---
Rain tapped gently against the training center's rooftops as the evening rolled in, softening the harsh edges of the stone walls and wooden beams. Keith stood under the awning outside the boys' hostel, arms crossed, watching the grey sky bleed into dusk.
A gentle wind carried with it the earthy scent of wet soil and something fainter—something metallic. Distant. Almost like blood.
He dismissed it.
Inside, the hallway buzzed with activity. The newly awakened were growing more confident, forming their own little groups. Some discussed combat formations, others tried to guess who would ascend to Adept Rank next. Ethan, as usual, drifted between circles with his easy smile and casual charm.
Keith walked past them unnoticed, as he often did. He didn't mind. It gave him time to listen.
And today, there were rumors.
"Did you hear about the girl in Wing Three? They said she awakened during a nightmare. Screamed so loud the floor cracked."
"Yeah, but her rank's still low. Just Novice. I heard someone else got evaluated as Mid-Adept right after awakening. That's crazy!"
"Maybe the demons are drawing closer. That could explain it."
Demons.
Even now, months into his time at the center, Keith hadn't seen one with his own eyes. In books and lectures, yes. But never in the flesh.
Their ranks had been explained slowly, in pieces. The instructors didn't want the newer trainees overwhelmed. But if you paid attention—if you watched like Keith did—you could start to fit it all together.
---
Later that night, during study hall...
A dim lantern flickered in the corner of the library chamber as Keith sat at the far end, flipping through an old, worn text. It was faded and water-damaged, likely ignored by most.
The Abyssal Hierarchy: A Study of Demon Classification.
The words were written in small, tight script. Hand-copied, not printed. Old.
He read quietly, eyes narrowing.
> "Lesser Fiends—simple creatures driven by instinct. Dangerous in groups, but individually weak. Typically hunted by Novice-ranked warriors."
He'd heard of them. Tiny, animal-like. Crawled out of corrupted forests or bled into forgotten towns through cracks in the world.
> "Minor Demons—slightly more evolved. Capable of speech, manipulation. A threat to untrained humans. Fire affinity common."
Then came Greater Demons, Demon Knights... all the way up to Primordial Evils. The text didn't go into much detail on the higher levels.
Just vague warnings.
A side note scribbled in the margin caught his attention.
> Avoid seeking them. If you must fight one, pray your life ends swiftly.
Keith closed the book gently. The air felt colder now. He wasn't sure if it was the rain or the words he'd read.
---
Meanwhile, across the training grounds…
Inside the girls' hostel, things were quieter. Structured. Neater. A soft hum of conversation drifted from behind curtained windows.
Selene sat on her bunk, polishing the hilt of her training blade. Though she'd awakened quickly, she hadn't moved beyond Novice Rank yet—and it bothered her.
Across from her, a girl named Mira was sketching symbols in a notebook. "They say you need more than talent to reach Adept. You need something to trigger it."
"Like what?" Selene asked, glancing up.
"Some kind of… moment. Battle. Pressure. Emotion."
Selene paused, then sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Mira looked at her curiously.
Selene's voice lowered. "That the thing that pushes me to the next rank... might be something I don't want to live through."
---
Back in the boys' dormitory…
Keith lay in bed, eyes open, listening to the patter of rain against the window. Everyone else was asleep. Or pretending to be.
His thoughts churned.
Power, demons, ranks, weapons…
They were all part of something bigger. A world that had been at war long before he was born. A world filled with forces too strong for any one person to fully grasp.
And yet… here he was. Powerless.
But he was beginning to understand something.
The strongest warriors weren't just those who awakened early.
They were the ones who endured. Watched. Waited. Learned.
He didn't need to awaken yet. He needed to be ready.
And when the time came—when his power finally stirred—he wouldn't just rise to meet the world.
He would change it.
---