Dawn broke over Aether Academy like a blade of gold cutting through the clouds.
From the balcony of his new dorm, Bolt stood barefoot, shirtless, letting the cold morning air wash over him. The academy below shimmered with life already — students sparring in floating arenas, instructors weaving training barriers the size of city blocks, and mana conduits pulsing like luminous veins across the campus.
This place wasn't just different.
It was alive.
And it demanded strength.
Bolt closed his eyes as lightning hummed softly beneath his skin, responding to the thrum of energy in the air. This academy's mana field resonated with his own power almost harmonically, like a distant storm calling to a familiar storm.
He exhaled slowly.
Kairos's final scream still rang in his mind.Darian's lifeless body still clung to the back of his eyelids every time he blinked.The Abyssal Monarch's cold smile still sank into his bones.
And despite the headmaster's assurance, Bolt didn't feel safe.
He felt hunted.
Footsteps approached behind him. Bolt didn't turn — the gentle heartbeat, the cautious breathing, the soft mana signature were enough.
Kaori.
She leaned on the balcony rail beside him, her silver hair tied in a loose ribbon. "You didn't sleep."
Bolt shook his head. "Didn't feel like it."
"Nightmare?"
He hesitated. "Something like that. You?"
"Barely got an hour," she admitted, stretching. "The atmosphere here is too intense. It's like… the academy judges you even when you're asleep."
Bolt chuckled. "Yeah. I feel it too."
Silence settled between them — comfortable, warm, the kind of silence shared only between people who'd survived death together.
But it was broken by a sudden flare of light in the distance.
BOOM!
A shockwave rippled across campus, followed by another, then another, each one shaking the dorm building like thunder.
Kaori straightened instantly. "What was that?"
Bolt's eyes sharpened. "Training grounds," he murmured. "Somebody's fighting."
He grabbed his jacket.
And as if summoned by the very vibration of chaos itself, a voice boomed across the dorm through the academy-wide intercom.
"Attention, Celestial Tempest. Report to the Eastern Coliseum immediately. Your orientation begins now."
Kaori groaned. "They didn't even give us a full day off?"
Bolt smirked. "Welcome to Aether Academy."
THE EASTERN COLISEUM — THE HUNT BEGINS
The team arrived in less than five minutes, sprinting past mana streams, towering crystal pillars, and students who were already deep into their own morning training.
The Eastern Coliseum was enormous — easily the size of a football stadium, with barrier walls layered so thick that even Bolt's lightning couldn't crack them.
Inside, the atmosphere was heavier than any battlefield they'd fought in.
Hundreds of students lined the stands, all wearing different ranks embroidered on their uniforms — silver for elite class, gold for advanced class, and platinum for prodigies.
Every eye focused on Bolt and Celestial Tempest as they entered.
Damian grunted. "Great. Audience."
Sylva whispered nervously, "W-Why are so many here?"
Akane stretched lazily. "They're probably bored."
"No," said a calm voice behind them. "They're here to watch."
Celestial Tempest turned.
Leon Vandros — crimson hair glowing under the morning sun — walked toward them, flanked by Juno Lysandra and Rhett Corvos.
Bolt nodded. "Leon."
"Bolt," Leon greeted with a faint grin. "Hope you got enough sleep."
"Not really."
"Good. You might need that exhaustion for humility today."
Bolt raised an eyebrow. "That bad?"
Leon's smile widened. "You'll see."
Headmaster Altair appeared atop the coliseum's command platform, his very presence silencing the entire arena.
"Students," Altair announced, voice booming like divine thunder, "today marks the initiation of our newest special operations squad — Celestial Tempest."
Applause erupted, though mixed with murmurs, whispers, and the electric tension of competition.
Bolt could feel the pressure.The scrutiny.The expectation.The hunger.
Aether Academy wasn't a place that celebrated strength.
It challenged it.
"Your orientation," Altair continued, "is simple."
He raised his hand.
The ground split open, and twenty massive stone pillars erupted from the earth, each one engraved with glowing runes.
Kaori blinked. "What… is this?"
Altair smiled faintly.
"Trial One — The Gauntlet."
The arena ground shifted.
The pillars rearranged.
A labyrinth formed.
But this wasn't normal stone — the walls pulsed with condensed mana, swirling with elemental runes. Sharp spikes formed, then dissolved. Fire pulsed through channels. Shadow portals flickered along the edges.
