Ava and his team went through a long series of classes that tested both body and mind strength training, pure martial arts, dimensional theory, archery and ranged combat, stealth and tactical movement, interdimensional linguistics, and the histories of countless realms.
By the end of the day, they reached their final lesson: Professor Lunark Veil's class.
The students filed in and took their seats.
Lunark stood at the front of the room, his sharp eyes locked directly on Ava. The professor leaned slightly over his desk, hands clasped, his expression unreadable.
"So, class," Lunark began in his calm, deliberate tone, "what do you all know about the Dark Lord?"
A student in the front row immediately raised his hand. "The Dark Lord he's the ruler of the Omniverse! The Conqueror of Worlds. His conquests are what keep balance."
A wave of chatter broke out.
"The Dark Lord's so cool."
"Yeah, he took over my universe last year!"
"He's unstoppable!"
Lunark smiled faintly. "Almost the ruler of the Omniverse… yes. Almost."
Another student interrupted. "Wait I thought he did rule everything? He definitely took over my world."
Lunark lifted a hand, summoning a sphere of light that expanded into a vast, glowing image before the class.
"Let me show you," he said.
The students leaned forward as dimensional magic filled the room.
An image of the Omniverse appeared an boundless, glowing ocean stretching in every direction.
"In this boundless ocean lies the Omniverse itself," Lunark explained. "And every drop in this ocean is a Hyperverse a world of its own. Each hyperverse exists at distances beyond infinity from the next."
He made a tiny section of the ocean glow.
"This… right here… this minuscule point in the endless sea, is the only region where the Dark Lord does not rule."
The class murmured in awe as Lunark's tone deepened.
"These are the last domains of the gods who still resist him. And we will conquer them especially with the help of you new students."
His gaze sharpened, landing on Ava.
One of the kids grinned. "I can't wait! When we finish, the whole Omniverse will be ours!"
Lunark chuckled softly. "If only it were that simple. Those gods are nothing before the Dark Lord… but the real threat lies elsewhere."
He raised his hand again. The image expanded a second boundless ocean appeared above the first.
"The upper one," he said, "is what we call the True Omniverse the realm the Dark Lord seeks to conquer. And the lower ocean…" he pointed downward, "is where we live. The Shadow Omniverse."
The room fell silent.
"The Omniverse creates its own shadow," Lunark continued. "We are that shadow. We are its reflection, its darkness."
A student hesitated, raising his hand. "Then… who rules the real Omniverse?"
Lunark's expression hardened.
"He goes by many names. Adamus, Sunyata,The Thunderbolt of Compassion. The Black Lotus."
Gasps rippled through the room.
"He is the reason the Dark Lord is even here," Lunark said, voice echoing with disdain. "A long time ago, Sunyata fought the Dark Lord and defeated him. He cast him down into this realm, into the Shadow Omniverse, along with every god he despised. He banished them all. He believes himself pure believes he has the right to dictate existence itself."
He looked up, his eyes burning with conviction.
"But the Dark Lord will rise again. He will take back the True Omniverse. And we will be his warriors."
Ava sat perfectly still, listening.
This man knows a lot… He even knows my father. Or at least the story they tell about him.
Funny an entire school built just to defeat my family.
He looked down at his hands, the faintest hint of sadness flickering in his eyes.
The Dark Lord will never get close to them. If he wants to fight my father, fine. But he'll never touch my mother… or my brothers… or my sisters.
Star glanced over, noticing his silence. "You've got a photographic memory, right? You're not writing this down? This might be on the test."
Ava smirked faintly, watching his teammates scribble notes.
"I don't need to write it down," he said. "It's mostly lies anyway."
Star's eyes widened. "Keep your voice down! Don't say things like that out loud you're lucky no one heard you. Are you crazy?"
Ava didn't respond. He just looked back toward Lunark, who was still speaking, his expression calm but his thoughts racing.
Ava didn't respond. He just stared ahead, eyes half-focused on Lunark, who continued his lecture as if nothing were wrong.
His gaze had shifted to the corner of the ceiling
where the demonic eye hovered, silent, unblinking, watching only him.
It has to be this teacher, Ava thought, heart beating slow and deliberate. This is my last class of the day. If it's not him… then who else could it be?
Without warning
Lunark appeared right in front of him.
The air shimmered, and in an instant, the professor stood over his desk, face calm but eyes sharp enough to cut.
"You're not going to take notes?" Lunark asked.
Ava looked up slowly. "No. I've got a pretty good memory."
Lunark's smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Are you sure?" he said softly. "Maybe you were there when it happened."
Ava frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Maybe," Lunark said, stepping closer, "you're more of an expert than I am. For example…"
His gaze dropped to Ava's hands. "Where do those black flames of yours come from? And why did you call them the Black Lotus?"
Ava's mind tightened like a trap.
It has to be him. He must have seen me use it in class. I'm an idiot I thought no one noticed. Trying to show off…
He forced a neutral tone. "That's just the name of my technique," he said. "It has nothing to do with the Black Lotus god you're talking about. Never even heard of him. I'm just an Earthling with some decent magic, that's all."
Lunark stared at him for a moment longer, studying his face, then smiled faintly.
"Good," he said. "I'll be keeping an eye on you."
This guy's a problem, Ava thought, watching him turn away. He knows too much. About me. About my family. About my powers. If he's really the one behind that eye… I'll have to deal with him. Personally.
"Class," Lunark announced suddenly, "follow me. Today, we'll be practicing Dimensional Ascension one of the hardest skills you'll ever attempt."
The students murmured excitedly as they stood, following the professor out of the room.
Ava trailed just behind him, eyes fixed on Lunark's back.
I just need to touch him one touch to scan his energy. But it already feels like a guarantee. If he's the one… I'll end it here. And it'll bring me one step closer to the Dark Lord.
A soft bump broke his focus.
Star had accidentally walked into him.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked quietly. "You've been off ever since this class started."
"Nothing's wrong," Ava said quickly.
She tilted her head. "You sure? You can tell me anything. And… it doesn't look like Lunark likes you much."
Ava's tone stayed calm. "It doesn't matter what he thinks. I only care about what the people I love think of me."
Star smiled faintly. "That's good. Most of these kids and teachers are morons anyway. You shouldn't care what they think."
They walked side by side for a while, the chatter of the other students echoing through the corridor.
Then she asked quietly, "What did you mean earlier, when you said everything was a lie?"
Ava's expression didn't change. "I'll tell you later," he murmured. "You told me not to talk about things like that out loud, remember?"
Before she could reply, the hallway opened into a vast glowing chamber
their destination.
The Dimensional Training Room.