The skies above the Astral Dominion Academy shimmered with ethereal light as floating carriages, rune-beasts, and arcane transport spells descended upon the marble plaza. The Grand Entry Day had arrived—a historic event held once every decade to welcome the chosen few of the Great Generation.
And this generation was nothing short of monstrous.
From the highlands of the Skyhorn Tribes came a youth cloaked in thunder. His name was Valrik Stormhowl, a warrior born of lightning blood, whose every breath hummed with raw elemental fury. It was said he once challenged a hydra alone—and won.
From the depths of the Obsidian Wastes arrived Nyssa Veyne, a vampiric prodigy with obsidian eyes and crimson mana that made even seasoned generals uneasy. Her presence alone silenced the crowd, her aura seductive, deadly, and cold.
A golden-winged chariot thundered in from the western skies. Zephyron Callas, heir to the Skyborne Court, descended in robes woven from cloud silk, his command over wind so absolute it parted the sea of onlookers. Noble, unshakable—he radiated divinity.
Dozens more came—sons of tyrants, daughters of dragons, war-saints, elf marksmen, giants with flame-bound hearts.
But they all paused when he arrived.
Alaric Thorneveil stepped out of his obsidian carriage, unguarded, unbothered.
He wore no ostentatious regalia, only a tailored black cloak edged with gold, bearing the Thorneveil crest. His silvery-black hair rustled faintly in the breeze. His face held no arrogance, only quiet authority. Yet the crowd stilled as if royalty had graced the earth.
Whispers rippled.
"That's Duke Caelan's son…"
"I thought he was soft. He looks like a sovereign…"
"No, not just looks. Do you feel that weight? That… pressure?"
Unlike the flamboyant entries of others, Alaric didn't need spectacle. The very air seemed to bow to his presence.
Hidden beneath his calm gaze, the Binding System pulsed quietly.
> Bound Target: Elric Darnell
Status: Active
Synchronization: 14%
Passive Skill Acquired: Mana Root Expansion (Tier S)
Growth Stat +3% (Cumulative)
Shared Exp: 320
Elric—the "chosen one" of the Empire. The golden boy selected by the divine Noble Element Luminflare, revered by temples, backed by nobles.
And he was also one of the first to arrive earlier that day.
He had made quite the entrance. Golden mana exploded from him in a phoenix spiral. The crowd had roared. Priests bowed. A legion of noble daughters whispered his name like a prayer.
He was perfection to the public.
But what the world didn't know was that his efforts—his growth—fed another.
Alaric.
The true heir of Thorneveil. The one no one saw coming.
Though Alaric gained power through his bindings, he trained daily under pressure so intense that veteran knights collapsed in minutes. He knew skill without experience was folly.
On a secluded hilltop weeks prior, he had sparred with steel golems enchanted by Empress Lysandra herself—his mother, his only weakness and greatest shield.
"Again," she had whispered, watching her son bleed, her golden eyes aflame with possessive pride. "You don't get to die, my little sun. Not in this lifetime."
Now, her creation stood at the gates of the Empire's greatest academy.
Just behind the ceremonial archway, instructors watched from floating runescreens. Among them stood Archon Sevrik, one of the academy's ten Grand Instructors.
"He's here," Sevrik murmured.
"Elric?"
"No," Sevrik said grimly, eyes narrowing. "The one the nobles ignore. The one they'll regret crossing."
Elric, from a distance, watched Alaric enter. Their eyes met.
For a heartbeat, it felt like fate itself paused.
The light around Elric flared instinctively—as if recognizing its echo in Alaric.
But then Alaric looked away, as if dismissing him entirely.
Elric's hand clenched.
> System Prompt:
Rival Detected. Sync Efficiency Decreased.
Quest Generated: "Prove Superiority" – Defeat Alaric Thorneveil in public combat.
Reward: 1,200 Points, Divine Seed (Partial)
Elric smiled coldly. So the heavens did recognize Alaric.
Good.
Let the war begin.
Back among the sea of candidates, new figures emerged. Korra Helwynd, an iceblood duchess whose mana froze the air around her. Bastian Crowe, a blind prophet with black feathers who foresaw destinies—yet found Alaric unreadable.
They were monsters, each more gifted than the last.
But when the academy's gate opened and the Archons summoned them in, all eyes still followed Alaric.
He was no longer just a hidden heir.
He was a storm walking in silence.
And the era of Monoliths… had just begun.
-