If Kai had known what was inside that package, maybe he would’ve stayed in bed. Maybe he would’ve ignored the world a little longer, safe in the quiet where nothing ever changed. But life didn’t care what he wanted.
The morning sun bled through his half-closed curtains, stabbing at his eyes. His phone buzzed again—third time that morning—vibrating against his nightstand like an annoying fly. He let it ring out, burying deeper under the covers.
Today was his eighteenth birthday.
It was supposed to mean something—freedom, adulthood, maybe even a chance to stop feeling like a shadow. But to Kai, it was just another reminder of everything he didn’t have. Another year alone.
A soft knock came at his door, followed by his mom’s voice, hesitant and too quiet.
“Kai? I left something for you on the table. It’s… from your father.”
The words cut through the haze like a blade. His father. Gone nine years now—vanished without a trace, like smoke scattered to the wind.
For a moment, Kai just lay there, staring at the cracks in his ceiling, wondering if today would finally be the day something changed. It wasn’t hope exactly. More like… curiosity he couldn’t kill.
Dragging himself out of bed, he shuffled to the kitchen. The apartment smelled like burnt toast and coffee his mom never drank all the way.
On the table sat a small package, wrapped in worn brown paper and tied with rough twine. A single note rested on top:
“For Kai. Open when you turn 18.”
The handwriting was delicate—his mom’s. But the words weren’t hers.
Kai stared at it, heart twisting. For a second, he imagined tearing it open, finally getting the answers he’d been craving for almost a decade. But instead… he stuffed it into his backpack, shoving it deep beneath his books. Later. Not here.
The walk to school was as miserable as ever. Hoodie up, head down, Kai moved like a ghost through streets that barely noticed him. Except they did. They always did.
“There he goes. The freak.”
“Still wearing the same hoodie, huh?”
“What a loser.”
The words were knives, sharp and familiar. His fists clenched in his pockets, but he kept moving. Maybe if he stayed small enough, invisible enough, today would pass.
But fate—or rather, Evan—was waiting.
Evan leaned against Kai’s locker, that smug grin plastered across his face like he practiced it in the mirror.
“Well, well, birthday boy,” he sneered loud enough for everyone to hear. “Big day, huh? Bet you’ve got a party lined up and everything.”
Laughter rippled through the hallway. Kai kept his gaze down, silent.
Evan leaned in close, his voice dropping. “Actually… there is a surprise waiting for you. A gift. Just for you.”
Kai’s stomach twisted, but he said nothing.
By lunch, the whispers had spread like wildfire. Heads turned, eyes followed. Snickers. Glances. The kind of attention Kai knew never ended well.
Biology class was worse.
Evan sat two rows back, grinning like he knew something Kai didn’t. Every time Kai glanced up, someone looked away too quickly—caught mid-laugh or stifling a grin.
And then, the moment came.
Evan strolled up to Kai’s desk just as the bell rang.
“Hey, Kai. Emily’s looking for you.”
Kai blinked. “What?”
“Yeah.” Evan’s smirk widened. “Said she’s waiting for you in Room 3B. Said she’s got something for you. You should probably hurry, man. Wouldn’t want to leave a girl hanging on your birthday, right?”
A dangerous flicker of hope sparked in Kai’s chest. It was stupid. Reckless. But… what if?
“Okay,” he mumbled, heart thudding.
The hallway emptied around him. Every step toward Room 3B felt heavier, like walking into a storm he couldn’t see.
When he reached the door, he hesitated. For a moment, he imagined turning back. But instead… he opened it.
Emily stood by the window, arms crossed, looking nervous.
“Hey, Kai,” she said without meeting his eyes.
“Evan said you… wanted to see me?” Kai’s voice cracked.
She bit her lip, glancing over her shoulder. “Yeah. I just… I wanted to say—”
Buzz.
Kai’s phone vibrated
Buzz.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Kai’s phone vibrated hard in his pocket. Again. Then again.
Notifications — dozens of them — poured in like gunshots breaking the silence.
Confused, Kai pulled it out, his hands trembling. The screen was lit up with message after message.
Videos.
His stomach dropped as he tapped the first one.
There it was.
Him.
Walking nervously down the hall toward Room 3B — head down, hope flickering stupidly in his eyes.
