A heavy, metallic roar from outside ripped Arda out of his sleep. Even the walls of his room seemed to shake.
The hallway lights flickered weakly, and from far away he could hear a mix of sirens and human screams merging into one dull, terrifying hum.
When he remembered his dream, his chest tightened—that same darkness again, the faceless being…
Feeling a weight pressing down on him, he rushed downstairs.
The TV was on in the living room. His family was glued to the screen. The news anchor's voice was trembling:
"Last night, everyone between the ages of 15 and 60… woke up this morning claiming they've awakened special abilities."
The subtitles were pure chaos.
"People using powers in the streets!"
"Some countries declare state of emergency!"
But the anchor continued:
"Do not panic. Most abilities are not lethal. In many regions, ability users have stopped those abusing their powers. Governments across the world are launching an 'Academy Program' to build a new global order."
One Month Later
The world was still a mess, but at least things were more organized.
The academies were divided into two types:
For the young
For adults
Governments had started rounding up everyone between 15 and 18 into academies. After the first wave of tests, the result shocked everyone:
Less than a quarter of the world had the potential to become real heroes.
After a full month of chaos, one morning the doorbell rang.
Arda opened the door to find four men in dark suits standing outside. Their eyes were as sharp as soldiers'.
"Are Arda and Rex here?"
Arda and Rex came down the stairs at the same time.
"That's us," they said.
One of the men pulled out his ID and held it up.
"We're here on behalf of the Academy. We've come to collect you."
Emre was already in the car, staring silently out the window. As they approached the academy, the first thing they saw was… a massive wall.
When they passed through the gates, the sheer size of the place took their breath away.
Ability testing grounds
Explosion training zones
Defense domes
Watchtowers
The waiting hall was packed with hundreds of teenagers. Giant screens on the walls showed that the academy was being broadcast live across the country. Students were entering test rooms in groups of three to demonstrate their abilities.
The first ones to go in were Arda, Rex, and Emre.Emre would be tested first.
A scientist stepped closer to him.
"Focus. Feel the power inside you."
The moment Emre raised his right hand, the temperature of the room rose. Blue flames burst from his palm, scattering sparks in every direction and lighting up the whole chamber.
For a second, the flames lost control and licked the scientist's arm. His clothes weren't damaged, but a small burn formed on his skin. Emre panicked and cut the flames off immediately.
Then he raised his left hand.
This time, the blue fire was cold, gentle.
Instead of hitting the test dummy… the flames flowed over the scientist's burned arm. The wound glowed softly, then disappeared.
Upstairs, in the observation room, head scientists whispered to each other and scribbled notes in a rush.
Next up was Arda.
With a small motion of his hand, a red crescent of energy appeared. It sliced the dummy cleanly in half. The cut was so perfect that even the metal inside parted like butter.
Startled, Arda stepped back. As soon as his focus broke, the crescent faded away into scattered red particles.
The scientists exchanged thrilled looks.
"If he'd kept his focus… he could've cut through the core."
Then Arda raised his hand again and summoned orange flames that reduced the dummy to ashes.
Rex extended his hand.
…Nothing happened.
The scientists were confused. They brought earth. They brought water.
"Maybe you're a transformation type," they said.
No matter what Rex tried, his power refused to appear.Laughter from the waiting room could be heard through the walls.
One of the scientists approached him, ready to escort him out when—
Symbols ignited in Rex's right eye.
Ancient marks spun in his iris, and holographic letters appeared in front of his eye. Every time the symbols shifted, the text changed with them. Finally, the eye stopped on a single symbol.
The hologram stabilized into one sentence:
"EYE OF TRUTH"
A second line appeared beneath it:
"Reveals every trait of the one it looks at."
The room froze. No one even dared breathe.
This power wasn't just about seeing abilities. It could read futures, potential, risks, breaking points—everything.
For a full week, Rex recorded the complete traits of everyone in the academy. There were three others with the Eye of Truth, but none of them could form the symbols Rex had.
When Arda's three abilities were revealed, social media exploded.
But the real shock came when Rex's ability was analyzed live by another Eye of Truth user.
New text appeared on the screen:
"GOD'S EYE"
"Selects the single most powerful and useful ability needed at that exact moment."
Even scientists flown in from America stood up and applauded. Everyone was talking about Rex's potential. In their eyes, he was the one with the greatest growth.
