Slowly, after the first day at Astral Academy passed, a new notification arrived on every student's device.
"Subject Selection Form for the First Semester has been released. Time table will be published the day after tomorrow. Please complete your subject selection within twenty-four hours."
Ethan, who was lying on his bed, sat up immediately. "Finally!" he muttered, grabbing his phone. His eyes widened as he read further — five compulsory subjects and up to five optional ones.
Without wasting a second, he rushed out of his room and headed straight to Elara's.
He knocked twice. "Elara! Open up!"
The door opened, and Elara peeked out, brushing her blonde hair aside. "What happened, brother? You look like you just found buried treasure."
Ethan grinned. "The subject selection form is out!"
Elara blinked, then gasped softly. "Already?"
"Yup. We have to fill it before tomorrow," Ethan said as he walked in.
They both sat on the soft blue couch in her room. The air smelled faintly of lavender, and the light from the floating lamp gave the room a calm glow. Elara opened her tablet , and they both went on the subject selection website.
On the screen, a long list appeared, but five subjects were already marked as mandatory.
The first was The Dominion.
This subject was different for every student — based on the kind of fragment they possessed. For Ethan, it was the Light Fragment, meaning his Dominion classes would focus on controlling and shaping light energy. For Elara, her Mind Fragment meant she would learn mental projection, telepathic defense, and illusion arts.
The second was Biology and specially the biology of the Fragment Core, which taught how fragments merged with the human body — how they reacted, absorbed energy, and evolved.
The third was Mathematics, which sounded normal but wasn't. It dealt with energy equations, domain stability formulas, and the strange math behind fragment resonance.
The fourth was Weapon Studies.
Each student had to choose one weapon per semester. Ethan immediately chose Sword without a second thought. Elara chose Spear, smiling proudly.
Ethan, however, leaned back and said casually, "You might want to pick something else."
She frowned. "Why? What's wrong with a spear?"
He just smiled faintly. "Nothing. Just a feeling."
Elara sighed. "Fine, fine. I'll take Bow then. Happy?"
Ethan chuckled. "Much better."
The fifth was Community Service, where students would be sent to different parts of Solara to help people — fixing things, guiding children, or fighting off wild fragments outside the city walls.
Once they were done with the mandatory subjects, Elara stretched her arms. "Phew, that's enough for me. I don't want to accidentally fail the first semester."
But when she looked over, she noticed Ethan was still scrolling — his eyes focused and his fingers moving quickly.
"Wait… are you picking more?" she asked, shocked.
Ethan didn't look up. "Yeah. I'm adding Close Combat, Fragment Refining, Scarlet Crimson Palm a martial art , and Basic Finance."
Elara's mouth fell open. "That's five more! You're crazy. You're going to fail all of them brother ."
Ethan laughed quietly. "Don't worry. I'll manage."
Elara crossed her arms and gave a small pout. "You're impossible, brother."
He smiled faintly, tapping Submit. "Maybe. But it's better than being ordinary."
Elara rolled her eyes with a laugh. "I just hope you don't end up buried under homework."
........
After a full day of paperwork, schedules, and faculty discussions, the final time table for the first semester was finally ready to be released.
In one of the offices inside the Teachers' Building, two instructors sat with steaming cups of tea. The room smelled of paper and fresh ink. The large glass window behind them showed the sun dipping low over Astral Academy's tall towers, painting everything in gold.
"Well," one of them said, stretching his arms, "that was easier than I expected. Most students chose the same five subjects — Dominion, Biology of Fragments, Maths, Weapon Study, and Community Service."
The other nodded with a small sigh. "Yes, it saved us a lot of trouble with the scheduling. Only a few students added optional subjects — six or seven at most."
He scrolled through his tablet, looking at the data. "Hmm… Rank 1, Lyra Ashel, chose nine subjects. As expected of her."
The first teacher chuckled. "Nine? That girl's a monster."
Then, as he swiped further, his eyebrows shot up. "Wait—someone actually chose all ten?"
The other leaned forward. "What? Who's that idiot?"
"Let's see…" He zoomed in, squinting at the small letters. "Ethan Veylor… Sky Wing Dormitory."
They exchanged glances, then laughed quietly.
Hahahha
"Poor boy's not going to get much sleep."
"Or he's secretly a genius," the other replied, still smiling. "We'll find out soon enough."
Outside, the orange light of dusk melted into evening as the digital system finished syncing all the timetables. Notifications began to ping across the campus — one after another.
---
In Sky Wing Dormitory, Ethan was lying on his bed, half-dozing, when his phone buzzed.
"Astral Academy – First Semester Timetable Released. Uniforms and accessories have been delivered."
He sat up, blinking, then reached for the package neatly placed on his table. The academy crest — a pair of wings over a star — shimmered on the red seal. He opened it carefully.
Inside lay his uniform:
A crimson red coat trimmed with silver lines, a white shirt, a black tie, and matching trousers. Beneath them, a pair of shiny black shoes and a small silver pin shaped like a wing.
Ethan held the coat in his hands for a moment. The fabric was soft but firm — it smelled faintly of mint and metal, like something freshly pressed.
"Tomorrow's orientation," he murmured, folding it neatly. "Classes start the day after."
He sat back on his bed, opening the time table on his tablet. It was long — almost twice as long as a regular student's.
Elara's message popped up almost instantly.
"Did you get your schedule too?"
Ethan smiled and typed back.
"Yeah. Looks heavy."
"Heavy? That's an understatement. You've signed up for half the academy!" she replied, followed by a laughing emoji.
He chuckled softly. "Maybe. But it'll be worth it."
Outside the window, the academy lights began to glow. The once silent buildings now shimmered like stars against the night sky. Students walked below — some holding their uniforms, some chatting about tomorrow's orientation.
Ethan leaned against the glass, watching quietly.
The thought of facing the coming semester filled him with both calm and determination.
In the quiet of his room, with the faint hum of the academy's night systems echoing outside, Ethan whispered to himself,
"Let's see how far I can go this time."
And with that, the night before orientation settled softly over Astral Academy — peaceful, glowing, and full of the quiet promise of beginnings.