Breakfast didn't last much longer. Alectra finished first, rinsed her plate, and shot me a look that screamed don't dawdle.
"Alright, eat up, Seb. We've got a long day ahead." She grabbed her jacket from the chair and tossed me mine.
I pushed the last bite into my mouth with an exaggerated groan. "You know, greatness shouldn't have to rush. History's finest figures never did anything before noon."
{Correction,} Bastard snorted. {History's finest figures didn't waste half the morning flexing in front of their sister.}
'You're just jealous.'
{Of what? Your bedhead?}
I ignored him, standing and stretching like I was showing off on stage. "Fine, fine. Let's get moving before you scold me again. The people must be spared from such tragedy."
Alectra shook her head, muttering something about regretting ever spoiling me, but I caught the faintest smile at her lips as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
We packed quickly. Alectra was efficient, double-checking every little thing, while I made a show of lazily tossing my clothes into my spatial ring like I had all the time in the world. She didn't even look up.
"Sebastian."
"…Yes, dear sister?"
Her golden eyes lifted, sharp as a blade. "Fold your clothes properly. Now."
I sighed, raising my hands in surrender. "Fine, fine. You're lucky I'm merciful today."
I smirked as I half-folded them just to avoid another lecture. Once done, we walked out to the front, where Alectra's black car waited in the driveway.
The morning air was crisp, the sunlight filtering through thin clouds and painting everything in a pale glow. Alectra clicked the keys, the car chirping to life.
She glanced at me as she opened the driver's side door. "You ready?"
I leaned casually against the hood, smirking. "Please. The world's been waiting for me since the day I was born. I'm just fashionably late."
{You're late, alright. Late to common sense.}
Alectra rolled her eyes, but her lips curved just slightly upward. "Get in the car, oh great one. Let's see if Belle survives your ego."
I grinned, climbing into the passenger seat. "Don't worry, Sis. She'll thank you for bringing me to her."
{Or bury you alive.}
The engine roared to life, and with that, we were on our way.
The car glided onto the main road, smooth as silk, the faint hum of mana engines barely audible beneath the quiet. I rested my elbow against the window, eyes locked on the city outside.
It was… breathtaking.
Skyscrapers spiraled toward the heavens, their surfaces alive with glowing veins of blue neon that pulsed in rhythm like the heartbeat of a giant.
Some towers twisted in elegant arcs, others stood straight as spears, their peaks crowned with floating rings of light that hovered in lazy rotation. The glass walls shimmered with enchantments, catching the sun and breaking it into thousands of dancing shards.
The streets below matched the grandeur. Roads of immaculate white stone stretched in seamless patterns, smooth and polished so perfectly that they seemed to glow with their own faint radiance.
Radiant symbols pulsed faintly on the ground, guiding traffic like living veins of mana, bending and shifting to direct flow without a single sound of horns or chaos.
And above it all, the sky was alive. Dozens, no, hundreds, of cars hovered overhead in layered streams of traffic, gliding through invisible lanes as if tethered by unseen threads.
Each left behind faint streaks of color, white, blue, even the occasional purple or gold, which lingered like brushstrokes on a cosmic canvas before fading away.
The people here matched the city. Through the window, I caught glimpses of men and women in elegant coats threaded with glowing lines of mana, uniforms lined with badges of power, weapons sheathed in crystalline cases on their hips. Not a single one of them looked weak.
For a second, my chest tightened. I was an intruder here. Someone born for filth and scraps, who somehow found himself in the heart of the empire's jewel.
{Beautiful, isn't it?} Bastard's smug voice echoed in my mind.
{A world polished so clean you could eat off its streets. A paradise. And you? You're still the same idiot who drowned himself in a river.}
'Shut it.'
{Oh, don't pout, pretty boy. I'm proud of you. Your jaw hasn't dropped in five whole seconds. Progress.}
I gritted my teeth and forced my gaze ahead, but it was impossible not to stare.
Each district we passed grew more extravagant, massive floating platforms suspended in the air by glowing pillars, holographic banners shimmering with academy crests, colossal statues of heroes past carved into mountain-sized monoliths.
This wasn't just a city. It was a futuristic marvel as well as a show of power, a reminder that humanity had clawed its way to the top and refused to ever fall again.
And as we sped down the pristine white road, I couldn't help but wonder: was I supposed to survive in a world like this… or be crushed by it?
The drive stretched on, each district we passed more dazzling than the last. The city seemed endless, an empire of light and steel, glowing veins of mana humming with life. And then, suddenly, it wasn't.
Ahead, the road widened, rising like a bridge carved from pure white stone. Floating lanterns hung suspended above it, their flames burning without fuel, lighting the way toward something massive.
My breath caught.
Astralis Academy.
It didn't just sit at the edge of the city, it towered above it, a citadel of gleaming spires and marble walls that stretched so high they seemed to pierce the clouds. At its heart, a colossal dome shimmered with a golden light, its surface inscribed with runes so complex my head hurt just looking at them.
And surrounding it all, like a second sky, was a barrier.
A vast dome of translucent light shimmered overhead, bending the sunlight into a rainbow sheen that painted the air. Threads of blue and gold crawled across its surface like veins, pulsing faintly as if the barrier itself was alive.
Every few seconds, ripples of power spread across it, like waves in water, reminding me of just how impossible it would be to breach.
The car slowed as we neared the gates. Massive obsidian doors stood at the entrance, carved with images of dragons, phoenixes, and titans locked in eternal war.
Guards clad in armor that radiated power stood on either side, their weapons glowing faintly, their gazes sharp enough to cut stone.
Alectra's hands tightened on the steering wheel, her golden eyes shining with quiet pride.
"Sebastian," she said softly, her voice steady, "welcome to Astralis Academy."
I stared at the shimmering barrier ahead, my chest tightening with something between awe and dread.
The car rolled forward, the barrier rippling as it began to part for us—
And that's where the world shifted.