The deafening, razor-sharp gale shrieked in their ears, forcing both Pip and Kael to grimace in sheer agony. The tempest raged with merciless fury, howling louder with every passing second, showing absolutely no intent of slowing down. Plummeting headfirst through the endless void, the violent shift in atmospheric pressure constricted their lungs, rendering every attempt to breathe an agonizing struggle.
High above the sea of clouds, the Divine Temple—the sanctuary where they had endured grueling, bone-breaking training—was gradually swallowed by the encroaching shadows, vanishing into nothingness.
Below them, veiled in a thick, ghostly shroud of mist, lay Aethelgard.
Aethelgard. A name whispered in hushed, reverent tones across the continent. It was a legendary cradle, renowned for birthing and nurturing the world's most formidable and elite mages. In bardic tales, the academy was painted as a breathtaking, gothic wonderland of flowers and classical majesty. Every admission cycle was nothing short of a global phenomenon. Aspiring prodigies from every corner of the world would risk their lives, forsaking wealth and bloodlines, just to claw their way toward a single letter of acceptance. The ruthless, blood-soaked competition was proof enough of its prestige—for out of tens of thousands, the academy opened its gates to only one hundred chosen souls each year.
Yet, a dark truth remained hidden from the masses. This prestigious institution did not rest upon the fertile earth, nor did it float among the heavens. It existed at the razor-thin, trembling boundary between the mortal realm and purgatory. For the examinees, simply locating the academy was the first, and often fatal, trial.
The desolate earth below was rushing toward them at a terrifying velocity. Just as the crushing impact became inevitable, Kael gathered every ounce of strength left in his suffocating lungs and roared:
"MIRROR REALM: SEA OF BLOSSOMS!!"
In that split second, Kael's calloused hand clamped onto Pip's wrist. Before gravity could claim its toll, their silhouettes dissolved into thin air, leaving only a whisper of stardust.
Within the fractured confines of the Mirror Realm, Pip and Kael collapsed onto the cold ground, gasping violently for air. Their faces were deathly pale, their lips stained a bruised purple from the sudden oxygen deprivation and crushing pressure. Clutched chests heaved as they desperately clawed for breath.
But the realm offered no sanctuary.
CRACK!
A sharp, violent splintering sound shattered the silence. It was a crisp, fragile noise—exactly like a colossal mirror spiderwebbing under immense weight. Kael spun around in panic, his heart drumming against his ribs. Pip instantly went rigid, his instincts screaming. The glowing, runic spatial cubes hovering around his body began to vibrate, humming with lethal, defensive energy.
CRACK!
Another fracture. This time, the glass floor shattered directly beneath Kael's boots. Before he could react, an unseen, monstrous gravitational force—like the maw of a cosmic singularity—pulled him downward.
"Kael!" Pip screamed, lunging forward with his arm outstretched.
The moment their fingers locked, the violent vacuum roared, dragging both of them down into an abyssal, pitch-black abyss. Pip strained his eyes against the dark, but the gloom was thick, almost physical, swallowing every trace of light. He let out a bitter, defeated sigh.
Groaning, Kael slowly pushed himself up from the icy stone floor, terror radiating from his trembling frame.
"Where... where are we?" Kael whispered, his voice shaking like a leaf.
"No clue. It's pitch-black, I can't see a damn thing," Pip muttered, brushing the cold dust off his clothes.
With no other choice, the two began to grope their way through the oppressive dark. Suddenly, Pip's shoulder collided heavily with something solid. He froze, cautiously extending his hand. His fingertips brushed against a cold, rough, and ancient stone surface. Feeling along the damp contours, Pip realized the truth: they were trapped inside a subterranean labyrinth, devoid of a single speck of light.
They trudged forward, the rhythmic, hollow echoes of their boots against the stone floor the only sound in the suffocating silence. The noise abruptly cut off when Pip came to a sudden halt. Kael bumped into his back and asked curiously:
"Why'd you stop? What are you staring at?"
"I think... we hit a dead end," Pip replied.
"A-Are you serious? Come on, don't scare me like that..." Kael whimpered, instinctively huddling closer to Pip.
Without a word of explanation, Pip took a step back. Steeling his focus, he channeled his mana, summoning a cluster of miniature spatial cubes to encase his clenched fist like a high-tech gauntlet. He drew back, throwing a devastating punch straight into the stone wall.
BOOM!
The heavy wall shuddered. Pip immediately followed up with another blow.
BOOM!
Webs of hairline fractures spread across the ancient stone, allowing a faint, fragile needle of light to pierce the darkness. Sensing hope, Pip unleashed a flurry of rapid-fire strikes. Heavy, metallic thuds echoed through the corridor—BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Within moments, the barrier crumbled into a shower of debris, leaving a jagged opening just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
Pip cautiously stepped through the dust cloud, his boot crossing the threshold first, followed by his entire body. As he lifted his gaze, the scenery that unfolded before him struck him completely numb.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Kael squeezed through the gap, babbling, "What is it? What is it? Let me see!"
But the moment Kael's eyes locked onto the horizon, he froze solid, his jaw dropping as he stammered incoherently:
"T-That's... is that..."
"Yeah. It has to be," Pip murmured, his usual calm composure returning.
Aethelgard stood before them.
The gargantuan, ominous, and breathtakingly magnificent castle loomed like a dormant beast. Its imperial, ancient gothic architecture dominated the landscape, leaving the two Upo children utterly dwarfed and awestruck by its sheer, monumental scale. The sky above the academy was uniquely desolate—an oppressive, bruised charcoal-grey that hung low over the razor-sharp spires, wrapping the entire fortress in an aura of dark, suffocating mystique.
"Are... are we in the right place, Pip?" Kael swallowed hard, his throat dry.
"Most likely," Pip replied, pulling out a tattered, weathered leather map. "The ugly map Lilit drew for me points exactly to these coordinates."
CREEEAAAK...
The colossal iron-wrought gates of the academy, easily towering over twenty feet high, slowly groaned open on their own, as if rolling out a grim welcome for the uninvited guests. Pip and Kael exchanged a brief, silent glance, then stepped forward in unison. Two children of the Upo tribe—strangers once, but bound by a shared destiny and a singular, burning dream—officially crossed the threshold of the legendary academy.
The moment they stepped through, a black cat with eyes like molten gold and a sleek, gracefully swaying tail slinked out of the shadows, trotting leisurely toward them. The feline parted its jaws, emitting a clear, melodious human voice:
"Welcome, examinees of this year's trial. Allow me to formally introduce myself: I am Yui. I will be your direct guide to the examination hall."
"A talking c—!" Kael's eyes went wide as saucers, but Pip instantly clamped a hand over his mouth, stifling the scream.
"Ah, yes! Thank you very much, Miss Yui!" Pip stammered, bowing politely with an embarrassed smile.
As Yui led them deeper into the facility and into the grand examination hall, a deafening roar of chatter and laughter from hundreds of other candidates washed over them. Pip and Kael looked around, wide-eyed, trying to process the overwhelming crowd.
But then, the moment the crowd registered the newcomers' presence, the chaotic noise vanished.
A chilling, heavy silence fell over the hall. Every single conversation died instantly. Hundreds of sharp, predatory gazes, dripping with naked hostility and murderous intent, locked onto Pip and Kael, as if ready to tear them limb from limb on the spot.
The physical weight of that pure malice made Kael shiver. He leaned in, whispering frantically into Pip's ear:
"D-Did we walk into the wrong room, Pip...?"
"I... I highly doubt it," Pip muttered, a cold sweat breaking on the back of his neck, his mind suddenly flooded with a mountain of red flags.