The Academy bells rang again. This time they felt different.
Not a call to war. Not a summons to trial.
A command to return.
[System Notice: Anomaly Vaelith - Observation Mode Active.]
[All Correction protocols suspended.]
[Resume standard academic cycle.]
[Warning: Subject remains under active surveillance.]
Eryndor stared at the floating message, unreadable.
This was not mercy. It was postponement.
The bells tolled again, cold and final.
"Let's go," he said.
The Lost Ones followed him in silence through the winding corridors of Vaelith. The contrast struck him more now than ever. The Academy was alive.
The sun poured through high arched stained-glass windows that bathed the hallways in brilliant sapphire and gold. Mana glyphs drifted lazily across vaulted ceilings. Sky-beasts glided through distant clouds between impossibly tall towers.
Laughter echoed from students rushing to morning lectures.
Uniformed first-years argued over spell forms and summoned familiars.
Upperclassmen sparred casually in floating dueling arenas.
None of them looked at The Lost Ones.
None of them spoke.
The group walked isolated down the center of the main path, every other student instinctively moving aside, eyes averted.
The weight of what they had survived clung to them like a second shadow.
The Unborn moved with heavy, deliberate steps, chains dragging against the polished stone.
The Flickering Aura Boy's fists clenched tightly by his sides, jaw tight under the murmurs.
The Mana-Cursed Girl kept her eyes down, aura flickering unevenly.
Eryndor walked ahead of them all, expression cold.
This was survival. It always came at a price.
As they neared the Academic Tower, System text pulsed once more.
[New Observation Directive: Attend Introduction Lecture - Professor Ilyen.]
[Non-compliance will trigger Investigation Event.]
Eryndor's eyes narrowed faintly.
Even under observation, there were threats.
The heavy double doors of the lecture hall loomed ahead. They pushed open with a low groan, revealing the vast, amphitheater-like chamber. Spell-etched desks spiraled downward around a central elevated podium.
Already seated: hundreds of first-years, whispering, laughing, oblivious to what was coming.
The Lost Ones entered last. The whispers died immediately.
A single figure stood at the podium.
Tall. Impossibly thin. Robes of shifting ink-black and violet, patterns of constellations woven into the fabric. His face hidden by an elaborate glass mask.
Professor Ilyen.
The Master of Arcane Theory.
The Silent Judge.
His voice cut through the silence without effort.
"Welcome to Vaelith Academy."
Eryndor took the last empty seat, eyes sharp as ever.
Let the observation begin.
The lecture hall held its breath.
Professor Ilyen stood motionless at the center. The spell-light rippled faintly across his glass mask, fracturing into shifting constellations. His voice carried again, quiet yet absolute.
"Vaelith Academy is not here to teach you how to survive."
The words stunned even the most arrogant students.
"It is here to teach you how to endure what survival demands."
He raised one pale hand.
Dozens of projection spheres ignited into being. Images flickered: shattered battlefields, obliterated cities, monstrous beings twisting reality itself.
"Your world is ending," Ilyen said softly. "You will either become its savior or its sacrifice."
Silence.
"The System catalogues. The Academy prepares. I do not care who you are, what House you disgrace, or what anomaly you hide."
Eryndor's eyes narrowed slightly at the deliberate word choice. A cold flicker of understanding clicked into place.
They knew.
"You will learn. Or you will vanish."
The projections dissolved into nothing.
"Tomorrow, we begin the first live combat simulations. Team formations mandatory. Failure results in expulsion."
A low ripple of dread passed through the assembled students.
Ilyen gestured toward the doors.
"Dismissed."
The crowd surged to leave. Nervous laughter. Fearful glances. The polished arrogance of young elites shattered just slightly.
The Lost Ones remained seated.
Eryndor sat back slowly in his chair, cold gaze locked on the now-empty podium.
Bait.
This was no normal introduction. The System had forced them here for a reason.
Was it a test? A trap? Or something worse?
His mind raced cold and precise.
The Academy would not strike him directly now.
But it would send others.
Rival factions. Students. Professors.
They would watch to see if he slipped.
The others waited for his signal.
Eryndor stood first.
"Come."
They filed out behind him. The Lost Ones moved as a single unit through the crowded hallways where students parted like waves.
As they reached the exit, a figure blocked their path.
The same silver-haired upperclassman from House Merilith. Pale emerald eyes, perfect posture, cold smile.
"Vaelith."
Eryndor stopped. Slowly turned.
"You've survived the System," she said softly. "Now let's see if you survive us."
She walked past without waiting for an answer.
The Lost Ones stood silent behind him. The message was clear.
Eryndor's expression hardened, crimson eyes flashing cold calculation.
"Let them try."