A gentle breeze flows through the walls of the Royal Dominion Academy, which has the scent of wine, roasted meat, and the thrill of graduation from a magic academy. Thousands of students and nobles gathered in the courtyards of Zephyros Kingdom's capital, cheering until their throats became hoarse.
Kairos Vedaryan stood on a grey marble balcony looking over the students, resting his forearms against the railing. To this accursed world, he was a peasant boy who had gotten lucky, manifested a high-tier wind affinity and made his way through the most ruthless academy.
But only Kairos knew the truth. He closed his eyes, the calmness of the wind touching his face. Behind his closed eyes, memories of the academic day flashed in his mind and memories of an era long before the Kingdoms, before the Five Monarchs who ruled the known world. He remembered an entity that sat above them all.
Bloody crowns and many years, Kairos thought, suppressing a suspicious look inside his eyes. trapped in this mortal vessel, bound by that cursed lock.
Every time he tried to reach deep into his soul to pull out the primordial power that right belonged to him, a chain would bind around his heart. He was a mystery forced to play the role of a beggar, hiding his true identity because the moment he revealed it, the remnants of the enemies would make gruesome trouble.
"Worrying on graduation day? That's a new low, even for you." A heavy hand patted Kairos's shoulder.
He turned to see Raksha. Raksha was a beast of a youth, built like a stone, possessing some elemental magic and a physical aura. "Just enjoying the view before we're all thrown out of the academy, Raksha." Kairos replied with a faint smile.
"Speak for yourself.." a smooth voice chimed from the doorway. Luna Zephyros stepped onto the balcony, his silver-threaded royal uniform waving away. As the Crown Prince, Luna mastered an air of absolute control. A wine glass floating in the air beside him, balanced by his mind manipulation. "Some of us are born to command, Kairos."
"Some of us are born to talk too much," Velanor Banner replied, stepping out behind the prince. Velanor was the son of the Kingdom's General and was built with the manifestation of earth magic. The faint glance of earth magic came out with his every step. Velanor looked dry at Luna. "If you try commanding with that tone, it will never be a command, Luna."
Luna turned his head, taking the floating glass into his hand. "Velanor, your lack of imagination is a tragedy."
Kairos watched them. Despite the memories of his past life making him mysterious, he genuinely cared for these four. They were loud, arrogant, and foolish, but they had been with him every day.
The wind shifted, bringing a scent of rain and fresh lotus. Seyana Solaris walked onto the balcony. The noise of the courtyard below seemed to dull in her presence. As the Princess of the neighboring Solaris Kingdom, her silver hair and soft eyes were charming on the balcony. Droplets of water floated around her wrists with faint magic.
She walked straight to Kairos, ignoring Luna, Velanor and Raksha. "You slipped away..." she said softly.
"Crowds give me a headache," Kairos said. It was a half-truth.
Seyana smiled with a calm look in her eyes. "It's over, Kairos. We survived."
They spent the next few hours together, a temporary space of peace. They drank, shared stories of brutal exams, and mocked Professor Thorne's ridiculous combat drills. But as the sun dipped below the mountains, casting long shadows across the academy, the reality of tomorrow hit them.
They were parting ways. Luna and Velanor to the Zephyros palace. Raksha to her remote village. Seyana went back to her father, King Raezon of Solaris.
As they walked down the stone path toward the districts of Zephyros, the evening air grew heavy. Seyana walked close to Kairos.
"Are you going back to the border villages?" Seyana asked, keeping her voice low.
"No," Kairos said, looking straight, "I need to train." He couldn't tell her the truth.
Seyana sees Kairos, opening her mouth to argue. Then, the world stopped.
The gentle wind simply ceased to exist. The rustling of the leaves froze. The laughing voices of Raksha and Luna were cut off, replaced by absolute silence.
Kairos stopped walking. The colors of the street, the orange sunset, the stone walls, everything inverted, turning into a blackout.
A domain? Kairos's mind flashed with thoughts. No. No mana signs. This isn't external. This is inside me
A suffocating pressure came from within his own chest. It felt as if a blade was dragging his soul out. He fell to his knees. His breathing stopped. The curse, the chains were violently shaking.
In the center of his blackened vision, words were written in dark blood red.
[SEAL IS BROKEN.]
[LETHAL THREAT INCOMING.]
[ASCEND AS PRIMORDIAL HEIR? YES / NO]
Kairos stared at the words, blood dripping from his nose. Seal broken? Impossible. I haven't gathered enough authority. The pressure increased more. The 'Threat' it warned of wasn't normal. His instincts were screaming that something wrong was nearing this world.
Before he could answer the word Yes or No, his brain hit a limit. The blackout shattered.
Kairos jerked backward violently, a harsh breath worn out from his lungs. The world snapped back into full color and sound. He collapsed onto the pathway, his vision swimming.
"Kairos!" Seyana was on her knees instantly, her hands glowing with blue water magic to heal him.
"Hey! Form up!" Raksha shouted. She stepped in front of Kairos.
