[ This chapter and the following chapter will tell the story of hero and his back story. until the chapter reaches titled "The true beginning"]
'Kayden' the protagonist of this story. who had never known silence, since childhood. whispers wove through his thoughts, soft but relentless, urging him to "wake up and start your journey to fulfill your glorious purpose." they followed him everywhere - through the bustling streets of "willow bridge," in the quiet of sleepless nights - persistent, maddening. to others, he was an oddity, muttering to himself, chasing voices no one else heard. some called him foolish, others whispered of madness. but Kayden was no ordinary boy. he was a vessel, carrying a soul from an unknown realm, a spirit that had crossed the veil to taste the joy and sorrows of mortal life.
[ The story of how Kayden becomes the vessel of the soul that comes from an unknown realm]
Long before Kayden's birth, a radiant soul descended to the living realm, a tiny orb of light no larger than a firefly, pulsing with an ancient purpose. it drifted across seas and mountains, through cities teeming with life and deserts silent as death, searching for a vessel pure enough to hold its essence.
the soul's need was singular: 'purity'. it required a body unstained by another soul, a vessel that had never harbored life before its arrival.
For decades, it wondered, its glow dimming with each fruitless years. vessels were plentiful, but none met its sacred criteria. some were already claimed by vibrant souls, others bore the faint echo of lives that had come and gone. despair crept into the soul's timeless heart, and it resolved to abandon Earth for distant stars, where it might find a world more yielding.
yet, as it prepared to depart, a sound halted its ascent - a woman's anguished sobs, raw and piercing, rising from a hospital nestled in a quite valley town. her name was Mira, and she lay in a sterile room, her hands trembling over the curve of her belly. beside her, a doctor's voice lingered like a wound: your child is gone.
Mira had dreamed of this baby for months, whispering names to it in the soft hours of dawn, imagining its laughter in the home she shared with her husband, Elios. now, those dreams lay shattered, replaced by a grief so heavy seemed to dim the fluorescent lights above her.
The soul hovered, drawn to the woman's sorrow. it sensed the lifeless form within her womb - a child who had never drawn breath, whose body bore no trace of another soul's presence. this was the vessel it had sought: soulless, unstained, a perfect emptiness waiting to be filled.
the soul hesitated, its light flickering with something akin to reverence. to choose this body was to bind itself to a mortal path, to embrace love and loss, fear and hope. but the woman's tears called to it, a beacon of raw humanity. with a surge of resolve, the soul plunged downward, slipping into the still form of the child.
A heartbeat flickered. then, a kick.
Mira froze, her breath snagged in her throat. her hands pressed against her belly, expecting only stillness, but another kick came, followed by a wild, trembling joy. "Elios!" she cried, her voice cracking with hope." Elios, come quick!"
Elios had been pacing the hospital corridor, his broad shoulders hunched as he pleaded with the doctor for answers, for a miracle. Who is the servant of a wealthy widow's mansion, and skilled at doing any task assigned to him, but no skill could heal the loss he now faced. Mira's shout tore through his despair, and he sprinted to her side, his boots echoing on the linoleum floor, stunned by the sight of his wife's tear - streaked smile. "Mira, what is it?" he asked, his voice thick with fear and longing.
She didn't speak, only seized his hand and pressed it to her belly. A moment later, a faint movement stirred beneath his palm. Elios's breath hitched, his hazel eyes widening. "is this...?" he whispered, afraid to name the hope rising in his chest.
Mira nodded, her laughter mingling with sobs. "he's alive, Elios. our baby's alive."
The doctor, Dr. Julian, entered moments later, drawn by the commotion. his graying hair was disheveled, his skepticism plain as he adjusted his glasses. "Mrs. Elios, what's happening?" he asked, his tone cautious, as if bracing for delusion born of grief.
Mira's smile was radiant, unshaken. " feel for yourself."
Dr. Julian hesitated, then placed his hand where Elios's had been. the kick came again, unmistakable, and his expression unraveled into astonishment.
