Chapter 4:Prelude to awakening

The night sky stretched endlessly above the Walker estate,its stars calm and distant, as though watching the world with quiet anticipation.

Inside a softly lit room, the warm glow of night-lamps cast shadows on the walls. The gentle sound of wind brushed past the open balcony. Wrapped in a thick blanket, Alex sat nestled in a corner, eyes wide with quiet curiosity. He was a little over a year old now, still soft-cheeked and babbling nonsense when amused. Yet there was something else behind his gaze—a knowing, even if he didn't yet have the words.

His mother, Amelia, stood near the window, her voice low and tired.

"So many of them… already showing signs," she whispered, not realizing Alex could hear her—or at least, parts of it.

She paused, then murmured almost too softly to hear, "The prophecy… it's coming true, isn't it?"

Alex tilted his head. His tiny fingers fidgeted with a toy block, but his attention was elsewhere.

For days now, he'd felt something, like a weight in the air that didn't belong. Sometimes when he focused — on purpose,things would move. Just a little.

Tonight, it happened again.

The toy block in his hand slipped away, not because he dropped it—but because it floated, for just a second, before clattering back onto the floor.

He blinked. Reached again, not with his hand… but with whatever it was that stirred inside him.

The block wobbled.

Lifted.

Then tipped over with a soft thunk.

Alex's mouth opened in silent awe.

He giggled.

"My talent.. it's manifesting a little, but isn't this too early,or did what the Primordial energy did probably strengthen my talent" Alex thought.

He raised both hands, palms open, like a conductor for an invisible orchestra.

This time the toy barely budged, just a faint twitch in the air. But it was enough to send a ripple of joy through him. Not power. Not strength. Just… wonder.

It wasn't just play. Something inside him responded. Something powerful,deep and unfathomable. Like a great ocean that let only a droplet slip through.

Amelia turned, watching him. She didn't say anything at first.

Then a soft smile crept across her face — equal parts love and sadness.

"Your father said the you and the others will bring great change,am worried but it's pointless worrying now,It's already late," she murmured.

Alex didn't caught her words.But turned to face her in curiosity, seeing only pride and a hint of .... Worry?.

He looked back at the toy. A faint breeze passed over his skin.Reaching for the floating toy again.

Just a wobble. Just a nudge.

And then he laughed.

Outside, the stars shimmered.

Time crept forward.

The world awaited the awakening.

And deep within Alex… a powerful forces waited as well.

.....

Time passed by slowly as the Walker estate was unusually still. Not the calm of serenity—but the quiet tension of expectation.

In the grand solar hall, wrapped in veils of white silk and threaded starlight, elders, branch family heads, and caretakers stood in solemn anticipation. No one said it aloud, but everyone knew why they were here.

Alex Walker.

The heir of the Void Lineage.

The child who, though barely over a year old, had reportedly caused cups to float, doors to tremble, and most notably—space to ripple ever so slightly around him when he became frustrated. A child far too young to awaken, yet already reaching out, grasping something unseen.

"It's not just rumor anymore," said Elder Riven of the Fourth Branch, his deep-set eyes serious. "I watched him from the corridor. His toy drifted toward him… and the shadows of the room twisted."

Elara, the boy's main caretaker, nodded. "And that was him playing. Not even trying. He feels space like it's the air in his lungs."

A few elders murmured among themselves.

Then silence swept across the hall as Grand Elder Thamus Walker entered. His presence commanded attention—shoulders squared, eyes sharp, the void itself seeming to hum beneath his skin.

"We gather not for mere speculation," Thamus said, "but for what may be the dawning of a storm. The main line's heir—Alex—has already stirred the veil. It cannot be hidden. The world has noticed."

—

In a quieter part of the estate, overlooking a crystal-draped garden, Avalon Walker stood by a tall window, hands behind his back. His wife, Amelia, sat nearby on a long velvet seat, gently stroking the hair of a dozing Alex in her lap.

"You feel it too, don't you?" Avalon asked, not looking at her.

Amelia nodded slowly. "His heartbeat... It' powerful. It echoes slightly causes the void to ripple."

"He's barely over a year," Avalon murmured, "yet space dances at his fingertips. If the Void itself is stirring for him, what will happen when he awakens fully?"

Amelia frowned. "Everyone's waiting for the prophecy to begin."

Avalon turned, his sliver eyes glinting. "They're wrong. The prophecy has already began. And the academy,that will merely be the foundation. The stage upon which fate will test them.what remains for is the older generation is to watch as the future is decided by the younger ones."

He turned back to the garden, watching the wind move through the crystalline trees.

"But the first step will be taken at Astralis Primus. The pinnacle of human achievement—the one place where talent, ambition, and bloodline are forged into something greater."

"The academy," Amelia whispered.

Avalon nodded. "Where the descendants of the Five Great Families and the Four Pillars will meet. And when the show will begin."

Amelia looked down at their son, whose eyes fluttered slightly as if caught in a dream. The air around him shimmered faintly, as though space was quietly leaning in to listen.

A gust of wind passed through the open balcony, carrying with it a strange stillness. A hush, like the pause before a story truly begins.

And Alex exhaled, as if he too could sense that his path was about to unfold.