Chapter 1: The Loner and the Rift
Ethan Caldwell sat alone in the back of the classroom; his eyes fixed on the clock ticking away on the wall. It had been another uneventful day at the academy, the same monotonous lectures about talent growth, monster classifications, and the endless dangers beyond the Great Rift. He sighed quietly, already tuning out the instructor's droning voice.
He wasn't like the others.
While most of his classmates were busy building connections and joining guilds, Ethan had always preferred to remain on the fringes. He didn't have the powerful family lineage or connections to any influential clan. His talent, though marked as rare, wasn't anything special compared to some of the prodigies around him. And that suited him just fine—or so he told himself.
Terra Nova, the continent on which he lived, was a strange amalgamation of the old and the new. Medieval landscapes filled with sprawling cities, interspersed with futuristic technology and ancient magic. For as long as anyone could remember, the world had been divided by the Great Rift, a scar across the land that none dared approach. Strange forces, both magical and mechanical, emerged from it—forces only the strongest hunters could fend off.
"Mr. Caldwell!" The instructor's voice cut through his thoughts, dragging him back to the present. "Perhaps you'd care to explain the importance of the Great Rift?"
Ethan blinked, straightening up in his chair. "It... It's the source of most of our conflicts and resources. Many of the monsters we hunt come from there, but it's also where hunters like us find rare materials for growth."
The instructor nodded, seemingly satisfied with the generic answer, though some of the other students snickered under their breath. Ethan ignored them, turning his gaze back to the window. Beyond the academy walls, the world was teetering on the brink of war, with rumors of dark guilds and rival clans preparing to exploit the weakening seals of the Rift.
He didn't care about any of that.
But then, why did he keep feeling this gnawing sensation inside? Like something was missing—something important.
As the day wore on, his thoughts drifted again. His nights had been plagued by strange, fragmented dreams recently. Faces he didn't recognize, places he'd never been, and a name that kept whispering in his mind: Chris.
Who was Chris? And why did it feel like that name was connected to him?
The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Ethan gathered his things quickly, eager to leave the academy. He wasn't like the others here. He didn't have the same ambitions or connections. But there was something else—something he couldn't quite grasp—that made him feel like an outsider.
As he walked through the bustling courtyard, his mind wandered to the whispers he'd heard around the academy. The professors sometimes mentioned a prophecy. They spoke in hushed tones, cautious not to reveal too much. All Ethan knew was that it was said to foretell the rise of a powerful figure—one who could either save or destroy Terra Nova.
The prophecy didn't matter to him, though. What mattered was figuring out why he felt like a stranger in his own skin.
With a sigh, he pulled his jacket tighter around himself and headed toward the dorms, unaware that the first step toward uncovering his hidden past—and his true identity—was about to begin.