Chapter 2 — The Boy Who Fell Through Time

"Every story begins with a meeting. Ours began with a collision between two different eras."

[ Three Hundred Years Earlier — The Dawn of the Union Era ]

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Clear, cool raindrops fell slowly and steadily onto the historical cobblestone pathways of the ancient royal palace.

Accompanied by the chilly breeze of the early evening, the faint rustling of leaves rubbing against one another was the only sound that breathed life into the silent, tranquil surroundings of the West Wing Library.

Standing grand and majestic at the furthest western edge of the palace, the Royal Grand Library remained as deserted, quiet, and peaceful today as it did on any regular day. Since that morning, the sole sound breaking through the dense, quiet air at brief intervals was the soft, rhythmic rustling of paper as the pages of ancient books were turned one by one.

"Arkar..."

The aged, weathered voice of the elderly chief librarian suddenly broke the silence.

Hearing this, a young man perched on a tall ladder, entirely focused on retrieving a book from the high shelves, immediately turned around.

"Yes, Master. Do you have a task for me?"

Arkar Linn Myat.

A young man reaching the age of twenty-five this year.

He possessed a gentle, pleasant face that brought a sense of peace to anyone who looked at him, alongside a pair of uniquely brilliant brown eyes. Those eyes had a habit of lighting up like a child's whenever he encountered something intriguing.

He held not a shred of interest in the complex power struggles and political dramas within the palace, nor did he covet the gold, silver, or material wealth that worldly people craved. Yet, when it came to uncovering a lost truth written within the pages of an ancient book, he was the rare sort who valued it so deeply that he wouldn't trade his time or his life for anything else.

"Please return this record book to the secret storage room downstairs."

The chief librarian handed over an immensely thick, heavy ancient book blanketed in dust.

Arkar carefully took the heavy volume with both hands, his eyes instinctively dropping to inspect the book's unique cover. The cover was crafted from genuine black leather, and the golden ancient characters engraved upon it had faded to the point of near-extinction due to the passage of time.

What was even more peculiar, however, was a strange emblem etched right into the dead center of the cover—one he had never seen in any historical record before.

It was a circular design, within which lay a brilliant star, mysteriously encircled by what looked like the hands of a clock.

"...Beautiful," Arkar murmured to himself in subconscious awe.

"Do not open it!"

The elderly librarian's voice suddenly turned sharp and stern.

Startled, Arkar gripped the book tightly and snapped his head up.

"Why, Master? Why mustn't I open it?"

The chief librarian stared intently at the large black book in Arkar's hands with deep anxiety for a moment before lowering his voice, speaking with profound gravity.

"That book... our lineage is only responsible for guarding it throughout the generations. It is absolutely not meant to be read or opened."

Seeing the chief librarian so excessively worried, Arkar smiled softly and let out a light chuckle.

"Master, why are you all so deeply concerned over a diary that is this old?"

However, the chief librarian did not smile back. A solemn seriousness, the likes of which Arkar had never seen before, took over the old man's face.

"Arkar..." the librarian said, patting Arkar's shoulder. "Sometimes... history isn't written just for people to read."

"Sir...?"

"...It was written in blood, as a warning to ensure that the mistakes of that history never repeat themselves."

Though Arkar offered a perplexed smile, unable to truly grasp his master's words, that single sentence left a strange, indelible impression deep within his heart.

As the midnight hour arrived, the rain began to pour even more heavily. All the voices and footsteps of people moving about the palace gradually faded into nothingness.

Inside the darkened Royal Grand Library, illuminated not by electricity but by the lone glow of a candle, Arkar was left entirely by himself.

"I'll head home only after finishing all the book inventories today..."

He let out a weary sigh as he systematically returned the books to their proper places on the shelves. Though his lips murmured complaints, his hands never stopped working.

Finally, holding the last bag of books, he made his way down the stairs toward the secret basement vault. As he reached the furthest, darkest wall of the storage room, he noticed an old, ancient iron door standing there mysteriously.

Despite having worked here every single day for years, he himself had never noticed or seen this strange iron door before.

"How strange. There's a door here...?"

He took a gentle step forward and lightly wiped away centuries of dust settled upon the door. As he did, a brilliant, golden ancient inscription flashed into view beneath the grime:

“Those who seek the truth shall surrender time.”

Reading the inscription, Arkar furrowed his brows.

"Those who seek the truth must sacrifice and surrender their own time...?"

Even as he desperately turned the deep meaning of those words over in his head—

Creak... Groan...

The massive iron door, which had been sealed shut for hundreds of years, slowly began to swing open on its own, without anyone pushing it and without the aid of any machinery. Inside the room revealed by the opening door, a single, mysterious candle burned brightly. And right there, sitting prominently atop a stone altar in the center, was the very same large, black ancient book the chief librarian had told him to put away this morning.

"How... how did this book get here? Who brought it?"

With his heart thumping wildly against his chest, curiosity drove Arkar forward step by step. The moment he reached the stone altar where the book rested, an instinctual urge compelled him to stretch out his hand.

The exact instant his fingertips brushed against the black leather cover of the book—

BOOM————!!

Countless blinding beams of brilliant blue light erupted violently from within the book. The entire underground hall shook fiercely as if the world were ending, and the pages of the massive book began to flip at a frantic, breakneck speed driven by sudden, raging winds.

The powerful gust of a vortex sent Arkar's body flying backward.

"What... what is happening...! Somebody help me!"

Terrified, he spun around toward the exit to flee, but the heavy iron door slammed shut with a resounding thud. Amidst the piercing waves of blue light, the beautiful yet resonant voice of a woman echoed and boomed through the space.

"The one who made the promise..."

"The wheel of time... is drawing you back to us once more..."

"Who is it?! Who are you?!" Arkar screamed, completely overtaken by fear.

Yet, no answer came. In the dead center of the room, a massive rift of blue temporal lightning gradually tore open in mid-air. From within that fracture, the strange, multicolored lights of a futuristic world he had never seen or heard of before seemed to call out to him, pulling him in.

Arkar's feet lost their grip on gravity, and he began to float slowly off the ground.

"No... No! Let me go!" He reached out a hand in desperation, seeking something to hold onto, but the massive wave of blue temporal energy ruthlessly and completely swallowed his entire body.

[ Aurelia Empire — Year 2478 ]

At that exact same moment, three hundred years in the future inside the Imperial Observatory of the empire, the Time Rift burned brighter than ever before. Amidst the radiating beams of blue light, the silhouette of a young man's body was gradually and clearly materializing in the air.

Crown Prince Thrill Yan Khit Kaung’s ash-gray eyes remained fixed upon the emerging shadow, not breaking contact for even a single second.

What he did not yet know was that this single moment of collision... was the beginning of a destiny that would change his cold-blooded life forever, leaving it permanently altered beyond repair.

Chapter 2 End

Next Chapter — Chapter 3: The Royal Prisoner

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