In the middle of a forest Ethan stood still ,the time was 7 o clock and it was early in the morning,his gaze was focused on a cylindrical object which looked to be made of diamond or any expensive metal as its outside looked very shiny that one could see his own face in it.
Brinkkk...brinkk...brinkkk sounds came from the object at every moment.
''Finally the hardwork has been paid off'' Ethan thought to himself
''Looks like the obsidian spire was gonna open soon'' The thought of the spire opening made Ethan happy
From the past 2 hourst Ethan has been putting boiled water into the obsidian spire to open it , putting boiling water into the obsidian spire was one of the ways one could open an obsidian spire.
Creakkkk..Creakkk the obsidian spire finally opened as two shiny metals fell from it and a lot of smoke filled the area.
Coughh coughh due to the sudden smoke Ethan coughed a little.
Slowly the smoke dissapeared and Ethan went to the Spire to check and once he took a look inside the Spire a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
''One two three..ten haa yes a total of ten fragments , if i take 2 fragments for myself and one for Elara then i got left with seven fragments , a common ranked fragment can be sold for 1000 Credis and a normal ranked fragment for 1500 ,i have 5 common and 5 normal ones hmmm so i should be getting around 8000 Credis''
After some more calculations Ethan decided to keep only one fragment for him and one for his sister that too both common ranked as they don't even have a decent control our their first fragments yet.
''So that leaves me with 10500 credis , that's not that bad now the question is which fragment should i choose for myself and Elara''
...
Today was the phase two exam of the Astral convergence , it was a lot of similar to the phase one multiple choice exam it's just that today's exam was going to be subjective .
There will be long answers not just one word and each candidate has to show his creativity in his/her answer.
Similar to the previous examination Ethan and Elara reached the centre early before the exam was even started .
"Brother i have a lot of expectations from today's exam , i have studied really well and i think my brain fragment is helping me in my studies , as i am able to remember everything i study very clearly.
Elara said this to Ethan her brother
"i am sure you do , the brain fragment can really enchance your brain power "
Ethan replied
"What about you brother , did you study well" Elara asked
"we will find out after the exam" Ethan replied hesitantly
" ('_') do not fail brother "
|'_'| be positive Elara
Soon they both reached the exam hall and after searching through the notice board
"Let's go Elara our room is A5"
Similar to the previous exam they both sat on their assigned desks and waited for the invigilator to show up .
After just two minutes the invigilator showed up it was the same invigilator from prevoius mcq exam ,after entering the clasroom and looking around a bit he finally instructed us to start the exam and the exam finally began ,as Ethan went through each question he saw the minimum word requirement for each question which was 1000 words .
"thousand words for each single question and the total questions are 50 so a total of fifty thousand words , yup i am dead" Ethan thought to himself
after three hours
"Drop your pens the exam is over"
The invigilator shouted on the top of his lungs.
" '_' so i am dead , i was able to attempt only five questions "
Slowly all the students went outside and Ethan followed them too
suddenly he heard a familiar voice from behind
"brother my exam went really well what about you" It was Elara behind him
"Let's not talk about it , we should really eat something " Ethan replied
As time went on , now it was time for the physical part of the exam which was very easy for Ethan but not for Elara .
The first two exams the basic exercises and the run went really well due to his fragments and in the Weapon Demonstration Ethan choose a sword as his weapon and Elara also choose a sword since Ethan could teach her a bit .
The physical exam went really well a total opposite to the writing ones ,
.....
Three months passed in a blink.
The Astral Convergence exams — all five of them — were finally over. Those long days of studying, writing, and fighting were now just memories.
The season had changed too. In the southern region, autumn was fading away and winter had started to bloom. The air felt a little colder now, not too hot. Golden leaves danced down from the tall trees, covering the streets in warm colors — yellow, red, and brown. When the wind blew, it carried the smell of ripe fruit and dry grass.
Ethan stood outside their small house, holding the letter with the seal of the Astral Academy. His hands were slightly shaking. It had been weeks of waiting, and finally, the results had come. Elara stood beside him, her blonde hair tied back, her black eyes sparkling with nervous excitement.
"Open it, Brother!" she said, almost jumping.
Ethan smiled, tearing the seal slowly. The paper inside was thick and smooth. Two names were written there — Ethan Veylor and Elara Veylor. Their ranks were printed beside them.
Elara gasped first. "I got… 1320!" She covered her mouth, eyes wide. "Brother, look! I actually did it!"
Ethan laughed softly. "You did amazing, Elara. I told you your brain fragment would help."
Then he looked at his own name. Rank: 2239.
For a moment, he just stared. Then he blinked, almost not believing it. "Two thousand… two hundred thirty-nine? That can't be right."
Elara looked at him, smiling proudly. "Brother, that's amazing! Out of one hundred thousand people!"
Ethan chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess it is." He didn't expect to score this high, not after so many things had changed. He thought his performance was only average, but maybe all those nights practicing had paid off.
He looked around — the orange sky glowing softly as the sun began to set, the cool wind brushing his face, the sound of children laughing somewhere down the street. Everything felt calm. For the first time in a long while, he felt a tiny spark of peace in his chest.
Out of one hundred thousand students, only fifty thousand had made it into the Astral Academy. He and Elara were among them.
Ethan looked at his sister again and smiled. "Looks like we're going to Astral Academy."
Elara laughed, her voice bright like bells. "Together this time."
Ethan nodded, eyes soft. Yes, he thought, together.