In the world of Aetheria, power was not a gift.
It was an expectation.
Children were tested the moment they turned sixteen. Fire, wind, gravity, light, telepathy—every student discovered something extraordinary hidden inside them. The stronger your power, the brighter your future.
Universities competed for the powerful. Governments recruited them. Corporations bought them.
And society worshipped them.
But no one ever asked one question:
What happens to the student who has none?
Arin Vale stood quietly in the examination hall of Helios Academy, surrounded by students glowing with energy.
One boy lifted a desk with telekinesis.
Another girl froze the air around her fingers, creating crystals that sparkled like stars.
Cheers filled the hall.
Arin just watched.
His palms were sweating.
The examiner walked down the line of students with a cold mechanical voice.
"Student 143. Demonstrate your ability."
A boy snapped his fingers.
A flame erupted in his hand.
"Pyrokinesis. Grade A."
Applause.
"Student 144."
A girl closed her eyes.
The lights flickered and electricity danced across the ceiling.
"Electrokinesis. Grade A+."
More applause.
Then the examiner stopped in front of Arin.
"Student 145. Ability demonstration."
Every eye in the room turned toward him.
Arin swallowed.
He tried to focus.
He tried to feel something—heat, light, movement, anything.
But there was only silence inside him.
Five seconds passed.
Ten seconds.
Nothing happened.
Whispers spread across the hall.
"Why isn't he doing anything?"
"Is he nervous?"
"Maybe his power is weak."
The examiner looked at the scanner again.
Then spoke a sentence no one had heard in years.
"Result: No ability detected."
The room went completely silent.
A boy laughed.
Another student whispered loudly, "Impossible… everyone has powers."
The examiner closed the file and said coldly:
"Student 145 — classified as Ordinary."
That word fell heavier than any insult.
Ordinary.
In a world where everyone was extraordinary.
Arin slowly walked out of the hall while the celebration behind him continued.
For the first time in his life, he realized something terrifying.
The world didn't hate weak people.
It ignored them.
And in a world built on power…
being ignored was the most dangerous thing of all.