House of Hules
At first, there was a tree. A test.
Then a stain was cast upon the world—a shadow.
Sin, born on that day. One and only one stood.
And on that day, He stood and gazed upon His creation,
A single tear shed.
On that day, He knew He could not let this be what the world would become.
So, on that day, He—and only He—could hide the stain,
The mistake,
The shadow,
From the world.
And on that day, He did.
But nothing stays buried forever.
—Unknown
Looking back, maybe it wasn’t all that bad.
Sometimes I wonder if life would’ve been better if Eliza and I had never discovered the truth.
Maybe that’s selfish.
But we might’ve been happier—or at least, that’s what I like to believe.
Magic is a mystery.
Even now, no one truly understands it.
It flows through the world, choosing its own vessels.
And once it touches you, it never lets go.
I wish that was all I had to tell you.
But my story is darker—filled with mystery, sacrifice, and loss.
My name is Maddox.
And we should’ve never left the orphanage.
But what choice did we have?