Lunark stood before the class, his hands folded behind his back, voice calm and commanding.
"I'm going to show you one of the hardest techniques to master," he said. "Even those who've trained for centuries can only maintain it briefly. This technique is called… Dimension Ascension."
He raised his hand.
A pulse of demonic energy burst from his body, flooding the room like liquid shadow.
The walls and ceiling melted away into black smoke; the floor vanished beneath their feet.
Whispers echoed through the dark as hundreds of distorted mouths formed and twisted in the mist.
Students screamed.
"What's happening!?"
"The floor's gone!"
"Where are we!?"
Lunark's voice cut through the chaos.
"What I've done," he said smoothly, "is flood this space with my higher existence. I am rewriting the laws here. The rules. Even the direction of reality itself."
He turned to Dallas. "Come here."
Dallas tried to move, flailing in the air as he floated helplessly. "I can't control myself!"
Lunark gestured, and Dallas drifted toward him like a puppet. "Now, move your head to the right."
Dallas tried but his head jerked left instead.
"Move your right arm," Lunark commanded.
Dallas struggled… and his left arm moved instead.
"The law of this domain," Lunark explained, "is reversed. Left and right have traded meaning. Even gravity now obeys me."
He snapped his fingers.
The Dimension Ascension faded, and the room snapped back into existence. Some students crashed to the ground; others landed on their feet, panting.
"Form up," Lunark commanded.
Circles of glowing energy flared to life across the floor, each humming with arcane resonance.
"Each of you will stand in your own circle and attempt to form your personal domain," he said, his voice echoing through the chamber. "Even the lowest beings in this Academy are fifth-dimensional 5D beings and higher possess the ability to flood existence with their higher dimensional essence, reshaping reality itself. Within your domain, you can create or break the very laws of existence."
He stepped back, watching. "Now, begin."
The students concentrated, energy flaring in chaotic colors.
Some only glowed faintly; others produced small distortions of space.
Dallas's body shimmered green, bolts and gears of light twisting around him as his domain spread then collapsed. He hit the ground, nose bleeding.
Lunark helped him up. "Don't push yourself. This technique can burn your essence and kill you. Start small focus it inside your body before spreading it."
Dallas nodded weakly. "Y-yes, sir."
Demeter gritted her teeth, channeling gold light into her fist. Her arm flared with Greek symbols as her hand became a miniature sun.
Lunark smiled. "Excellent. You can also use it to enhance a body part, but your goal should be to expand it into a domain."
"I'll keep trying," she said, determined.
Star's aura erupted next a pink domain spreading several feet outward, filled with floating stars and ribbons of light.
Lunark nodded approvingly. "Very good. Keep pushing. The wider your domain, the more laws you can break or create."
Then it was Ava's turn.
He knelt, breathing slow.
I remember this technique, he thought. Father used to show me this.
Black and purple energy crackled around him, twisting the air. His struggled for a moment and then blood ran from his nose as he collapsed to one knee.
"I… can't get it down," he said weakly. "It's… too hard."
Lunark's eyes narrowed. He's lying. He's holding back again.
Ava staggered forward, grabbing Lunark's leg. "Wait help me. I can't focus it."
As he touched him, quietly activated, scanning Lunark's energy pattern every current, every pulse.
Lunark gave a faint smile. "Ask your teammate Star to help you," he said, walking away.
"Yes, sir," Ava replied, hiding his breathing.
It's him, Ava realized. He's the one that's been watching me. The one behind the demonic eye.
Now I know who I have to eliminate.
Star knelt beside him, explaining the technique while Demeter and Dallas tried again beside them. Ava listened half-heartedly, still watching Lunark out of the corner of his eye.
The professor stood still, hands behind his back, a small smirk curving his lips. His eyes glowed faintly red as he whispered, "Perfect. His energy's low. Now's my chance."
He extended his will casting a demonic spell meant to read Ava's mind.
A pulse of resistance struck him instantly.
"W–what?" Lunark hissed under his breath. "Why can't I see inside him? What is this… block?"
He tried again. The backlash nearly made his vision blur.
"Impossible…" he muttered.
Moments later, the bell rang. The domain faded, the lights dimmed, and the students groaned in exhaustion.
Ava rose with his teammates, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable.
I need to find the right time, he thought. He's dangerous. If he keeps watching me… he'll figure out everything.
As they walked out of the room, laughter echoing faintly down the hall, the air behind them stirred.
High above hidden among the lights
the demonic eye hovered silently, still watching Ava.
As they left the classroom, Star turned to the others, her spellbook already in hand.
"You guys still down to train? I want to work on more spells from these grimoires. There are so many I need to master." She smiled with determination. "Last year, we didn't make the cut for real missions. But this year especially with you on our team, Ava I know we can. We just have to train harder than anyone else."
Dallas groaned. "I'm pretty tired…"
Demeter punched him lightly on the arm. "Didn't you say you wanted to prove to everyone that you're not weak? This isn't a good start."
"Okay, okay!" Dallas laughed nervously, rubbing his arm. "I'll come."
Ava began walking ahead, hands in his pockets. "You guys go on without me. I train alone. We're teammates, sure but that doesn't mean I have to train with you."
