The sky above the Academy of Resonance was unusually grey.
Slow, heavy black clouds drifted over the gargantuan white towers, while streams of blue Aura reflected off the academy walls as if the city itself were breathing.
The academy was built atop a massive mountain known as the Astra Vein, where ancient energy flowed underground like giant arteries.
And everyone knew one thing:
If you arrived at this academy… you were no longer an ordinary person.
Imperial carriages flooded toward the main gate.
Children of nobles.
Aura geniuses.
Soldiers’ children.
Monsters of talent.
They had all come to begin their first year.
Thousands of students stood within the central plaza.
A massive fountain stood at the center, its water forming overlapping Resonance circles.
The flags of the Solaris Dominion fluttered above the towers.
And at the highest point…
Stood the statue of the historical Emperor:
Emperor Kaelith.
The man the books taught them had destroyed the world.
“Did you hear?”
A silver-haired girl whispered to her friend.
“That kid from the Ravenholt family reached Rank C, and he’s only thirteen.”
The other replied in disbelief:
“Impossible…”
“They say he can already manifest a small Domain.”
On the other side, a tall youth laughed with confidence.
“Most of the people here will be expelled within the first year.”
“The Academy has no use for the weak.”
Amidst all the noise…
There was one person walking slowly, as if he didn’t belong to the scene at all.
Messy black hair.
Disturbingly calm eyes.
Hands in his pockets.
His face held the strange weariness of someone who didn’t care about anything.
Sami Kō.
He passed by a group of students without looking at them.
But suddenly…
Two of them fell silent for no reason.
A strange feeling passed through their chests.
Tension.
A light chill.
As if something invisible had passed near them for a moment.
One of them turned to look at him.
“Who is that?”
But Sami had already moved on.
At the top of one of the towers…
A woman wearing a white coat watched the plaza in silence.
Professor Selene Arctis.
One of the empire’s top Aura specialists.
She narrowed her eyes suddenly.
Then she whispered:
“…What is this feeling?”
For just one second…
She felt as if reality itself had shuddered.
The First Examination Hall
The students entered a massive hall that resembled a temple.
Huge black columns.
Aura circles carved into the floor.
And in the center…
A giant crystal sphere known as:
The Resonance Core.
The professor said in a cold voice:
“Today’s test will measure the type, density, and stability of your Aura.”
“The average for first-year students is Rank D.”
“As for Rank C… it is rare.”
The hall became immediately tense.
The test began.
Each student placed their hand on the crystal.
Light.
Reaction.
Result.
“Manifest Type — Rank D.”
“Pulse Type — Rank D+.”
“Echo Type — Rank C.”
Whispers of admiration spread instantly.
Then…
It was the turn of a girl with long, golden hair.
She stood with calm confidence.
Lyra Vale.
And the moment she touched the crystal…
Threads of silver light appeared in the air.
Infinite threads connecting people to one another.
The past to the present.
Possibilities to reality.
The students’ eyes widened.
“Thread Aura…”
“She really is from the Vale family.”
The professor said with clear admiration:
“Rank B Potential.”
Lyra smiled faintly.
But her eyes suddenly moved toward the back.
Toward one person only.
Sami.
“Next.”
Sami stepped forward slowly.
Some students barely noticed him.
Until he placed his hand on the crystal.
And the next moment…
The lights went out.
The hall shook violently.
Black cracks appeared over the crystal.
Then…
Black flowers began to grow on its surface.
And at the same moment…
Those flowers were rotting and dying immediately after appearing.
Creation.
And Decay.
At the very same moment.
Everyone froze.
Even the professors.
“Impossible…”
Selene whispered.
Aura cannot do both.
Manifest creates.
Decay destroys.
These are two completely opposing laws.
But what appeared before them…
Was something else.
The air became heavy.
The walls began to erode slowly.
One of the students felt immediate nausea.
Another forgot what they were saying in the middle of a sentence.
And worst of all…
The crystal itself began to disappear.
Not shattering.
But…
As if its existence were being erased.
Sami pulled his hand away immediately.
Everything stopped.
The light returned.
But the silence remained dominant.
The professor looked at the screen in front of him.
Then he looked again.
Then a third time.
The result was completely scrambled.
The symbols were moving on their own.
As if the system itself was incapable of understanding what had happened.
One of the professors said nervously:
“…What type is this?”
Selene replied in a low voice:
“I don’t know.”
And for the first time in years…
True fear appeared in her eyes.
As for Sami…
He just scratched his head tiredly.
“Are we done?”
In the back…
Lyra was looking at him without blinking.
She felt something wrong.
Very wrong.
All the threads around him were cut.
No clear future.
No stable possibilities.
As if he were…
A void inside reality.
After long minutes of tension, the professor finally said:
“The result… is unstable.”
“Temporary assessment: Rank E.”
Silence prevailed.
Some students laughed immediately.
“After all that?”
“A failure, then.”
But Selene remained silent.
Because she knew one thing only:
What everyone saw just now…
Was not weakness.
But something far more dangerous.
The Combat Test
The students moved to the outer arena.
A massive square surrounded by blue Aura barriers.
In the center…
Stood giant metallic dolls.
War Puppets.
Combat machines made by Veyr Mechanica.
The professor said:
“The requirement is simple.”
“Defeat the doll.”
“Or hold out for thirty seconds.”
The test began.
Aura explosions.
Flame.
Energy swords.
Screams.
Some students fell within seconds.
Others barely succeeded.
Then, a noble entered with confidence.
He struck the doll with dozens of attacks.
And in the end, destroyed its arm.
Applause filled the air.
“Next.”
Sami entered the arena.
With complete calm.
No weapon.
No combat stance.
He just stood there.
Some students laughed.
“Did he give up?”
The War Puppet moved immediately.
Its red eye ignited.
It lunged toward him at high speed.
Sami didn’t move.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three.
Then…
The doll stopped suddenly.
A strange cracking sound emerged.
And without a single blow…
The War Puppet’s body began to erode.
The iron turned black.
The joints fell apart.
The energy inside it collapsed.
Then…
It exploded completely into black metallic dust.
Silence.
One of the students gasped:
“…What did he do?”
“Did he even touch it?!”
The professors themselves didn’t understand.
The measuring devices recorded no attack.
Nor any natural Aura flow.
Just…
A sudden drop in the “stability of existence” around Sami.
Up on the high platform…
Selene stood up slowly.
Her face was pale.
Because she saw something the others didn’t.
For a very short second…
Behind Sami…
A giant black throne’s shadow appeared.
Then it vanished.
As for Sami…
He just sighed.
“Can I sit down now?”
And in a place very, very far away…
Inside an infinite darkness…
Four different eyes opened at the same moment.
And one voice whispered into the void:
“He has finally awakened.”