chapter 1: The Girl Who Didn't Exist
No one noticed when the thirteenth bell rang.
It wasn't because the bell was quiet.
It was because no one else heard it.
The first twelve bells echoed across the Kingdom of Aurelis as dawn spilled over the palace walls. Servants hurried through marble corridors, soldiers stood at attention, and nobles dressed in embroidered silks for the Festival of Choosing—the most sacred day in the world.
The thirteenth bell rang only once.
A low, haunting sound that seemed to come from beneath the earth.
Nysera Veyl froze.
The silver tray she was carrying trembled in her hands.
"...Did you hear that?" she whispered.
The other servants looked at her in confusion.
"Hear what?" one of them asked.
Nysera's heart skipped.
The sound still echoed inside her chest, slow and heavy, like a heartbeat that didn't belong to her.
She lowered her eyes and continued walking.
This wasn't the first strange thing that had happened to her.
Since childhood, mirrors sometimes refused to show her reflection.
Animals watched her without fear.
And every year, on the night of the black moon, she dreamed of an empty throne floating above a sea of stars.
Upon it sat no king.
Only a broken crown.
She had never told anyone.
In the palace, secrets were more dangerous than swords.
Outside, the city was alive with celebration.
Children scattered flower petals through the streets while musicians played joyful melodies. Golden banners fluttered from towers, and every citizen waited for the arrival of the Twelve Divine Princes, the immortal rulers chosen by Heaven itself.
Nysera paused beside a palace window.
From where she stood, she could see thousands of people kneeling.
They looked toward the sky.
Clouds slowly parted.
A beam of brilliant white light descended from the heavens.
One by one, twelve magnificent figures appeared.
The first prince wore armor that shimmered like the morning sun.
The second carried a sword carved from crystal.
The third had eyes that glowed blue like frozen oceans.
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Nysera watched in silent wonder.
Then her gaze settled on the last prince.
Unlike the others, he did not smile.
His white hair moved gently in the wind.
His black cloak seemed to swallow the light around him.
Even standing among gods, he looked alone.
Prince Zepharion Draven.
The moment his golden eyes swept across the palace...
They stopped.
On her.
Time itself seemed to stand still.
The cheering disappeared.
The music faded.
For one impossible heartbeat, the prince and the servant simply stared at each other.
Then Zepharion's expression changed.
Not to surprise.
To recognition.
As though he had spent centuries searching for someone he had never met.
Before Nysera could look away, a sharp pain exploded through her chest.
She gasped.
The air around her rippled like water.
Tiny strands of golden light escaped from beneath her skin, twisting through the air like living threads.
Crack.
A long fracture appeared across one of the palace windows.
Then another.
Then another.
The glass shattered.
The crowd screamed.
High above the palace, every bell in the kingdom began ringing at once.
One...
Two...
Three...
Until the twelfth.
Silence followed.
And then—
The forgotten thirteenth bell rang again.
This time...
Everyone heard it.
