Description:

I opened my eyes in total darkness, chained to a stone floor and unable to speak. When the door finally creaked open, the man who stepped inside called me by a name that wasn’t mine. Luca. A side character from the novel I had just finished. A prodigy poisoned since childhood by his own brother. A genius ground into dust until he lost his magic, his freedom and finally his life. The crystal bottle in my brother’s hand shimmered with black liquid, the very poison that destroyed Luca in the original story. He smiled gently and said, “Drink it now, Luca.” I wasn’t supposed to be here. I wasn’t supposed to die. But the world had already chosen my role. Two paths appeared before me: survive through the cruel plot written for someone else, or die exactly as the story intended. If I want to live, I’ll need to break free of my brother, unravel the secrets buried in this mage family and reclaim the power that should have been Luca’s from the start. The beginning is harsh, but there is only one rule now. Make the right choice. Survive.