After five minutes of tense silence, the man with the stern beard returned, his eyes scanning the remaining ten candidates. Without a word, he gestured for them to follow. The hallway he led them through was narrow and dim, the walls etched with faded runes that pulsed faintly under the torchlight. Each step echoed like a heartbeat in the silence.
Finally, they arrived at a chamber unlike the others. This room was circular, its walls made of obsidian stone and lined with ancient glyphs glowing with a subtle violet hue. In the center of the room stood a pedestal, upon which rested a shimmering purple crystal about the size of a clenched fist.
"In here," the man said, his voice reverberating slightly off the enchanted walls, "you will undergo your final evaluation."
He paused, turning his gaze to the group, eyes narrowing with curiosity and an unspoken challenge.
"But before we begin," he said slowly, "I have a question. What do you think influences the awakening of the Codex the most?"
A beat of silence passed before a girl from the left raised her hand. She had short copper-red hair tied into a braid and bore the regal bearing of someone used to being obeyed.
"Sir," she said with confidence, "it's the soul."
The man's expression shifted into a satisfied nod. "Correct."
He stepped toward the center of the room, his voice deepening as he began to explain.
---
> "The Codex is not merely a system etched into our flesh or minds. It is an imprint—a reflection—of the soul itself. When a child of thirteen awakens, what truly awakens is the Codex's alignment with their soul's resonance. The stronger the soul, the clearer and more stable the Codex becomes. But more than strength, it is the depth, the uniqueness, the clarity of a soul that shapes the Codex's potential.
A fractured soul may awaken weakly or unevenly. A soul burdened with regret or rage may awaken with volatile affinity—Nether, for example, often responds to turmoil. Meanwhile, a soul refined by discipline, tempered by suffering or honed by purpose, can awaken with astonishing clarity and power.
Mana does not come from the body, nor from the air, though the world is suffused with it. It flows through us, and what determines the purity of that flow is the vessel of the soul. Imagine the Codex as a prism and the soul as the light passing through it. The Codex refracts the essence of the soul into attributes, affinities, and potential.
This is why some children awaken with rare mana types or anomalous traits. Because their souls are not ordinary—they carry the weight of karmic echoes, memories, bloodlines, or burdens unknown.
And this is also why the final test exists—not to measure your strength, but your soul's resonance."
He gestured toward the crystal. "This is the Amethyst Soulstone. It reads not your mana, nor your physical prowess, but the density, clarity, and alignment of your soul. Your score is not an absolute measure of worth, but it gives insight into how attuned you are to your Codex."
His gaze sharpened.
"However, do not place two hands on it at once. If the resonance is disrupted, the stone will shatter."
He raised a brow. "Now... step forward."
---
Candidate Scores:
1. Dane Thornehart – House Thornehart (Marquess): 1,580(Amelia's cousin)
2. Alric Draymoor – House Draymoor (Marquess): 1,340
3. Sylas Goldveil – House Goldveil (Count): 920
4. Irielle Elarien – House Elarien (Count): 1,210
5. Ren Vermillion – House Vermillion (Marquess): 1,470
6. Liora Blackmoor – House Blackmoor (Duke): 1,850
7. Darian Crestfall – House Crestfall (Count): 880
8. Cassandra Rosemary – House Rosemary(Count): 950
9. Kaelion Virelan – House Virelan (Duke): 1,920
Each candidate stepped forward in turn, placing their palm on the stone. A moment of quiet hum followed by a glowing number appearing above the crystal in runes of violet light. Applause and murmurs accompanied the higher scores. When Kaelion Virelan scored near the top, even the evaluators gave a respectful nod.
Then the man called, "Lucien Drayven Vaelor. Step forward."
At that name, silence returned.
Lucien stepped forward. The obsidian tiles beneath his boots felt colder than ice. He looked at the purple crystal, strangely calm.
The man's eyes narrowed. "Now place your hand on the stone."
Lucien did.
The instant his palm touched the crystal—
Crack.
A spiderweb of glowing fractures spread across the surface in less than a second.
Then—
SHATTER!
The crystal exploded into thousands of fragments, dissipating mid-air into fine, shimmering dust.
The silence that followed was deafening.
The man's jaw twitched, confusion painted clearly on his face. For the first time, the stern evaluator looked genuinely unsettled.
"What... what did you do?"
Lucien blinked. "I... placed my hand. That's all."
Gasps erupted. Amelia Thornehart stared at him, eyes narrowing with unreadable emotion. Kaelion Virelan tilted his head, lips parting in a smirk.
"That's never happened before," someone muttered.
"Was it broken?"
"No. He broke it."
The man stepped forward, inspecting the remnants of dust on the pedestal. He looked back at Lucien, his voice low and shaken.
"There is only one explanation for this. The resonance was too strong. So strong that the crystal couldn't stabilize the feedback."
Lucien said nothing.
The man turned to the remaining candidates. "This... concludes the Evaluation. You are all dismissed."
---
The Journey Home
The return journey was quiet.
Lucien rode alone in a covered carriage bearing the crest of House Vaelor. The rain had started not long after they left Sanctum Arx, drumming gently against the wooden roof. Outside the foggy windows, the world passed in grey and green blurs. His body ached—not from the exam, but from the weight of what had just happened.
He didn't fully understand what he'd done. But one thing was clear—he was no longer invisible.
The crystal had shattered.
He replayed the moment over and over in his mind. The cold surface of the stone. The strange warmth that surged from within him. The feeling of a boundary breaking—like something deep and vast had stirred.
A soul too vast? Too deep?
He clenched his fists.
By the time the estate gates came into view, the rain had stopped. The clouds were still heavy, but shafts of golden light pierced through them like spears.
The guards opened the gates at once, saluting as the carriage passed. Servants rushed to greet him when he stepped down, but Lucien brushed past them politely.
He made his way toward the eastern wing, where his father's study was.
The door was open.
Duke Caelum Drayven Vaelor stood by the window, a glass of dark wine in his hand, gazing out at the training fields below. He turned when Lucien entered, his expression unreadable.
"You're back," Caelum said.
Lucien nodded.
The Duke gestured to the chair across from his desk. "Sit. Tell me everything."
And so Lucien did.
He described the chamber, the soul lecture, the Soulstone—how each candidate placed their hand and received their score.
When he reached the part about the crystal shattering, Caelum's brow furrowed.
"The Amethyst Soulstone?"
"Yes."
The Duke put down his glass slowly.
"And it shattered when you touched it?"
Lucien nodded. "Instantly."
Caelum leaned back, folding his arms. He didn't speak for a long moment.
Finally, he said, "Your mother once told me... that if someone bore a soul too ancient, too immense, or too fragmented, they would not receive a score. They would break the stone instead."
Lucien stiffened. "Too fragmented?"
"Or too old," Caelum said. "Souls like that are not meant to be measured."
The Duke's eyes locked with his son's. "Lucien. What are you becoming?"
Lucien didn't answer.
He didn't know.
But he would find out.
-----
A/N:What is happening to Lucien?What do you think,tell me your theories and also if you are liking the novel so far please add it to your library ,it helps me more than you think.
Thanks for reading.