I walked.
My boots rang too loud to be normal. The sphere spun backward, grinding, wrong.
Cael's smirk vanished.
Thomas's steel rings bent from the force of his hands clenching.
Lira's wind glyph snapped out of existence again with a pop only to be reformed again.
I reached the black glass.
It was cold—void-cold, like touching the space between stars.
I pressed my palm down.
Silence.
One heartbeat. Two.
Then—
WHOOM.
A gold lance erupted, molten sunlight.
A blue lance followed, liquid sapphire.
They braided together, slammed through my arm, and poured into the glass.
The orb flooded with blinding white—so pure it burned after-images into every retina.
Then, at the center, a perfect sphere of black appeared.
It didn't reflect.
It ate—devouring the white from the inside out, edges flickering like hungry flame.
An apparition rose above the orb.
Not a silhouette. A mirror of me—gold on the left, blue on the right that was beginning to mix and swirl, a black void where the heart should be kept both at bay and sucked in whatever was too close.
It lifted a hand.
The real me lifted mine in perfect sync.
The apparition smiled—my smile, but older, knowing.
Then it shattered into light, raining gold-blue-black motes that dissolved before touching the floor.
The bishop clutched the railing near him. His voice trembled, but magic carried it clear:
"Kardin Dremskir—Triune Attunement.
Tenth-rank aura.
Tenth-rank mana.
All Affinity…tenth-rank.
Void Resonance—unranked."
The orb didn't break.
It pulsed once, then locked—the black core sealed inside the white. Then with a loud SNAP the glass orb was empty and clear, a large crack running down its side
The cathedral inhaled.
Recruiters froze mid-scramble.
Cael's rapier scar went white as the blood drained from her face in shock.
Thomas's steel rings cracked from his grip. Lira's wind glyph shredded itself.
The mystery recruiter in the stands—hooded, gray robes—stood.
A single black spark danced on her fingertip, seemingly swallowing the air around it.
I lifted my hand.
Three veins glowed under my skin, gleaming in gold, sapphire or black. I flexed my fingers and the world tilted.
The gold vein flared as a molten weight settled in my bones, feeling as if gravity itself multiplied around me. But just as quickly as it came, it went and left me feeling lighter than ever. My skin tightened and hardened, my heartbeat slowed into a steady strong thump like a war drum. It felt like I could've tore the railing out of the marble with a slight tug.
The sapphire vein, glittering under the skin like starlight bulged next as it redirected to my eyes in a cool current. The cathedrals stained glass sharpened, every crack or lead line became clear. It wrapped around my ears and I swore I could have heard the bishop's heightened pulse from across the dais. Redirecting my gaze to the mysterious recruiter I noticed what the black spark was really doing. It was eating the ambient mana or aura around it, every bit that rolled off the other recruiters nearby seemed to follow its pull.
Then came the black vein which seemed to unfold with a vengeance, upset that it had to wait its turn. Wherever it traveled the surrounding aura or mana receded, like it was afraid of just getting close to it. I looked around the room and saw Lira staring at me, still with a wind glyph circling near her hand.
"Break"
The glyph crumpled, not broken but…unmade. Even the winds that surrounded it stilled immediately.
I exhaled in exhilaration. The cathedral smelled of ozone, hot steel and something older. Every affinity I'd ever seen and more– Kayla's ice, Cael's lightning, Thomas's steel, even Lira's wind– felt like toys. I could use them, or erase them.
The mysterious recruiter was the first one to approach the stage. They removed their hood to reveal an older woman with snow white hair. I could see the other recruiters recognized her and from the look of confusion–didn't understand why she was there.
"Dame Trelin?"
The bishop spoke first, he knew every recruiter that was supposed to be there, and she was definitely not on the list.
She gave the man one of those kind smiles only the elderly could manage, "Just a moment, bishop. I need to have a talk with this young man before he devours himself alive"
She turned back to me and used from what I could see from the mana, a wind technique to speak into my ear, "Retract the void influence, focus it all back into your heart"
I tilted my head in confusion but closed my eyes anyway to try. I could feel the black vein pulsing and eating away at my bodies now naturally produced aura and mana. 'This is probably what she meant' I realized.
My body itself seemed to be pulsing with aura and mana, the only place that was completely rid of both was my heart.
'Return' I willed, and it did. The black veins emptied as my heart swelled then relaxed again. It was still a forbidden zone for the aura and mana in my body, but it was progress.
I looked back at the old woman before me and decided to copy her. I grabbed the nearby mana and infused my voice into it before sending it to her ear with wind magic.
"Is that enough?"
Her eyes went wide before she started laughing, "Figured that one out already did you? I'm liking you more and more, Kardin."
I gave her a smirk back, "So who might you be Mrs?" I gave an apologetic look to the bishop but he seemed content with letting this play out instead of interrupting. She was clearly operating on a different level than the rest of the recruiters. Not only in status but also in skill. She had zero run off. If I didn't know any better I would assume she was a failed attuned.
"My name is Violet Trelin. The recruiter for Aurum Sovereign Academy." She turned to address the rest of the recruiters, "The crown claims first refusal"
The crowd mimicked the recruiters, still and silent. A simple nod of acknowledgement and that was it.
"What do you mean first refusal?" I couldn't help but ask.
"That means for the next full twenty four hours, I am the only one who can give you an offer. Should you accept, all other offers would be void. No double dipping into factions or academies. Should you refuse than only after a year will other academies be able to recruit you"
As she spoke she retrieved a roll of cloth from her robe and it unfurled in the air and stayed. No pole, no wind. It just hangs in mid-air, perfectly still and defying gravity. On the banner it shows the Attunement sphere in the center filled white on a black field that swallowed light. The borders a glistening gold and sapphire that seemed to mix and separate as you stared. To the left of the Attunement sphere in ancient Vaelen read 'Aura Sovereign' and to the right read 'Mana Sovereign' both written in the same blending gold and sapphire.
"By the Crown's Crucible and the Sphere's Silence. Aurum Sovereign claims first refusal. Let none speak until the void has chosen."
I frown, "So I either accept your offer, or have no guidance for the next year?"
She nods and smiles, "If you make it that long."
Her glossy black eyes stare into mine, "Twenty four hours Kardin. Accept and we will teach you what you are and what you can become. Refuse and the void will teach you instead."
She motioned to the banner and it furled into her robes again as she turned to leave, the crowd parting for her like just being near would turn the world upside down.
I watched her leave, the only feeling being the hungry pulse in my heart.