And then Evan’s voice, snickering over the recording:
“Look at him. He actually thinks Emily likes him. This is gonna be priceless.”
Laughter erupted — not from the video — but outside, seeping through the hallway like poison.
Kai’s vision blurred as he turned toward Emily, his lips parting — but the words caught in his throat.
Emily’s face changed. The nervous look vanished, replaced by something cold… sharp.
She straightened her back, voice flat. “You didn’t really think I liked you, did you?”
Kai blinked, throat tightening.
She turned fully, meeting his gaze now — eyes full of cruel amusement.
“God, you’re pathetic.”
Before he could move, the door creaked open behind him.
Evan.
Flanked by three others, each of them grinning, their phones raised and recording.
“Happy birthday, Kai,” Evan said, mock bowing. “Hope it’s one to remember.”
The laughter hit him like a wave — wild, cruel, endless.
They hadn’t just filmed him.
They’d broadcast it.
Sent it out.
Made sure the whole school would see.
Kai couldn’t breathe.
Every instinct screamed at him to run, but his legs wouldn’t move.
Until — something inside him snapped.
He shoved past Evan, shouldering through the door, their laughter exploding behind him like fireworks.
Down the hallway. Through the school doors. Out into the cold.
Kai didn’t remember the walk home.
Everything was a blur — faces, streets, the sky — all of it meaningless noise.
By the time he reached the front door, his hands were shoved deep into his jacket, his head bowed like he could fold in on himself and disappear.
No one saw him.
No one cared.
And maybe that was better.
The apartment was silent. His mom was gone — probably still at work.
Good.
Kai went straight to his room, slamming the door behind him and locking it.
He didn’t take off his shoes. Didn’t drop his bag.
He just… crumpled.
Sliding down the door until he hit the floor, his back against the wood, his chest heaving like he’d been running for hours.
But there was no outrunning this.
Emily’s voice. Evan’s laugh. The way the whole class looked at him like he was something less than human.
His birthday… reduced to this.
Tears burned his eyes, but he bit them back.
No.
Kai sat there — breathing, shaking — until one thought clawed its way to the surface.
The package.
His father’s gift. Still buried in his backpack.
He didn’t move for a long time.
And then… with trembling hands, he dragged the bag toward him and pulled it out.
The brown paper was wrinkled now. The twine loose.
Kai stared at it — part of him too scared to open it, the other part desperate for anything that might make today less of a nightmare.
Finally, he tore the paper away.
Inside was a book — old, leather-bound, heavier than it looked.
No title. No markings.
Kai blinked, bitter laughter bubbling up. “Seriously? A book?”
But something… something tugged at him.
Hands shaking, he flipped it open.
Words stared back — dense, dry, historical.
A history book?
He skimmed it, barely registering kings and wars and ancient civilizations.
Until he saw it.
The misspellings.
Reserch. Existance. Sacrafice.
Not once. Not twice. Over and over.
His father’s voice echoed in his head — those nights spent playing word games, finding hidden meanings, decoding riddles.
Kai’s breath caught. “It’s a code.”
Heart pounding, he grabbed a notebook and began copying down every wrong letter, every strange mistake.
Minutes blurred into hours.
Until the message took shape — and for a moment, it felt like his father was there, whispering in his ear:
I’m sorry. I know you must have a lot of questions. Hopefully, one day I’ll give you the answers you need. For now, this is your gift.
Kai wiped his face with shaking hands, heart hammering.
And then, at the very bottom, two words stood alone:
Ut supra, ut infra.
Kai read them aloud, stumbling over the sounds. “Ut… supra… ut… infra?”
Nothing.
He swallowed hard, tried again — louder, with purpose.
“Ut supra, ut infra.”
Click.
Kai froze.
Somewhere behind him — the sound of something shifting.
He turned.
The old poster above his desk — the one that had hung there since he was a kid — peeled off the wall and hit the floor.
Behind it… a seam.
A perfect, clean line in the wall.
Kai crawled forward on his hands and knees, breath caught in his throat.
He reached out — pushed.
The wall moved.
Silently, smoothly — opening into darkness.
Kai stared, heart thundering. “Dad… what did you do?”
And then — he stepped inside.
The air inside was cold, stale — thick with dust and something else… something electric.
As Kai stepped in, motion sensors must have triggered, because soft lights flickered to life, illuminating what lay beyond.
