MrEmperor9167

In a world where cities float above the earth and ancient beasts roam the land, truth has long since been buried beneath the clouds…

Seventeen-year-old Aryan has lived his entire life in a cursed land city — a crumbling outpost surrounded by monsters with fangs like swords and demons with human faces. His mother, a low-tier Light wielder, died from a mysterious illness when he was seven. His father? Vanished in a classified government mission years earlier, investigating the very secrets the world refuses to speak of — the beasts, the demons… and the floating cities themselves.

No one knows Aryan exists — not the ruling government, not the elite nobles who live high above in shining cities suspended 1000 feet in the sky, not even the assassin guilds and rebel warlords fighting for scraps of power on the surface.

But Aryan is about to shatter their silence.

Hidden within this fractured world lies a shattered ancient artifact — a mysterious cube once powerful enough to hold the balance between land, sky, and beyond. Split into four fragments, each held in secret corners of the world — from the heavenly Sky Government cities to the beast-infested wilds — its true purpose is unknown… but it calls to Aryan.

As he journeys across deadly lands aboard flying warships, hunted by assassins, tracked by beasts, and haunted by fragments of his parents’ forgotten legacies, Aryan begins to uncover a terrifying truth:

The cities were never meant to float...
The beasts were never meant to exist...
And he was never meant to survive.

But fate doesn’t care what the world intended. Aryan is coming — and he’s not just looking for answers.
He’s looking to break the sky open.

The Shadow in  Void

The desert wind howled low as Aryan and Kat approached the lone figure, their boots crunching over the uneven sand. The man stood still—hunched and weathered, draped in a threadbare robe that fluttered softly in the breeze. A wide-brimmed hood veiled most of his face, but his beard was long and white, and his skin bore the harsh marks of age.

"Hey, old man!" Kat called out, keeping one hand near the hilt of his blade. "This place isn't for strolling. You'll get killed out here."

The man turned slowly. His voice came out as a tired rasp, yet strangely clear.

"I'm not here for a stroll, young ones," he replied. "I'm looking for someone… my grandson."

Aryan's brow furrowed. "Your grandson? Out here?"

The old man nodded. "Twelve years old. Ran away from the city two nights ago, talking about hunting beasts… proving himself."

Kat exchanged a glance with Aryan. The Wasteland had swallowed men thrice that boy's age and ten times stronger. A child, out here?

"How could he survive until now?" Kat murmured, suspicion flickering in his tone.

Aryan folded his arms, watching the man closely. "You say he ran toward a tower?"

The old man raised a trembling hand and pointed into the distance. "There… just past those dunes. A lone spire of stone."

Aryan followed the gesture, narrowing his eyes. There was indeed a structure on the horizon—a crumbling monolith jutting from the sand like a rusted spear, half-buried and leaning awkwardly.

"We'll help you find him," Aryan said. The words came out instinctively. Maybe it was the memory of a time he, too, had felt small and abandoned. Or maybe it was a need to prove he was no longer helpless.

Kat hesitated, then nodded. "We'll take a look."

They turned to walk. And that's when Aryan felt it again.

That same pressure. That shift in air. That crawling instinct that whispered, you've made a mistake.

But the old man was no longer there.

Instead, a thick smoke coiled in his place—dark and swirling, unnaturally dense. It rolled across the sand like a living shadow, wrapping around their legs, rising fast.

"What the—" Kat drew his sword but it was too late.

The smoke surged upward, engulfing them both.

Aryan choked, coughing as his vision clouded over. His limbs grew heavy. His thoughts scattered like sand in a storm.

When Aryan's eyes opened again, the world had changed.

The sky was gone—replaced by a ceiling of shifting shadows. The ground beneath him was cold, hard stone. The air was thick with dampness, and somewhere far off, something dripped—drip… drip… drip—steady and cruel.

Kat groaned beside him, struggling to sit up.

Aryan forced himself onto his elbows, blinking rapidly. "…Where the hell are we?"

Kat looked around, face pale. "This… this isn't the Wasteland anymore."

Aryan clenched his jaw, his voice steady but low. "We let our guard down."

And now, wherever they were… it had just begun.

Chapter 13: Smoke and Lies