Artificial morning light streamed in through the digital window.
Vex woke with the feeling that he hadn't slept much—just enough.Kaen was already dressed, sitting on his bed, sharpening his focus in silence.Elois… was standing in front of the mirror.
— "Ladies and gentlemen of the ancestral assembly…"— "No," said Kaen.
— "Honorable instructors, bearers of the legacy…"— "Still no."
— "What's going on today?" Vex asked as he adjusted his uniform, still uncomfortable with the stiff fabric on his shoulders.
Kaen looked up.
— "Opening ceremony. Director's speech. Theoretical welcome.And after that… the academy actually begins."
— "Ceremony...? From the director?"
— "Yep. The one and only Aureon Tarsk, descending from his stone throne to grace us with a phrase that will haunt the rest of the semester."
— "Or the entire year," added Elois, tightening his belt with theatrical flair."I've prepared three possible responses—just in case there's an open-floor moment."
— "There won't be."
— "But if there is, I'll be ready!"
They walked through the halls of Block Terna.Other students joined the flow—some just as quiet, some just as nervous.The robes marked each class: Aether, Caelum, Ignis…And in last place: Terna. Gray as stone.
The ceremonial building rose at the heart of the campus like a sleeping titan.A spinning dome, supported by columns that didn't touch the ground.Living stone. Suspended light.
As they stepped inside, the air changed.Colder.Cleaner.More… aware.
Thousands of students took their seats in concentric rings, grouped by class.Terna was on the outer edge.The elite—Aether—sat closest to the center.
And at the exact center of the chamber: a massive pendulum, floating in midair.It wasn't hanging from anything.It swayed with slow, majestic precision.
The Legacy Pendulum.
Its movement didn't measure time.It measured something older.
The students fell silent.
A figure walked to the center platform, entering from a higher level.Black robes, no ornament. A presence as heavy as stone.
It was him.Aureon Tarsk.
Vex felt a small jolt in his chest.
— "He… he was the one who approved me in the trial," he whispered.
Elois nearly choked.
— "WHAT?! You know him?!"
— "I don't know him… but I saw him. He spoke to me. Said I passed."
Kaen turned with a raised eyebrow.
— "That's… not common."
— "That's historic," Elois whispered. "Do you realize what you're saying?That man… that man was a disciple of the Warrior of Truth.He's set foot in Arkhadia more times than there are maps.Nations owe him magical treaties.And he spoke to you?"
— "Yeah… but I don't know why."
Then the pendulum stopped.And Aureon spoke.
His voice wasn't loud.But it didn't echo.It didn't need to.
— "Welcome to Olympo."
Silence.
— "You are here because something in you resonated with the legacy.With the history that breathes beneath your feet."
— "Not everyone here has awakened.And not everyone who has… will survive what's coming."
Elois muttered under his breath:— "Starting strong, huh?"
Aureon continued, unmoving in the center.
— "This academy is not a temple.Not a refuge.Not a privilege."
— "It is a rift.An open wound in history.A place where the forgotten world tries to remember who it was."
— "Here, it doesn't matter if you're an heir or an orphan.It doesn't matter if you come from bloodlines or from mud.The only thing that matters… is what you leave behind with every step."
The pendulum glowed faintly.Its energy vibrated through the air.
— "Here, we do not measure effort.We do not measure talent.We measure impact."
— "The Legacy Pendulum does not reward those who walk straight—It rewards those who shake the ground with every step."
A silent current passed through the room.Vex felt a chill—but it wasn't fear.
It was the certainty that… everything had just begun.
The pendulum resumed its slow sway.
Aureon turned, and without a word of farewell, left the platform.
Elois leaned toward Vex.
— "You realize he spoke to you, right?"
— "Yeah."
— "And that you probably already have a destiny marked at this academy?"
— "I don't know."
Kaen gave a faint smile.
— "I just hope the dining hall is open."