The silence in the Assessment Hall was a physical weight, thick and suffocating. Every eye—envious, incredulous, hateful—was locked on Ren. Moments ago, he was a nobody, a piece of driftwood in a sea of warships. Now, he was the chosen ward of Elder Tian, a figure so far above them his name was spoken in hushed, reverent tones.
Ren felt no triumph. A life spent in the shadow of the Rift had taught him that nothing was free. A predator did not shelter a mouse out of kindness. He was a resource, a curiosity, a problem. And the Elder's placid gaze felt heavier than all the others combined.
"Come," Elder Tian said, his voice quiet, yet it brooked no argument. He turned and walked away from the cracked Resonance Crystal, his simple grey robes sweeping silently across the marble floor.
Ren hesitated for only a heartbeat before following. He kept his back straight and his eyes forward, ignoring the furious whispers that erupted behind him. He could feel the glare of Anya Volkov, the genius with an IAP of 85, and the sneer of Lin Fei, now twisted with disbelief. Their animosity was a physical force, a promise of future trouble.
The journey through the academy's grand corridors was a lesson in power. Students in pristine uniforms, some appearing years older than Ren, flattened themselves against the walls as Elder Tian approached, bowing their heads in unison. Instructors clad in the deep blue of the academy faculty offered respectful salutes. No one met the Elder's eyes. He moved through the world like a river, and everyone else was merely a stone, forced to give way.
He led Ren to a secluded part of the academy, a quiet courtyard garden hidden behind a moon gate, where a gentle stream trickled over moss-covered rocks. The air here was calm, saturated with a pure, untainted Aether that soothed the ragged edges of Ren's own chaotic power.
Elder Tian stopped beside the stream and turned, his ancient eyes finally focusing fully on Ren. The pressure was immense. It felt as though his very soul was being weighed and measured.
"Do not mistake my intervention for an act of charity, boy," the Elder began, his tone cold and sharp as chipped flint. "I have not saved you. I have contained you."
Ren's wariness solidified into a defensive shell. He remained silent.
"Your Spirit Soul," Tian continued, his gaze unwavering, "is of a primordial nature. A type not seen in this world for centuries. It is not merely strong; it is a fundamental, untamed force. That light you produced was not the mark of a common genius. It was the birth cry of a natural disaster."
He gestured to the serene garden around them. "Left unchecked, a power like yours would not just have shattered that crystal. It would shatter this academy. It would destabilize the Aether Weave itself. You are a threat. A threat to our order, our stability, and to yourself."
This, Ren understood. The world was divided into threats and those who dealt with them. He had always been on the receiving end.
"I am offering you a choice," Elder Tian said, though his voice made it clear there was no real choice at all. "You will submit to my direct tutelage. You will obey my every command without question, no matter how harsh or nonsensical it may seem. You will learn to control the beast within you, to leash it and master it. In return, I will give you the knowledge to keep it from consuming you and destroying everything around you."
He let the words hang in the air. "That is the first path. The second is that you refuse. In which case, you will be expelled, designated a Class-S Aetheric Anomaly, and GAMA will issue a containment order. You will be hunted, not as a boy, but as the monster I know you are capable of becoming."
Ren's jaw tightened. It was the same choice he'd faced his whole life: submit or be crushed.
"I accept your terms," Ren said, his voice steady. Survival was the only creed that mattered.
A flicker of something—perhaps approval, perhaps grim satisfaction—passed through the Elder's eyes. "Good. Your training begins now. Your first lesson is the foundation upon which all else will be built: suppression."
He looked at Ren, his expression severe. "From this moment until I say otherwise, you are forbidden from circulating even a single wisp of Aether. Do not practice, do not experiment, do not even feel for it. The dragon within you is awake and roaring. You will starve it into silence. You will learn to be its master, not its vessel. If you fail, it will consume you from the inside out."
The Elder turned his back, staring into the stream. "Begin."