A girl that didn't belong awakens to a whole new world. Welcome to the Empire of Aralax, a federal monarchy spanning across an entire continent where magic is synonymous to technology. Basically.  What's that? There's three empires and we're all at war? Eh, business as usual. Wait, the Thresholds are slowly swallowing the world and changing our reality? Never mind that, just look at the cool trains and airships instead! Powered by none other than magic of course, woo-hoo! Here in the empire, life is beautiful and orphans are plentiful. Opportunities are boundless and existential threats are all around us. The most powerful of nobles, the cardinals, rule with a monopoly while the strongest of mages, the arcanists, are lauded celebrities and heroes. All the while the Calling approaches with the certainty of a divine prophecy, like a doomsday clock tick-ticking down to the number zero. Fahaya doesn't care about any of that. All she wants for herself is a place to belong, where she could study magic in peace and receive the warmth of the people she loves and who love her in return. Alas, life catches up to everyone. When fate finds its grip around Haya, would it crush her? Or would she emerge stronger than the will of God? And how is she supposed to deal with all that while the mystery of her own identity looms in her shadow? *** *** I'm going to be updating 2 - 3 times a week on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. I will say that this story is 18+ due to disturbing imagery, contentious subjects, explicit sexual content, traumatic triggers, etc. Proceed at your own risk. Expect a slow beginning, more like slice-of-life with a little drama for the first three arcs or so before it turns into action-adventure, maybe with sprinkles of horror and mystery in there too. For those of you who've read the previous versions: you will notice significant changes in the story, just as you might notice some things that remain the same. My recommendation is to wipe your expectations and to read this with a fresh mindset, but you can keep your eyes open for some nostalgia too.