"This... this defies reason," he stammered. "we ran every test. there was no heartbeat, no movement. I don't understand."
" and yet," Mira said softly, her eyes gleaming, "he's here."
Dr. Julian ordered an ultrasound, his hands unsteady as he prepared the machine. the room fell silent as the screen flickered to life, revealing a healthy fetus, its tiny limbs stirring with quite vigor. A rhythmic thud filled the air - the heartbeat of child who should not have been. the doctor stared, his scientific mind grappling with the impossible. " by all accounts, this child was lost," he said at last, his voice hushed. "now... it's as if he's been reborn."
Elios pulled Mira close, his arms trembling as he buried his face in her hair. "what does it mean?" he asked, his words muffled but urgent.
Dr. Julian shook head, a faint frown creasing his brow. " A miracle , perhaps. or something our science can't yet grasp. what I can tell you is this: your son is healthy. If all goes well, you'll meet him around September 28th, two months from now. take care, both of you - this is a fragile time."
Mira rested her hand on her belly, feeling the steady kicks of the child they had named Kayden. she didn't know the soul that had chosen her son, nor the weight of its purpose. but in that moment , she felt a light within her, fierce and unyielding, as if the darkness of loss had been banished forever.
Mira and Elios had not always lived in the shadow of loss. their life together had begun in a sunlight meadow, where Elios proposed under an willow tree, carving their initials into its bark. they were young then, Mira with her painter's hands and Elios with his dreamer's heart, building a modest home in the valley town of willow bridge. their days were filled with small joys - Mira's canvas blooming with color, Elios crafting furniture that seemed to hold stories in its grain. when Mira learned she was pregnant, their happiness deepened, a quiet certainty that their love would shape a family.
but the pregnancy had not been easy. Mira tired quickly, her body staining under an unseen weight. the doctors assured her all was well, yet a shadow lingered in her dreams, a sense of something watching, waiting. Elios noticed her unease but hid his own, filling their evening with laughter and plans for the nursery. they painted the walls the walls a soft blue, hung curtains embroidered with stars, and chose the name Kayden. because of a warrior in the past, bearing the same name, fought in many wars, played a crucial role in every battle and earned the title "spirit of battle." and it felt fitting to give this name to a child destined to face the world with courage.
The loss came suddenly, a routine visit turned nightmare. Dr. Julian's face had been grim as he delivered the news, his words slicing trough Mira's hope. Elios had held her as she wept, his own tears silent, and they clung to each other in the hospital room, a drift in a sea a grief. until the kick . until the miracle.
the soul, now bound to the child, felt the world anew. it has known eternity, realms where time flowed like rivers of light, but this was different - cramped, warm, alive with the pulse of Mira's heartbeat. it sensed her emotions, her sorrow giving way to joy, and it marveled at the intensity of the mortal feeling. the soul had chosen this path to understand, to walk among them and learn what it meant to love, to fear, to betray and be betrayed. yet already, it felt the weight of its choice , the fragility of the vessel it inhabited. Kayden would not be an ordinary child, and his life would be marked with the whispers of a purpose he could not fathom.
Kayden was born on September 28th, under a harvest moon that bathed willow bridge in a amber light. he was a quiet infant, with eyes that seemed too old for his tiny face, as if they held secrets no one could guess. Mira and Elios doted on him, their joy tempered by a lingering awe at his survival. the town buzzed with rumors of the miracle, some calling it divine, others questioning the doctors competence. Mira ignored the whispers, her world narrowed to her son's soft breaths and grasping hands.
[ Back story begins.]
As Kayden grew, the whispers began - not Mira's or Elios's but his own. at first, they were faint, like wind rustling through leaves, but they grew clearer with time. "wake up," they urged, and fulfill your glorious purpose." by age of five , he was speaking to them, his small voice echoing in the garden or the attic, startling Mira when she found him.
"who are you talking to, sweetheart?" She asked Kayden and her smile faltering.
"no one," Kayden said, but his eyes darted to empty corners, as if he is searching for the source....