The light from the portal slowly faded.
The sensation of freefall ended as the ground beneath their feet flared alive — a ring of emerald light expanding across the plaza, as if they stood within the core of a colossal living battery.
The radiance wasn't blinding but soft — like the quiet breath of Ether itself, the lifeblood of this world.
Elior opened his eyes.
Before him stretched the central plaza of Astra Academy.
Not a single cloud marred the sky — only a vast dome of crystal-clear silver, shining like a mirror.
Surrounding them, four colossal walls curved into a perfect circle, so high they swallowed the horizon, carved with glowing ancient runes.
It looked like a Roman coliseum sculpted from light — solemn and magnificent, yet hauntingly immense.
Beneath their feet, streams of energy pulsed like living veins, spreading outward from the heart of the plaza — where a massive crystal pillar rose, beating faintly with a rhythm like a living heart.
Groups of students began to appear: angels with radiant silver wings, tiny spirits flickering like fireflies, a few young demons smirking with arrogant curiosity.
The air itself was thick with Ether, vibrating so intensely that Elior could feel it hum in his chest.
"Welcome to Astra," Lucen whispered, his voice drifting with the wind.
Elior nodded, still unable to comprehend where he was. Everything felt too vast, too alive.
He was about to ask something when a sharp female voice rang out nearby:
"I told you to stay away, Varzek!"
They turned.
Not far away stood Alice Frostborne, tall and poised, her hair white as newborn snow, cascading to her waist. The light caught it like frost mist under the moon.
Her eyes were a deep glacial blue, calm yet sharp. In her hand, she held a crystal staff that gleamed with cold silver light, rippling faintly with her breath.
Facing her stood Varzek Ababbdon, a pure-blooded demon.
He was lean, of average height, his skin pale as candle wax. Jet-black hair brushed his neck, and his eyes — pitch black, absorbing all light — made his face seem carved from darkness itself.
In his grasp rested the black sword Vorath, its blade embedded with a single green gem at the hilt — a gem that pulsed like lightning imprisoned in stone.
His voice was low, drawn out, echoing like a whisper from the abyss:
"Angels, spirits, demigods... all the same pathetic creatures, clutching their false light. This world exists because of darkness — not because of you."
Alice's breath turned white with frost. She tightened her grip on the staff.
"Shut your mouth, Varzek. I don't need philosophy from a creature fueled by hate."
Before her, a frost arrow formed in the air, floating and sharp enough to split light into a thousand shards.
"Frost Aegis!"
She fired the arrow straight at him.
Varzek smiled.
Green runes flared to life along his sword. He swung the blade and whispered:
"Noctis Voltura."
The air exploded.
A black bolt of lightning, twisting into a spiral vortex, erupted from his sword's tip and collided with the frost arrow midair.
The moment the two forces met, the sound of shattering metal filled the air — and then came a blast that shook the entire plaza.
Blue, black, and white light merged into chaos, flooding everything.
Students were thrown back; shards of ice scattered into mist, while the searing scent of ozone burned through the air.
Lucen grabbed Elior and pulled him aside — both slid across the glowing stone floor as the explosion roared behind them.
Then — a single voice, deep and resonant, rolled down from the highest point above:
"Enough."
The world trembled.
The entire plaza seemed to flatten beneath an unseen pulse.
At its center, light gathered and condensed into human form — Headmaster Solomon appeared.
He wore a white robe laced with silver, woven with threads of Ether itself.
His pale gray eyes mirrored everything, cold and unreadable.
With just a gesture, all the chaotic energy vanished — erased as if it had never existed.
Both Alice and Varzek dropped to one knee, feeling the crushing weight of gravity itself press them down.
His voice rang out — cold, absolute, divine:
"Welcome, students, to Astra Academy."
"I am Solomon — the one who will teach you how to master your power… before it consumes you."
He turned, gaze sweeping across the stunned crowd — and for a fleeting second, his eyes met Elior's.
Elior's heart skipped a beat.
The name Solomon echoed inside him like a hammer striking a sealed memory.
"Now," Solomon continued, his voice like the decree of a god,
"All of you — face the highest dais. Astra's first trial begins now."
No one dared to move slower than a breath.
Amid the clear air and shimmering energy, Elior could hear nothing but the sound of his own heartbeat — mingled with the chilling whisper of destiny, quietly unfolding.