Damian's jaw dropped. "Holy— This is a death trap!"
Akane grinned. "Looks fun."
Bolt stared, eyes narrowing as wind currents shifted unpredictably around the arena. "This maze… it moves."
Leon stepped forward. "Correction — it hunts."
"Hunts?" Sylva squeaked.
Juno smirked. "It adapts to your abilities and targets your weaknesses. Each Warborn faces a different configuration."
Rhett stepped forward, arms crossed. "Some students failed so badly they needed a stretcher."
Bolt inhaled deeply.
Good.
He wanted something strong enough to distract him from the nightmares.
Altair raised his arm.
"Celestial Tempest," he declared. "Your task is simple — survive the maze, make it to the central platform, and ring the Celestial Bell."
A massive bell descended from the ceiling, glowing with fierce blue energy.
"But," Altair added, "do not assume you can simply blast through the walls. They are reinforced with celestial alloy — the same material used to bind rogue S-class warborn."
Volt's stomach dropped slightly.
Celestial alloy?Even he couldn't destroy that on command.
"You succeed," Altair said, "you earn your place among Aether's elite."
The headmaster lowered his hand.
"Begin."
THE MAZE OF FANGS
The ground surged beneath Bolt's feet as the maze swallowed him whole. One moment the arena was open — the next, walls shot upward and the labyrinth shifted around him like a living creature.
Bolt exhaled sharply.
No time to hesitate.
The floor beneath him cracked — then fired a bolt of condensed force upward.
Bolt leapt, twisting midair as it exploded beneath him.
The maze reacted instantly.
Wind tunnels formed.
Lightning traps activated.
Barriers closed like jaws.
Bolt sprinted, his body becoming a blur of electricity. But no matter how fast he moved, the labyrinth adjusted — shifting its routes, closing off shortcuts, forcing him into dead ends whenever his lightning output spiked too high.
So lightning is predictable, Bolt realized.
But what about—
He dug his heel into the ground, pivoted sharply, and burst forward with raw physical speed alone — no lightning, no elemental pressure.
The maze hesitated.
Stopped adapting for half a second.
Bolt smirked.
"Got you."
He shot straight through an opening and slammed into a pressure plate unintentionally.
Click.
"Oh no."
A swarm of drones shot out of the walls — mechanical beasts armed with mana rifles and shock nets.
Bolt gritted his teeth. "Fine."
Lightning erupted from his arms and arced through the swarm, frying half instantly.
The labyrinth growled — an actual sound — and shifted walls again, forming a choke point ahead.
Bolt's eyes sharpened.
A challenge.
He liked that.
CELESTIAL TEMPEST STRUGGLES
Kaori darted through frost corridors, deflecting ice spikes with razor winds.
Damian punched through illusionary walls, frustrated he couldn't break the real ones.
Sylva hid from shadow portals, trembling as creatures sniffed for her.
Akane willingly punched the traps.
Everyone suffered.
Everyone pushed.
Everyone learned.
Aether Academy wasn't designed to test them.
It was designed to break them.
THE BELL RINGS
Bolt burst through the final wall, panting hard, sweat trailing down his neck as lightning danced around him uncontrolled.
At the center stood the Celestial Bell — glowing, tall, and beautiful.
But blocking the final step was a construct — a guardian of pure mana shaped like a knight.
It lunged.
Bolt didn't think.
He moved.
Lightning exploded behind him as he slid under a slash, sprang upward, and slammed his fist into the construct's chest.
It shattered into glowing dust.
Bolt stumbled forward, chest heaving, and grabbed the bell rope.
He pulled.
GONG!
The sound echoed across the entire academy, deep and resonant, silencing hundreds of spectators.
Then Kaori emerged from the maze.Then Damian.Then Akane. Sylva. Valea. The rest.
One by one, battered, bruised, trembling — but alive.
They had done it.
Celestial Tempest stood together at the center.
Altair nodded once.
"Welcome," he declared, "to Aether Academy's elite."
The crowd erupted.
But Bolt didn't bask in the applause.
He stared upward at the sky — feeling something.
A whisper.A tremor.A ripple of darkness tugging at the edges of existence.
Somewhere out there…
The Abyssal Monarch smiled.
Bolt felt it.
And the storm inside him answered.