The first light of dawn bathed the Capital City in a soft golden hue as the candidates gathered once more. Sleep still clung to many of them, but excitement and nervous anticipation quickly burned it away.
Ardyn stood at the head of the group, his presence steady and commanding.
"Today," he said, "you will step into a new world. Follow closely."
With that, they set off.
The journey northward from the city took nearly an hour. The road was well-maintained, lined with ancient oaks that whispered with the morning breeze. Excited chatter buzzed among the candidates, but even that began to fade as the landscape ahead opened up.
The Academy.
It stretched across the land like a kingdom unto itself—miles of fields, training grounds, towering spires, and fortified walls. Open-air arenas, dense combat forests, meditation lakes, and countless towers of ivory stone shimmered under the rising sun.
Eryon, Kael, and Ryn stopped in their tracks, eyes wide in amazement.
"It's... gigantic," Kael breathed.
"I've never seen anything like it," Ryn admitted, awe creeping into his usually stoic tone.
"This," Ardyn said with a faint smile, "is where the future is forged."
They followed him through the massive main gates, guarded by armored cultivators who exuded strength. No sooner had they passed than they were directed toward the campus designated for first-year students.
The First-Year Campus was a sprawling plaza surrounded by dormitories and training halls. Dozens of new recruits had already gathered, groups of young warriors, each radiating their own fierce spirit.
As Eryon and his friends found a spot among the crowd, their eyes naturally began to scan their future competitors.
Kael nudged Eryon. "Look at that one—the guy with the twin sabers. His arms are bigger than my legs."
Another drew Ryn's attention—a girl with silver hair and cold eyes, standing alone with a quiet, dangerous aura.
Further off, a thin boy with narrow eyes sat calmly on a stone bench, meditating with a strange, rhythmic breath that made the surrounding air tremble faintly.
Near the edge of the plaza, two towering brothers sparred with wooden swords, each strike creating loud cracks that echoed across the square.
But then, Eryon saw him.
A young man with long, golden hair that caught the sunlight like a halo, standing apart from everyone else. His posture was relaxed, but his very presence seemed to weigh down the air around him.
"Who's that?" Kael whispered, unable to hide the tension in his voice.
The golden-haired youth turned immediately, as if he had sensed their gaze.
His eyes—sharp, cold, and piercing—locked onto them.
Eryon, Kael, and Ryn stiffened under the intensity of that gaze, an invisible pressure making their hearts skip a beat.
No words were exchanged.
But one thing was clear.
Among the many monsters gathered here today, this one would be a king.