After returning to the Director and the Dean of the Magic Wing, Ama’Lein silently handed the completed form to Suga’Tin.
The Director accepted the document and quickly scanned its contents.
“So Trey arrived from the Jorial Empire,” he said thoughtfully, shifting his gaze from the paper to Trey, who was waiting for his next match.
“Interesting.” He remained silent for a few seconds before frowning slightly.
“But if these are his documents, why did he have the form instead of submitting it at reception?
Did he explain?” Ama’Lein answered without the slightest hesitation.
“According to stufon Trey, he forgot to submit the documents to reception after his arrival.” After a brief pause, he gave a slight bow.
“If he successfully completes the trials, I will personally speak with him regarding this matter.” Hearing the answer, Suga’Tin studied Ama’Lein’s face for several seconds, as if trying to detect even the faintest trace of deceit.
In the end, however, he simply nodded.
“Make sure you follow up on it.” Returning the form, the Director immediately lost interest in the matter.
Ama’Lein stored the document back inside his ring.
For now, the issue concerning Trey was closed.
The trio’s attention shifted back to the events unfolding in the arenas.
From time to time, the Director, Shego’Lo, and Ama’Lein exchanged brief comments about the performances of the most promising stufons.
While waiting for my next match, I once again began noticing the interested gazes directed at me.
After my conversation with Ama’Lein, there were even more of them.
I let out a silent sigh.
The more attention I attracted, the more questions would follow.
That was exactly what I had been trying to avoid ever since arriving at the Academy.
Shifting my gaze toward the board displaying the current matches, I suddenly froze on a familiar name.
My younger sister.
Judging by the information on the screen, she had already won two matches and was now waiting for her third opponent.
That was not surprising.
She had always been talented.
Perhaps even too talented.
When it came to magic, Heia surpassed nearly every stufon present here.
Watching her name on the board, I involuntarily drifted into memories of life at the palace.
It became increasingly obvious just how much my former life had revolved around one simple truth.
Without talent, you were nothing.
It did not matter who you had been born as.
A prince.
An aristocrat.
Or an ordinary person.
If you had no power, your value collapsed rapidly.
Perhaps that was why my renunciation had been accepted so easily.
My thoughts were interrupted by a faint pulse.
I lowered my gaze and saw my emblem glowing softly.
So my opponent was already waiting for me.
After touching it, I saw a short notification appear.
Your next match is ready.
Proceed to the arena.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed aside all unnecessary thoughts.
Now was not the time to dwell on the past.
Turning around, I headed toward my arena.
Toward my brother.
“Where is that half-blood?” I heard a familiar voice before I even got close.
“Don’t tell me he got so scared he decided not to show up.
Pathetic coward.” As I approached the arena, I saw Nreu.
He was standing with his back to me and, judging by the scene, thoroughly enjoying the attention around him.
Several girls in the stands were indeed watching him with undisguised interest, and as always, my brother was more than willing to indulge them.
Outwardly, he looked exactly as a crown prince should: a white shirt, perfectly tailored black trousers, and a blue mage’s cloak carelessly draped over one shoulder.
In his hand was a short sword.
The moment I sensed the magic radiating from it, I almost immediately understood where the weapon had come from.
Father.
The sword was enchanted with fire.
At last, Nreu turned and noticed me.
A mocking smile appeared on his face.
“So you did come,” he said, slowly looking me over from head to toe.
“Honestly, I had already assumed you decided to preserve what little dignity you had left and run away.” He took a few slow steps forward.
“Kneel, admit defeat, and I will allow you to leave the arena without further humiliation.” I merely shook my head as I looked at him.
Nothing had changed.
He was still the same, still convinced that the world was obligated to obey his desires simply because he had been born a prince.
Once, I had been just like him.
Perhaps that was exactly why it irritated me more than anything now.
There was only one difference between us.
I had already learned that a title alone was not enough to guarantee victory.
“You are either deaf or too stupid to understand who stands before you,” Nreu said coldly.
A trace of irritation had crept into his voice.
“I am Prince Nreu of the Kray Empire.
And I command you to kneel.” His voice rang out loudly enough to draw the attention of everyone nearby.
People began turning toward us, and several professors cast questioning glances toward the Director and the deans, clearly expecting an order to intervene.
But no one moved.
I calmly looked at Nreu.
“You may be a prince of any empire or kingdom,” I replied evenly.
“But right now, you are standing on Academy grounds, where that means nothing.” The moment those words left my mouth, Nreu’s face visibly darkened.
Mana rapidly began condensing around him.
“You’ll regret saying that, dirty-blood,” he hissed through clenched teeth.
