The Second Life of Liam Liam had never belonged to anyone. He had grown up in an orphanage on the edge of a noisy city, learning from an early age that life rarely gave anything for free. There were no parents waiting at the end of the day, no warm voice asking how school had gone, and no one who would leave a light on because they knew he was coming home late. Still, Liam never allowed loneliness to turn him bitter. If anything, it made him kinder. He was the sort of person who could walk into a room full of strangers and somehow leave with three new friends. He laughed loudly, talked easily, and never hesitated to help someone who needed it. He worked hard at everything he did, whether it was studying, cleaning, or helping the younger children at the orphanage. But beneath his cheerful personality was a quiet wish. A family. Not wealth. Not fame. Not even extraordinary talent. Just a place where someone would genuinely be happy to see him. Sometimes, while watching other children being picked up by their parents, Liam wondered what it would feel like to have someone call him their son. He had no idea that one ordinary afternoon would change everything. --- It happened on a busy city street. Liam was walking home when he noticed a little girl standing dangerously close to the road. She had dropped something and, without noticing the approaching traffic, stepped forward to retrieve it. Liam reacted before he could even think. "Hey! Stop!" He ran toward her. The girl looked up, confused. Liam reached her just in time to pull her away from the road. Then— Everything went dark. --- Liam expected darkness to be the end. Instead, he heard a heartbeat. Slow. Steady. Thump. Thump. Thump. He tried to open his eyes. He couldn't. He tried to move his arms. Nothing. Then he heard voices. "They're saying the child is healthy." "Thank the gods." A man's voice. Warm. Deep. Trembling with relief. Then came another voice. A woman's. "Can I see him?" There was happiness in those words. Pure happiness. Liam didn't understand. Who are they? Why are they talking about me? He felt something soft against his tiny hand. A finger. Someone was holding him. "Look," the woman whispered. "He's holding my finger." The man's voice broke into a quiet laugh. "Already stubborn, I see." Liam wanted to laugh too. Instead, a strange sound escaped him. A cry. The woman immediately pulled him close. "It's all right, little one. Mother is here." Liam froze. Mother? That single word struck deeper than anything else. For years, he had imagined hearing it. Now someone was saying it to him. Not as a dream. Not as a wish. But as though it had always been true. --- Liam opened his eyes. The world was different. A vast chamber surrounded him, illuminated by floating crystals that glowed softly above the walls. Strange symbols were carved into pillars of white stone. Beyond the enormous windows stretched a kingdom of towers, forests, mountains, and a distant city shining beneath a violet sky. But Liam barely noticed any of it. His attention was on the two people standing beside him. The man wore a magnificent silver crown and has golden hair The woman wore a white dress embroidered with golden flowers. Both were looking at him as though he were the most precious thing in the world. "Our son," the man , whispered. "Our little Liam," the women whispered and kissed him on forehead Liam couldn't understand their language at first. Yet somehow, his newborn mind understood the meaning. Son. He had spent his previous life wondering what it felt like to belong to someone. Now he had an answer. It felt like being held. It felt like being wanted. It felt like coming home. --- Years passed. Liam soon discovered that his new world was nothing like the one he had left behind. Magic existed. Monsters existed. Ancient kingdoms existed. And the family he had been born into was not an ordinary one. He was Liam Deamonheart, the youngest prince of the Kingdom of Valeria. His father, King Aldric, was a respected ruler known throughout the continent and was a very strong warrior. His mother, Queen Elara, was a powerful mage and beloved by her people. And then there were his sisters. Three of them are all monstrously talented. Princess Elena, the eldest, was calm and responsible, always trying to teach Liam something new. Princess Mira was mischievous and constantly dragged him into trouble. And little Princess Lyra followed him everywhere, declaring that her little brother was her favorite person in the entire kingdom. For the first time in his life, Liam had people waiting for him. People who worried when he was late. People who celebrated his birthdays. People who hugged him simply because they wanted to. People who called him family. And Liam treasured every moment. But there was something strange about his second life. Something his new family didn't know. Sometimes, when Liam looked into a mirror, he remembered another face. A lonely boy. An orphan. A boy who had lived without a family. A boy who had died saving someone he barely knew. And every time he remembered, Liam made himself a promise. This time, I won't take anything for granted. He would protect his family. He would become strong. He would explore this incredible world. And he would live the life he had once dreamed of. He had been given a second chance. But Liam didn't know that his birth had already begun to shake the foundations of the kingdom. On the night he was born, every magical crystal in the royal palace had briefly gone dark. Far beyond the kingdom, ancient creatures had awakened from centuries of sleep. And deep beneath the oldest temple in Asteria, a sealed door had opened for the first time in a thousand years. Something had sensed his arrival. Something ancient. Something that remembered a prophecy no living human had ever heard. A prophecy about a child who would be born twice. A child carrying the memories of another world. A child who would either save the continent— Or bring about its destruction. And Liam? He was still happily unaware. He was only six years old, sitting between his sisters at the royal dining table, laughing as Mira tried to steal food from his plate. "Hey! That's mine!" "You weren't eating it." "I was!" "You were staring at it." "That's because I was deciding when to eat it!" His sisters burst into laughter. Across the table, Aldric smiled Elara watched her children with warmth in her eyes. For Liam, this was everything. A family. A home. A second chance. He didn't know what destiny had planned for him. He didn't know about the ancient prophecy. He didn't know about the powers sleeping within his soul. And he certainly didn't know that, one day, the entire world would remember the name— Liam Deamonheart. The prince who was born twice.

BEGINNING OF THE NEW JOURNEY