The official announcement came at sunrise, accompanied by a crystal bell that didn't vibrate through the air, but directly through magic. All students and mentors felt it in their chests — a clear signal:
> "The Academy Tournament has begun."
In the grand suspended amphitheater at the center of the magical city, the supreme rector of the Central Academy gave his speech to the thousands of participants:
— This isn't about who is the strongest, but about who understands best the world they live in.
— Every team, every discipline, every duel… will have real consequences. On illusionary battlefields, but with concrete impact.
Kaelya, Elion, and Albert watched from one of the high terraces. Albert seemed distant, but his focus was… amplified.
— Someone is trying to manipulate the duel pairings, he said suddenly.
— How do you know? Elion asked.
— Because two of the weaker teams have been scheduled to face each other directly… and the winner will automatically be placed against Thirwen. It's a trap.
Kaelya furrowed her brow.
— Who would do that?
Albert moved his hand slightly. A magical network appeared in the air — one that was secret and encrypted.
— Someone from the inside. And someone… who believes they can learn more from a controlled collapse than from a fair victory.
In the underground chambers of Ismir Academy, Zhelenya analyzed a diagram of mana flows generated by students over the past 24 hours. Three points glowed red.
— Three signatures… that don't appear in any official database.
Another mentor approached.
— You think they're spies?
— I don't think. I know. And one of them was in one of our training sessions last week.
— What do we do?
Zhelenya closed the panel.
— We don't move yet. I want to see… who's looking for what they shouldn't know.
In a room separated from the others, members of Thirwen Academy were receiving instructions from their advisors.
Kaelor Vey polished his ceremonial sword, but his eyes remained fixed on one name on the screen: Albert.
— I want to see him. Not in a duel… but in a decision.
— You think he's fragile? a teammate asked.
— No. But if he doesn't break… it means he's not human. And then… we'll have to choose: follow him… or stop him.
In the southern courtyard of Lunaris Academy, two teams of students were training at the same time, but the tension between them was obvious. Despite their polite smiles, their words were sharp, and the practice duels grew increasingly brutal.
— Let's calm down, people, said an instructor with a steady voice. Don't start the tournament early...
A student with dark green hair and glowing eyes ignored him completely. During his duel, he summoned a wall of fire that nearly scorched his opponent.
— Control yourself, Criessen! I told you not to go beyond the allotted limit! the supervisor shouted.
— If my flames exceed the limit, maybe that means the limits are too weak, Criessen replied with a cold smile.
In a secluded room, Albert sat with Kaelya and Elion. Before them hovered a magical chart listing confirmed teams for the first round.
Kaelya noted:
— We still haven't been assigned an opponent.
— That's because they want the opponent to be chosen at the last moment, Elion said.
— Why? Kaelya asked.
Albert closed his eyes and simply said:
— Because they want to see... how we react. Not just to power. To uncertainty.
Behind one of the amphitheaters, a boy in a short cloak bearing the Elissar Academy emblem hurried through the crowd. He whispered to a girl with pale pink hair:
— Confirmed. Two cursed blades are in circulation. One is in the hands of an infiltrated spy.
— Which academy?
— No one knows exactly. But everyone suspects the same: The Academy of Thought's Shadow.
In a chamber of mirrors, Zhelenya was studying anti-manipulation runes. She touched a mirror that didn't reflect her image, but a stream of events.
For a moment… she saw Albert.
But not in the present. In another time. Another space. Another world.
— He's already... in two places?
Ismir's rector entered soundlessly.
— No. He's only in one. But the reality around him… is expanding.
Backstage, the organizers spoke in a tight circle.
— What if that boy wins the first two rounds too easily?
— Then we invoke the Irreversible Rule: each academy has the right to contest a participant's eligibility… based on incompatibility with the laws of reality.
— You want to disqualify him?
— No. We want to force him to respond.
Albert paused along a quiet path, looking at the sky. Kaelya caught up to him.
— You smiled earlier. What did you see?
