Arcane Threads
In a world split between empires and kingdoms, power is measured not only by armies or crowns but also by those who can control mana, the rare energy that shapes reality. Orven Kale, a boy once full of laughter and hope, saw his life turned to ash at the age of nine. A disastrous mana outburst, sparked by fear and chaos, destroyed his entire village in one night. No one witnessed what truly happened; no one survived to tell the story. Burdened by guilt and the fear of being discovered, Orven slipped into the shadows, becoming just another nameless orphan struggling to survive in society's underbelly.
Eight years later, Orven is no longer a scared boy; he is a ghost in the dark, a notorious mercenary known only through whispered rumors and the mysterious carrier pigeons that bring him contracts. Armed with crude weapons and thin mana wires that slice through flesh effortlessly, he kills for money, earning just enough to survive while trying to forget the memories of that bloody night.
However, when a contract leads him to eliminate a corrupt noble, Orven’s world turns upside down. In the noble’s study, he discovers a maze of forbidden knowledge: secret documents, dark experiments, and hints of a growing conspiracy across the empire. What starts as a simple job for money spirals into a dangerous web of politics, secrets, and power struggles that could determine the fate of nations.
Haunted by guilt, driven by quiet rage, and guided only by his chaotic sense of right and wrong, Orven faces a choice: will he remain a ghost in the dark, or will he allow the world to burn again, this time on his own terms?
This story weaves together themes of shadowed morality, hidden wars, and the fragile line between survival and revenge. It follows the rise of an unlikely assassin, who will alter the balance of power, whether he seeks to or not.