A week later, some adults had quit hero duty entirely and returned to normal life. Others continued. But for the young, things were different. Their powers were still developing; their potential wasn't fully awakened.
So it was announced that all academy students aged 16–17 would undergo mandatory training until they turned 18.
Most students in the academy were 17.Which meant: "In one year, extremely powerful heroes will emerge."
Normally, teachers were supposed to be scientists. But when many adults refused hero work, the government replaced them with powerful ability users instead.
The Characters' Abilities
Rex – One ability: God's Eye
Chooses the single most useful, most needed ability at that moment.
Because of this, Rex can use any power he needs, whenever he needs it.
Arda – Three abilities:
Hellfire – Controls flames that can reduce anything to ash.
Sword of Justice – Controls a red crescent that can cut through anything.
Divine Protection – Nothing can touch Arda without his consent.
Emre – One ability: Phoenix Flame
Controls burning blue fire with his right hand and healing blue fire with his left.
In exchange for being unconscious for one day, he can resurrect a single person.
Esma – One ability: Holy Water
Can heal her own wounds while dealing damage to enemies with water.
Ahmet – One ability: Ancient Kingdom
Controls earth that can only be destroyed by those with a strong will.
If he wishes, he can even create an army from this earth.
From Arda's Perspective
When I woke up and looked around my room, I froze for a second.
Right. I wasn't at home anymore.
Rex and Emre had already showered and were dressed. I hurried to get ready and walked to class with them.
The corridors looked like those of a normal school, but… we were all ability users now. The atmosphere was different. The air felt electric.
The moment we walked into the classroom, every pair of eyes turned to us.
Some looked at us with admiration.Others with fear.
But two pairs of eyes especially stood out to me:
Esma and Ahmet.
They were glaring at us with pure hatred.It was obvious they were planning to start something.
Rex noticed Ahmet and couldn't help but smirk.
"Looks like someone's face finally healed," he said.
Emre and I burst out laughing.Our laughter didn't last long.
Without warning, Esma launched four water blades straight at us. We didn't even have time to react—
Rex's eye suddenly spun. The ancient symbols flashed, and an ability was chosen.
A barrier formed in front of us. The blades shattered against it and disappeared. Esma and Ahmet stared, stunned.
No one had expected us to respond that fast.Honestly, we hadn't responded.
Rex's eye had moved on its own.
But it wasn't over. His eye spun again.
This time, it selected Holy Judgment.
Six chains of light appeared in the air and wrapped around Esma. Above Rex, a glowing image of Themis appeared—goddess of justice, holding a sword in one hand and scales in the other.
When I looked at her, it felt like staring into a solar eclipse.
On one side of the scale: Esma's attack.On the other: the thing that triggered it—our laughter.
Whichever side weighed more would be judged guilty.
The heavier side… was Esma's.
Themis raised her sword. The air turned icy. The entire class held its breath. Just as she was about to strike—
"REX, STOP!"
The teacher's scream sliced through the room.
Rex forced the ability to stop. The image of Themis faded, but she hadn't sheathed her sword.
That detail sent a chill down my spine.
Esma burst into tears and clung to Ahmet.
"You all saw it! He was going to kill me! He's a monster! His eye moves on its own! You need to investigate him—there's definitely a monster inside that boy!"
she screamed.
The temperature of the room dropped.Somewhere, a ticking sound echoed.
Tick… tick… tick…
The lights seemed to dim. My blood ran cold.
The darkness from my dreams… was standing in the back corner of the classroom. No one else could see it—but I saw it clearly.
It whispered to me:
"Don't worry. No one else can see me. Did you see it? Rex was ready to kill her without hesitation. What about you? Why are you hesitating? Look at Ahmet's hand… he's about to attack you. Remember what he did to your life. Stop his powers and kill him. If you hesitate, Rex's eye will stop you instead. Don't forget… we must erase everyone and everything that stands in our way."
Then it vanished.
And what it said came true.Ahmet suddenly summoned three archers. They fired without wasting a second.
For a moment, time slowed.
I rushed forward, cutting all three arrows to pieces.
The crimson glint of my blade lingered in the air. In the blink of an eye, I was right in front of Ahmet.
I was about to end all this nonsense—
TANG!
A sword slammed into the ground in front of me, blocking my path. The metal rang inside my skull.
When I looked up… I saw that it was Themis's sword that had stopped me.
I turned around.
This time, it wasn't Rex's eye acting alone.Rex himself had stopped me.
His eye spun again.
