Maximus Lucem

Max's appearance isn't described in the books. It's known that he bears a strong resemblance to his father. When he merged with Antares, the consequences were red streaks in his hair, matching the star's spectrum, silver in his eyes, and pale skin.

When Max regained the third fragment of his soul and became half a star, his appearance changed again: part of his hair turned blue, flecks of silver appeared in his eyes, and his skin turned gray - these changes are hidden by his star pendant.

Max's character has changed for the better. He's become more empathetic to those around him, willing to admit his mistakes and ask for forgiveness. Max strives to help everyone in need, from a wounded adjutant to a Protector, and hates it when others risk their lives for him. Max has managed to form genuine friendships with Free and Dan, and has significantly improved his relationship with Stefan.

Max's personality was deeply affected by the removal of a fragment of his soul at the age of twelve. He was intelligent and ambitious, but at the same time he considered himself superior to others. He wasn't above acting basely to achieve his own ends—he slandered Stefan to the Overseer and crippled Dan to change his mentor. Max believed in his own exceptionalism and was dismissive of others, not afraid to be rude even to an orneg. Free said that books were closer to him than people.

After the battle, Max learned that his father was Antares, the surviving Supreme. As a child, Antares left, taking a shard of his son's soul to conceal his stellar nature. Having recovered the shards, Max reunited with his father, forgave him, and underwent initiation, becoming a Protector under the sign of Sagittarius. He regained his memories, found friends, and embraced his new identity.

Max woke up unconscious in an alley. The Adjutant took him to Solarum, where he was accused of betraying the Light. The Court of Thirteen sentenced him to be reset, but Dan thwarted the execution.

With the help of Free and Memora, Max escaped to Planetarc Nerman. She discovered a fragment of a red star within him, transforming him into a monstrum. Monsis was attacked. Max discovered that Antares the Inextinguishable was within him.

They were captured by the White Ray, but Memora rescued them. Max remembered home and his mother. He had nightmares about the Mist and the loss of the shard. Free helped him regain his manipulation skills.

In Argention, Pascal again demanded execution. Betelgeuse confirmed that the shard belonged to Supreme Antares and gave two rotations to search for her shard.

Domirus pointed out that Max's shard was in the Split Basin. They were attacked by the Mist in the forest, then a stranger appeared and revealed a memory: he had stolen Max's soul shard.

Max woke up in the infirmary. Stefan admitted he'd handed him over to the White Ray. Dan reported finding the shard, but the marker was blocked. Max and Free fell into a basin. There, they were lured into a trap by the fallen Aria, posing as Sarah. Stefan was "killed."

Max was brought to Shakara. She tried to open his soul. Dan saved him. Max remembered the cipher from the diary—it was a pointer to his father's urn in the Archive. Inside was a shard of Antares.

Memora turned out to be the Delar Lastrada. She wanted to rip out the shards. Max merged with Antares, defeated her, and blew up the portal. He woke up in the infirmary with a changed appearance. He contained two fragments of the Supreme, his own almost burned out.

Max agreed to replace the shard. He learned that his father's pendant concealed Antares's etheric heart. Now his goal is to free the ornega from the White Ray to find the third shard. Antares, within, shares his path.

Maximus is the son of Antares the Inextinguishable, the Supreme Light. Antares survived the battle, but lost two soul fragments. He became an adjutant in Solarum, fell in love with Anna, and fathered a son. He named him Maximus, hoping for a happy future.

Max inherited star blood: he saw souls and was aggressive. As a child, he was attacked by a Delar, but the ornega Luna saved him, and Antares killed the Dark One.

Fearing a soul split, Antares left his family. He gave Max a pendant that concealed his nature and took from his son the soul fragment containing the fundamentals of ether, causing Max to fall gravely ill for a year. Before leaving, his father left behind a storage device to alter Anna's memory—she forgot about the world of Light and Darkness.

From the age of 12, Max grew up fatherless, living in poverty, dreaming of engineering. He ended up in Solarum on his own, following a call from his father's colleague, who had been influenced by the ornega Luna on behalf of Antares.

Pascal Favreau: Zodiac sign: Scorpio. One of Max's main adversaries, a tough and uncompromising advocate of the fight against the Darkness. Described as a determined paladin.

Dan Vujcik: His zodiac sign is Wolf (one of the oldest). Narcissistic and hyperactive, but kind and noble, he is known for his meticulousness and charm. He has a tragic fate—in the book, he suffers losses and becomes an "Individual."

25 years old actually 300+

Free: Aries (Overseer of the period from April 19th to May 13th). A kind and supportive mentor to Max, she unconsciously used her vast reserves of Light in the past to protect herself from the creatures.

18 years old actually 25

The main principle: the Universe is kept from collapse by the eternal struggle between Light and Darkness - it is this opposition that is "Equilibris". · Cosmic scale: The war is waged by real, living stars and planets. Human Earth is just a planet in this vast galaxy, invisible to the main battles. Stars and Delaras (Delars): Powerful cosmic entities of Light and Darkness who wage real battles against each other. Their power reaches its peak during the Apogee—a cosmic release of energy. Protectors: These are ordinary people who have entered into a contract with a "star entity." They obey the rules of Animesis—the world's primary religion—and come in two types: · Lumen Protectors: They stand on the side of the Light and live in the main city of Solarum. · Shadows: Serve the forces of Darkness in the city of Auris.

Solarum: The Light's primary city-state on Earth. It houses the Citadel, the epicenter of the Light's army, as well as the Protectors and their apprentices. Auris: The main stronghold of Darkness on Earth. It houses the Misty Castle, the headquarters and training facility of the Shadowkin. · Borderland: A neutral zone between Earth and Heaven, a place where the souls of the dead enter Somnium to gain a new body.

Stefano combines aristocratic Italian roots with a deliberately casual appearance: Face and Eyesight: He is pale, with a piercing, sharp amber gaze that those around him describe as "cutting in half." Hair: He has dark hair with perpetually tousled, unkempt black hair. Clothing: Described as a rather unkempt young man. Under his official Lumen Protector uniform, he prefers to wear a simple black shirt with suspenders. Stefan has a difficult but deep character, greatly shaped by past traumas: Isolation: An unsociable, secretive, and caustic cynic. He tries to stay away from the internal affairs and intrigues of Solarum. Temper: He has an explosive temperament. For example, for a sharp confrontation and insolence toward the Sirius ambassador, Stefan was exiled for three months to the epicenter of military operations in Africa. Tendency to self-flagellation: Due to the burden of guilt for past murders, he considers himself unworthy of good treatment. He deliberately alienated and quarreled with his close friend Free, whom he himself had helped master manipulation, deciding he did not deserve her trust. Vindictiveness and pride: He is extremely vindictive. Due to the meanness of Maximus Lucem, who slandered him to the Overseer (Arc), Stefan was sent to serve in the Arctic Circle, after which he sincerely hated Max and voted against him in court.

Protectors. All of them are "people under the signs of the constellations," who have been defending humanity from the Darkness for thousands of years. Their lives are filled with enormous responsibility, loneliness, and guilt. A Protector's zodiac sign is not just an astrological symbol, but a defining characteristic linked to their strength and destiny. Each has their own secrets, personal dramas, and their own way of waging an endless war.