The carriage that arrived wasn't gold-trimmed or majestic.
It was black as pitch, silent as a whisper, drawn by two horned shadowbeasts with no visible reins. When the orphanage nuns saw it, they crossed themselves and hid. Ash didn't bother to say goodbye.
He stepped inside.
No driver. No sound. Just him, and a silence that felt too aware.
The door closed on its own, and the carriage moved—not on roads, but through shadows. Trees blurred. Mountains bent. Time warped.
By the time it stopped, Ash had crossed half a continent.
---
Velmora Royal Magic Academy stood like a crown of obsidian on the cliffs of Draum Vale. Its towers pierced the sky, shaped like jagged blades aimed at the gods. Magic pulsed in the very stones, alive and waiting.
The gates opened with a deep groan, as if the academy itself awoke from slumber.
Ash stepped onto the black marble bridge, where hundreds of students gathered. Some wore noble crests. Others had glowing familiars or enchanted weapons. And every one of them turned to stare.
A few whispered.
> "Who's he?"
"Doesn't have a family mark..."
"Is he… common-born?"
Ash ignored them.
A girl stepped forward.
She wore a white coat with sapphire trim and carried herself like royalty. Silver hair flowed behind her, and her blue eyes narrowed at him—not in disgust, but in interest.
"You're not on any official list," she said. "That's either very brave or very stupid."
Ash tilted his head, amused. "Do you always greet strangers with thinly veiled threats?"
"I'm Arin Velestra. Top-ranked first-year. Remember it."
He smirked. "Ash."
"Just Ash?"
"For now."
Their stare-down was broken by a loud voice echoing across the courtyard.
"First Years! Welcome to Velmora."
A man stood atop the academy's tallest balcony. Black robes. Pale eyes. Headmaster Veradin.
"Here, you will either become kings of the arcane… or corpses beneath its weight."
No applause. Only silence.
He raised a hand, and the sky above them split open, revealing a massive magical dome—a barrier so vast it covered the entire academy.
"You have seven days," Veradin said. "To survive your entrance trial. Fail, and you go home. Or you die. We don't mind which."
Ash smiled faintly.
This was more his style.
---
That night, inside the dark dormitory assigned to him, Ash sat cross-legged on the floor. He closed his eyes.
The room was quiet.
But beneath the floor, he could feel it.
The Labyrinth.
An ancient network of magical ruins buried bel
ow Velmora.
The true trial didn't start tomorrow.
It had already begun.