Late Autumn, Year 01 - Eryndor Academy, Chamber of Reflection
The Chamber of Reflection hung above the clouds like a crystal teardrop. From below it looked weightless, but inside, the air thrummed with steady rhythm -
a heartbeat woven into stone and light. Students from every department stood in neat circles etched with golden runes.
"Remember," said Professor Seraphis, his silver hair floating in the mana wind, "astral projection isn't flight or illusion. It's the moment when your soul remembers it has wings."
Daniel raised a hand. "So if my soul doesn't have wings, can I get a refund?"
Laora whispered, "If you fail, they hang your spirit on the clothesline."
"Funny." Daniel grinned. "You're improving."
Seraphis sighed softly, though a smile tugged at his lips. "You Machiavellis are either going to save this empire or bankrupt its patience. Lie down. All of you."
1 - Preparation
They lay inside concentric circles of light. Each rune pulsed to a different note -Laora's circle hummed softly, Selene's glowed pure white, and Yanari's flickered with fox-blue fire. Kain rested his hand over his chest, feeling the Flame of Nihility beating in time with the room's rhythm.
Seraphis's voice drifted through the silence.
"Breathe. Let go of weight, of fear, of the idea that your body ends where your skin begins…"
The world tilted. For a moment Kain felt both heavy and light. Then his sight filled with silver mist.
2 - The Astral Sea
He opened his eyes - and gasped.
They stood on an endless ocean made of stars. Each step sent ripples of light across the surface. The roots of the Tree of Life arched above them like constellations made solid, reaching into infinity.
Selene floated nearby, wings unfolding in pure radiance. Elayne glowed in gentle green, surrounded by flowers that bloomed in midair. Yanari's tails flickered as streams of blue smoke. Daniel's form shimmered with lines of golden script that shifted with every breath.
Laora twirled in place, laughing. "Oh! Listen — the stars hum when you move!"
Daniel's laugh joined hers. "Finally, a classroom where I look divine."
Kain took a step. The silver-black Flame drifted from his palm, floating freely in the air, whispering softly like a heartbeat in water.
A familiar voice surrounded him.
"Welcome home, child of Nihility."
"Every world you've touched was born here."
"Ix…" Kain whispered. "Is this the Astral Sea?"
"It is what remains when matter forgets it's heavy.""You walk in My memory."
3 - The Shadow Test
Professor Seraphis's voice echoed distantly across the horizon.
"Each of you will meet your reflection. Speak truth - or be trapped in your own illusion."
The light around them dimmed. Ripples darkened to ink. Before each student, a mirror of shadow rose.
Kain's reflection stepped forward, its eyes hollow silver.
"You forge to prove you exist," it whispered. "You fear being nothing."
Kain clenched his fists. "I forge because I love the sound of creation. I don't fear the void - I listen to it."
The shadow smiled faintly - and dissolved.
Beside him, Daniel faced a silhouette holding a coin.
"You bargain because you're afraid to lose."
Daniel flipped his own coin into the air. "No — I bargain because I like winning twice."The shadow caught the coin, bowed, and vanished.
Laora's reflection sang out of tune until she laughed and hugged it, transforming both into music. Selene's mirror tried to blind her with her own light; she simply folded her wings around it and whispered, "Even light needs rest."
Yanari's duel was fiery and quick. Her reflection smirked, "You hide behind tricks."She grinned back. "And win with them."Both burst into blue sparks.
4 – Union of Souls
When silence returned, the sea glowed brighter than before. Threads of silver and gold wove between the students, linking them like constellations. Above them, the Tree of Life shimmered, its branches pulsing to their shared heartbeat.
Professor Seraphis's voice came gentle and proud.
"You have passed. You now bear your Astral Gates. You may project at will, but remember — the body you leave will never be quite the same when you return."
A faint shimmer formed at each student's heart — a small sigil glowing with their soul's color. Kain's burned silver-black; Selene's, pale gold; Yanari's, deep azure; Laora's, soft lilac; Daniel's, molten amber.
Ix's whisper floated through the Sea once more.
"Balance is not silence. It is a chorus."
Then light swallowed everything.
5 – Return
Kain woke with a gasp. The Chamber of Reflection gleamed around him, sunlight pouring through the dome. His body felt both lighter and older, as though he had shed dust from the inside.
Laora sat cross-legged, beaming. "You were glowing in your sleep."
Daniel stretched. "My shadow offered me a partnership. I accepted."
Selene smiled faintly. "I saw the Tree… and the roots reached toward you, Kain."
He touched his chest. The Flame of Nihility flickered softly, calm as a heartbeat. "Maybe it's because the void finally feels… full."
Yanari leaned against the wall, tails swaying. "You talk like an old sage."
"Comes with the void," Daniel said. "Buy one emptiness, get wisdom free."
Laughter filled the hall, warm and human.
6 – Night Reflection
Later that evening, Kain stood on the academy balcony. Above him, the moons glowed like twin eyes, and behind them he could almost see faint silver threads stretching upward into infinity - the path to the Astral Sea.
Selene joined him quietly. "You really faced yourself."
He nodded. "I realized I don't need to prove I exist by forging. I forge because creation makes me feel alive."
She smiled softly. "That's what makes you different, Kain."
From somewhere beyond, Ix's voice echoed one last time that night:
"And that difference is what will save the worlds."
Kain exhaled, letting the cool wind carry the Flame's faint glow across the horizon.
For the first time, he felt he could see both heaven and earth — and belong to both.
[Status Update]
Name: Kain Machiavelli
Race: Half Nihility Aeon • Half Blood Dragon
Level: 12 Exp: 470 / 600
Tree Rank: Netzach (7th Sphere)
Guiding Aeon: Ix – Aeon of Nihility
Spirit Invoked: Van Helsing – First Dragon of Blood
Unique Skill: Shadow Nihility Flame Lv 2
New Ability: Astral Projection (Unlocked)
Life Skills: Blacksmithing Lv 3 | Alchemy Lv 2 | Trading Lv 2 | Mining Lv 1
Bond Updates: Selene (Trust 16 %) | Elayne (9 %) | Yanari (7 %) | Laora (Resonance Aid)
Objective: Explore the Astral Sea and trace the Flame's origin within the Tree of Life.
End of Chapter 8 – The Astral Class