In the next instant, he cast a spell.
Flames burst from his hand and shot directly toward me.
I was already about to dodge.
But I couldn’t.
My legs felt rooted to the ground.
It was not fear.
The sensation was far deeper and far more unpleasant, as though my body had suddenly remembered something my mind had not yet managed to process.
As if the figure standing before me was not merely another opponent, but the embodiment of everything from my past that I had so desperately tried to escape.
I watched as the flames rushed toward me, closing the distance far too quickly.
Behind the wavering wall of fire, Nreu’s face was barely visible—smug, confident, utterly certain of his victory.
Was this really how everything would end?
My arrival at the Academy, my meeting with Ama’Lein, my new identity, all my plans for the future—would everything be destroyed in a single moment simply because I had once again found myself standing before the person who had always made me feel weaker?
Gripping the hilt of my sword, I tried to raise it.
And in that same instant, the flames engulfed me.
While discussing the results of the ongoing matches, the Director and the deans simultaneously felt a faint vibration from their Academy emblems.
Without exchanging a word, all three touched the symbols on their clothing.
A few seconds later, they received a brief report.
One of the stufons had used his lineage and title to pressure another participant.
Nothing new.
Something like this happened almost every year.
Sighing in unison, the trio shifted their gazes toward the arena.
Nreu.
And Trey.
“Unfortunate opponent for him,” Suga’Tin said calmly.
Following his gaze, Shego’Lo and Ama’Lein saw Trey.
Trey stood frozen in place, as if his own body had suddenly stopped obeying him.
Nreu’s fire attack was already rushing straight toward him.
“Perhaps you are right, Director,” Shego’Lo said thoughtfully.
“Had his opponent been someone else, he likely would have been able to win.” The flames completely swallowed Trey’s figure.
“Ordinarily, I would agree with you, Dean Shego’Lo,” Ama’Lein suddenly said.
“But I believe this time, we should wait.” His gaze remained fixed on the arena.
“I have a feeling stufon Trey is still capable of surprising us.” “You are weak, Prince Aluric.” The familiar voice forced my eyes open.
Before me once again stretched a familiar scene: night, a crackling campfire, and endless darkness surrounding us on all sides.
Across the flames sat the figure of a girl.
Just as before, I could neither make out her face nor even the individual details of her silhouette, as if reality itself were concealing her true appearance from me.
The final moment before arriving here instantly resurfaced in my memory.
The arena.
Nreu’s face.
The flames rushing toward me.
The unavoidable sensation of defeat.
“Why am I here?” I asked, shifting my gaze toward Ges.
“You are not dead,” she answered calmly.
“I stopped time in the arena and brought your consciousness here.” I clenched my fists.
“I lost to my brother.” “You have not lost yet,” Ges replied.
“The fire never touched your emblem.
But without talent, you truly would have already lost.” “What talent are you talking about?” I asked irritably.
Ges let out a quiet chuckle.
“After accepting my mark, you gained unlimited affinity for magic.
But you are so fixated on your former image of yourself that you never even attempted to realize it.” She tilted her head slightly.
“Close your eyes and direct your focus inward.” Her voice grew colder.
“You have little time.
If I keep time frozen for too long, the other gods will notice.” Silence lingered briefly.
“And you are not yet ready for their attention.” I closed my eyes and began searching for magic within myself.
At first, there was nothing.
But soon, a strange sensation emerged, as if something were constantly slipping just beyond my perception.
Following that feeling, I sank deeper into my consciousness.
A star-filled expanse unfolded before me.
At its very center was an enormous black star, with six other large stars of different colors surrounding it.
Out of all of them, it was the black star that radiated the power I had been sensing from the very beginning.
I approached it, reached out, and touched it.
At first, the star was cold.
Almost freezing.
But soon, warmth began spreading through my body.
Pushing away dangerous thoughts, I forced myself to calm down.
This power was neither authority nor a guarantee of victory.
It was only a new tool I had yet to understand and make my own.
Placing my second hand on the star, I deepened my concentration.
The flow of energy intensified, and along with it came a growing understanding of the very essence of this magic.
Dark magic.
The black star began shrinking until it fit within the palm of my hand.
Bringing it to my forehead, I allowed it to dissolve into me.
Heat pierced through my entire body.
But this time, it felt different.
Power flowed naturally within me, as if it had always been a part of me.
Opening my eyes, I looked at Ges.
“So you managed to find the source after all,” the goddess said calmly.
“That is enough.
Return now, and do not overdo it.” A snap of her fingers.
And the world vanished.
The story continues on Webnovel, where new chapters are released and I actively interact with readers.