Seven days had passed.With wounds healed on the outside… but not entirely within.
The days had been filled with classes, training, and silence.
But that morning… felt different.
The sun hadn't fully risen yet when Vex opened his eyes. The clock read 6:00 AM.The room was wrapped in thick silence, with a faint light filtering through the digital window.
Vex sat up carefully. His muscles ached, but his mind was clear.He put on the standard uniform, adjusted his bracelet, and while slipping on his boots, he heard a muffled voice behind him:
— "Up early again...?" Elois mumbled from his bed, voice thick with sleep."I swear your academic eagerness is going to kill me."
From the other corner, still lying on his side with eyes closed, Kaen murmured:
— "Let him go. If he doesn't, he'll explode."
Elois groaned and buried himself back under the covers.Vex smiled—half fondness, half nerves—grabbed his bow, and left.
An arcane carriage waited outside the Terna Block. He climbed in without saying a word.The ride was short, but the tension made it feel endless.
The destination was a building outside campus, on the edge of the sacred forest surrounding part of Olympo.A tower of white marble, with flawless architecture and walls polished enough to reflect the trees around it.
Aric Ghalahad's special class.
Vex stepped inside. The interior was stunning: immaculate, perfectly arranged.The room was circular, with multiple raised platforms, columns etched with ancient runes, and an almost sacred silence.
He was the first to arrive.
Time passed slowly, and with each minute, his anxiety grew.
"Do I really belong here…?"
Minutes later, he heard firm footsteps approaching from the hallway.Vex straightened. He was sure it was Aric.
The door opened.
— "...Eh?"
It wasn't Aric.It was Saria Rymot.
She looked at him immediately, surprised. Then frowned in distaste.
— "You? What are you doing here?"
Vex lowered his head, uncomfortable.
— "Professor Aric… invited me."
Saria looked away in disgust, as if his presence were a mistake.
— "I see."
She said nothing more. Sat alone, ignoring him completely.Vex sat back down in silence, biting his lip.
More students began to arrive.Some from Caelum, others from Ignis, even Aether.
None from Umbra, Aegis, and especially not Terna.
Vex was the only one from the lower three classes.
"Why am I here…? I have nothing in common with them…"
At exactly 8:00, the room's lights dimmed.The columns began to glow faintly.
And then—Aric entered.
No theatrics.Just that unshakable calm, and that gaze that could unravel anyone.
He stood at the center. His voice, sharp as a blade:
— "You were chosen not for what you've shown, but for what you could still become."
— "This is not a class. It's a threshold.Here, those who don't sweat, fall behind.Those who don't risk, never awaken.Those who don't understand… don't return."
Silence. No one dared interrupt.
— "Today, you will work in pairs. Not to fight, but to provoke.To provoke the first fire—the one that triggers the Celestia Dream."
Vex tensed.
— "You'll face physical, mental, and energy control exercises.If your body finds its rhythm, the runes will reveal themselves.Each one… unique.Each one… a door."
The students paired up.Vex remained alone.Everyone else had a partner.
Aric noticed. He walked over.
— "Don't worry. Not everything happens immediately.""Sometimes, those who arrive alone… leave with something the others will never understand."
He patted Vex's shoulder and walked away.
Vex swallowed hard. Looked down at his empty hands.
Thirty minutes.Nothing.
All around him, other students were already glowing.Runes shimmered on arms, shoulders—even eyes.
"Why isn't anything happening…?"
Then the door opened again.
A figure entered with a calm so absolute, it felt like it froze the room.
Short white hair. Pale skin. Eyes like war smoke.
Wearing the Ignis uniform.A long rifle strapped to his back.
— "You're late, Altair," Aric said, without a hint of irritation.
— "Didn't miss anything important," Altair replied calmly.
Aric smiled faintly and nodded.
Altair looked around—and spotted Vex.
— "You got a partner?"
— "Uh… no," Vex said nervously. "Wanna team up?"
Altair nodded without hesitation.
— "Works for me."
Saria turned briefly to look… but when she saw who it was, she turned away again.
They began the exercise together.Vex introduced himself.
— "I'm Vex Lugulband. Thanks for helping me the other day… in the training room."
— "I know. Altair Riven."
— "Riven…?" Vex didn't recognize the name. Altair didn't elaborate.
Vex tried to follow the instructions. Breathing. Posture.But his body trembled with tension.
Altair approached with surgical calm.
— "You're holding too much tension. It's not strength.It's harmony."
— "Huh?"
— "Like picking up a glass. You don't think about it. You just do it.Your energy is trapped in your thoughts. Quiet your mind."
Altair adjusted his breathing, posture, hand placement.
Sweat dripped from Vex's brow.His hands shook.They had been repeating the same channeling movement for almost an hour.
All around them, the other students manifested their runes—emerald lights, red flames, golden marks floating like living tattoos.
And he…
Nothing.
"Why can they all do it… and not me?"
He clenched his teeth.Closed his eyes.
And in that absolute silence,something broke.
Not a bone.Not a thought.
A barrier.
And in that moment—he heard it.
A voice.Ancient. Deep.Distant. Close.
As if it spoke from deep within the stone… or the blood.
"Awaken. Not when the world sees you...but when you can see yourself."
Vex opened his eyes.
In front of him, for a brief instant—a figure of broken stone.A light without a face.Without a name.
As if the echo of someone forgotten was staring at him from inside his mind.
And then…
Heat.
His palms began to glow.
First in soft lines—barely visible.Then, a brighter flash:
A single rune. Incomplete.Trembling like a spark.
Not red.Not blue.
Fractured white.Like moonlight filtered through stone.
A color that belonged to no known lineage.
Altair watched him closely, gray eyes fixed.
— "Not a bad color," he said simply."And not a common one."
Vex gasped. Sweat poured down like rain—but for the first time… it wasn't just from effort.
It was from emotion.
He said nothing.
He simply looked down at his hands—and thought:
"I did it."