While some memories in Kaelen's mind had faded, others remained etched like a seal.
Fifteen years...
Even for Kaelen, such a long time felt like another lifetime. But the significance of today outweighed the weight of those years. The entrance exam for Eldorian Miracle Academy... Kaelen was about to take this exam. And exactly fifteen years ago, he had lived this same day.
His mind filtered out most unnecessary memories, but today... Today would remain etched in his memory for a lifetime.
Just then, the shrill ringtone of his phone echoed through the room.
Caller: Prof. Alfia Hall
Kaelen hesitated for a moment. His finger hovered over the green icon on the screen. Talking to her again... would be harder than he thought.
He took a deep breath, answered the call, and brought the phone to his ear. But just as he was about to speak, the words caught in his throat.
What was he supposed to say?
What could he even tell her?
Should he apologize for his regrets?
Or should he expect praise for what he had done?
Maybe he needed to beg forgiveness for both...
Lost in his thoughts, the familiar stern voice rang in his ears.
"Damn brat! Didn't I tell you not to be late? Where are you?"
For a moment, Kaelen felt the boundary between past and present blur.
The Alfia Hall in his memories and the Alfia Hall speaking to him now... They felt like two different people. In his mind, she was still that old, strict yet wise teacher. Her words, her advice, her booming voice on the battlefield, the weary but determined look in her eyes... But hearing this voice now, that image cracked.
It was like the sharp sound of thin glass shattering in his mind.
Everything he remembered about his teacher had to stay in the past. She wasn't the person he had fought alongside, struggled for, or lost. She, like everyone else lost in that war, was long gone.
What remained was just a shadow.
Kaelen swallowed hard, steadied himself, and his voice became more measured, more formal.
*Ahem... My apologies, Lady Alfia. I overslept. I'm on my way now. I'm sorry for worrying you."*
His words were polite and controlled. But the turmoil inside him fought not to seep into his tone. Keeping his composure was hard enough, but especially so when the person on the other end was Alfia.
"Whatever. Just get here already and drop that fake polite act. Even if you become an Eldorian Academy student, don't you dare talk to me like that... Ugh, annoying brat."
When Alfia ended the call, Kaelen stood frozen for several seconds.
He slowly set the phone down on the table and closed his eyes.
For a moment, the thought that everything he had experienced might just be an illusion seized his mind.
All those losses, the destroyed cities, the friends who had vanished before his eyes... Were they all just tricks his mind had played on him? Maybe nothing had changed. Maybe it had all been just a dream.
But no.
Kaelen immediately banished that thought.
This was real. The future had been merciless. As someone who had lost everything, he couldn't dare believe his past was just a dream. He had struggled too much, sacrificed too much. He couldn't forget any of it.
He clenched his fists tightly, nails digging into his palms until they nearly drew blood.
His focus was fixed on one thing: changing the fate of this world.
No matter the cost!
With that thought, he turned his gaze to the entrance exam paper in front of him. He folded it slowly and placed it on the table.
He picked up the Eldorian Academy uniform hanging behind the door. The fabric felt foreign between his fingers. He remembered how desperately he had once wanted this uniform. Back then, becoming a Miracle, entering the academy—it had all felt like an impossible dream.
But now...
He deserved so much more.
As Kaelen pulled on the uniform, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. The black uniform hung slightly loose on his frail frame.
The face staring back belonged to a stranger. This new body... still felt unfamiliar. There was a chasm between his old self, his old power, his old dreams—and this new reality.
He gave himself a brief glance.
A scrawny, frail boy greeted him.
"It'll take some time to get used to this."
He took a deep breath and stepped out of the apartment.
The air was cold, but Kaelen barely felt it.
The noise of the city buzzed in his ears. Vaelion... This wasn't the city he remembered.
The buildings, the streets, the lights... Everything looked brighter, more orderly, more advanced. But his eyes only saw the absences. The missing people. The missing memories.
His world was different from before, yet it carried a familiar sorrow.
Kaelen slung his bag over his shoulder and took a step forward.
Today, he would take the entrance exam for Eldorian Academy. But this was only the beginning.
This had to be Vaelion.
The golden shimmer of the floating city dazzled his eyes, while the cold touch of the wind against his fingertips pulled him back into the past.
He remembered the ruins of ten years later: marble streets cracked and broken, screams replacing laughter, ashes swirling in the air... Now, children's laughter filled the air, wandering mages sang in the squares, and market stalls overflowed with colorful crystals... Everything was *alive*. Just like the world he had lost in that *cursed future*.
Vaelion, located on the North American continent, had been formed when an entire state rose into the sky.
Hovering a kilometer above the ground like a massive eagle's nest, the city glowed with the density of mana. Below, unlike the beasts growling in the dark forests, Vaelion's stable energy offered mages a *divine touch*. Every step taken on its streets left a faint vibration underfoot; the blue particles of light dancing in the air left a *honey-sweet* energy on the tip of the tongue with every breath. This floating fortress, built by the Lyons Family, now symbolized safety. The *golden towers* in the northwest seemed to carve the family's power into the sky itself.
Discovered and built upon by the Lyons family, Vaelion was now one of the safest places. The towers the Lyons family rightfully owned were located in the northwest of Vaelion.
For these reasons, Eldorian had been established in Vaelion.
Because of mana and the abominations it had brought into the world, nations had collapsed. The Council, formed by mages, had saved the people left without authority. The events of a hundred years ago were considered the darkest era in human history.
Now, the Council could fight against the mana beasts and the gates that brought them into this world.
At least, that was how things stood for now. In the future Kaelen had lived, the world had lost the war.
Kaelen began making his way toward the city center.
When he reached Eldorian's entrance, he showed his exam pass to the officials.
The moment he stepped into the hexagonal, dome-shaped building, a shockwave hit him. Kaelen took a deep breath. The amount of mana he inhaled made him smirk slightly.
"Nothing like being home."
Eldorian Academy was the continent's finest magic academy. Kaelen was an alumnus. He had graduated from Eldorian ten years ago.
But now, somehow, he was on the verge of entering Eldorian Academy again. His mind reeled at the implications.
The elegant buildings surrounding the campus immediately caught his eye. The Victorian-style architecture gave off a dignified air, and the meticulously trimmed gardens showed how carefully the staff maintained the grounds. But towering above everything was the main building's colossal structure, its peak resembling the spire of a castle tower.
Closing his eyes under the dome's vast expanse, he felt the sheer scale of the academy. Conflicting emotions rushed through his heart: happiness at returning to this place, pierced by pangs of guilt.
An eternity of pain and torment. The blood of his fallen friends and the tears he had shed. All of it had been for nothing. He had failed to save the world.
Kaelen looked at the buildings that still stood in his memories. The time he had spent here in his past life hit him hard.
Kaelen paused when he reached the front of the main building.
A tall student stood at the entrance, checking the passes of the examinees.
Sohona Academy Acceptance Letter
Exam Entry Form
Examinee Number: 5420-A
Name: Kaelen
You have qualified for the Eldorian Academy entrance exam for the 2125 academic year. Details below:
1. Date: April 17, 2025, 09:30
2. Location: Eldorian Academy Grand Hall
3. Items to Bring: No personal items permitted. Do not cause trouble for the proctors.
"So, you're Kaelen, right?"
The girl checking his pass studied the card for a moment.
"Did you bring any weapons?"
"No."
She handed the card back to him. "The exam will be held in the amphitheater on the west side. Follow this path—you'll find it easily."
Kaelen nodded in thanks.
He followed the stone path she indicated. With all the students taking the same route, it was impossible to get lost.
Kaelen stepped into the enclosed amphitheater that had once served as a gymnasium.