Novera Kingdom: One Step Away

Jason Vale has always considered himself an ordinary young man living an ordinary life in New York. He knows his neighborhood, its streets, its buildings, and the familiar rhythm of the city. That certainty disappears when he notices an alley that has never existed before. It stands between buildings he has passed countless times, yet it appears on no map and has no explanation.

Curiosity leads Jason through the alley and into a world that should not exist.

He discovers **Novera**, a mysterious kingdom existing alongside his own reality, separated from Earth by a strange and unstable boundary. At first, Novera seems merely impossible. Then Jason begins finding evidence that something much deeper is wrong. Newspapers contain information about events that have not happened. Clocks refuse to agree with one another. Records contain photographs of places and people that should be impossible. Ancient symbols appear repeatedly, connecting Novera to something far older than anyone understands.

Jason eventually encounters the most disturbing mystery of all: another man with his exact face and the same name.

The second Jason has lived a completely different life. He knows Novera. He knows about the strange phenomena surrounding it. And, most importantly, he appears to understand that Jason's arrival was not accidental.

While Jason searches for answers, similar events begin occurring around the world. Brandon, investigating an ancient structure beneath the Sahara, experiences a mysterious vision involving ten points of light and receives a strange mark on his body. Laila encounters an impossible photograph and a message that seems to connect her to Jason despite the two strangers never having met. Other individuals begin experiencing their own unexplained signs.

Gradually, their separate experiences reveal a common pattern.

There are **ten of them**.

They are being drawn toward Novera.

And someone—or something—has been expecting them.

Ancient structures, mysterious symbols, impossible records, and fragments of forgotten knowledge begin pointing toward the **Tenfold Equation**, a mystery connected to Novera's history and the strange source of power hidden within the kingdom. At the center of these discoveries is **Salcon**, an ancient and enigmatic figure whose connection to Novera suggests that the events unfolding in the present began long before any of the Chosen Ones were born.

As Jason continues deeper into Novera, the distinction between reality, memory, and possibility begins to collapse. The existence of another Jason forces him to question whether identity is determined by the life a person lives—or by something much older.

Meanwhile, the Boundary itself begins behaving differently.

Something beneath Novera appears to be awakening.

The ten Chosen Ones have not simply discovered another world. Their arrival is part of a much larger event, one connected to ancient forces, forgotten history, and a mystery that reaches beyond their understanding.

By the end of **ONE STEP AWAY**, the Chosen Ones have only begun to understand why they were brought together. The greatest questions remain unanswered: why were these ten chosen, why now, what is the true purpose of the Tenfold Equation, what is the connection between the two Jasons, and what has been waiting beyond the Boundary?

The door between worlds has been opened.

And whatever lies on the other side has finally noticed them.