Villain's Second Heart: Trapped in A Fantasy Novel (BL)-Prologue - Moonborn, Earthbound

(A/N: Oberyn's origin story)

"Are you really okay with this?" Oberyn blurted out, taking a step toward Tiana. "There's another way. There has to be."

They had been lovers, once. And then he had awakened his power. Now, their lunar town was in chaos.

It had all begun when he started to awaken his powers. At first, he had hidden them from everyone, but it became too much for him to bear. Mana had to be carefully balanced, and his was out of control.

The moon became flooded with magic. Everyone he knew began to disappear one by one. The only way to restore balance, according to Tiana, was for him to leave the moon and to never return.

Tiana looked at him disdainfully. "Are you resolved to make this as difficult for me as possible, Oberyn? Can't you just..."

She was the Magician of the Moon. The only one. There was no place for him here any longer. He was destined for Earth, to live out his life among the humans.

"Is this why we have no Magicians on the moon, Tiana? When others awaken, are they always sent away?" He ran his fingers through his blond locks, frustrated.

Tiana smiled. "So you do understand, Oberyn. Yes, this has happened before. I met another Magician once. Helped send him away. He was happy to go, and we kept his awakening quiet to all but friends and family."

As she spoke, the air around them began to shift. Tiny orbs of light, like fireflies, rose up from the ground. At first dozens, then hundreds. They hummed faintly, a sound like distant whispers carried on the wind. Each one felt alive, a spark of something far greater than himself.

One of the orbs floated up near Oberyn's face, emitting a resonant pulse. He could feel the light, somehow. It seemed... familiar.

"Oberyn. I'm so proud of you."

His eyes widened. That voice. It was so familiar. Was it coming from the light?

"M...Mom?"

The light spun around him. "Yes, my darling boy. It's me."

Tiana looked at the light. She could hear its voice too, he presumed. "All of the other Nephilim have been reduced to this form," she said quietly. "A flicker of light. This is all they can be until the balance of mana is restored."

More lights sprang up.

Another voice. One of his closest friends, Ariel. An older boy who had always been something of a role model to him. "I'm going to miss you, bud. Life on the moon won't be the same without you. But hey, you give 'em hell down there, yeah? And know that we're always thinking of you. You're in the hearts of every single one of us, Oberyn!"

Another light floated close - Venetio, he was certain. Without words, his presence brought back the endless summers where he'd tagged along, running after him, calling him "big bro."

Their voices blended, a symphony of hopes, fears, and dreams.

"You will carry all of our strength with you, always." His mother's voice again. And in that moment, something in him changed. He heard them all—their voices, their hopes, their trust. It all felt so real, so unshakable. The shield he had carried for so long finally began to crack. He had spent years doubting his place, but he couldn't anymore. Not when they were all here, depending on him to do what he must.

Tears streamed down his face. Sobbing. "Everyone..." was about all he could get out before his throat locked up.

He had wanted to hate it. He had wanted to be hated, to have his fellow villagers force him out of the village. Seeing how genuine everyone was being only made it hurt more.

He wanted to stay more than anything, but if he stayed, everyone would die from the mana overload.

Through the lights, he met Tiana's eyes. She nodded, steady - too steady. Her red-rimmed gaze betrayed her struggle. Deep, measured breaths. She was holding herself together, projecting strength.

"Tiana, I love you. And maybe I'm the idiot here. It wouldn't be the first time. But this doesn't feel like the end of our story."

He spoke quickly before she could interrupt.

"If there's a way back here, I'll find it. Even if all I ever get to do is tell you how thankful I am for you - for all of you. You're part of me, Tiana."

She looked back at him, a lone tear forming in her eye and falling down her cheek. There was something she had to say.

"I won't be waiting for you, Oberyn." Her words were crushing.

"You just awoke magic powers, Oberyn! This isn't a curse, it's a crazy, wonderful thing! It's..."

They both knew he had never wanted this.

'What good is magic if I have to give up my happy life?' he thought.

"...Thank you. Not a day will go by when I won't pray for you. You'll do amazing things, Oberyn. I've always believed that."

"Goodbye."

He looked toward the planet Earth hovering in their sky. While he did, he unbuttoned his shirt and let it drop away. A shirt would just get in the way of his wings.

The cold and still lunar air chilled his bare torso, giving him a shiver. He crouched down, focusing magic to manifest and gather in his back.

From his shoulders, neon light began to glow in two long slits, and from them his wings began to emerge. They were beautiful. Red, resplendent, made of heavenly feathers that were nearly as delicate as glass.

He let the wings curl over his body to cover himself up. Even if everyone were just balls of light, he was still shy about his skinny body.

He turned to Tiana to look at her one final time. They had a good ride together. They had started dating at fourteen, and now they were nearly eighteen. She was the girl next door. And he was...

The one who had suddenly awakened as the Magician of Explosions.

Now he could fly, move at near-teleportation speeds, and wield superhuman strength...and could cause things to combust spontaneously.

That last part hadn't exactly been beneficial to him. In fact, it's what was causing his mana to be so uncontrollable compared to even other Magicians.

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Tiana gathered up her power - the ancient magic of the moon, and allowed it to swirl around her in a glowing vortex of silver and white-gold light that manifested like splashing waves.

"I'm lending you all my power, Oberyn! It should be just enough to get you to Earth!"

She thrust her arms forward, and the magic surged, enveloping Oberyn in a radiant wave of lunar energy. He flapped his wings a few times and launched from the ground, flying at mach speed toward the Earth so far away, propelled by the lunar magic like a rocket as it mixed with his explosive magic.

"Goodbye, Oberyn."