The Orientation Hall of Starcrest Academy was a coliseum of light and pressure.
Enchanted braziers floated midair, casting flickering runes across polished marble. Symbols of ancient orders lined the walls—dragons spiraling around planets, swords piercing suns, and a celestial wheel depicting the nine sovereign lords , the undisputed leaders of the entire Aeather.
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Leo stood with hundreds of new students, all clad in varying garbs of their regions and lineages. Excitement, arrogance, and anxiety charged the air.
Kevin leaned beside him, arms crossed. "You feel that?" he whispered.
Leo nodded. The arena was alive with energy—layers upon layers of enchantments and suppressive fields. Anyone who couldn't withstand the pressure wasn't meant to be here.
And it was just the beginning.
A thunderous voice echoed across the chamber. "Welcome, all."
The crowd fell silent.
At the topmost balcony, an elderly man with steel-grey hair and grey robes woven from starlight stepped forward. His presence alone caused several weaker students to stumble.
"I am Orin Thalos, Head Instructor of Starcrest's Core Division. You have been selected not because of who your families are—" His gaze briefly passed over Leo. "—but because of what you may become."
The room held its breath.
"You are standing at the edge of legend. Whether you rise or fall depends on you."
The brazier lights surged upward, forming a massive illusory map in the air. Thirteen floating arenas spiraled around a central platform.
"Your entrance test begins now."
Gasps broke out.
"No warning?"
"They said we'd get weeks of foundation—!"
Thalos' voice cut through the panic. "This is your foundation."
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The initiates were split and teleported to different platforms. Leo appeared on one of the outer rings, alone.
Around him, statues of beasts—tigers, phoenixes, serpents, and more—towered, each radiating dense World Energy. A scroll floated before him, marked with symbols from the Threefold Path—Mind, Body, and Soul.
"Focus. Align. Draw."
A voice rang in his mind.
This was the first test: resonate with one's and internal energy and the world's energy .
For most, this was when they'd awaken their World Energy Core.
For Leo… this was a problem.
He closed his eyes.
Nothing.
No pulse. No inner current. His body was still locked, veiled in something even he didn't understand.
" Ahh I taught when you transmigrate you awaken unbelievable talent" a sigh escapes his mouth as he mumbles to himself.
But then—he felt it. A flicker. Deep within. A heat. No, a presence. Not World Energy. Not elemental. Something older.
"Wake…"
The voice was barely a whisper, like wind over ancient stone.
Leo opened his eyes—and saw fire.
Purple flames coiled around his hand, flickering silently, invisible to all but him. They danced like they remembered a war.
He clenched his fist, swallowing the surge. Not now. Not yet.
He turned his attention back to the test. He couldn't draw on that energy… but he could fake a reaction.
He mimicked the breathing technique from the scroll, controlling his posture and movements with precision. The statue before him pulsed. Not because he synchronized—but because he didn't resist.
It gave just enough of a glow to pass.
Moments later, a bell tolled. Some cheered. Others cried in frustration.
Leo breathed out. One trial down.
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The second platform was a dueling ring. One-on-one combat. Victory determined by technique and adaptation.
Leo's opponent was a girl from the Crimson Edge House, wielding two hooked blades and an affinity to wind.
"You're the Vale disappointment, huh?" she smirked.
Leo offered no reply.
"Try not to die too fast."
She struck first, wind swirling around her like knives. Leo ducked, weaving beneath the first arc and stepping lightly around her follow-up spin.
His body moved instinctively—not from training in this world, but from memories buried deep in his soul.
He parried her next strike with the side of his palm, redirecting it. His fingers grazed her wrist, and she yelped— an icey feeling spreading where he'd touched.
Her eyes widened. "What the—"
Leo dropped into a sweep, knocking her down, and placed his hand over her chest—paused just inches away from contact.
"Yield," he said.
Gritting her teeth, she throws one of her blades up while stabbing with her other blade at Leo's abdomen. Leo's hand moves like lightning and catches her wrist, gripping it with so much force that she let's go of the blade.
" Yield I do not want to have to hurt you"
His opponent smiles widely as a blade coated in wind force falls from the air aiming at Leo's neck.
" Shit" Leo jumps back narrowly dodging the blade.
" Hahahaha you really taught it would be that easy trash" the girl lunges at Leo blade in hand and slashing repeatedly .
Leo dodges her slashs with precisions waiting for an opening which soon arrives, Leo parries a slash to the side and punches forward but inches away he turns his fist to a palm strike which lands on the girl's abdomen sending her flying to the other side of the platform while puking blood.
Leo walks up to her . " Yield" his tone icey and distant.
" How are you so strong when you don't have any world energy in you?"
" I honestly don't know "
" I yield "
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Later, Kevin appeared beside Leo, blood on his shirt but grinning wildly.
"Bro, I threw someone off the arena with a fake yawn. You should've seen it."
Leo gave a half-smile. "I passed."
"Same here. Looks like we're real students now."
A silence passed between them.
Then the sky above them shimmered.
The Head Instructor appeared again, arms raised.
"Welcome to Starcrest. From this moment forward, you are no longer guests… but contenders."
Lightning cracked behind him. All around the initiates, golden seals branded themselves briefly into their skin—marks of entry.
"You are now under the eye of the Stars."
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