager, she knew it was a curse.
IV. The Ceremony of the Second Bloom
Today was the Ceremony of the Second Bloom, a sacred rite where cube-bearers renewed their vows to their chosen element and school. Across Neon, shrines were lit, magic flared into the skies, and names were recorded into the Grand Archive.
Eve had attended every year—but always from a distance. Always veiled.
Too much attention brought too many eyes. And too many eyes brought too many questions.
"Do you feel it again?" asked a voice beside her.
She turned. Her younger brother, Lucien, leaned against the balcony rail. Only thirteen, but already a prodigy of the White Cube. His silver eyes mirrored hers—but not the shadows that lingered behind them.
Eve looked out toward the horizon.
"The cubes are stirring again. I can hear them in the wind. They're… calling."
Lucien frowned. "Calling what?"
She didn't answer. Because to say it aloud would be madness.
They were calling her name.
V. Dreams of the Forgotten
That night, Eve dreamed.
She stood in a place that wasn't a place—a void painted with stars, floating over a sea of shattered cubes. Voices echoed around her in languages she had never learned but somehow understood.
"The bearer has awakened."
"The gate must not open again."
"She must remember. She must forget."
In the center of the dreamscape stood a statue—her own face carved in stone, but with cracks running through the eyes.
Beneath it, a name was written. Not her name. But one eerily similar.
"Evanael."
When she awoke, her pillow was damp with sweat. The White Cube was glowing. The Black Cube was humming.
VI. The Letter and the Stranger
Three days later, a letter arrived. Sealed with red wax. No crest. No signature. Only a phrase written in the Old Tongue.
"The Cubes remember what the world has chosen to forget."
Within it, a map. Leading far beyond the borders of Lux Caelis. Toward the Aether Scar, a forbidden wasteland said to be where the First Cube fell.
No one went there.
No one who returned remained sane.
But Eve knew, in the depth of her spirit, that it was where her journey would begin.
She tucked the map into her cloak.
That night, a cloaked stranger appeared at the gates of House Caelestis. Pale skin. A single eye glowing with green light. And a cube embedded not in hand—but in neck.
"Lady Eve," he said. "The world has lied to you. Your ancestors were not heroes. They were keepers of something buried."
Then he vanished into the mist.
VII. The School of Light
Eve departed that same week under the guise of a pilgrimage to the School of Lux, the largest magic academy in all of Neon, hidden in the Crystal Valley beneath glass domes and radiant waterfalls.
She was not alone.
Her traveling party included:
Lucien – Her loyal brother, determined to protect her.
Selka – Her handmaid and secretly a wielder of the Green Cube of Verdant Thorne, gifted in illusion magic.
Maelis – A war-forged knight who had sworn his blade to the Caelestis line. Quiet. Haunted.
The school was alive with power and politics. Young mages danced across platforms of light. Elemental duels filled the air with color and smoke. The smell of arcane ink and stardust clung to the marble halls.
But beneath the wonder, rumors stirred.
Strange disappearances. Cubes resonating without cause. And one chilling tale passed from mouth to mouth:
"The Black Cube has awakened again… and its bearer is still a child."
VIII. The Echo Begins
As Eve explored the school, she stumbled across a hidden passage beneath the Grand Library—a tunnel leading into the Cube Vault, where ancient and shattered cubes were stored and studied.
There, she found something that should not have existed.
A cube glowing not with one color—but two, fused together: violet and silver. It pulsed once when she touched it, and her mind was flooded with visions.
A great war. A godlike being sealed within a cage of cubes. A scream that shook the stars.
She collapsed, whispering a name she didn't recognize:
"Neonfall…"
When she awoke, she was no longer alone.
A boy stood beside her—older, with wild copper hair and eyes that flickered with lightning. A Blue Cube shone from his palm.
"I saw it too," he said. "I've been waiting for you, Eve Caelestis."
IX. The Path Forward
Her journey had only begun. What lay ahead were truths that could unravel empires. She would face rogue cube-wielders, mad kings, forgotten gods, and the very essence of what Neon truly was.
But for now, beneath the domes of the School of Lux, Eve stood at the edge of destiny. A girl split between light and darkness, searching for the pieces of herself scattered across the world.
The cubes had waited six millennia.
And they were done waiting.
END OF CHAPTER ONE