Chapter 5: The Gates of Aflety – Beasts, Bloodlines, and Bonds
The gates of Aflety opened like the jaws of an ancient creature.
Wrought of blacksteel and woven with elemental enchantments, they glowed faintly in the morning mist. Two twin statues of winged lion-serpents stood sentinel at either side—rumored to be living constructs that could judge one's worth.
Evan stood before them, hands behind his back, his satchel resting beside his boot. Nex, coiled around his neck like an obsidian scarf, remained motionless except for his flicking tongue.
He wasn't alone.
Dozens of young nobles and elite heirs gathered in the outer plaza, some already summoning their contracted beasts. The air pulsed with mana, ego, and the underlying current of tension that came when power met ambition.
Lilith Laistrygones stood just behind him, arms crossed, silver hair glowing under the morning sun like moonlight on snow. Her expression was bored—but her crimson eyes scanned everything like a tactician mapping a battlefield.
They were watched.
Whispers stirred through the crowd as Evan stepped forward.
"That's him… the Rochel heir."
"He's the one who awakened a Divine Beast, right?"
"They say the Basilisk obeys only him. That it devoured a lesser beast whole during hatching…"
He ignored it all.
Instead, he stared at the enormous inscription above the gates.
"To Tame Is Not To Chain – But To Become."
Then the gates groaned open.
The First Test – Path of the Bond
The main courtyard beyond the gates was massive—a cathedral-like square built from stone mined from deep beneath the Elemental Labyrinth. At its center stood a floating crystal obelisk, humming with ancient power.
An instructor in deep blue robes stepped forward. He was tall, sharp-featured, and carried a silver staff etched with runes.
"I am Instructor Maelis, Guardian of the Bonding Path," he announced. "Today, you will prove your fitness to remain in this Academy."
Whispers again.
"I thought this was just orientation?"
"They're starting with trials already?"
Evan said nothing. He already expected this. Aflety didn't welcome weakness.
Maelis raised his staff, and the crystal obelisk lit up—twelve elemental symbols flickering in rapid succession.
"One by one, you will place your hand upon the crystal. If your bond with your beast is true, the crystal will resonate. If it fails… you will not be allowed past the first gate."
The first student stepped forward—a flame-haired boy with a crimson lion beast. The crystal glowed red-orange, fire swirling upward in a fiery spiral.
"Silvus Ironfang. Fire affinity. Spirit bond confirmed. Proceed."
Others followed.
One girl summoned a wind hawk, her bond flickering green-white.
A thunder beast answered another boy, his path marked by streaks of lightning across the stone.
Then—
"Cassia Belvane."
All heads turned.
A tall girl with long violet hair, wearing a flowing coat laced with silver glyphs, approached the crystal. Her expression was calm, her every step practiced.
She placed her hand against the obelisk—and it pulsed with four overlapping lights.
Ice. Light. Wind. Darkness.
A murmur rose.
"Quadra-elemental bond?"
"She's from the Belvane family of the North. Spiritcallers—she probably awakened a variant beast."
Cassia said nothing. She walked past them without a glance.
Lilith chuckled beside Evan. "She'll be trouble."
"I know," Evan said.
Then a voice rang out—
"Veyon Draxis."
The boy who stepped forward was tall, dark-skinned, with a beastmark burned across his cheek like a claw. He held no visible beast beside him—but his shadow shimmered unnaturally.
The crystal pulsed with pure Space mana—and a second later, a horned draconic serpent slithered out of thin air behind him.
A Void Drakeling.
Even Maelis blinked in surprise. "Space elemental… confirmed."
Veyon turned and locked eyes with Evan for a fraction of a second.
There was no smile. Just the faintest narrowing of his eyes.
Then he walked on.
Evan Rochel's Turn
Silence fell as Evan stepped forward.
Even Maelis's tone shifted. "Evan Rochel. Son of House Rochel. Divine beast reported…"
He stepped up to the obelisk, raised his right hand—and placed it on the stone.
The world shook.
Not visually—but spiritually. A pressure rolled through the courtyard like a rising tide.
The obelisk flickered—blue. Black. Blue. Black. Then green.
The crystal pulsed three times before the glyphs shattered and rebuilt themselves around his hand.
Water. Darkness. Nature.
The crowd gasped.
A Tri-elemental Divine bond? And one of them… Nature?
But that wasn't what truly shook the others.
It was what happened next.
From Evan's shoulders, Nex uncoiled—and suddenly grew.
Not to full size, but enough to rear behind him like a looming shadow, golden eyes glowing with eerie power.
The students took an unconscious step back.
Maelis lowered his staff slowly. "Bond confirmed. And you…"
He looked into Nex's eyes.
"…are no ordinary beast."
Class Sorting & A Glimpse of the Staff
After the trials, the students were divided into divisions based on affinity, combat style, and beast class.
Evan was placed in Division Omega, a group of high-threat potential students who couldn't be safely ranked by traditional affinity alone. It included Lilith, Cassia, Veyon, Silva Elowen, and a handful of dangerous prodigies from noble and foreign bloodlines.
The instructors gave vague information about class schedules—but one note stood out.
"You will not be trained in a single discipline," said Maelis. "Aflety is not here to mold you into soldiers. We forge tamers worthy of the throne."
As Evan entered the great hall of Division Omega, he noticed an older man seated at the back.
He wore no robes. No sigils. Just a simple black coat and gloves.
His eyes, however—were piercing golden. Bestial. Almost… draconic.
He said nothing. Just watched Evan enter.
Later, Lilith whispered, "That man… no one knows his name. He's not listed among the staff."
Evan didn't need a name to feel it.
That man was watching him like a test subject.
And he didn't blink once when Nex looked back.
That Night – The Blood Moon Rises Again
Evan stood atop the dormitory balcony, staring into the horizon.
Below, Aflety's massive spell-barrier pulsed like a heartbeat.
Lilith joined him quietly.
"I thought you'd be more rattled," she said.
"I expected worse," he said.
She laughed. "So did I."
They stood in silence.
Then Lilith said, "One of the first-year professors disappeared last year. No trace. They think she was taken by the Nest."
Evan didn't react. "They're already here."
Lilith looked at him.
"You've seen them?"
"No," Evan said. "But Nex has."
The Basilisk uncoiled slowly behind him, eyes glowing faintly gold in the darkness.
And in the distant tower across the academy, the masked man from the road stood once more… watching.
Not moving. Not blinking.
Waiting.
[End of Chapter 5]