His breath caught.
A library.
Rows of shelves lined the walls, crammed with books — some ancient, bound in cracked leather, others newer but still unfamiliar. Symbols he didn’t recognize gleamed on spines. Some books pulsed faintly, like they were breathing.
In the center sat a large wooden table, perfectly clean. Several books rested there, almost like they’d been waiting.
Kai’s legs moved on their own.
He reached out to the nearest book and cracked it open.
Black pages.
Every one of them.
Frowning, he grabbed another. Then another. Same. Nothing but endless, perfect black — like the words had been swallowed whole.
“No… what is this?” Kai whispered, panic prickling his skin. “Why are they empty?”
His gaze darted around the room, desperate — until a glint of gold caught his eye.
At the center of the table, one book stood apart — pristine, untouched by dust or time.
Its title gleamed: The Kybalion
Kai’s throat tightened. He reached out, fingers trembling, and opened it.
Words. Actual words.
Kai sat heavily in the chair, unable to look away.
And then… he began to read.
Hours passed. Or maybe it was only minutes.
The Kybalion spoke of Seven Principles — universal laws that governed everything.
As he read, this is what he learned:
1. The Principle of Mentalism — “The All is Mind; the Universe is Mental.” Everything starts with thought. The universe itself is like a great mind, and if you learn how, you can influence reality through your own mind.
2. The Principle of Correspondence — “As above, so below; as below, so above.” The patterns of the stars reflect the patterns within us. If you understand one level of reality, you can understand the others.
3. The Principle of Vibration — “Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.”Everything, even solid objects, is in constant motion. Thoughts, feelings, and even matter—if you learn how to shift their vibration, you can change them.
4. The Principle of Polarity — “Everything is Dual; everything has poles.” Good and evil, hot and cold, light and darkness—they are just different degrees of the same thing. If you master this, you can move from one state to another.
5. The Principle of Rhythm — “Everything flows, out and in.” There are cycles to everything—success and failure, happiness and sadness. But if you recognize these rhythms, you can ride them like waves instead of being crushed by them.
6. The Principle of Cause and Effect — “Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause.” Nothing happens by accident. Everything is connected. If you understand the causes, you can shape the effects—and control your fate.
7. The Principle of Gender — “Gender is in everything; everything has its Masculine and Feminine principles.” Not just about male and female—these are two forces in all things: logic and intuition, action and reception. Balance them, and you unlock creation itself.
Kai’s head spun.
It didn’t feel like he was learning something new — it felt like he was remembering something old.
And then… he saw it.
A handwritten note, tucked into the back pages. The ink was faded, but the handwriting — he recognized it immediately.
His father’s.
Happy birthday, son. You must be confused right now, so I’ll help as much as I can.
Kai blinked rapidly, his heart pounding louder with every word he read.
The mind, Kai — the human brain — is divided in two. One side holds the past; the other, the future. Your eyes meet at the center, allowing you to see the present moment — the only place where both sides connect.
The voice inside your head? That soft whisper you hear when you think? It’s tied to the future. Its vibration is fast, like sound — that’s why you can “hear” it, even when no one else can.
Your third eye, Kai, is bound to the past. Its vibration is slow, heavy — so slow that it forms images in your mind. That’s why you can see memories, or imagine what was, even when they’re long gone.
Kai swallowed hard, his eyes darting across every word as if drinking in his father’s voice.
The past and future pull at you, but in the center — right here, right now — is where the real work happens.
To begin, here’s what you must do:
Take a candle and sit in the dark. Light it, and focus on an image in your mind. Hold that image as long as you can, even when your mind tries to wander. Stay with it. The longer you hold it, the more you’ll see. The rest will come to you in time. That is your work for the days to come.
Trust yourself. There is more in you than you know.
And when the time is right… I’ll help you find the answers you’re looking for.
— Dad
Kai’s throat tightened. His chest ached.
For the first time in nine years… his father didn’t feel gone.
Slowly, Kai stood, turning in the soft glow of the hidden library. The air felt alive now — charged with possibility.
His gaze fell on the table, the dark books, the shelves packed with secrets he couldn’t yet understand.
But one thing was clear.
This wasn’t a dead end.
It was a beginning.
Kai took a shaky breath.
“A candle in the dark…” he whispered.
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