Velanor stomped his boot. The thick floor of earth broke, creating a barricade around them. "Luna! Sweep the area!"
Luna's eyes glowed with intense energy. A second later, he was confused. "Nothing. There is absolutely no one here. No killing intent. Nothing."
Kairos choked on a mouthful of blood, spitting it onto the stone. His body felt like it had been put through brutal torture, but the suffocating pressure was gone. The message vanished. But the warning echoed.
"Kairos, look at me," Seyana pleaded, her voice trembling. "Your mana core is disturbed. What hit you?"
"A backlash," Kairos forced the lie through his mouth, gently pushing her glowing hands away. He forced himself to sit. "I... I pushed my wind compression too far this morning. The core just restrained back."
Velanor became normal, the barricade lowering slightly. "You collapsed like a corpse, Vedaryan. That wasn't a simple backlash."
"I'm fine," Kairos took a breath. He stood up, his legs shaking before he forced them to stand still. He looked at his friends. They were talented, but they were entirely unaware of the inferno that his soul had just warned him about.
He turned to Seyana. Her eyes were wide with genuine fear for him. For a moment, the Kairos who had fought by her side took over.
He grabbed her hand. It was cold and wet with her water magic.
"Seyana," Kairos said, his voice soothing her fear. "I have to leave. Tonight."
"What? Kairos, you're injured-"
"I'm weak," he interrupted, his eyes looking into hers. "and this world is about to get much more dangerous than the academy taught us. I need to break through my limits. But I swear to you..." He squeezed her fingers. "...I will return. When I have the strength to stand against anything, I will come to the Solaris Kingdom. I will ask King Raezon for you. Just wait for me."
Seyana's breath shook. The fear in her eyes melted. She didn't care that their friends were watching. She stepped forward and hugged him tight.
"You better not push hard too much, Kairos" she whispered.
Kairos closed his eyes.
****
Two weeks later. The Kingdom of Solaris.
Solaris was a beautiful kingdom, built on vast lakes and rivers flowing over it. Its architecture, made of white marble and waterfalls, makes its beautiful than the windy peaks of Zephyros.
Seyana walked alone through the Royal Garden, a sanctuary at the rear end of the palace. The air was thick and the scent of flowers. She wore a simple dress, and her thoughts were miles away at Kairos.
She never stopped training since Kairos left. She felt an invisible pressure pushing her forward.
"Princess," a voice called out. Commander Vane, a veteran royal guard in silver plate armor, stepped. "The King requests your presence. The mages reported a fluctuation near the southern wall."
"I'll be right there, Vane," Seyana said, kneeling to see a rare water-lily. "Just let me—"
A low sound came out from the side.
Seyana froze. It was the sound of something large coming with brute force.
"Get behind me!" Vane alerted, drawing his sword. From the bushes, a nightmare emerged.
It was a mutant werewolf. It was ten feet tall and had silver fur with a gruesome look. Thick saliva dropped from its fangs.
A B-grade threat? Seyana's mind went blank. Inside the capital? That's impossible.
Wolf made a move towards Seyana. Vane swung his sword, his blade enchanted with mana. He aimed for the beast's neck.
The werewolf raised a massive hand, and the steel sword struck between the beast's forearm and shattered. Before Vane could even alert himself, the werewolf hit him with its claw.
Whooooooshhhh.
Blood sprayed on the white marble path. Vane dropped to the ground and died even before he fully fell.
Seyana moved backward with shock and disbelief. She jerked her hands towards the werewolf. "Tidal Wave!"
A high pressure flow of water erupted from the ponds nearby, forming a shield in front of her. It was her strongest defensive spell. The werewolf stepped over Vane's corpse. It raised a claw with dark mana flowing around it and slashed downward. The water shield broke, and a backlash hit Seyana, throwing her into the dirt.
She looked up. The beast was watching over her with an urge to devour her.
I am going to die, she realized.
As the beast came forward to kill her. Seyana closed her eyes in fear. Hummmmmmmmm. A calm sound came inside her. Something inside Seyana's veins, a mysterious light known as 'Divinity' from the Void Era, suddenly came into existence in Seyana.
Seyana's eyes snapped open. The fear was gone. The pure divine light awakened in her and set her heart ablaze.
The werewolf froze because its instincts were screaming in fear and terror. It tried to pull back.
"Kneel!" Seyana's voice commanded with absolute authority.
Seyana raised her hand straight up and jerked it down. Then a sword of light came from the sky, pierced into the wolf's neck, and then it simply erased the creature. The B-grade threat was instantly reduced to ash.
Footsteps slowly appeared. King Raezon appeared with a squad of elite paladin mages. They all stopped, weapons dropping from trembling hands.
Seyana was glowing with the shimmering light in her hands, and massive soot of ash circled in front of her.
****
Far beyond humanity, beasts and other races in the world, a dark room came into the spotlight when the 'Divinity' awakened and eyes with crimson red glare opened with a cunning smile, looking like a predator watching its prey and smiling at it.
I am coming for 'Divinity', the hidden entity thought.