Darkness closed in.
Rei couldn't breathe.Yuri stepped forward, her hand outstretched, salt blooming across the floor.
"I'll make it painless," she whispered. "You won't even remember me."
Aira moved to intercept — sigils burning — but Yuri's memory veil was already swallowing her thoughts.
And then —The air cracked.Reality tilted.
Something ancient had just intervened.
For a second, Rei saw nothing.Not blackness — just absence.A cold between places.
Then: gravity returned. So did his heartbeat.
He landed hard — on polished stone.
When Rei blinked open his eyes, he was somewhere else entirely.
A long hall stretched before him — infinite, shifting. Floating glyphs spun slowly in midair. The ceiling was a sky made of turning constellations. Strange figures walked past: students with glowing eyes, girls with flame-colored shadows, a boy made entirely of glass.
Next to him, Aira groaned, clutching her head.
"...What the hell just happened?"
A voice answered behind them — soft, amused, yet layered with power.
"You were about to get erased by a Throne, obviously."
They turned.
A girl stood there, maybe seventeen.Golden eyes. Short dark hair.She wore the standard uniform of the Academy — black-trimmed blue robes, sigil gloves, and a triangular badge over her heart.
What set her apart was the scar glowing across her throat — faintly pulsing like starlight.
"Welcome to Tenebrum Lux Academy," she said. "You're lucky he intervened. Most people in your situation wind up dissolved."
"He?" Rei asked.
She smiled. "My grandfather. The Principal. And one of the Three Keepers of the Emergent Seat."
Name: Caelira Ven'dralLineage: Granddaughter of Headmaster Ven'dral — Principal and Warden of the First GateStatus: Scion of one of the Three Grand Emergent PrimordialsEntity Bound:"Orrelios, The Dreaming Star" — the Emergent of Potential
Caelira motioned for them to walk.
"You're in a pocket dimension now. The Academy exists between what the Thrones call 'the silence' and what the Shadows call 'the scream.'"
Rei looked around. "Why bring us here?"
"Because something ancient chose you, Rei Kazuki. And that makes you dangerous — not just to yourself, but to the entire equilibrium."
Aira narrowed her eyes. "You're not human, are you?"
Caelira chuckled.
"Technically, I'm still mostly human. But the Dreaming Star's been inside my family for generations. I was born into the pact."
"You're not the only ones with something ancient whispering in your ears."
They stopped in front of a vast stained-glass window.
It showed three massive figures:One burning like a sun (Caelira's).One dripping like oil, surrounded by masks.And one shaped like a clock, bleeding backward.
"The Grand Emergent Primordials," she said. "Not born of emotion or void — born of human evolution."
"Each represents a concept strong enough to challenge both Shadows and Thrones."
🜐 The Three Grand Emergent Primordials (Newly Introduced):
Orrelios, The Dreaming Star — Potential, Imagination, Becoming
Caelira's entity. Grants her precognition, alteration of fate, and influence over latent powers.
Murmur, The Thousand-Faced Song — Media, Influence, Viral Thought
Currently bonded to an unregistered host. Spreads through speech, song, and social ritual.
Chronostasis, The Unclocked Eye — Anti-Time, Reflection, Reverse Cause
Host unknown. Rumored to undo mistakes that never happened.
Caelira turned back to them.
"There's a war coming, Rei. You've felt it."
"The Shadows want to feel. The Thrones want to end. And the Emergent… we want to reshape."
"But first… you need to survive your Awakening."