The car eased forward, the obsidian gates yawning open as the barrier rippled, bending like liquid glass. For a mont, I thought we were about to slam into it, then the world shattered into light.
A rush of energy washed over .
It wasn’t like touching anything physical, more like grasping sothing otherworldly. The sensation clawed down my skin, prickling my nerves with icy needles while at the sa ti warming my chest like a hearth. My breath hitched as my vision warped, colors bending in impossible shades, as if the barrier was peeling apart and stitching back together in the sa instant.
Every part of scread that I didn’t belong here.And yet, at the very sa ti, it felt like the world itself was whispering: Welco.
Then, as quickly as it ca, the sensation snapped away. I gasped, sucking in air like I’d been underwater, my body tingling all over.
And when I opened my eyes—
I froze.
The inside of Astralis Academy wasn’t just an academy. It was a city.
Towering structures rose all around us, their white stone spires laced with streams of glowing blue mana that pulsed like veins through the streets. Hovering bridges connected them, crisscrossing overhead like a web of light. Trees taller than houses shimred faintly with silver leaves, their roots wrapped in crystal. Floating lanterns bobbed lazily in the air, each one humming with runic power.
There were people everywhere. Students in pristine uniforms walked in clusters, laughing and bickering in the middle of the streets. Academy staff, in crisp butler and maid uniforms, managing restaurants.
And above it all, at the heart of this academy, stood the Aetherium.
A colossal tower, so high it vanished into the clouds, ringed by countless smaller spires. Its walls shone with inscriptions of ancient runes, and at its peak, a giant crystal pulsed with a rhythm like a heartbeat, each thrum spreading across the entire barrier above, feeding power into this world within a world.
I couldn’t help but mutter under my breath, my voice barely a whisper.
"...This isn’t an academy. It’s an empire."
Beside , Alectra smiled, her golden eyes soft but proud.
"No, Sebastian. This is Astralis. The place where humanity’s future is forged."
She gestured to the sprawling streets before us, alive with floating stalls and glowing runes etched into the very stone.
"Right now, we’re standing in the Main Plaza. It’s the place where students with free ti co to relax, enjoy various activities managed by academy staff."
Her voice carried that effortless calm she always had when explaining sothing, as if she were a teacher and I was the only student.
She lifted her chin toward the colossal tower dominating the skyline.
"The Aetherium isn’t just the symbol of Astralis. It’s also our ho."
My eyes followed her gesture. The closer I looked, the more monstrous the tower looked, its white stone laced with streams of mana that climbed its surface like rivers of light.
"The first five floors of the Aetherium," she continued, "are reserved for first-years. A rite of passage, in a way. Humble beginnings before they rise higher. The next five houses the second-years, and above them, the third-years. Each level is harder to earn, and each level is closer to the sky."
I squinted upward, trying to see where it ended, but the peak was already swallowed by the clouds."And at the very top?" I asked.
Alectra’s lips curved faintly. "The instructors. The last five floors belong to them. Their presence keeps the academy itself breathing. Without them, Astralis wouldn’t be Astralis."
I leaned back against the seat, muttering, "Of course. Put the gods in the heavens."
She ignored my jab, turning instead to gesture outward as the car rolled deeper into the plaza. "The academy is divided into four sectors, each one serving a purpose."
To the north, where we were now, lay the Main Plaza: a sprawling heart where students wandered between floating stalls, shimring fountains, and leisure halls. Mana lanterns drifted lazily overhead, carrying faint illusions of news, announcents, or sotis just jokes scrawled by bored enchanters.
To the west, beyond the towering walls, lood the Hallowveil Forest. Even from here, I could glimpse its silver canopy swaying, wrapped entirely in a shimring barrier."It’s where students face their midterms," Alectra explained. "They’re sent in to fight beasts. So co back with trophies. Others... don’t co back at all."
I raised a brow. "Educational."
Her golden eyes flicked to , unimpressed.
To the east, a complex of marble and steel sprawled across the horizon, crowned with dozens of crystalline dos. "That’s the Academy Wing. Classrooms, Libraries, training arenas, laboratories, it’s where the theory is hamred in, and the power is sharpened."
And finally, to the south, the land fell away into a vast arena: the Colosseum. An unbroken circle of stone and mana-forged steel, over a mile in diater. Towering gates gaped open like the jaws of titans, and banners rippled along its walls.
"That’s where the academy tournant is held," Alectra said, pride glinting in her voice. "But it’s more than that. The Colosseum is always open to duels. Grudges, challenges, wagers, if you can’t settle it with words, you settle it there."
I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face."Finally," I said. "Sothing civilized."
Alectra only sighed.
I leaned back, drumming my fingers against the car door as we rolled through the plaza. "Alright, tour guide. I get the grand layout—north plaza, scary forest, shiny classrooms, oversized arena. But where are we actually going right now?"
Her golden eyes shifted toward the towering heart of the academy."The Aetherium," she said simply. "I need to pick soone up from there first. After that, we’ll head east to the Academy Wing."
I arched a brow. "The god-tower first, howork later. Got it."
She gave a look that was half amusent, half warning. "Try not to embarrass yourself before we even make it inside."
I smirked. "Please. Embarrassnt is for lesser beings. I’ll make an entrance."
"Sebastian," she muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.
The car curved toward the base of the Aetherium, where an archway the size of a mountain lood ahead, etched with runes that thrumd like a heartbeat. Even from here, the sheer size of it made feel like an insect in comparison.
And for once, I kept my glorious mouth shut.
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