The symbols flared and chose a new ability: Siren's Song.
Rex turned to the others and said,
"Arda was just destroying the soldiers. He never intended to attack Ahmet."
His words glowed with a strange, shimmering light. The moment he spoke, everyone's expression changed.
No one doubted him. Not a single person.
He had excluded me, Emre, Ahmet, Esma, and himself from the effect. That's why when Esma and Ahmet shouted, "They were going to kill us!" nobody believed them.
The teacher stepped forward to calm things down.
"Everyone saw it," he said. "Rex wasn't acting of his own will before. And Arda was only cutting down the soldiers so no one would get hurt."
The tension slowly faded from the room.
"My name is Mehmet," the teacher continued. "My ability is the same Holy Judgment Rex used earlier. But don't worry… I don't execute anyone. This power brings true justice. No one can interfere with it."
He took a deep breath and looked around at us.
"Now, we'll choose the strongest among you as class representative."
He stood up.
"Let's go to the training grounds."
We followed him out.
The field was a huge arena; the walls were plated with metal, the ground layered with thick dirt. The air smelled like burnt iron and earth. Above us weren't normal gym lights, but battlefield spotlights.
Anyone who wanted to run for representative would fight in the arena. Healers waited at the sidelines.
Our class had thirty students. Ten of them volunteered.
First match: Ahmet vs. Arda.
Ahmet summoned thirty earth soldiers. They charged toward me, their footsteps shaking the ground.
With a single motion, I sliced most of them in half. The red trail of my blade flashed like lightning through their bodies. A couple managed to get close—but thanks to Divine Protection, they couldn't touch me.
Then I gathered my flames and launched a strike at Ahmet.He blocked it at the last second with another soldier.
But he still couldn't hurt me.
I couldn't resist provoking him a little.
"Hey Ahmet, careful with those soldiers. They're not the mud toys you used to play with as a kid."
Honestly, it was a terrible taunt. A line from Rex would've helped.
As if on cue, Ahmet summoned twenty archers. Arrows rained down on me. I swept them aside. Then he sent a massive earth army—this time including mounted soldiers.
But the more soldiers he created, the more his vision blurred. His breathing became shallow. His hands shook from exhaustion.
I burned everything away with my flames.
In the end, Ahmet collapsed.
I walked out of the arena without a single scratch.
The darkness appeared in front of me again. Its voice was quieter now, but deeper.
"Well done, child… You're starting to show your potential. Soon, you'll be the strongest of all. By the way… you can call me Nox."
It leaned closer, whispering right into my ear.
"In this war, watch Rex carefully. We still don't know what that eye of his can really do. He can use your own abilities… against you. Be careful."
Then the darkness blew away like smoke and vanished.
"Winner: Arda!" the teacher shouted.
Next match: Emre vs. Rex.
When they stepped into the arena, Emre backed away. His face was serious.
"I don't want to fight my friend."
He forfeited, and Rex won by default.
A few more students fought. Most of them didn't take heavy damage. As the matches went on, the number of candidates shrank.
In the end, only three of us remained:
Esma, Rex, and me.
Next fight: Esma vs. Rex.
As they stepped onto the field, Esma glared at him.
"Don't get cocky over what happened earlier. I was just caught off guard."
Rex didn't bother hiding his smirk.
"For someone whose arms are about to get broken, you talk a lot. Should I break your jaw too? It'll heal quickly anyway."
Her eyes widened. The words genuinely scared her… but the fear quickly turned to rage. She screamed and formed a massive spear of water, launching it at Rex.
He dodged easily, blinking to the side with his ability.Then she summoned multiple two-meter-long water spears and hurled them in a storm.
Even though his eye wasn't actively choosing a power, Rex still took no damage. One step, one jump, one tilt of his head—he avoided every blow as if he'd already seen them in advance.
Then Rex's eye began selecting again. The symbols flashed.
This time, it chose Dark Flash.
A tiny, freezing black lightning bolt formed between Rex's fingers. It shot toward Esma at insane speed.
She glanced at it with disdain.
"Seriously? After all that bragging, that tiny flash is all you've got?"
She formed a water shield.
But the lightning bolt pierced it effortlessly. The moment it touched Esma, it exploded, spraying black lightning across the arena.
At that exact second, Themis appeared again.
She slammed Esma's body with the blunt side of her sword, then vanished.
Esma had clearly forgotten what it meant to interrupt the justice of Themis.
