The next morning, Ava and Dallas walked through the towering gates of the Dark Lord's Academy. The structure before them was less a school and more a fortress a sprawling obsidian castle that pierce the clouds. Inside the grand entryway stood a colossal statue of the Dark Lord himself, carved to his true scale: one hundred stories tall. His body was encased in black, gray, and violet armor, with countless horns crowning his head and curving down his back. In his hands rested a sword equal to his own height, its blade sunk into the throne of bones upon which he sat.
The air was heavy with reverence and fear. Students whispered to one another as they gazed up at the statue, dwarfed by its shadow.
Then a voice echoed through the halls, clear and commanding.
"Everyone, report to the training chamber immediately."
Ava and Dallas followed the crowd through vast corridors lined with dark banners and flickering violet flames. The path opened into a grand arena the Academy's training room, a massive stadium enclosed in shimmering energy.
Standing at the center of the floor were three figures, the high members of the Academy.
The first, Rosavelle, was a woman of striking presence, tall and poised, her eyes black as ink and her hair a blazing shade of red that shimmered like living fire. She wore high-heeled boots, crimson shorts, and a white button-up shirt beneath a long red jacket trimmed with white fur along the collar. The front of her coat was open, while the back swept down like a regal cape, rippling slightly in the ambient energy of the hall. Perched on her left shoulder rested a small phoenix its feathers glowed with flickering gold and scarlet light, its eyes alive with intelligence. The creature's warmth seemed to echo her own aura, a fusion of beauty and quiet power.
Power radiated from her effortlessly, commanding attention before she even spoke.
Beside her , Professor Lunark Vail ,stood a being that defied all sense of normality. His body was tall and lean, formed from a substance that looked neither solid nor liquid a shifting, ink-black mass that rippled and breathed as though alive. Dozens of mouths covered his form, whispering and muttering in a dozen different voices, their tones overlapping in a chorus of eerie murmurs. Some grinned, others scowled, and a few seemed to laugh soundlessly.
At the center of his chest, above the restless tide of mouths, gleamed a single, unblinking eye pale and luminous, radiating quiet authority amid the chaos of his form. His attire was a strange fusion of modern wizardry and ritual armor, woven into his body itself: crimson and violet robes melded with metallic patterns that pulsed faintly, as if the fabric shared his dark, living essence.
When he moved, the air seemed to bend around him, every whisper from his countless mouths echoing through the hall like a dissonant spell.
The third , Professor Gorath Valoron ,is a towering figure of raw, commanding presence ten feet tall, his crimson skin gleaming like polished iron beneath the dim light. Four massive arms hung at his sides, each corded with muscle and marked by faint, glowing veins of orange energy. A long, reptilian tail curled lazily behind him, its movements deliberate and controlled.
He wore no shirt, his chest broad and sculpted like living stone, the sheer power in his physique enough to make the ground seem smaller beneath him. His attire was simple yet striking: white and orange battle pants, reinforced at the seams, and heavy wristbands etched with ancient runes that pulsed faintly with heat.
Across his back rested a colossal sword, its blade nearly as long as he was tall.
All the students lined up, silent under their gaze.
A female instructor stepped forward, her voice sharp but proud.
"This will be your first examination," she announced. "We will determine your standing, your strength, your skill, and your worth. The fact that you've survived entry into the Fifth Dimension already tells us much. But survival alone means nothing here. The way you fight, the way you adapt, the power you command that is what will decide your fate."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the gathered students. "Out of twenty thousand of you, only twenty will rise to become leaders. Each leader will command a squad of one thousand. The final twenty who remain will have the privilege of choosing who joins their teams and will be the first to receive mission assignments and the authority to decide how those missions are carried out."
She gestured toward the trio.
"These are the ones who will judge you."
Her finger pointed first toward the red-haired woman.
"This is the principal of the Dark Lord Academy Rosavelle."
Next, she indicated the man with the eye in his chest.
"This is Professor Lunark Vail, master of dimensional and illusion arts."
Finally, she nodded toward the crimson-skinned being.
"And this is Professor Gorath Valoron, instructor of strength and power."
The teacher's gaze swept across the rows of nervous faces.
"They, along with the other instructors, will observe your battles. Only those who impress them those who score highest will reach the finals. The finalists will be granted command of their own squads, the first step toward ascending through the Dark Lord's ranks."