— Nothing. Or maybe… just the fact that everyone's trying to solve an equation without including all the variables.
— And what variable are they missing?
Albert turned to her.
— I don't want to win. That's what throws them off the most.
The sound of the opening bell rang again, this time with a deeper vibration. Battle platforms began forming above the amphitheaters — magically suspended islands with varying terrain, from dense forests to fields of hardened lava.
On the central display, battle pairings began to appear.
— It's time, said Elion, spinning his defense crystals between his fingers.
— We still haven't been assigned an opponent, Kaelya said, visibly worried.
Albert remained completely calm. Then, suddenly, a name appeared on the board — but it wasn't from any known academy.
> Unknown Team – Origin: Classified Access
A wave of whispers spread across the stands. No one had ever heard of such a team before.
— What does that mean? Elion asked.
Albert stared at the panel.
— It means someone bypassed the protocols. Either they're testing us… or trying to remove us. Maybe both.
In the upper observers' chamber, the central rector clenched the designation parchment.
— Who approved this match line? he barked.
A trembling operator bowed his head.
— We didn't… The parchment wrote itself.
— Then… it was a vote from outside the system.
The platform meant for Albert, Kaelya, and Elion began to rise. In front of them, a dense cloud of black smoke coagulated, forming unstable silhouettes. They didn't look human. But they weren't beasts either.
— They're hollow… but driven by a will, Kaelya whispered.
Elion instantly shifted into a defensive stance.
— If they have no soul, they have no mercy.
Albert stepped forward, raising one hand. With a simple motion, his aura expanded in concentric circles. The wind stopped. Time seemed to stretch.
— We don't need to destroy them, he said calmly. We only need to show them that we're here.
One of the enemies lunged, but mid-air it was caught by an invisible pressure ray and disintegrated into a cloud of ash.
In the audience, an unknown old man smiled.
— This is just the beginning. If he reacts like this now… it'll be truly interesting when the real choice arrives.
The remaining silhouettes in the black mist moved at once — no sound, no words. One of them lunged from the side at extreme speed, striking with a solidified arm of smoke.
— Kaelya, left! Elion shouted.
Kaelya raised her arm — a wall of pure water materialized instantly, blocking the strike and evaporating part of the creature in a hiss of steam.
— They're coordinated. This isn't random, said Kaelya tensely.
— They act like mental sentinels, Albert murmured. They react to intent. Not action.
Another enemy attacked Elion from behind, but he spun his twin defense crystals, creating a reflection field that deflected the strike upward.
— They're testing our reflexes! They're here to study us, not defeat us! Elion concluded.
Albert stepped forward, calm, staring directly into the central mist.
— If you want to understand who I am... you won't do it through battle. And if you came to challenge me... you've chosen the hard way.
The creatures paused. The air thickened. Then... one of them spoke.
Not with a voice. But directly into their minds:
> "Identity... unclear. Power... unmeasurable. Behavior... nonconforming. Conclusion: Subject is outside expected patterns. Confirmation: Unstable level. Recommendation: Reconfigure."
Albert slowly raised his hand. A sphere of light began pulsing around him, reaching all the creatures.
— Stop analyzing me. You'll only understand if you accept me.
All the silhouettes dissolved simultaneously. No sound. No final blow. They simply… vanished.
Silence fell over the platform. Kaelya caught her breath, and Elion tucked his crystals back into his cloak.
— Well, Elion said with a faint smile. That was the gentlest nightmare I've ever lived through.
— It wasn't a confrontation, Kaelya added. It was… an interview.
Albert nodded. But his eyes were already scanning the stands — he'd seen, for just a fraction of a second, a tall figure in a violet hood vanish from reality.
— We were being watched. By someone who didn't want to be seen.
Below, in the central chamber, the rectors reviewed magical clocks and the energy lines from the duel.
— Zero casualties. Zero direct hits. But… maximum intensity in cognitive response channels.
— So… it wasn't a physical battle?
