The blade whistled just inches from my face.
"Too slow, kid."
Heinrich dodged my counterattack with a casual sidestep, his gray hair fluttering in the morning breeze. His own sword arced perfectly toward my ribs, which I barely parried, feeling my arms tremble under the impact.
"You still think too much, Lukas. In combat, Nexus react by instinct, not logic."
I stepped back, wiping the sweat beading on my forehead. After three years training with Heinrich, I felt like I was stuck. My muscles had grown, my technique sharpened, but something was off. Something I couldn't quite grasp.
"I know, but—"
"But nothing."
He pointed his blade at my chest, where the silver scar running across my torso showed through my shirt—a scar I'd had for as long as I could remember.
"You let that mark define you. It's part of you, so own it."
I clenched my teeth. Heinrich had a knack for hitting where it hurt most. The scar sometimes pulsed with a strange glow, especially when I was angry or focused. The few times others saw it, their looks turned suspicious. A mark of a failing Nexus, they whispered. A stigma of corrupted power.
"Once more," I said, raising my guard.
Heinrich nodded with a sly smile. Exactly the answer he wanted.
This time, I thought of nothing. Not technique, not attack angles, not even the pain shooting through my right shoulder from our last exchange. I let my body move, guided by thousands of hours of training.
My blade shot toward Heinrich. He parried easily, but I didn't stop there. Pivot on my left foot, wrist rotation, and my sword rose toward his exposed flank. His eyes widened slightly—I had caught him off guard.
But Heinrich was Heinrich. His Ventus Nexus gleamed a greenish light at his wrist, and an invisible gust deflected my blade at the last moment.
"Better," he growled, lowering his weapon. "Much better. You're beginning to understand."
I let out a breathless laugh. Understand what, exactly? That I was doomed to remain a second-rate swordsman with a broken Nexus? That my mysterious scar didn't make up for the absence of real magic power?
"Heinrich…"
"Yes?"
"What really happened to my parents?"
The silence that followed was heavier than usual. Heinrich planted his sword in the ground and leaned on the hilt, staring at me with his steel-gray eyes. Seventeen years living with him, and he'd never really answered that question.
"You know what I've always told you. The Cataclysm of the Convergence. Several legendary Nexus exploded simultaneously near Grünwald. Your parents were caught in the blast."
"That's not what I'm asking."
He sighed and picked up our training swords. His movements were precise, methodical, as always when avoiding a delicate subject.
"You're stubborn as a mule."
"I had a good teacher."
It pulled a smile from him. Heinrich headed toward our small stone house nestled on the hill overlooking the village of Eschenbach. I followed, frustrated but used to his evasions. One day, I would get the truth out of him. Even if it took years.
"By the way," he said, placing the swords on the rack near the door, "I got a letter today."
"A letter?"
Heinrich disappeared inside and returned with an envelope sealed with a crest I didn't recognize at first. Then my eyes widened.
The seal of the Nexus Academy of Kristallburg.
"This is… impossible," I stammered, taking the envelope with a trembling hand.
"Open it."
The parchment crackled under my shaky fingers. The handwriting was elegant, official, and each word seemed to dance before my eyes.
"Mr. Lukas Steinberg,
Following the preliminary exams held in your region six months ago, we are honored to inform you that your application to the Nexus Academy of Kristallburg has been accepted.
Despite the... unique nature of your Nexus, the teaching council believes your potential deserves to be nurtured at our institution.
You are invited to present yourself on the 15th day of the Blooming month for your first-year enrollment..."
I had to read the passage three times before the words truly sank into my brain.
"Heinrich, how is this possible? My Nexus is unlike anything known. The examiners said…"
"That they had never seen anything like it, I remember very well."
He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. His expression unreadable.
"And don't you find it strange they accepted me anyway?"
"Lukas," he said, placing a heavy hand on my shoulder, "in this world, nothing happens by chance. Especially not when it comes to Nexus."
I stared at the letter, torn between excitement and apprehension. The Nexus Academy of Kristallburg was Æthermoor's most prestigious school of magic. The heirs of the five major kingdoms studied side by side there. Graduates became generals, diplomats, royal advisors… Anything but orphans lost in a mountain village.
"You think I should go?"
Heinrich looked at me for a long moment, and for the first time in years, I thought I saw emotion flicker in his eyes.
"I think you have no choice, kid. Your destiny isn't in this village."
He headed inside the house, then stopped at the threshold.
"And Lukas?"
"Yes?"
"Be careful there. The Academy is not just a place of learning. It's a web of plots and intrigue. The heirs of great families already play their parents' power games."
"You speak from experience?"
A mysterious smile hovered on his lips.
"Let's say I had… a different past life before becoming your tutor."
With those cryptic words, he disappeared inside, leaving me alone with my acceptance letter and a thousand unanswered questions.
I sat on the stone steps, rereading the letter yet again. The mountain wind tousled my brown hair and carried the scent of pines and wildflowers. In a few weeks, I would leave this comforting little world to face Æthermoor's elite.
My scar pulsed faintly, as it always did when I felt strong emotions. I touched it absentmindedly through my shirt. Heinrich was right—it was part of me, whether I liked it or not.
In the distance, Eschenbach's bells tolled noon. The villagers must be finishing their meals and returning to their tasks. The simple, predictable life I'd always known.
Soon, all of that would be just a memory.
I stood and entered the house. Heinrich was busy preparing mountain herb tea—one of his habits when pondering something important.
"Heinrich?"
"Mm?"
"Will you come with me to Kristallburg?"
He looked up from his steaming teapot and smiled. A real smile—warm and proud.
"Of course, kid. Do you really think I'd let you walk into the snake pit alone?"
I returned his smile. Whatever the future held, at least I wouldn't face this first step alone.
Outside, the wind suddenly rose, stirring the curtains by the window. For a moment, I could have sworn I heard distant voices whispering my name.
My story was only just beginning.