Four centuries and a half ago, the Great Collapse shattered the veil separating reality from magic, fusing two worlds into one chaotic and unpredictable realm called Eidolon.
When the event occurred, the laws of nature fractured, allowing Mana—an unseen force of magic—to flood the world and breathe life into the extraordinary.
Mountains that reached beyond the clouds, forests teeming with magical beasts, and cities built upon the remnants of both ancient and futuristic ruins rose from the ashes of the old world.
Yet not everyone benefited from the new reality. For every mage who wielded fire or shaped the very earth, there were countless others left with nothing.
These were the Nulls—those who could not manipulate Mana and had no magical talent. Some called them cursed, others simply pitied them, but most forgot about them entirely. The Nulls struggled to survive in a world that had evolved past them, where magical prowess determined one's worth. These individuals was forced to live in separation or as underlings of those with magical talents.
Some became slaves, some became experiments and others... remained as Nulls.
Reyn Lanthorne was one such Null. He lived in a small, nameless village that clung to the edge of an expansive forest. It was a haven for those who had no place in the larger, magic-driven societies. The village's few inhabitants eked out a meager existence, relying on basic farming and scavenging to sustain themselves.
The lake at the other end of the village provided them with the water they needed to sustain themselves along with their farms.
Among them were two mages—a couple who barely qualified as such. Their abilities were modest at best, suitable for lighting fires or fixing small tools but little more. They served as the village's supposed leaders, offering what little protection they could provide in exchange for the respect of the Nulls who depended on them.
Either out of luck or not, the forest surrounding the village acted as a natural barrier that kept them safe from whatever lurked the depths as well as the other parts of this realm.
Reyn crouched by the edge of a crumbling stone wall that encircled the village, his eyes fixed on the horizon where the dense forest met the sky.
"Just another day," he murmured to himself, pulling his tattered cloak closer as a gust of wind swept through the open field. He had known nothing but struggle since the day he was born, the same struggle shared by everyone in the village.
Each day blended into the next, filled with endless labor and empty hopes. For those without magic, there was no escape from the uninspiring life they all spent surviving.
But something within Reyn simmered—a quiet defiance, a yearning to break free from the dull routine. His hand clenched into a fist at the thought.
'If only I could wield magic… I wouldn't be stuck here, wasting away while others soar through the sky or bend the elements to their will.'
His gaze drifted to the village's central square, where a small crowd had gathered to listen to the village's mages, Irvin and Adelia. Irvin, a lanky man with graying hair and a faint magical aura about him, stood beside his wife, Adelia, whose spells were little more than party tricks in the larger world. Yet, here, they were something more—leaders, providers, protectors of a sort.
They used what little magic they had to ease the burdens of the Nulls: repairing broken tools, enhancing crops to grow just a little faster, or casting basic wards to keep beasts away at night.
"We must make do with what we have," Irvin said, his voice carrying over the crowd. "The land gives us little, but we will persist. We've always persisted."
The crowd murmured in agreement, but there was no real fire in their responses, only the weary acceptance of a people who had long since lost hope of anything better. Reyn could hardly stand it. As much as he respected the mages for what they did, he could not ignore the hollowness of their words.
It was the same speech he had heard countless times—promises of endurance and perseverance that had never amounted to anything more than survival.
He turned away, his jaw set in frustration. "Persist," he echoed under his breath, his tone bitter. "My ass! As if that's enough."
Reyn made his way through the village's narrow dirt paths, kicking up small clouds of dust with each step. He had no particular destination in mind, only the need to distance himself from the unchanging reality of the village.
As he reached the outskirts, he noticed a group of children gathered around a fire pit, where Adelia was entertaining them with a simple spell—making sparks dance above the flames.
"See? Magic isn't so hard," she said, smiling warmly at the wide-eyed children who watched her in awe. "It just takes a little concentration."
Reyn shook his head. If only it were that simple. For the Nulls, concentration and willpower could not create fire, heal wounds, or lift objects. It could not change their status, which was set in stone the moment they were born. No amount of wishing could transform them into something they were not.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, pushing back the rising bitterness. He was not angry at Adelia, nor at the children who still clung to fantasies of one day wielding magic. It wasn't their fault that reality had no place for such dreams. It was simply how the world worked now, and how it had worked for the past four and a half centuries.
But that did not mean he had to accept it. Reyn opened his eyes and turned his gaze towards the forest. It stretched out endlessly, a wall of trees so thick that even the sunlight struggled to pierce through.
Beyond it lay the unknown, a place where dangerous beasts roamed and strange relics could be found. Those who ventured too far seldom returned, yet Reyn felt a strange pull towards it—a whisper that beckoned him to take a risk, to do something more than just exist.
"If I stay here, I'll be just like everyone else," he muttered, his voice filled with a quiet resolve. "But if I leave… maybe I can find something worth fighting for."
He had little to lose by venturing outside. In the village, he was already at the bottom, a powerless Null with no future to speak of. Out there, at least, there was the possibility of change. The forest might be dangerous, but it was also full of opportunity for those desperate enough to seek it.
With a final glance back at the village, Reyn stepped towards the forest, his decision made. 'Whatever happens… it has to be better than this.'