When the smoke cleared, Esma lay unconscious on the ground.
The teacher's voice rang out, sharp:
"Winner: Rex!"
Healers rushed to her side, frantically repairing her broken bones. As Rex walked past them, he muttered,
"Look at these monkeys… shaking in their boots because of Esma's father."
One of the healers couldn't hold it in.
"Who do you think you are to talk like that about our boss—and us?!"
Rex turned to him.
"Did you forget? I'm the strongest," he said calmly,
and walked back to our side.
Final match: Arda vs. Rex.
It was finally our turn.
Rex refused to rest and stepped straight into the arena. I looked at him.
"You can't get through my Divine Protection. Don't forget that."
Rex's eye lit up. The symbols spun at high speed.
He stared straight at me.
"I'll beat you anyway. I'm the strongest hero, after all."
He used Dark Flash.
The icy bolt streaked toward me. Even with Divine Protection, I was shaking with fear. When it hit, my barrier groaned to its limits. If I'd been even a little more tired…
It might have shattered me completely.
But that was supposed to be impossible.
Nox had told me no one could break Divine Protection.
His voice sliced into my thoughts—this time full of panic.
"Kill that boy. He will stand against you. You must kill him!"
Time stopped.
I found myself standing with Nox in frozen space.
"But how? How am I supposed to do that to my friend?"
Nox's voice hardened.
"If you don't, he'll kill you in the future. Do you really think these attacks are for fun? Use AURA! Release it with everything you've got! In that field, you can use your powers at full capacity!"
I didn't fully understand.
"Aura is the reflection of a person's inner world on their surroundings," he explained. "If your heart is full of darkness, your aura will be dark. If you're pure, it will bloom with flowers."
Time started moving again.
I shouted:
"AURA!!!"
The world slowed.
With a heavy sound, the surroundings changed. Dead flowers covered the ground. The room around us disappeared; we were standing in the middle of a field of blossoms—every single one wilted, turned black.
Rex had barely regained his footing when I lunged.
I used Hellfire and Sword of Justice at the same time.
Just as I was about to strike him down…
Rex's eye chose a new ability.
Silent Command.If the user's mind is stronger than the enemy's, they can give a command the enemy is forced to obey.
"Get back!" Rex shouted.
All my abilities vanished in an instant.
In the next second, I was thrown backwards into the wall, as if I'd been teleported. A huge crack split the metal behind me.
"What kind of power is that…"
Nox whispered in panic:
"He's a monster, Arda! Then become the real monster yourself. Keep attacking. Let's see how long he can hold out!"
So I did what Nox said. I attacked again and again…But Rex erased every single ability with a single word.
Then his eye shone once more—and his own Aura opened.
Mine vanished as if it had never existed.
Suddenly, everything was peaceful.
On our right, a green forest stretched out. On our left, golden fields waved under an unseen breeze. Rex floated into the air.
He pointed his hand at me, hanging upside down in the sky.
"Why are you even doing that pose?" I yelled up. "What's with standing upside down?!"
A new symbol flashed in his eye.
Nox froze.
"The ability his eye chose… Essence of the Void… It grants authority to rewrite reality itself…"
Nox turned to me.
"Arda, RUN! Or protect yourself! This power can corrupt reality! It can erase even Light and Darkness!"
Rex wasn't looking at me.
He was looking at Nox.
"How dare you interrupt our fight?"
He sent a violet bolt of lightning at Nox. The moment it struck, the dark being began to disintegrate.
Nox whispered one last time:
"Don't worry… you just won't be able to see me while this ability is active, Arda… If your Divine Protection breaks, retreat…"
Then reality flipped.
Rex whispered:
"Who said I'm the one standing upside down? Who gets to decide that?"
The entire world inverted.
My powers wouldn't respond.
Just like Nox had said—Rex was bending the world, bending reality itself. My Divine Protection cracked with a sharp sound.
As much as I wanted to keep going, I had to listen to Nox.
"I surrender!" I shouted.
The ability ended.
Everything snapped back to normal.Even the crack in the wall was gone.
And the class representative… was Rex.
That evening, we all returned to the dorms. I lay on my bed and opened my phone.
Everywhere—literally everywhere—people were talking about Rex's battle.
Some said:
"Rex is so arrogant."
Others:
"Villains don't stand a chance anymore."
Our fight was all anyone could talk about.
Everyone had fallen asleep.There was no one left to talk to.
So I let myself fall into the arms of sleep.