The battlefield was gone—erased, as though the clash with the Forgotten King had been nothing but a nightmare. But the blood, the bruises, and the lingering taste of death told Neil it had been real. The charred earth, the ruins of shattered space-time, all vanished into an empty void replaced by serenity. Neil made sure of that.
The Primordial Nexus pulsed within him like a second heart. Its voice was calm, its directives absolute.
[Reality Reformat Protocol: Complete.]
[Incident successfully erased from the threads of existence.]
Neil exhaled, staring at his trembling hands. With one thought, he had done what no other system bearer could—rewrite history, not just conceal it, but eliminate its imprint from the world. Kings, nobles, priests—none would remember. Even the sky no longer bore scars of their divine battle.
But Sophia and Joan remembered. They stood beside him, pale, silent, and broken.
Sophia's hand pressed to her ribs, barely standing. Her Aether Sovereign System glimmered faintly, repairing what it could. Even at full strength, it had been pushed beyond its limits. She glanced at Neil—not with awe this time, but with something heavier, like fear and loyalty entwined.
"You… rewrote the world," she whispered. "Neil, do you understand what that means? Even the god-cores couldn't—"
"I didn't have a choice." Neil's voice was cold, almost detached. "If the world knew what happened here, chaos would consume everything. The Forgotten King was more than a relic… he was a herald. If they learn about him, about what we fought—what's inside me—they'll come. And I'm not ready."
Joan leaned on her divine spear, golden hair streaked with blood, her once-immortal presence dimmed. The Fallen Goddess looked human now—fragile, wounded, yet still burning with a divine light no mortal could mimic.
"You didn't just alter memory," she said quietly. "You severed causality. That level of control over Eternia and Oblivion… even I couldn't do that when I was whole."
Neil didn't respond. The weight of what he had done pressed down on him like an ocean. He had changed reality. He had lied to the universe.
---
A Decision for Normalcy
Days passed.
The incident faded—not from their minds, but from every archive, every thread of history. Kings planned their wars, merchants sold their wares, mages whispered their theories, oblivious to the apocalypse that had nearly ended everything. Neil, Sophia, and Joan disappeared from the battlefield like ghosts.
They needed a new start. They needed to blend in.
And so, the three of them stood before the towering gates of Imperial Academy for Knights and Mages, the greatest institution in Aethyros—a colossal citadel of knowledge and power, a place where the chosen trained to shape the future.
For Neil, this was strange. He was no longer just another teenager awaiting his fate. He carried something no one else did: the Primordial Nexus—the fusion of Eternia, the concept of infinite creation, and Oblivion, the essence of ultimate erasure.
He had become the paradox—the one who shouldn't exist.
"Neil." Sophia nudged him, her silver hair gleaming in the sun. "You're spacing out again. Stop looking so gloomy, or they'll think you're some brooding anti-hero."
"...Aren't I?" Neil smirked faintly.
"Don't push it," she muttered. Her uniform hugged her form perfectly, accentuating the grace of a future Aether Empress. Even here, among hundreds of prodigies, she stood out like a goddess.
Joan walked behind them, quiet as ever. She wore the academy's uniform too, but it did nothing to hide the aura of an exile—a divine being masquerading as a student. Her once-pristine wings were gone, leaving faint scars that peeked from under her collar. But her eyes… her eyes still burned like twin suns.
---
The Academy Unveiled
The Imperial Academy wasn't just a school—it was a kingdom of knowledge. Sprawling towers pierced the clouds, engraved with ancient runes. Bridges of light connected floating spires where elemental labs hummed with energy. Training fields stretched to the horizon, each one an arena where legends were born.
Neil felt hundreds of eyes on them as they walked through the main plaza. Whispers followed. Sophia Beth was already famous—her awakening as the Aether Sovereign had shaken the capital. And Neil… well, no one knew his name, but something about him made the air feel heavier. It wasn't magic. It was presence—the weight of something beyond comprehension.
Joan's identity remained a secret. To the world, she was just another transfer student. But to Neil and Sophia, she was the goddess who had defied her pantheon to fight at their side—and nearly died for it.
---
Dormitories and Secrets
Their assigned dorm tower was opulent, far above the living quarters of regular students. Neil suspected the academy administrators knew more than they let on. No ordinary recruits were given a suite with its own training chamber, mana-purification field, and private sanctum.
As night fell, they gathered in the sanctum—a circular room lined with glowing sigils. The city lights stretched beyond the window like stars fallen to earth.
"So," Sophia began, folding her arms. "We're seriously doing this? Playing students while gods and kings might be plotting in the shadows?"
Neil leaned against the wall. "Until I understand the Nexus fully, yes. If I go loud now, I'll draw things I can't fight yet. Entities that make the Forgotten King look like a footnote."
Joan finally spoke, her voice soft but edged with something dangerous. "Then you should learn fast. Because they'll come anyway. The moment you accessed Oblivion and Eternia, the higher realms felt it. They're searching for you."
Sophia frowned. "And what about you, Joan? You still haven't told us why you fell. Or why the Forgotten King wanted you dead."
Joan's eyes flickered, shadows dancing across her face. "That story… isn't for the faint of heart."
Neil met her gaze. "Tell us. No more secrets."
She hesitated, then nodded. Her voice dropped to a whisper, heavy with grief and rage.
---
The Fallen Goddess Speaks
"I was never supposed to exist," Joan began. "Just like you, Neil. I was a flaw—a divergence in Eternia's perfect cycle. The gods called me Seraphiel once, the Warden of Dawn. I upheld the balance between realms. Until I found something the Pantheon feared."
Her fists clenched, knuckles white. "The truth: Eternia wasn't the source of creation. It was a prison. A system designed to keep mortals—and gods—trapped in an infinite cycle of birth and decay. I tried to break it. And for that, they stripped my divinity, shattered my halo, and branded me a traitor."
Sophia's breath caught. "And the Forgotten King?"
"He was their failsafe," Joan said bitterly. "An executioner forged from pure Oblivion. His purpose was to erase anomalies like me. Like you, Neil."
Neil felt something twist inside him. A cold, spiraling certainty.
"They're going to send more," he murmured.
"Yes," Joan said. Her golden eyes burned with defiance. "And next time, it won't just be a king. It will be the Pantheon itself."
---
A Pact of Shadows
Silence filled the sanctum, broken only by the hum of arcane wards. Neil looked at them both—Sophia, radiant and unyielding; Joan, scarred yet blazing with divine fury.
He raised his hand. "Then we fight. But on our terms. In the shadows. Until I can control Nexus completely."
Sophia smirked faintly, tapping her bracelet. "Guess school life just got interesting."
Joan smiled—faint, but real. "Enjoy the calm while it lasts. Because the storm is coming."
Neil stared out at the city lights, his reflection flickering in the glass. For now, he would play the role of a student. But deep inside, the Nexus stirred, whispering secrets older than gods.
And in the void between stars, something listened.
---
[Quest Updated: Survive the Imperial Academy Without Revealing Your True Power.]
[Sub-Quest: Learn the Truth Behind the Pantheon.]
[Hidden Objective: Awaken the True Form of the Nexus.]
Neil smiled faintly as the notifications faded.
Normal life? Not a chance.
---