Ava listened closely, the instructor's words settling like a storm behind his eyes. I need to be in the top twenty, he thought, fists tightening at his sides. I need to become a leader to command my own squad. The faster I rise, the sooner I'll meet the Dark Lord. The sooner I gain power and loyalty, the faster I can rule. His gaze sharpened, resolve hardening. I'll prove to my father that I'm worthy, that I don't need anything from him. I won't return home. This is my home now my world.
Her tone grew solemn.
"Remember this: every level you climb brings you closer to his favor. To lead in his name is the greatest honor you can earn."
Above them, the remaining teachers took their seats in the elevated stands encircling the vast, enchanted arena. Their eyes glowing, mechanical, spectral studied the students with calculating intensity.
"Now," the instructor said, clapping her hands once, her voice amplified across the chamber, "all of you take your seats."
The crowd stirred to life. The sound of footsteps, wings, and whispering filled the air as hundreds of students moved into the towering stadium's rows. Ava and Dallas followed, finding places among the countless faces of beings from every world In this half of the hyperverse.
And as they sat, the golden light from the hovering torches illuminated the insignia of the Dark Lord above the arena a black circle ringed with violet fire.
The trials were about to begin.
Ava and Dallas sat side by side, their seats surrounded by the hum of anticipation and the faint shimmer of golden light from the hovering torches above.
Dallas leaned over. "What planet are you from, Ava?"
"Planet Earth," Ava replied simply.
Dallas nodded, his red eyes flickering with a strange mix of worry and pride. "I'm from Planet Elarion," he said softly. "Pretty scary, huh? Fighting for your planet… trying to keep it from being destroyed."
Ava frowned. "What do you mean, for your planet not to be destroyed?"
Dallas turned to him, expression serious now. "You didn't know? Everyone here isn't just fighting to join the Dark Lord's army or because they were forced. Some of us fight for our planet's survival. When the Dark Lord conquers a world, he takes every being with power and drags them here to his academy. If a planet doesn't have warriors people with power he wipes it out. And if the ones who do come here fail or turn out weak…" He hesitated. "He destroys the planet anyway."
Ava blinked, taken aback. "So if i fail"
" you die," Dallas said flatly. "And your planet dies with you. I already failed once last year. All the other elves who came with me died when we entered the Fifth Dimension. They couldn't survive it. I'm the only one left representing my planet Elarion. You only get two chances here. Fail again, and…" He clenched his fists. "That's it."
Ava leaned back, processing it all. Interesting… So that means all the people from Earth who had powers when they first came here must've been destroyed.
Dallas gave a quiet shrug. "Pretty sure you're the only Earthling here. The only one representing your planet."
Ava nodded slowly, though his thoughts drifted elsewhere. My parents… I couldn't care less about Earth. But my parents can't die.
Down in the center of the arena, the teacher appeared in a burst of golden light, her voice carrying through the stadium.
"I will be calling students one by one for their trials each match will be fought to determine your worth."
Ava and Dallas watched as the first few battles began. The arena itself was no ordinary battleground; as soon as a match started, its surface shifted, transforming into another world entirely a living simulation. Entire planets rose beneath the fighters' feet, mountains formed, oceans roared, and the spectators floated above the chaos, protected by shimmering magical barriers. When combatants blasted into the sky or through space itself, the crowd followed, the arena expanding infinitely to contain them.
Time stretched strangely here hours passing within a higher-dimensional meta-loop. Dozens of duels came and went until the teacher called out the next match:
"Demeter versus Sarah!"
Ava and Dallas turned at the sound of an excited shout behind them. A girl leapt from her seat, raising a fist. "Yes! I'm next!"
She was striking brown eyes gleaming beneath long curls of dark hair adorned with tiny jewels. Her outfit blended the elegance of Greek cloth with modern armor, a golden-trimmed dress paired with radiant sandals that glimmered with divine energy.
Her friend beside her grinned. "Go on, Demeter! Whoop some ass!"
Demeter jumped down from her row, the sheer force of her leap shattering her seat and unleashing a wave of energy that rippled through the crowd, knocking nearby students off balance. She landed gracefully at the center of the arena, the ground cracking beneath her impact. Across from her, her opponent stood waiting, cloaked in calm determination.
Her friend, Star, dropped back into her seat, laughing. "That's my girl."
Next to her, a student Tavius smiled seeing his sharp teeth faintly, taking Star's hand.
Ava and Dallas, sitting just a row below them, watched in silence as the golden light dimmed and the battlefield began to shift once more.
The next trial had begun.