The streets of Lyselle bustled with nervous excitement.
It was Selection Day—when carriages bearing the golden crest of the Velmora Royal Magic Academy roamed cities to scout hidden talents. The academy accepted only the elite: heirs of noble houses, gifted prodigies, or those who wielded magic so powerful, even the heavens took notice.
Ash, however, had none of those things.
At least, that's what the world believed.
He walked through the crowded market like a ghost, slipping between nobles and beggars alike, ignoring the swirling rumors around him.
"They say a baron's son exploded his own arm trying to conjure a flame."
"A peasant girl summoned a windstorm and passed out bleeding from her eyes!"
"Hah! Amateurs. The Academy will only take those who are chosen."
Ash smirked as he stopped in front of a rusted, forgotten statue near the city gates—a monument of an ancient archmage, crumbled by time. He placed his palm on it and whispered a single syllable.
A vibration rippled through the stone. Dust rose. The air chilled.
Hidden inside was a rune—an old key, long buried by the ages. A piece of himself, sealed lifetimes ago in preparation for this very day.
And now... it answered him.
He opened his eyes. They glowed, gold and haunting.
"Awaken," he said.
The statue cracked. Just a little.
And then a letter shimmered into existence before him—black parchment sealed with the crimson wax of Velmora.
He hadn't applied.
They had found him anyway.
---
Meanwhile, within the soaring towers of Velmora Academy, Headmaster Vera din sat in silence, his fingers steepled, watching an orb flicker with Ash's image.
"That boy..." he murmured. "Where did you come from?"
Beside him, a woman cloaked in violet robes frowned. "He's not in any registry. No lineage. No sponsor. Yet the Arcane Pulse chose him."
"Not chose," Vera din corrected. "Summoned."
---
Back in the slums, Ash broke the seal and read the letter aloud, voice thick with irony:
> "To the bearer of this mark, you have been invited to join Velmora Royal Magic Academy. A carriage awaits at dawn. Decline, and be forgotten."
Ash folded it calmly, slipping it into his coat.
"Forgotten?" he chuckled. "I've already been erased once."
He turned to the sky.
Lightning cracked.
"Let's see if the academy is ready for a ghost to return."