The Shadow Zone was a place where the sounds of sirens and the noise of the streets above never seemed to reach. The city of Halcyon was divided between the powerful, the forgotten, and the inhabitants of the lowest part of the city, where Eliar was reborn. Those who lived there didn't know what it was like to live without fear—fear of being consumed by poverty, fear of being ignored by society, and fear of the future itself.
Madame Rosaria was an old woman, her hands rough from years of labor and her gaze kind but weary. She lived alone in a modest, dark house, but it was there that Eliar would find a love he had never known from anyone else. The old woman had been marked by the pain of loss, yet she still had a generous heart.
She walked the empty streets with her cane, the sound of her footsteps echoing through the dirty alleys. The biting wind swayed the few white hairs that remained on her head. At this stage of her life, nothing frightened her anymore—except perhaps the sight of abandoned children on the streets, the same children the city ignored. And it was as she passed through a narrow street, filled with trash and remnants of a neglected life, that she heard a faint sound, almost like a whimper, coming from a dark corner.
When she approached, she saw something that sent a chill down her spine: a baby, no more than a year old, wrapped in a blanket with unfamiliar symbols, now dirtied and torn, lying among food scraps and garbage. He was there, alone, abandoned, with an aura of suffering that seemed to have dragged itself to him from some distant place. But what truly made her stop was the glow in the boy's eyes. A purple glow, so vibrant and unique that it seemed impossible. Something in his eyes told her he was no ordinary child.
Rosaria hesitated for a moment, fearing that someone had left the baby there with ill intentions. But as she looked at him more closely, she felt something stronger, something that made her act without hesitation: she picked him up in her arms, without thinking of the consequences.
"You're not alone," she whispered, though the words seemed more for herself than for him.
As she carried him in her arms, an inexplicable feeling of protection enveloped her. She didn't know who he was or what his eyes meant, but she knew she had to care for him. The city might let him die, but she wouldn't.
The years passed quickly. Eliar grew up under Rosaria's care, but always with the feeling that he was different. The other children looked at him with suspicion, whispering about his purple eyes and what they might mean. But to Rosaria, he was just the boy she loved as if he were her own son.
He had no friends. The children laughed at him, saying his eyes were cursed. Eliar, however, pretended not to care too much. He had learned to live with loneliness, but deep inside, something bothered him. He felt that at any moment, he could do something that would change everything. But what? He didn't know.
At school, the other boys were cruel. The taunts weren't just about his eyes, but also about his tall, skinny frame and the quiet, distant way he moved through the world. He never felt like the other children, never managed to fit in, and that only made him more isolated. The weight of loneliness grew heavier each day.
Everything changed on the morning a boy shoved him in the school hallway. Eliar had stepped back to avoid a fight, but the push was too strong, and he fell, his body hitting the ground painfully. The chatter around him grew louder, laughter echoing, but in that moment, the hatred and frustration inside Eliar began to rise.
He clenched his eyes shut, feeling a rage he had never known he possessed. His wrists burned, and the air around him seemed to vibrate. Suddenly, without understanding what was happening, his hands rose instinctively. As his fingers stretched out, a wave of darkness—dense and pure—spread out. The moment it happened, the room seemed to vanish before him.
Where the wave of energy passed, everything dissolved: the walls, the objects, even the shadows, as if the very space around him surrendered to Eliar's power. And everything was swallowed by an absolute void.
He stopped, his eyes wide, feeling a deep terror. What had he done? No one could understand what had happened. He didn't know how to control it, but he knew it was dangerous. This wasn't just a game. He could destroy everything.
Silence filled the room, and everyone stared at him in shock until the principal arrived, concerned about the damage. But no one knew what had happened. Not even Eliar himself.
When Rosaria learned of the incident, she didn't react with fear. She knew something like this was dangerous, but she also knew Eliar wasn't evil. She loved him like a son, and that was enough for her.
"It's not your fault, Eliar," she said, holding him. "You're more than this. No matter what others say, you have a good heart. You just need to learn to control it."
Eliar didn't respond. He simply leaned into her arms, feeling a mix of fear and hope. Something inside him was awakening, and he didn't know if he was ready for it. But one thing was certain: he wouldn't remain just another boy from the Shadow Zone. What he would become was yet to be seen.