The aftermath of the duel reverberated through Royal Star Academy like a storm in a bottle. By the next sunrise, Lucas Black's name was carved in starlight — tied at the top of the Crown List, standing as a beacon to all who dreamed of touching divinity.
But glory came with shadows.
In the Crown Class courtyard, students gathered in hushed awe. Elayne Campbell's cool nods now carried a faint weight of shared battle. Even Kael Valen, the ever-composed former top, watched Lucas from afar with new calculation.
Yet Lucas felt none of it.
He sat alone on the spirit terrace, frost and flame dancing along his fingertips.
"Popular now," Elira said, appearing beside him. She sipped from a silver thermos. "You'll be even more watched than before."
Lucas didn't respond.
"They'll send recruiters, representatives, rivals. Maybe even spies."
He looked over at her. "That includes you, doesn't it?"
Elira didn't smile. "Observation doesn't mean betrayal. I'm just... making sure you don't become a threat we can't predict."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "You mean like a demigod?"
She said nothing.
---
That afternoon, Lucas received summons.
Not from a professor. Not from a family.
But from the Julius Wing.
He walked the mirrored path alone, the air thick with illusion light and soul echo. The Julius Hall shimmered with crystal spires — an aesthetic both elegant and alien. Servants with crystalline pupils watched his every move.
Inside, at the end of a marble staircase, sat Seren Julius.
Long hair the color of moonlight. Crystalline eyes that glowed softly even in shade. She lounged on a floating spirit disk, sipping wine as if royalty.
"You've caused quite a stir, Black," she said, voice like velvet dipped in frost.
Lucas remained standing. "You called me here. Speak."
She chuckled lightly. "Your duel with Elayne? Fascinating. Not just in power, but in intent. You fight like someone desperate to prove something."
"I don't need to prove anything to anyone."
"But you do," Seren whispered. "Otherwise you wouldn't burn so bright."
She stood, walking barefoot across a floor of floating crystal shards that rearranged beneath her steps.
"You don't understand what being part of the Golden Generation really means. It's not just strength. It's legacy."
Lucas frowned. "And your family's legacy is?"
"Bloodlines," Seren said. "We're built on them. A hundred houses. A thousand bastards. Crystalline eyes passed from noble to lowborn alike. Our reach isn't clean — but it is deep."
She leaned in close.
"And I see it in you too, Black. That same cold fire. You don't just want to lead. You want to redefine what a human can be."
Lucas's eyes narrowed. "Is that why you lured me here?"
Seren smiled, amused. "I wanted to see the next king up close."
Then, with a sudden flick of her finger, she activated a glyph on the wall.
A shimmering vision appeared — an image of Lucas from his duel, caught mid-technique, the Solar Eclipse fusion captured frame by frame.
"Do you even understand what you're doing?" she asked softly. "This isn't just combat. This is myth being written."
Lucas said nothing.
Seren turned away, her tone quiet now.
"Be careful. People like us… we don't get to be forgotten. We only rise — or fall so hard we shake the heavens."
---
Back at Crown Hall, Lucas entered his chamber, silent and alone.
His spiritnet crystal pulsed with unread messages — invitations, threats, challenges, inquiries from noble families, one from the Tower of Accord itself.
But he silenced it all.
He sat cross-legged in the center of his soul chamber, flame and frost forming a spiral above him.
"If they're watching me now," he muttered, "let them."
"I'll give them something worth fearing."
The aftermath of the duel reverberated through Royal Star Academy like a storm in a bottle. By the next sunrise, Lucas Black's name was carved in starlight — tied at the top of the Crown List, standing as a beacon to all who dreamed of touching divinity.
But glory came with shadows.
In the Crown Class courtyard, students gathered in hushed awe. Elayne Campbell's cool nods now carried a faint weight of shared battle. Even Kael Valen, the ever-composed former top, watched Lucas from afar with new calculation.
Yet Lucas felt none of it.
He sat alone on the spirit terrace, frost and flame dancing along his fingertips.
"Popular now," Elira said, appearing beside him. She sipped from a silver thermos. "You'll be even more watched than before."
Lucas didn't respond.
"They'll send recruiters, representatives, rivals. Maybe even spies."
He looked over at her. "That includes you, doesn't it?"
Elira didn't smile. "Observation doesn't mean betrayal. I'm just... making sure you don't become a threat we can't predict."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "You mean like a demigod?"
She said nothing.
---
That afternoon, Lucas received summons.
Not from a professor. Not from a family.
But from the Julius Wing.
He walked the mirrored path alone, the air thick with illusion light and soul echo. The Julius Hall shimmered with crystal spires — an aesthetic both elegant and alien. Servants with crystalline pupils watched his every move.
Inside, at the end of a marble staircase, sat Seren Julius.
Long hair the color of moonlight. Crystalline eyes that glowed softly even in shade. She lounged on a floating spirit disk, sipping wine as if royalty.
"You've caused quite a stir, Black," she said, voice like velvet dipped in frost.
Lucas remained standing. "You called me here. Speak."
She chuckled lightly. "Your duel with Elayne? Fascinating. Not just in power, but in intent. You fight like someone desperate to prove something."
"I don't need to prove anything to anyone."
"But you do," Seren whispered. "Otherwise you wouldn't burn so bright."
She stood, walking barefoot across a floor of floating crystal shards that rearranged beneath her steps.
"You don't understand what being part of the Golden Generation really means. It's not just strength. It's legacy."
Lucas frowned. "And your family's legacy is?"
"Bloodlines," Seren said. "We're built on them. A hundred houses. A thousand bastards. Crystalline eyes passed from noble to lowborn alike. Our reach isn't clean — but it is deep."
She leaned in close.
"And I see it in you too, Black. That same cold fire. You don't just want to lead. You want to redefine what a human can be."
Lucas's eyes narrowed. "Is that why you lured me here?"
Seren smiled, amused. "I wanted to see the next king up close."
Then, with a sudden flick of her finger, she activated a glyph on the wall.
A shimmering vision appeared — an image of Lucas from his duel, caught mid-technique, the Solar Eclipse fusion captured frame by frame.
"Do you even understand what you're doing?" she asked softly. "This isn't just combat. This is myth being written."
Lucas said nothing.
Seren turned away, her tone quiet now.
"Be careful. People like us… we don't get to be forgotten. We only rise — or fall so hard we shake the heavens."
---
Back at Crown Hall, Lucas entered his chamber, silent and alone.
His spiritnet crystal pulsed with unread messages — invitations, threats, challenges, inquiries from noble families, one from the Tower of Accord itself.
But he silenced it all.
He sat cross-legged in the center of his soul chamber, flame and frost forming a spiral above him.
"If they're watching me now," he muttered, "let them."
"I'll give them something worth fearing."