Somewhere beyond the scorched hills of Ignis, shrouded in smoke and ancient shadows, a figure stirred.
It didn't breathe. It didn't blink. And yet, it watched with purpose.
A single eye—black as obsidian but gleaming with a violet ring—focused on the academy. Not the stone buildings or the glowing barriers that protected it. No. It watched the people inside. The chosen ones.
Specifically, two.
The girl with fire in her blood and the boy who twisted space like thread between his fingers.
"...So the seeds have already begun to sprout," the entity murmured, its voice both a whisper and a thunderclap, layered with something unnatural. "How… troublesome."
It raised one hand. The ash in the wind gathered toward it, forming something almost like a sphere—a memory? A vision?
Seth.
A boy who should have been bound by mediocrity.
Yet...
His image shimmered, then distorted.
There was more to him than even it could fully see. And that made the entity smile.
"This era might finally be... entertaining."
Then it vanished.
Back at the academy, Seth's eyes opened.
He'd been meditating in his room, but the air around him still felt tense—electric, even. Ever since their return from Ignis, the atmosphere within the academy had shifted. Whispers followed him and Andrea like shadows.
Whispers of monsters slain. Whispers of potential ascension.
Whispers of fear.
Seth exhaled, then stood. He adjusted his coat, the fabric laced with mana-suppressing threads. He didn't mind the whispers—he didn't fight for their approval. But even he could feel it:
Something was changing.
Knock. Knock.
Andrea didn't wait for permission. She stepped in, hair tied back, her fire aura more restrained than usual.
"They want us at the Amphitheater," she said.
"Another test?"
Andrea shook her head. "No. A revelation."
Seth's brow twitched. "What kind?"
"One that involves Jake."
Hundreds of students gathered. The outer rings buzzed with conversation. At the center stood a robed man—Professor Veylen, known for his mastery of elemental balance.
Behind him stood a recovered—but still pale—Jake.
His arm was in a sling. But his eyes burned.
The professor raised his hand, and silence fell.
"A week ago, three students faced High-tier monsters in Ignis. They returned victorious, but not without cost."
Murmurs spread. Some turned toward Seth and Andrea. Others looked at Jake.
"But this is the lesson: your potential is not defined by power alone. It is forged in struggle."
Jake stepped forward.
"I lost," he said. "And I nearly died."
Whispers.
"I overestimated myself. But in that moment… something changed. I saw how far I was from where I need to be. So I'll keep climbing."
Seth watched from the crowd, unmoving. Andrea tilted her head slightly.
Jake continued. "I'm requesting permission to re-enter the Lands of Tempering. Alone. I won't return until I've earned my place among the top."
The professors murmured. Then nodded.
Permission granted.
Jake turned, locking eyes with Seth and Andrea.
Then he walked away.
That night, Andrea stood beneath the moon, flames flickering at her fingertips.
Seth joined her quietly.
"He's changed," she said.
"He had to."
They stood in silence for a moment longer.
Then Andrea added, "There's a new announcement coming tomorrow. Something about the Arc Relic Sites."
Seth's gaze sharpened. "Already?"
Andrea nodded. "We're not the only academy entering."
Outside their walls, the world was stirring.
The other academies were coming.
And not all of them played by the same rules.
Far beyond the academy's wards, deep in a ravine where sunlight couldn't reach, the dark entity stood once more.
Around it, faint shapes took form. Seven, in total.
Each one cloaked in a unique aura—twisted, powerful, ancient.
"The chosen of this generation… are worthy of the storm," the entity whispered.
"But every light... casts a shadow."
The first seeds of chaos had already been sown.
And soon, the game would begin.