Gift of Malediction

One hundred and thirty-eight years ago, the Paradox Overrun nearly erased a nation. It proved a terrifying possibility: aberrants can be born from humans—and if that human is a Heaven’s Vessel, the devastation multiplies beyond control. At the time, more than forty Heaven’s Vessels existed. When the catastrophe ended, only twelve remained. The world’s nations reached a quiet agreement. The number would never rise again. Not because twelve was sacred—but because limiting them reduced the risk of another overrun. Janus Zokial was never meant to enter that equation. An elementary teacher caught in an Aberrant attack, he should have died like any other civilian. Instead, he awakens as the Thirteenth Heaven’s Vessel. The international committee votes for termination. The Empire chooses another path. And when the existence of a Thirteenth Heaven is announced to the world—without revealing the man behind it—the fragile equilibrium between nations begins to strain. Because a single Heaven’s Vessel can save a country. Or destroy one.