"Phew."
The exhale was heavy, rattling in the chest of the representative from the Eagle Empire. He slumped slightly, wiping a sheen of cold sweat from his forehead. Even for a mage of his caliber, the ritual had been a draining ordeal.
Above them, the sky looked like a shattered mirror slowly piecing itself back together. Shards of reality clicked into place, sealing the rift they had torn open. As the barrier dissolved, the atmosphere shifted. The air didn't just smell different; it felt heavier, denser. Spirit energy flooded the world of Galaxy Fall, tripling in concentration within seconds. To the weak, it was suffocating; to the strong, it was intoxicating.
Lord Cisco, the representative of the Sword Empire, straightened his back. Unlike his counterpart from the Eagle Empire, he barely showed signs of fatigue. He smoothed his robes, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of pride and disdain as he surveyed the sea of expectant faces.
He stepped forward, his presence commanding silence without a single word. He was the embodiment of the Sword Empire: rigid, powerful, and undeniably superior.
"Greetings, fledglings," Cisco began, his voice projected by magic to the furthest corners of the square. "Most of you know what comes next. For those too lazy to read the histories, consider this your first and only act of charity."
He spread his arms, encompassing the horizon. "This is Galaxy Fall. Three continents. Three Empires. At the bottom, struggling for breath, is the Eagle Empire. Above them, the Dragon Empire. And at the apex, ruling the North and standing as the undisputed sovereign of might, is my home—the Sword Empire."
He let the declaration hang in the air, watching the reactions. He enjoyed seeing the flicker of envy and disdain in the eyes of the other representatives.
"Within the Sword Empire, structure is everything. We do not tolerate chaos. We are protected by the four pillars: the Shield Guild, the Star Force guild, the Blade Guild, and the supreme authority—the Military Power. You wish to find glory? You wish to stand in the Capital, the beating heart of the continent?" Cisco chuckled darkly. "Then you must survive and passed the selection."
"A question."
The interruption cut through Cisco's monologue. Ethan, stood with his hand raised. He didn't look awestruck like the others; his expression was calm, his eyes calculating.
Cisco narrowed his eyes. "Speak, lad."
"You mentioned four protectors," Ethan said, his voice steady. "Shield, Star Force, Blade, and Military. Do they stand on equal footing? And more importantly... do we get to choose, or are we chosen?"
Cisco stroked his beard, reassessing the boy. 'Ambition.' He thought.
'Not the wide-eyed hope of a hero, but the hunger of a climber.'
"Sharp question," Cisco admitted. "But the choice is not yours yet. You will be thrown into the Military Academy. It is a crucible. Your scores will dictate your future. If you are weak, you will be discarded. If you are strong, the pillars will fight for you."
"And the Imperial Family?" Ethan pressed, ignoring the gasps from the crowd around him. "If one climbs high enough... does a nobody get an audience with the crown?"
Cisco threw his head back and laughed, a booming sound that shook the square:
"Audience? Lad, a nobody doesn't even have the right to breathe the same air as the Capital's walls. You want the Imperial Family? You want to look upon the Emperor?" He leaned forward, his gaze heavy:
"Become indispensable. Become a monster. Then, maybe, they will look at you."
Ethan lowered his hand, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching his lips. 'Good.' Ethan thought, his mind racing.
'The path is clear. There is no Imperial Family without a princess. If I can make myself indispensable to her... I won't just be safe. I'll be untouchable.'
"Wait," Angela whispered, her voice trembling slightly as she looked up.
"Does that mean... we are locked out of the Capital until graduation? entirely?"
Cisco glanced at her, his expression softening only slightly—pity for the meek. "Precise, little one. The Capital is for the proven. The Military Academy is where you earn your citizenship."
"Why is the Sword Empire the strongest?" Ken shouted from the side, his fists clenched, seemingly irritated by Cisco's arrogance.
Cisco didn't even look at him. He simply turned his back, waving a dismissive hand. "Survive the first week of the Academy, boy. Then you will understand the difference between a Sword and a stick."
"....?!!"
Before the murmurs could rise again, the atmosphere shifted from rigid authority to something far more primal.
The temperature in the square seemed to spike. A woman stepped forward, moving with a fluid, predatory grace. Her hair was a cascade of blood-red silk, and her eyes were a piercing emerald green that seemed to dissect everyone she looked at.
Regina Hayward. The representative of the Dragon Empire.
"Wow..."
"She's... terrifyingly beautiful."
The whispers rippled through the crowd, but Regina silenced them with a single, sharp click of her heels. She didn't need to shout. Her presence was magnetic.
"Lord Cisco enjoys the sound of his own voice," Regina said, her tone smooth like velvet wrapped around a dagger:
"So I will be brief. I represent the Dragon Empire, the masters of the East. Like the Sword, we have our hierarchy—the Blaze Guild, Red Claw, Dragon Tooth, and our Military."
She paused, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. She scanned the crowd, her eyes locking onto the various insignias and badges worn by the young candidates—symbols of the small clans and parties they had formed in their villages, and within Galaxy cities.
"I see many of you wearing badges," Regina noted, her voice dropping an octave, becoming deadly serious. "You have your little brotherhoods, sisterhoods. Your village parties. Your 'guilds'."
She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Enjoy them for the next five minutes. Because the moment you step into the Academy, those bonds are severed."
"Huh?"
"What does she mean?"
Panic began to bubble in the crowd.
"It is time to dismantle your childish clubs," Regina announced, her voice ringing with finality. "In the Empires, there are no independent factions. You belong to empire you pick."