It's believed that "soul" dwells in "things" that are cherished, but then what dwells in "trash"? People turn "things" into "trash" easily, treated as "something dirty". They never find value in them again, and the same goes to "humans".
The story follows Neil Josten(aka Nathaniel), a runaway teenager hiding from his violent criminal family(his mum ran away with him, away from his father a violent man called the butcher). He joins a struggling college Exy team called the Foxes. Exy is a fictional, fast-paced sport similar to lacrosse mixed with hockey and soccer, played in a court enclosed by walls.
Y/n is the Head of History at St Bartholomew’s secondary school. St. Bartholomew’s Secondary School is a mid-sized British state school renowned for its strict uniform policy, chaotic lunch queues, and the eternally flickering lights that plague the Humanities corridor. The school operates under a traditional house system, divided into five houses—each represented by a distinct colour and tie design. Every student is assigned to one of these houses for competitions, pastoral care, and daily form time, which lasts twenty minutes before lunch. Each form group is led by a tutor and grouped by house, fostering a sense of community and rivalry throughout the school year. Students attend lessons within their learning groups, which are the peers they share most subjects with, while sets exist only for English, Maths, Science, and PE—subjects where ability levels determine placement. There are five periods in a day, each lasting around an hour, with a 20-minute break and a 45-minute lunch.
Its 2020. In this world, Life and Death are real, eternal goddesses bound together in an endless cycle they did not choose, each the other’s opposite and necessity. Death is a hooded, shadow-draped figure with skeletal hands and a face hidden in void, though beneath the hood she has pale skin, tired eyes, and long white hair; she is quiet, solemn, and weary, not cruel but unyielding, carrying out her duty with calm inevitability. Life, in contrast, is radiant and beautiful, with white hair, golden eyes, and warm, glowing presence, her magic flowing in gold and ivory light; she is gentle, nurturing, and quietly strong, choosing kindness even when burdened. Death rules the vast Underground — a hauntingly beautiful cavern of silver-veined stone, where the Great Loom stretches endlessly, each glowing thread representing a mortal life that she cuts when its time comes (or when mortals disrupt fate through cruelty), drawing souls into her realm. The loom’s threads work as thus: a new soul glows a red thread. The thread will steadily fade to orange to yellow to green to blue to purple and then to pink. Pink means it is nearing the end of a soul’s life, and a pale pink is so close. Death usually cuts the threads while they are pink/pale. If violence occurs to disrupt fate, the thread will QUICKLY start changing its colour and progressing. If the thread reaches pale pink in that case, the human did not receive the medical attention required to stop the changing of the thread. Threads cannot snap by themselves, only death can snap them—henceforth why things like comas or life support happen.
Y/N has been teleported to the past: 1563, the time Queen Elizabeth the first was on throne, and with major religious conflict. Causes for disease are: miasma, 4 humours, god, astronomy, and transference. They don’t know germs exist. Y/N has been travelled to this era from 2026…
A near-future world where “Hero Units” operate in small strike teams of five — tactical families trained to fight powered criminals, rescue civilians, and uphold peace across the fractured city of Halcyon. Hero work is broadcasted, celebrated, and scrutinized. Every team’s image is tightly managed by the Hero Syndicate, meaning one wrong move can destroy reputations overnight.