One Step Ahead

Lysander Veil sees patterns others can't in a world where magic requires physical sacrifice. As a mage who can predict almost any outcome, he should have been destined for greatness within the Towers that govern mana. But when his implant malfunctions during his final assessment, he's cast into the slums of Manaforge City. There, he discovers heretical magic practiced without devices and swallows a fractured mana stone to hide it from the authorities. As the stone dissolves in his blood, equations begin to appear on his skin, granting him the forbidden ability to sense mana naturally. Hunted by Tower Enforcers and plagued by painful mana stones forming in his body, Lysander must navigate the underworld of rogue mages while unraveling a conspiracy that spans dimensions. His analytical mind becomes both his greatest weapon and deepest flaw as he discovers that the Towers aren't generating mana—they're harvesting it from parallel dimensions, slowly draining them dry. Worse, he learns he isn't fully human; his mother was an Outsider who crossed dimensions to warn humanity of an entity that consumes entire realities. As Lysander's body transforms and his consciousness expands, he must make impossible choices that will determine not just his fate, but the future of multiple dimensions. All while staying one step ahead.