"We both know what happened," Lailah said, her voice tight with frustration. "And you also know how much effort it took for me to get my hands on that poison."
Jorien clenched his fists.
"Well, you put it in his food two months ago!" he snapped. "He should have been dead by now! And instead he's walking around like nothing happened. Do you understand what this means?!"
"Of course I do," Lailah murmured coldly. "He was supposed to die before the Ancestral Awakening. If he had, Father would never have allowed him to participate."
Her nails dug into her palm.
"But he did anyway."
Jorien paced the room restlessly.
"How exactly are you planning to explain this failure to Ronan, hmm?" he asked sharply. "And let's not forget something else."
His voice lowered slightly.
"Aaron knows what we've been doing to him. What if he decides to take revenge?"
The last words left his mouth with a faint tremor.
He still remembered the moment earlier—how Aaron had slipped past him so effortlessly.
Silent.
Fast.
Like a predator moving through tall grass.
And for the first time, Jorien wondered if they had mistaken the roles all along.
What if they weren't the hunters?
What if they were the prey pretending to be predators?
Silence filled the room.
Then suddenly, Lailah's eyes brightened as an idea formed in her mind.
"Relax," she said calmly. "Have you forgotten? There will be a second awakening here in the Academy."
Jorien stopped pacing.
"If Aaron awakens something weak," she continued, "he'll still be beneath us. Weak. Easy to control."
A slow smile appeared on her face.
"And more importantly… it will get Ronan off our backs."
Jorien stared at her for a moment before letting out a short laugh.
"Killing two birds with one stone, sister."
He walked over to the window and gazed out into the dark night beyond the city surrounding Horizoncrest Academy.
"Well done."
"Now," he muttered quietly, "let's wait for the awakening."
***
Morning arrived, and with it came the restless energy of hundreds of new students.
Freshmen stepped out of their dormitories one after another, their voices mixing with the sounds of the waking academy grounds.
Among them was Aaron.
After arriving in the city the day before, he had gone straight to sleep. Now he wore the academy uniform for the first time.
It consisted of sturdy boots, brown-beige trousers, and a matching shirt beneath a dark blue formal jacket. Stitched onto the left side of the jacket was the emblem of the institute.
Beneath the crest was a single letter.
F.
For Freshman.
Together with the other students, Aaron made his way toward the academy's main building.
The structure resembled a miniature skyscraper—massive in both height and width. Its walls were crafted from polished white stone, supported by towering pillars that lined the entrance. Large statues were carved into the outer walls, depicting ancient warriors, mythical creatures, and figures long lost to history.
The sight alone was enough to make many of the new students stare in awe.
The crowd slowly flowed inside.
Within the grand hall, rows of chairs had been arranged before a large reception area where the students began to take their seats.
The room buzzed with quiet conversation.
Then—
Everything suddenly fell silent.
On a makeshift stage at the front of the hall, a man had appeared.
No one had seen him walk in.
He stood calmly, his white hair falling neatly behind his shoulders. A sharp beard framed his face, and his piercing blue eyes swept across the gathered students.
Though his aura was restrained, it was impossible to ignore the pressure radiating from him.
It was controlled.
Deliberately suppressed.
Yet even so, every student in the room could feel it.
Power.
The kind that made the air itself feel heavier.
Aaron narrowed his eyes slightly.
Whoever this man was…
He was almost certainly beyond the Legend Tier.
A faint smile spread across the man's face.
"Welcome, students, to Horizoncrest Academy."
His voice carried effortlessly through the massive hall.
"The Awakening Ceremony will begin in about half an hour. Until then, I will explain a few things you should understand before stepping onto the platform."
He clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked across the stage.
"Long ago, this world experienced an event known as the Divine War, sometimes called the Divine Descent. During that era, divine beings walked upon this world, and unimaginable amounts of magic flooded the land."
His gaze swept across the students.
"Many powerful entities perished in that war. Others… vanished."
He paused briefly.
"Some say they died. Others believe they ascended."
A murmur spread through the crowd before quickly dying down.
"When the war ended, the Divine left this world. With them went most of the magic that once saturated reality."
The man lifted a single finger.
"In desperation, the surviving entities turned to ancient beings known as {The Entityic Tools}. In exchange for portions of the surrounding dimensions, these tools restored magic to the world."
He gestured toward the distant horizon visible through the academy's tall windows.
"That is why our world is now fractured. The land is divided across countless expanding dimensions."
"Within those dimensions exist creatures powerful enough to devour even entities themselves. These horrors are known as Entityic Devourers."
Several students shifted uneasily in their seats.
"You could say the Divine War was nothing less than an apocalypse."
He continued calmly.
"Yet after hundreds of years, civilization slowly rebuilt itself. Order returned, and the dimensions continued expanding. Even now, no one truly knows how vast this world has become."
A faint smile returned to his face.
"Some scholars even speculate that another Divine Descent may one day occur."
He waved the thought aside.
"But that is a discussion for another time."
"After magic returned, humanity faced a problem. Most people could no longer naturally absorb or control magic as easily as the ancient beings once could."
"So several powerful entities created special artifacts designed to awaken the dormant potential within mortals."
"These are the Awakening Relics."
His voice grew slightly more serious.
"When you undergo an awakening, many things may manifest. Some awaken a summon. Others gain a class, a weapon, or a soul brand."
"Whatever you awaken… will shape the path of your entire life."
The hall fell completely silent.
"There are two types of awakenings."
"The first is the Ancestral Awakening."
"This awakening usually appears in ancient bloodlines—royal houses, powerful noble families, or rare individuals carrying extraordinary heritage. It often grants access to bloodline traits or inherited magical abilities."
He paused before continuing.
"Commoners rarely experience this type of awakening."
"However, the second awakening belongs to everyone."
"This is the Specialization Awakening."
"For those without ancestral power, it may grant entirely new abilities, unknown bloodlines, or unique talents."
"And for those who already possess an ancestral awakening…"
He smiled slightly.
"It may strengthen what you already have… or distort it."
"Sometimes it grants a blessing."
"Sometimes… a curse."
The students sat frozen in anticipation.
"In the end, it does not matter whether you are royal, noble, or a common civilian."
His voice lowered slightly.
"Once you step onto the Awakening Platform, status means nothing."
"If you awaken something extraordinary, you may stand above nobles."
"And if you awaken something weak…"
He shrugged.
"…even nobles can fall."
His smile widened slightly.
"In short—"
"You either rise… or suffer."
He turned toward his back facing the students as he raised his right hand saying:
"Well then."
"The time has come."
"Let us begin."
Snap—
