The crystal ceiling shimmered with refracted sunlight, casting a thousand fractured rays across the marble floor.The Ceremony of Masks, the day when Cindralith's youth stepped from anonymity into power, had begun.
Dozens of circular stages floated above the main floor, suspended by runic energy. Each stage bore a single glowing sigil — Arena 1, Arena 2… Arena 12 — and each would soon become a battleground where the newly awakened would prove their worth before the Eternal Order's watching eyes.
At the hall's center, the Power and Ability Measurement Spire pulsed faintly. It was shaped like an obelisk, silver veins running through black crystal, humming with the resonance of hundreds of awakened souls.
"Step forward," an Order official called. "Place your hand on the Spire. It will register your power and assign your trial level."
The line moved steadily.Whispers filled the air, excitement, nerves, raw anticipation.Rei watched as one by one, students touched the Spire and saw their results flare across hovering runes.
"Pyrokinesis – Level 2.""Kinetic Boost – Level 1.""Cryomancy – Level 2."
Each reading earned applause, cheers, pride.Then it was Rei's turn.
He approached the Spire, pulse steady. Beneath his jacket, the prototype weapon's compact power cell hummed softly, hidden from the detection wards. His plan was simple: simulate a reading, fool the sensors, and move on.
He placed his hand against the cold surface.
For a moment, nothing.Then, light erupted across the Spire.
Silver instead of blue.Sharp. Blinding. Wrong.
The official blinked. "That's… new."
The hovering runes shifted rapidly, scrolling through unreadable symbols before finally settling on a single line of text:
Classification: UndefinedDescriptor: Destiny-Changing PotentialRecommendation: Observation Required
The room went utterly silent for a heartbeat.Then murmurs started, rippling through the watching students like wildfire.
"Destiny-changing?""What does that even mean?""Is that even possible?"
Rei forced his face blank, his mind racing. That shouldn't be possible. I built safeguards. It shouldn't detect anything.
He withdrew his hand slowly, suppressing the tremor in his fingers.From the balcony above, Agent Castor Vey leaned forward, tapping his console. His pale gray eyes gleamed.
The Order had noticed.
The first trial began minutes later.
Arena Level 1: Wild Boars of the Hollow Vale.
The illusion field flickered to life, projecting a dense forest clearing filled with the distant sound of rustling leaves and guttural snorts.Students were spaced evenly across the arena, each facing one of the towering beasts, a mass of muscle, tusk, and fury.
The audience leaned forward with anticipation. For them, this was spectacle. For the students, initiation.
Rei, however, stood frozen. Not from fear. From disgust.
He remembered the truth.The boars weren't summoned monsters. They were bio-forged creatures, genetically modified beasts whose offspring were slaughtered to extract resonance blood, the key reagent in Awakening Potions.
He could still recall the data from Darius' archives. They inject the serum directly from the parent's grief response. Pain distilled into progress.
The boar charged. Rei didn't move.Its tusks scraped the illusion barrier, its breath hot and ragged with agony.
"Come on!" a boy shouted from another arena. "Kill it quick!"Screams, magic bursts, blades slicing through flesh, the other students fought with enthusiasm born of ignorance.
Rei stepped aside as the boar lunged again, his movements deliberate, almost gentle. He used no weapon, no plasma field, just patience.
When the creature stumbled, he knelt in front of it, meeting its wild eyes. "They took everything from you," he whispered. "You don't have to die for their test."
He pressed his palm against its forehead and triggered the smallest pulse from his prototype, enough to stun, not kill. The boar collapsed, unconscious, its breathing steady.
When the illusion faded, the overseer frowned. "Candidate Rei Ashborne, neutralization incomplete."
"Containment achieved," Rei replied evenly. "Without unnecessary bloodshed."
A murmur swept through the spectators again. The official hesitated, then nodded. "Recorded as pass. Efficiency noted."
Mira caught his eye from another arena and grinned. She'd passed easily, her frost aura shimmering faintly around her. So she's learning control already. Good.