Star frowned, then rushed forward, grabbing his hand before he could walk farther. "Stop being like that, Mr. Cool Guy." She smiled and tugged him closer. "Come on. Let's go."
Ava froze for a moment, feeling her hand around his.
What is this feeling? he thought. Every time I hear her voice or see her smile, I feel… happy. Like I care about her.
His gaze shifted toward Demeter and Dallas. And not just her those two as well.
Why? What are these feelings? Ever since I was reborn, I've started to feel this way… but I thought it was only for my human parents. Not for anyone else.
I hate it.
Emotions he didn't understand flooded through him as Star kept walking, pulling him along with the group.
Before long, they arrived at a training site one of the smaller dungeons used for practice.
Demeter pointed ahead. "This one's perfect. A small dungeon only one multiverse inside. We can train here every night if we want."
"Then let's go," Star said brightly.
And together, the four of them stepped into the glowing portal
disappearing into the dungeon's infinite world.
Together, they trained sparring, running, and testing their strength across the dungeon's countless worlds. The realm was filled with monsters and beasts of every kind, and they hunted through it with relentless energy, fighting anything that moved until they finally found a quiet clearing beneath a fractured crimson sky. It was the perfect place to practice.
Demeter stood at the front of the group, her golden spear resting at her side as her grimoire hovered before her, pages fluttering in an unseen wind. "Alright," she said confidently. "Ignis forge."
Flames bloomed in her hand bright and steady. She turned toward Dallas with a teasing smile. "See? Now you try. Breathe in, breathe out, and pronounce the words clearly. It's all about control."
Dallas stepped forward, face tense with concentration. He muttered the spell. A flicker sparked from his palm tiny, but real.
Demeter clapped softly. "Just keep at it. Eventually, you'll get a flame that could burn a mountain."
She looked toward Ava. "Your turn."
Ava rose to his feet, flipping open his grimoire. He whispered the same incantation. At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, a thread of red flame curled from his palm, flickering weakly before steadying into life.
Star leaned closer, her pink eyes glimmering. "Why didn't you use the black flames like you did in class?"
Ava paused, his voice low. "That was an accident. I don't even know how I did it."
Star frowned. He's lying, she thought.
Meanwhile, Ava's thoughts whispered beneath his calm expression: After what that teacher said, I can't risk showing those flames again the Black Lotus flames.
Dallas stretched with a grin. "Man, I wish I could 'accidentally' make something that powerful. Freaking out the professor on day one? That's legendary."
Ava smirked faintly. "Magic seems… slow. You have to say the words, control the flow, and focus perfectly. It feels inefficient."
"That's not true," Demeter said, stepping forward. "You just have to grow better at it. When I move the earth, it's not my natural power it's my magic. I'm constantly casting spells without saying a word."
To demonstrate, she raised her hand. The ground around them trembled, rocks lifting gracefully into the air. She didn't speak once.
"When it comes to massive spells, though…" she continued, "I still need my grimoire. Some spells are too complex for just thought."
Ava watched her in quiet admiration. "Impressive. Hopefully I'll reach that level soon."
Dallas yawned loudly. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted. Maybe we should call it a night."
The others nodded in agreement but not Ava.
"You all go ahead," he said, closing his spellbook. "I want to stay a little longer."
Star turned back, concern softening her face. "Are you sure? It's dangerous to be in a dungeon alone."
"I'll be fine," Ava said.
Reluctantly, they left, disappearing into the glowing portal that led back to the Academy. Ava stood alone in the silence of the training world, moonlight from three broken moons reflecting off the sands.
He opened his grimoire again, whispering one incantation after another fire, summoning, binding each spell flaring for a moment before fading into the air.
"If only I could still use my Black Lotus flames…" he muttered, shaking his head. "I need to get used to using normal magic. Showing off those flames was stupid."
He sighed, "And that teacher Professor Lunark Veil he saw it. He's been following me ever since… with that demonic eye watching every move I make."
"I'll eliminate him. Fast. Before he can gather any more information."
A faint smirk crossed his face. "Interesting. In the dungeon, that demonic eye doesn't follow me."
He closed his grimoire, eyes narrowing. "Is it because it can't? Doesn't matter."
A spark of determination lit in his gaze. "That just means the dungeon is the perfect place for me to train… regardless."
Then he paused, a thought flickering across his mind.
Wait… I have an idea.
He lifted his hand, and a soft shimmer rippled through the air. One by one, his Higher Dimensional Cards materialized before him glimmering with cosmic light, each one etched with symbols that pulsed like living constellations.
"I can use these," he murmured.
He pressed one card against the open page of his grimoire. The card pulsed, absorbing the law and essence of the spell the rule that defined its existence. Page after page, he repeated the process until dozens of cards floated around him, each carrying a different ability: monsters, traps, even reality-warping phenomena.
Ava smiled faintly. "Perfect. Now I don't even have to chant the spells. Just throw a card… and it'll activate."
Then
A sound.
A faint metallic echo, somewhere behind him in the darkness.
Ava froze, golden eyes narrowing. "What was that?"