Chapter 6 — Echoes of a Century
The Awakening Ceremony had ended, but the tremors it sent through the academy were just beginning.
As students filtered back to their assigned dorms, whispers turned into rumors, and rumors into theories.
"Did you see all those awakened cards?"
"It's like the world pulled its strongest together on purpose."
"There hasn't been a year like this in a hundred years..."
Nexus Arcanum – Headmaster's Tower
High above the campus, in a tower of silver-glass and runes, Headmaster Elriam stood before the giant viewing mirror. Around him, senior faculty—powerful mages, warriors, scholars—watched the list of new students scroll.
And their expressions grew darker with each name.
"Justice… has returned. But it shouldn't exist. That clan was wiped from the deck code after the 'Sin War.'"
"There are too many god-level cards. Too many primordials. It's unnatural."
"Just like 100 years ago…"
Elriam's voice was calm, but grim.
"Then the world is warning us again. In times of imbalance, it gathers the strongest pieces to its board. That year… a new breed of monster appeared. It devoured entire cities."
"And this year… feels worse."
He turned to the mirror again, focusing on Rael Ashborne—walking calmly through the academy path, glowing card tucked away, eyes unreadable.
"This boy… he doesn't even know what he carries."
Student Dormitory Halls – House of the Unbound
Unlike the elemental dorms tied to the clans, one building sat at the academy's edge: an ancient tower marked with no clan symbol.
House of the Unbound — for anomalies, unaffiliated, or those the system couldn't classify.
Rael stood at its gates.
The dorm warden, an elderly man with one mechanical eye and a glowing deck strapped to his wrist, studied Rael's ID crystal and blinked twice.
"Ashborne… huh. Justice clan. Haven't heard that in a lifetime."
Rael only nodded.
The warden pointed a thumb upward.
"Top floor. You get your own room. Probably for the best."
As Rael walked inside, echoes of ancient runes greeted him. The tower recognized him. Lights lit before he reached them. Doors opened without touch.
His room was large—too large for a student. A silver mirror greeted him by the bed, and upon the wall hung a faded, ancient tapestry… of a warrior with flaming chains standing before a crumbling world.
Ghost Rider.
Rael's heart thudded once.
"Why do I feel like… I've been here before?"
Nexus Arcanum Campus – Reactions of the Students
The campus was buzzing.
In the Hero Dorms, Leon clenched his fists.
"That guy… with the skeleton card. I felt my own card flinch when he awakened."
In the Chaos quarters, Veyron sat in a circle of runes, muttering.
"Judgment is back. And where Judgment walks, Collapse follows."
In the Holy dorms, Lysaria whispered prayers in silence.
"We are all being tested. The gods are not idle. This is their warning."
And across the academy, older students and instructors alike were shaken.
Some recalled old history.
Some visited ancient books.
Others checked the sky, feeling tremors in mana itself.
Academy Council Meeting – Emergency Assembly
Later that night, bells rang through Nexus Arcanum—calling council members and high instructors to an emergency meeting.
"Should we seal these students?"
"No. That would cause rebellion."
"Then what do we do?"
The head of Defense slammed his gauntlet on the table.
"We train them. We watch them. We prepare them."
Headmaster Elriam nodded gravely.
"Because history tells us this: When power returns, so do the things it was created to fight."
As the night fell over Nexus Arcanum, Rael stood by his window, staring at the floating constellations above the central tower.
His card pulsed faintly.
His eyes glowed ever so slightly.
And somewhere in the distance—beyond the continent, beyond the known world—
something ancient opened its eyes.
End of Chapter 6