Sovereign of the Inner Void

Rafael was born to lose. In the towering shadow of Aetheris, he was just another piece of human scrap—a boy with a failing body, a sick mother, and a future that didn't extend past next week's rent. Then the voice came. It didn't speak to his ears, but from the hollow of his own bones. You are weak. It was a truth he lived every day. But you can be more. It was a temptation he was too desperate to refuse. Now, the Void isn't just inside him; it is him. It’s a cold fire in his veins, a presence that watches from behind his eyes. It calls him Sovereign, and it feeds on every ounce of his shame and anger. At Nova Void Academy, he’s forced to hide it all, wearing the Grey rank of the powerless like a target on his back. The other students see a weakling to be crushed. They have no idea what they're poking. Because the thing inside him is learning. It remembers every sneer, every shove, every laugh. And it’s starting to talk back.