The early-morning light filtered through the crystalline spires of the Astral Academy, casting rainbow prisms across the vast training grounds. Aelros stood at the center of the circular arena, his white cloak billowing in a gentle breeze, the sigils on its hem glinting like distant stars. Today marked the cadets' first true lesson: each would confront the pulse of their destined Pillar and discover whether its power would accept—or reject—them.
Seven figures arranged themselves before him in a loose semicircle. They had been summoned here before dawn, their breath misting in the chill air.
Aelros regarded them with calm intensity. "Cadets," he began, voice carrying effortlessly across the arena, "you arrived here because you possess aptitude where others see failure. But aptitude is nothing without resonance. Today, each of you will stand before a Pillar Gate—an echo of the Pillars themselves. Touch it, and you will feel whether you are bound to its power."
He gestured, and six archways of living stone shimmered into existence around the perimeter, each carved with a single glyph: Flame, Light, Gravity, Space, Summoning, Darkness, Void. The central arch, pulsing with silvery-white light, bore no glyph—it was the Gate of Origen, sealed until the very end.
"Each of you will choose one Gate," Aelros continued. "Step through and place a hand on the Pillar Heart within. Do not attempt to force anything. Listen, feel, and allow the Pillar's voice to speak to you. If the Pillar rejects you, you will know. If it accepts you… so shall you be changed."
His pale eyes scanned the cadets, pausing on each in turn:
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1. Lyra Caelthorn — Gate of Light
Lyra's heart pounded so fiercely she feared it would burst through her ribs. She approached the golden arch, the symbol of the Luminous Pillar etched above it. Every lesson she had studied, every formula memorized, had led to this moment. She raised her trembling hand and allowed the glyphs to glow beneath her palm.
A blinding warmth blossomed at her fingertip, spreading up her arm and into her chest. For a heartbeat she was afraid—too bright, too intense—but she forced her mind to stillness. She meditated on truths she had hidden even from herself: fear of failure, fear of her own potential. As the light receded, it left behind threads of silver energy woven into her skin.
Lyra exhaled, tears of relief shining in her eyes. "I… can see," she whispered.
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2. Kael Vorrin — Gate of Flame
Kael had fought demons older than time, but nothing prepared him for the roar of the Ignis Pillar. He strode toward the crimson arch, fists clenched. Here, raw power was prized above all. He slammed his palm to the pillar heart—a sphere of molten fire suspended in midair.
The flames leaped into his veins like dragons hungry for prey. Pain lanced through every nerve, fueling a blaze he could barely contain. Kael roared, gritting his teeth against the inferno, until he remembered Aelros's words: discipline, not destruction. He closed his eyes, tamed the heat with measured breaths, and forced the fire to simmer.
When he opened his eyes, the flames within him glowed steadily, alive but obedient. He flexed his fingers, summoning a single ember that hovered calmly above his palm. A small victory—yet Kael's triumphant grin burned brighter than any blaze.
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3. Riven Maelros — Gate of Gravity
Riven approached the deep-blue gate reverently, the sigil of gravitic force revolving slowly above it. The very air around him seemed to weigh a thousand times his mass. He braced himself and pressed his hand to the cold stone heart.
Immediately, the world shifted downward. Riven sank into the ground as if the earth itself sought to swallow him. His lungs burned from the pressure. In that crushing moment, memories flooded back: walls caving in on him during childhood drills, the guilt of friends he couldn't save. Yet he remained rooted, defying collapse with raw will.
Gradually, the pressure eased. Riven stood upright, dust swirling at his feet in gentle eddies. A ripple of power pulsed around him, an aura of looming graviton energy. He exhaled sharply. He would never take another step lightly.
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4. Sera Noxvale — Gate of Darkness
None of the instructors had seen Sera smile in months. She glided toward the black-mist gate without a word, her eyes reflecting no fear, only cold curiosity. The Sixth Pillar's heart hung there like a void of pure night—no glow, only the absence of light.
Sera's slender fingers brushed the surface. Instantly, shadows wrapped around her, whispering half-heard confessions, revealing lies she had buried. The darkness did not consume her; it spoke to her, acknowledging a kindred soul. She inhaled the oblivion and let it fill her lungs.
When she withdrew her hand, faint tendrils of shadow clung to her sleeves like living ink. Sera tilted her head, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "We understand one another," she murmured.
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5. Elias Thorne — Gate of Summoning
The emerald-green arch radiated life—sprouting vines and spectral forms that flickered like mirages. Elias approached with tentative steps. Summoners commanded beings of myriad realms, but Elias had yet to command his own courage.
He placed his hand on the heart, and the air shimmered. A distant roar, the beating of impossible wings, and a face of starlit scales coalesced before him: Vaelir, the Last Arcwyrm, a legendary spirit of ancient battle.
Elias stammered, but the creature's calm voice filled his head: "We are bound by trust." He nodded, offering a silent vow. The spirit withdrew into the gate heart, leaving behind a single feather of green fire.
Elias transformed the feather into a bracer on his arm. He smiled widely, finally believing in his own worth.
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6. Nyra Veyl — Gate of Void
Nyra hovered at the edge of the violet-hued gate, her pupils dilated with curiosity. The Void Pillar lay beyond law itself, an Abyss of unmaking and unreal potential. Most who dared its touch felt themselves erased.
She stepped forward, eyes fixed. The moment her hand met the void-heart, time fractured. She felt herself slip into every moment she had ever known—birth, childhood, heartbreak—and then into all she might become. Memories bled into one another in kaleidoscopic chaos.
Her breath caught. Nyra forced herself to focus on a single heartbeat—her own. In that sliver of continuity, she found a tether. The Void accepted her chaos, embracing it as a pattern. When she pulled back, the world snapped into place, and Nyra stood taller than before, her violet aura shimmering with newfound purpose.
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7. Erias Morn — Between Two Shadows
Erias approached the seventh gate—yet it was not a gate, but two, interlocking: Darkness and Void entwined. He did not hesitate. His pale hand pressed both heartstones simultaneously.
Shock rippled through him as dual currents of power crashed over his skin: the hush of shadow and the hunger of nothingness. Erias felt himself fracture into two, then unify in a paradox of life and non-existence. His eyes glowed with spectral light and fathomless black.
When he withdrew, the archways quivered, acknowledging a host they deemed worthy of both. Erias exhaled once. "I am… both," he said calmly.
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Aelros—watching each cadet's trial from the center—nodded subtly. The seven had chosen their paths. Seven new tendrils of power wove into the fabric of his lesson. Behind him, the sealed Gate of Origen pulsed faintly—awaiting the day it would open.
Clearing his throat, Aelros spoke: "You have all resonated with forces few mortals ever touch. But resonance alone is nothing without mastery. In the days to come, you will learn to shape these powers, to temper them, and to unite them. Only then will you understand why I have gathered you here."
The cadets exchanged glances—some eager, some wary, all aware that their lives had changed forever.
Aelros turned his gaze upward to the brightening sky. Somewhere beyond the citadel walls, the Veiled Keepers stirred in the deep vaults, and Chronovar's distant laughter echoed through unseen rifts.
But here, on the Arena Floor, seven futures began to unspool—each a thread in the tapestry of a destiny written by Nine Pillars and one unbreakable will.