The road to Aexiria was a road for the strong only.Felix looked from the family carriage window—that carriage adorned with Valcrown seal, surrounded by guards carrying gold and red banners. Previously, this procession was a source of pride. Now, it was a source of... boredom."You're not enjoying the journey," Cain said. He sat opposite, wearing the official academy uniform—black with gold embroidery, the Celestial Tower emblem on the chest."I enjoy silence," Felix answered.Three days had passed since "the test." Three days where they didn't speak much, but everything changed. Cain no longer looked at him with contempt, but with a kind of... frightening curiosity. As if seeing a ghost in broad daylight."You'll enter as 'Iron Tower,'" Cain said, trying to break the silence. "The lowest. Because...""Because I have no measurable magic," Felix completed. "I know.""I could...""What? Use your influence?" Felix smiled. "No. Iron Tower is perfect. Makes them ignore me. Makes them relax.""Then?""Then they discover the truth."Felix didn't say what the truth was. But Cain felt a chill.Aexiria.Appeared on the horizon as a mountain of stone and magic. Seven towers—each for a college—piercing the clouds. The central tower, the highest, surrounded by a golden halo: The Celestial Tower, where only those who reached seventh and eighth ranks studied.At the base, a great wall surrounding an entire city. The Academy City—where students, merchants, and spies lived.The carriage stopped at the main gate. Carriages weren't allowed inside. Here, everyone was equal—almost."Remember," Cain said as he descended, "Dean Eleanor...""Hates our family," Felix completed. "I know. Cain, you forgot something.""What?""I'm no longer that frail boy who needs protection."He descended from the carriage. He didn't wear the official uniform—that was deliberate. Instead, he wore a simple black jacket, gray trousers, and carried only a small bag.But his eyes—those eyes that acquired a faint crimson hue in sunlight—made the guards pause."Felix Valcrown," he said to the gate guard. "Iron Tower. College of..."He looked at the papers."College of Pure Magic," the guard said, his voice carrying hidden sarcasm. "The academic college. Where true nobles study."Felix smiled. "Exactly."Registration was in the Main Hall—a massive hall of white marble, its columns reaching to the ceiling framed by light magic. Hundreds of new students lined up, wearing different colors according to their ranks: bronze, silver, gold, platinum.And iron—the dull black—was rare. Very rare.Felix stood in line, listening. Learning."...The Tower system isn't for showing off," an old woman was explaining. "It determines your resources, your room, even your food. Those in Iron Tower share a room with eight others. Those in Celestial Tower...""Have their own palace," one student completed loudly.Some laughed. Felix looked. A golden-haired young man, wearing Platinum Tower uniform. Victor Drakwein—from the traditional enemy family of Valcrown."Problem, Iron Tower?" Victor asked, approaching him. "Oh, wait. You're that... shame, aren't you? The Valcrown son who slept for three years?"Silence. Then others laughed.Felix didn't move. Didn't get angry. Just... looked.He used Crimson Sight.Saw the threads. Saw the weak points—Victor was too confident, relied on family magic, had a gap in his left defense. Saw also something else: a black thread connecting him to... a man in the corner. An observer. From The Ear?"Victor Drakwein," Felix said quietly. "Fourth son. Not the heir, so you try to prove yourself by bullying the weak. Classic."Victor froze. "What did you say?""I said you're boring." He smiled. "Now, either hit me—and discover why that's a mistake—or go find someone weaker than me."Silence.Then Victor laughed. "You're crazy. But I like that. I'll see you in the exam, Valcrown shame."He walked away.But Felix noticed: the observer in the corner—a man in servant clothes—was recording. Writing. Reporting."Felix Valcrown."His name. He looked forward. To the desk where Dean Eleanor sat—a woman in her sixties, gray hair tied strictly, ice-blue eyes. Wearing the white dean's robe, surrounded by an aura of pure magic."Iron Tower," she said, her voice emotionless. "College of Pure Magic. Despite you... having no pure magic.""I have something else," Felix said."What?" She looked at him—really looked—for the first time. And saw something that made her stop. Not fear. But... recognition."You..." she began."I know what you see," he said quietly. "Abyssal lines. Not magic, is it? It's... something else."She froze. Then—quickly—hid her surprise."Your room is on the ground floor," she said dryly. "Building seven. Shared with seven others. Don't expect special treatment.""I didn't ask for it.""And..." she looked at him again, "avoid trouble. The Academy isn't a place for reckless nobles."He smiled. "I'm not reckless, Dean. I'm... very patient."His room was... simple.A bed, a closet, a small desk. Shared with seven others—all Iron Tower, all trying to succeed in a world that didn't pity them.But Felix didn't complain. Sat on his bed, closed his eyes, and focused.The Abyss leaves marks.Not just the black lines. There was something else. An ability to sense intentions. Danger. Magic.And in that moment, he felt it.Three people approaching. Not students—their movements were professional, synchronized. The Ear again?He opened his eyes—crimson now, in the darkness—and waited.The door opened.Not attackers. Students—but in different uniforms. Completely black. An unofficial emblem: a closed eye."Felix Valcrown?" one asked—a youth with gray eyes, long black hair."Yes.""The Shadow Dean wants to meet you."He froze. The Shadow Dean. Leader of the secret College of Shadows."Now?""Now."He stood. Looked at his bag—where the latest message from the Abyss was brewing—then walked."Coming."The College of Shadows wasn't on official maps.It was under the Academy—literally. In the old, abandoned, forgotten tunnels. Where ancient magic still pulsed.They led him through a maze of stairs and dark corridors. Until they reached an iron door, surrounded by symbols in a language few knew.They entered.The hall was... stunning. Not a hall, but a small city. Hundreds of students—all wearing black, all moving quietly, efficiently, with intent. Here, they didn't learn theoretical magic. Here they learned killing, spying, survival.And at the center, on a chair of black iron, sat a man.Not old. Not young. His age... undefined. Short white hair, black eyes like the Abyss itself. Wearing a simple black suit, without decoration.The Shadow Dean."Felix Valcrown," the man said, his voice was... ordinary. Suspicious in its ordinariness. "Or should I say... King of the Abyss?"Felix froze."You...""I know because I was there," the Dean said. "Long ago. Before you were born. Before your father was born. I... am one of those who lived and returned."Felix felt it. That aura. That authority. This man... wasn't merely human. He was like The Eye—one of those who returned from the Abyss and built their power here."Why am I here?" he asked quietly.The Dean smiled. "Because you'll need allies. The Academy isn't what it seems. Dean Eleanor... knows more than she says. And the Emperor..." he looked directly into Felix's eyes, "the Emperor fears you. And what the Emperor fears, I want.""You want to use me.""I want to teach you." He extended his hand—a white hand, without black lines, but with an emblem burned into the palm. A closed eye. "I want to show you how to build a shadow empire. How to use The Ear, The Tongue, The Hand. How to become..." he smiled, "what I am."Felix looked at the hand. Then at the Dean."And in return?""In return, you remember, when you become powerful, who helped you first."Long silence.Then—slowly—Felix extended his hand. He didn't shake, but touched the emblem.He felt it. The connection. A network of information, power, shadows, opening before him."A deal," he said."A deal," confirmed the Dean.But before withdrawing, the Dean whispered something:"Beware the Dean. She isn't your enemy... but she serves The Eye. And The Eye wants you alive or dead. The choice is yours."Felix returned to his room at midnight.Sat on his bed, looked at his hands—at the black lines that were moving now, forming a new message:"The Shadow Dean lies. But he is useful. Use him. Then dispose of him."He smiled."Well," he whispered. "Let the game begin."
