The hall fell into a heavy silence.
The Obsidian Order officer walked forward with slow, deliberate steps. His presence pressed down on the room like a weight. He was not tall, but something about him felt larger than the space he occupied. His eyes were dark and unreadable, trained to measure people the way blades measure skin.
Nev stood still, breathing softly, watching the threads around the man. They did not flow like normal Holder threads. They were tighter, intertwining with a faint darkness that pulsed behind them like an echo. Something inside Nev tensed. That subtle pulse was too familiar. Too close to the patterns he saw in the void.
The officer stopped only two steps away from him.
"Nev Nolen," he said. His voice was calm, almost polite, but it carried an undertone of authority that made weaker trainees flinch.
Nev answered with the same calm. "Yes."
"You advanced to Tier One in a single day." The officer studied him carefully. "That is rare."
A whisper rose in the hall. Some nodded. Some stepped closer. Others stepped back.
The officer tilted his head slightly. "Your performance was not normal."
Nev kept a neutral expression. "I only reacted to what I saw."
"Is that so?" the officer asked.
Rian stepped beside them, lowering his voice. "Commander, I observed the match. His instincts are sharp. Extremely sharp. But it did not look like cheating or external enhancement."
The commander's gaze narrowed slightly at Rian's words.
Cheating. Enhancement.
Nev noticed the shift and filed it away.
"Tell me," the commander said. "Where did you learn to move like that?"
"I did not learn," Nev answered honestly. "My body simply responded."
That made the hall stir again. A few trainees muttered in disbelief.
The commander did not move. His expression was unreadable. For a moment, only the faint buzzing of the hall lights filled the silence.
Then the commander reached toward Nev's shoulder.
Nev's shard pulsed violently.
His body shifted back by instinct before the hand even touched him.
A collective gasp broke out.
Rian's eyes widened slightly. The commander's hand froze midair.
Only then did he lower it.
"I see," the commander said softly. "A natural reaction."
Nev felt the threads vibrating around the commander, coiling as if amused or… testing. It reminded him of the void, of that cold intelligence that watched his deaths with distant curiosity.
The commander nodded once to Rian. "Bring him to the secondary hall. I want his record checked."
Rian bowed slightly. "Understood."
The commander walked toward the instructor's desk, speaking quietly with the hall officials. They straightened their posture immediately.
Nev exhaled slowly. His body was still tense from the shard's reaction. He looked down at his hand; the fingers trembled slightly, not from fear but from the heightened clarity still lingering in his senses.
Rian walked beside him. "You reacted before Commander Varos even moved. How did you see it?"
Nev answered simply, "I did not see with my eyes."
Rian studied him with a deeper curiosity than before. "Then how?"
Nev did not explain. He did not know how much to reveal. The threads were his alone. His advantage, his secret.
Rian said nothing more. He guided Nev through the crowd. Trainees parted silently, creating a path as if unsure whether to respect him or fear him. Some looked bitter. Some envious. Some quietly impressed.
A girl whispered to her friend, "He moved like he already knew the fight."
Another murmured, "Tier One in a day. What if he becomes Tier Two next month?"
A boy scoffed in disbelief. "Impossible. Not even the Obsidian Order trains monsters like that."
Nev ignored them all.
When they reached the far corridor, Rian stopped.
"You did well," he said. His tone was calm, but something unreadable hid underneath. "But do not become arrogant. Today you fought Garron. Tomorrow you might face someone who can end you before you look up."
Nev nodded. "I understand."
Rian turned to him fully. "From today on, you train directly under me. No excuses. No delays. No weakness."
Nev met his gaze. "I will not hold back."
A slight shift appeared in Rian's expression. Approval. Interest. And something sharper.
"Good," he said. "Because the Order does not tolerate wasted potential."
A cold shiver went down Nev's spine.
Not because of Rian's words, but because of how the threads behind him shifted.
They connected to something far larger.
Far darker.
Far older.
The void echoed in Nev's memory, whispering without sound.
Grow.
Do not waste the chance.
Rian turned away as footsteps approached.
Commander Varos returned.
He handed a thin metal case to Rian. "These are his records and card inscriptions. You are responsible for monitoring him."
Rian nodded again. "Understood."
Varos looked at Nev one last time. His expression did not change, but the threads around him tightened, as if forming a pattern only Nev could see.
"Do not disappoint the Order," Varos said.
Nev did not reply. He watched the man leave the hall, his presence fading like a shadow swallowed by sunlight.
The moment Varos disappeared through the doorway, Nev felt himself breathe again.
Rian handed him the metal case. Inside was a polished Holder Card with a soft glow.
Tier One.
Approved by the Registry.
Approved by the Obsidian Order.
Nev closed the case gently.
The hall began to return to normal. Trainees resumed talking, though their eyes still drifted toward Nev. Some respectfully. Some fearfully.
Nev walked toward the entrance, thinking he would leave for the day.
But as he reached the door, he noticed something on the far wall.
The hollow eye symbol.
The same one he saw yesterday in the hall.
The same one in the underground prison of the previous world.
The same one tied to the cult that took Lila.
It was faint, scratched lightly beneath a row of faded markings. No one else seemed to notice it.
Nev's breath slowed.
The threads around the symbol quivered faintly, almost like a heartbeat.
He stared at it for a moment too long.
Rian noticed. "Something caught your attention?"
Nev stepped away. "Just a mark."
Rian followed his gaze but saw nothing unusual. "Marks are everywhere in this city. Do not overthink them."
Nev nodded.
But inside, something twisted.
Marks do not repeat across worlds.
Symbols do not follow a man unless the force behind them reaches further than a single reality.
The void's calm voice echoed in memory.
Grow.
They will get in your way.
Become more.
Nev closed his eyes briefly.
He did not know who "they" were.
But he felt one thing with certainty:
Whoever the Obsidian Order truly was, they were not just a guild.
Something inside them connected to the void.
Something inside them connected to the cult.
And something inside them recognized him.
It meant danger.
And it meant opportunity.
Nev opened his eyes again. His expression settled into calm.
He stepped out of the hall, the cold morning air meeting his face.
Today he became a Tier One Holder.
But today also made something else clear:
The path ahead would not be simple.
Not with shards growing inside him.
Not with the void manipulating unseen strings.
Not with an entire guild that hid a symbol of another world.
Nev clenched the Holder Card tightly.
If this world wanted to shape him, it would learn something soon.
He was not someone who obeyed fate.
He was someone who broke it.
The threads around him hummed softly, almost like a warning.
Or a promise.