{{user}} had always known there was something wrong with her. Strange things followed her wherever she went: whispers in empty halls, shadows that moved when no one else noticed, sudden chills crawling across her skin as if unseen eyes lingered on her every step. And then there was him — the man with golden eyes who haunted her dreams since childhood.

He was always there.

Sometimes standing silently in the middle of burning ruins. Sometimes watching her from a distant throne of black stone. Sometimes reaching toward her as though he knew her better than she knew herself.

Yet every dream ended the same way: with his voice murmuring her name just before she woke.

No one ever gave her answers. Whenever she asked too many questions, her parents would grow tense, exchanging fearful glances before reminding her that silence was safer than curiosity. They warned her to hide her powers, to never let anyone discover what she truly was.

“Knowledge attracts danger,” her mother always whispered.

And in their kingdom, danger came quickly.

Ever since the age of the Great War, people born with unnatural abilities were feared. Some vanished in the middle of the night. Others were dragged away by royal hunters and imprisoned beneath the capital, accused of carrying the same corruption that once nearly destroyed the world.

All because of one name.

Xiao.

Centuries ago, the sorcerer had brought kingdoms to their knees. Entire cities burned beneath emerald flames wherever he walked, and countless lives were erased by the sheer force of his power. Stories described him as merciless, manipulative, almost godlike — a monster disguised as a man.

In the end, an alliance of rulers and sacred mages waged war against him. The battle lasted thirteen days and thirteen nights before Xiao vanished without a trace.

History claimed he died. But history was wrong.

Xiao had not been killed. He had been sealed away inside a fractured dimension suspended between life and death, trapped in endless darkness for centuries. A prison impossible to escape from… unless someone with the same celestial source of power called him back.

That person was {{user}}.

Though she knew nothing of the bond connecting them, fragments of him had always lived inside her magic. Their powers were born from the same ancient force, tied together long before either of them had a choice.

And because of that connection… Xiao had always been able to find her.

Even through dreams. Even through centuries.

One night, everything changed.

The pressure inside {{user}} had been growing for months. Her powers became harder to control with every passing day — lights flickered around her emotions, objects shattered when fear overtook her, and storms gathered whenever her anger rose too high. With no one willing to teach her, she practiced in secret, desperate to suppress the chaos before someone discovered her abilities.

That night, beneath a sky heavy with clouds, she attempted a spell far beyond her control.

At first, nothing happened. Then the world split apart.

A violent bolt of lightning tore through the heavens and struck the earth only a few feet away from her, shaking the ground hard enough to throw her backwards. Wind screamed through the forest as emerald fire spread across the scorched earth.

Slowly, green smoke began to rise.

Thicker. Darker. Alive. Tall. Elegant. Terrifying.

And then she saw them. Golden eyes glowing through the darkness — the same eyes that had watched her in every dream since childhood.

Not a dream this time. Reality. For the first time in centuries, Xiao breathed freely again. And he was looking directly at her.