Morning arrived quietly over Dawnhaven.
Golden sunlight spilled across the crystalline roots supporting the floating town, painting the streets in warm shades of amber and white.
Vendors reopened their stalls, children chased tiny wind spirits through the market square, and the bells of Aetherion Academy rang with their usual precision.
Everything looked exactly as it always had.
Yet for Kael…
Nothing felt the same.
He hadn’t slept.
The sketchbook still lay open on the desk beside his bed, turned to the final page where the spiral rested in perfect silence.
The words he had seen the previous evening were gone.
Only the drawing remained.
He had searched every page.
Every corner.
Every hidden fold in the leather cover.
Nothing.
If not for the memory burned into his mind, he might have convinced himself he had imagined everything.
Slowly, he reached for a loose sheet of paper and dipped his pen into a bottle of black ink.
For the first time since all of this had begun…
He decided to write everything down.
Things I know.
A star disappeared.
People forgot it.
I remembered.
Professor Orion believes something impossible is happening.
The mural feels wrong.
The sketchbook changed.
Someone wrote: You remembered.
He stared at the final sentence for a long time.
Then, almost instinctively, he added another question beneath it.
Why me?
He closed his eyes.
No answer came.
Only silence.
“You look terrible.” Kael looked up just as someone knocked twice on his bedroom door before opening it without waiting for permission.
Lyra.
She carried two warm pastries wrapped in paper.
“I figured you’d skip breakfast again.” She tossed one toward him.
He barely caught it.
“…Thanks.” “I know.” “I’m amazing.” She walked to the window and pulled the curtains fully open, flooding the room with morning light.
“You know…” She glanced back over her shoulder.
“You used to smile more.” Kael laughed quietly.
“Did I?” “Mhm.” “You also used to complain whenever I climbed your window instead of using the front door.” “…You still do that.” “Exactly.” “So you’re getting boring.” He rolled his eyes.
“I’ve been boring for years.” “True.” She grinned.
“But now you’re boring and mysterious.” “I liked the old version better.” For the first time in days…
Kael genuinely smiled.
The walk toward Aetherion Academy felt almost peaceful.
Students crossed the crystal bridges in lively groups, discussing upcoming exams, magical tournaments, and weekend festivals.
The world continued to move with comforting normality, blissfully unaware that reality itself seemed to be unraveling.
Lyra was telling a story about accidentally setting fire to her cooking assignment.
“It wasn’t my fault.” Kael looked at her.
“You used explosive runes.” “They looked decorative.” “They were labeled ‘Highly Volatile.'” “They were beautifully labeled.” He couldn’t help laughing.
“You really are impossible.” “I prefer ‘creative.'” For a few precious minutes…
Everything felt normal again.
History was their first lesson.
Professor Elric was an elderly scholar whose passion for the past often outweighed his ability to stay on schedule.
His lectures usually drifted into stories, legends, and obscure historical details that only a handful of students truly appreciated.
Today, however…
The very first sentence stole Kael’s attention.
“As all of you already know…” The professor adjusted his spectacles.
“…the Six Founders of Elysion laid the foundations of our civilization nearly two thousand years ago.” Kael’s pencil stopped.
Six.
Again.
Professor Elric continued without hesitation.
“The six established the First Star Bridge, unified the floating kingdoms, and created the Academy that many of you now take for granted.” Students nodded as they copied the notes.
No one questioned it.
No one even hesitated.
Kael slowly opened his textbook.
A detailed illustration filled both pages.
Six figures stood beneath an endless sky.
He turned another page.
A family tree.
Six names.
Another page.
A timeline.
Six founders.
His heartbeat grew louder.
The words blurred together.
He couldn’t breathe.
He remembered learning about seven.
He was certain of it.
Not because he remembered the seventh founder.
He didn’t.
He couldn’t.
But he remembered that there had been one more.
Like reaching for a word that sat on the tip of his tongue, forever just beyond reach.
The bell rang.
The lesson ended.
Kael was already on his feet.
“You’re skipping lunch?” Lyra frowned as she caught up with him in the corridor.
“I need to check something.” “What?” “The library.” “You’ve spent more time there than in your own house.” “I know.” “Can I come?” Kael hesitated.
He almost said yes.
Instead…
“…Not this time.” Her smile faded slightly.
“…Okay.” She didn’t argue.
She simply nodded.
“I’ll save you a pastry.” There was disappointment in her voice.
A tiny one.
But enough for Kael to notice.
As he watched her walk away…
Guilt settled heavily in his chest.
He hated lying to her.
But somehow…
He felt the notebook’s warning lingering in the back of his mind.
Even though the words had disappeared.
The old library greeted him with its familiar silence.
Dust floated lazily through narrow beams of afternoon light, and somewhere deep within the endless shelves, old wooden floors creaked beneath the weight of forgotten centuries.
The librarian smiled as Kael entered.
“Research today?” Kael nodded.
“I’m looking for the oldest history books you have.” “Oh?” The old man chuckled.
“Most students avoid those.” “They’re falling apart.” “…That’s exactly why I need them.” The librarian studied him for a brief moment before pointing toward a staircase leading underground.
“The Restricted Archives.” “You’ll need gloves.” “The pages are older than the Academy itself.” The underground archive smelled of ancient paper and damp stone.
Unlike the upper floors, there were no windows here.
Only rows upon rows of towering bookshelves disappearing into darkness.
Kael carefully removed the first volume.
Nothing.
The second.
Nothing.
The third.
Still six founders.
Hours passed.
Book after book.
Scroll after scroll.
Every single one told the same story.
Six founders.
Always six.
Until…
One book caught his attention.
It had no title.
No markings.
Its leather cover was cracked with age, as though it had survived centuries no other book had witnessed.
He opened it carefully.
Most pages had decayed beyond recognition.
Others were completely blank.
Then…
Near the middle…
He found a surviving fragment.
The ink had almost disappeared.
Only part of a sentence remained.
“…the seventh refused…” Nothing else.
The rest of the page had rotted away.
Kael’s eyes widened.
His pulse thundered in his ears.
It wasn’t proof.
Not really.
But it was enough.
Enough to tell him one thing.
He wasn’t insane.
There had been…
A seventh.
Someone…
Or something…
Had erased them.
“…Where did you find that?” Kael spun around.
The old librarian stood at the end of the aisle, staring at the book with an expression Kael had never seen before.
Not surprise.
Fear.
“I…” Kael swallowed.
“It was on the shelf.” The librarian slowly approached.
His wrinkled hands trembled as he took the ancient book.
He turned it over once.
Twice.
Then frowned.
“…Strange.” “What is it?” “I don’t remember owning this book.” Kael’s blood ran cold.
“But…” The old man whispered.
“…I also don’t remember ever not owning it.” Silence settled between them.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
The librarian slowly closed the cover.
There was no title.
No author.
No symbol.
Nothing.
It was as though the book itself…
Had been forgotten.
End of Chapter 4