The wind howled gently through the courtyard as Keith swept fallen leaves into a small pile. Morning chores were part of the daily routine, but he didn't mind them. They gave him time to think.
Time to reflect.
In the two and a half months since arriving at the training center, the number of trainees who had awakened steadily increased. Some awoke in their sleep, others during combat drills, and a few in moments of deep emotion. When it happened, their energy would burst outward—sometimes violently—before settling into the steady rhythm of a Novice Rank warrior.
Each awakening was met with quiet celebration and a mark in the records.
Keith, however, remained untouched by that transformation.
"Still no change?" Ethan asked, stepping up behind him.
Keith shook his head, brushing the last of the leaves into the corner. "Nothing. Not even a flicker."
Ethan scratched his neck, awkward but trying to be encouraging. "It's… still early. I mean, not too early, but it happens. Some people take longer."
Keith arched an eyebrow. "You awakened three weeks ago."
"Yeah, but I was late compared to a few others."
"Still earlier than me."
Ethan didn't reply immediately. Instead, he held out a hand. A soft shimmer of ether danced across his palm—a faint white glow that pulsed with a rhythm of its own.
"Novice Rank," he said, smiling weakly. "Not much, but it's something."
Keith looked at the glow, a strange mix of admiration and bitterness in his chest. "What does it feel like?"
Ethan blinked. "Huh?"
"To awaken."
"Oh." He paused, then sat beside Keith on the edge of the courtyard stone wall. "It's like… waking up from a dream where you thought you were drowning. You gasp. And for a moment, everything around you feels sharper. Louder. And then… there's this warmth in your chest. Right here." He pointed to the center of his sternum. "That's where the ether settles."
Keith glanced down at his own chest. It felt… ordinary.
The moment passed in silence until Ethan nudged his shoulder.
"Don't worry. You'll get there."
Later that afternoon, Keith found himself in the training field again, but not as a participant. He watched from the sidelines as a new batch of awakened students practiced ether channeling through their weapons.
Instructors supervised closely, teaching them to stabilize their flow of energy. Wooden swords wrapped in faint light met with crackling sound as they struck practice dummies. It was mesmerizing.
One girl in particular stood out—Selene.
She had awakened just a few days ago, and already she was capable of pushing her ether into the blade with control that bordered on Adept-level precision. Whispers followed her, about how she might reach Elite Rank within a year.
Keith wasn't jealous. Not exactly. But he felt... distant.
He turned to leave, when a voice called out behind him.
"You. Boy. Stay."
It was Mistress Elara, the silver-haired woman who oversaw general training. Her expression was unreadable as she approached.
"You watch, but do not engage. Why?"
Keith stood a little straighter. "Because I haven't awakened yet."
She studied him for a long moment. "And you think that means you cannot learn?"
"I didn't say that."
"No, but you believe it." She stepped closer. "Do you know what separates the weak from the strong?"
Keith hesitated. "Power?"
"No. That comes later." She folded her arms. "Understanding. Patience. Observation. Traits you clearly possess. That makes you dangerous—eventually."
Keith blinked, unsure if that was a compliment or a warning.
"You will train. Regardless of your awakening. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She walked off without another word, leaving Keith standing in silence.
That evening, Keith sat alone on a bench outside the dining hall, watching stars form in the deepening sky. He heard the laughter of his peers inside—those who had already begun climbing the ladder of strength.
Novice. Adept. Elite…
He repeated the words in his head like steps on a distant mountain.
And then he remembered what Master Faelan had said in the previous lesson:
"Not all power blooms early. Some take years. But the ones who awaken late—when they finally rise—tend to rise the highest."
Keith looked up at the stars, fists gently clenched.
He wasn't afraid of being the last to awaken anymore.
Because when his time came…
He would make sure they all remembered it.