— No. It was a mental calibration scenario. And he… passed it without blinking.
Albert, just before leaving the platform, whispered to himself:
— You started the game. But you never understood the board.
Albert stared at the empty platform where the silhouettes had vanished, but his eyes didn't show peace — only absolute vigilance.
Then, slowly, he closed his right eye.
Beneath the closed lid, a violet magic circle began to pulse faintly, etched with rotating runes that seemed to burn in silence.
It was one of his rare ocular abilities — "Incarnate Reflection" — a system of observation and projection that allowed him to create an autonomous clone based on a precise intent.
As he kept his eye shut, an etheric clone, identical to him but with a slightly distorted aura, formed from light beneath his feet and was projected directly into the area where the hooded violet figure had vanished.
On the opposite side of the amphitheater, near the upper seats, a faint ripple of air signaled the arrival of "something."
Shadows twisted, and in their center, Albert's clone appeared silently.
It lowered its head, its eyes — identical to the original's — scanning the area.
A deep, nearly imperceptible voice echoed from the darkness:
— Interesting… So you saw.
The clone spoke just as calmly:
— I didn't just see you. I understood you. And now… you're no longer hidden.
An etheric bolt flashed from within the shadows, but the clone raised a hand, and a dark sphere absorbed the attack entirely.
— I don't intend to fight, the clone said.
— But you won't leave without leaving a trace, the figure replied.
— Correct, the clone said. Because I've already been here.
Before another word was spoken, the clone vanished in a swirl of particles, leaving behind a single glowing violet flower… and a magical imprint impossible to erase.
Albert slowly reopened his eye. The violet circle beneath his eyelid faded into daylight.
Kaelya looked at him, astonished.
— You did something… something very precise.
Albert gave a faint smile.
— If the world plays from the shadows… then I'll walk through their shadows.
In the command room, one of the masters analyzed the magical energy from the amphitheater.
— That was… an autonomous duplication of unknown classification.
Another replied:
— It wasn't just an ability. It was a message.
Shadows Beyond the Arena
Sequential Light Tower – The Forbidden Level
Inside a cylindrical chamber of pure crystal, where time dilated with every breath, a woman with white hair tied in a high tail stood still. In front of her hovered a hologram — the moment Albert closed his right eye.
— It was activated… the violet circle. Which means… he has recognized the signature of the shadows.
A man wearing a translucent cloak asked:
— Should we intervene?
The woman closed the hologram.
— Not yet. Let's see how far the shadow can stretch without becoming night.
Zone Zero – The Sanctuary of the Unseen
An entity without form, built from pure thought, was looping the dialogue between Albert's clone and the mysterious hooded figure. Beyond the sounds, it was analyzing the emotional context of the words.
> "So he knows of us."
Another, more stable entity replied:
> "He doesn't just know. He's already placed us within his equation."
> "Then we should exclude him."
> "You cannot exclude an element that becomes the rule."
The Forbidden Library Depths – Ismir's Undergrounds
Zhelenya descended there for the first time in ten years. In her hands was an ancient volume, bound in leather from a long-extinct creature.
She opened the book. On the first page, a single name: Albert.
— How? This book is only supposed to write about… ended legends.
A parchment slipped from between the pages. A message:
> "When a name appears in a book of endings… it means it's already the beginning."
The Eternal Council – Outside Time
Nine figures with glowing blue auras gathered around a transparent table.
— The violet circle has been activated.
— He's entered the frequency of those who normally observe, not participate.
— Will we welcome him… or stop him?
An elder with abyssal eyes spoke:
— We cannot stop him. He doesn't ask for access. He creates the door.
An Unknown Place – The Faceless Entity
On a floating cliff in the void, the entity that had followed Albert from the shadows lowered its hood.
Its face… was a blend. Every angle showed someone different. Every expression said something else.
— He sent a clone. But it was more than a replica. It was a reflex from the future.
Its voice wasn't singular. It was a chorus.
— If he can anticipate… it means he's already ahead of us.