James Solkaris adjusted the collar of his academy coat, then let out a breath through his teeth.
The mirror he stared into was cracked—hairline fracture across the top right corner—but still clear enough to show the boy behind it. Brown hair, unruly from sleep. Skin lightly freckled. Shoulders lean but not frail. And those eyes—
Gold.
Not hazel. Not amber. Not Aether-glow.
Just gold.
The kind of color that made people stop and stare. The kind that got him pulled aside during registration. The kind that made instructors raise eyebrows and whisper to one another.
He hated them, sometimes.
"James!" his mother's voice drifted from the stairwell. "You're going to miss it!"
"Coming!"
He grabbed his academy tag and slung it around his neck. It clicked into place with a quiet chime. One last glance in the mirror, then he was out the door and into the light.
---
Citadel Solaria was a marvel—even to those who lived inside it.
Massive walls shimmered faintly with layered enchantments. Each was laced with living crystal, pulsing like veins with raw Aether energy. The outer towers rotated in slow arcs, tracking threats in the distance. Airships floated overhead, their hulls gleaming gold and white. Beyond them, the fractured sky loomed, cut with ribbons of faint, glowing light—rifts that had not closed in centuries.
But inside the walls? There was life.
Vendors called out in the plazas, selling fried rice cakes and candied fruit skewers. Academy students—some still yawning, others practically sprinting—rushed down the main avenue toward the Solar Gate. The Awakening Ceremony would begin before the second bell. No one wanted to be late.
James moved with them, heart ticking faster than his steps.
Today was it. His sixteenth birthday.
The Day of Awakening.
His legs felt numb.
Somewhere to his right, someone slapped his back hard enough to jolt him.
"There he is! Golden-eyes himself."
James turned just in time to see Leona Hart fall into step beside him, her crimson hair bouncing with each step. She wore her coat open, of course—rules were optional for Leona—and fire flickered lazily along her fingertips like it belonged there.
Which, for her, it did.
"Your face says 'funeral,' but your eyes say 'cosmic mystery.'"
"Thanks," James muttered. "I think."
"You think too much. Just walk up to the crystal and be awesome. It's not that deep."
James tried to laugh, but it came out hollow.
They passed beneath a towering hologram—one of the Awakened from years past. A Knight named Ryven Kael, whose name had been etched into every academy textbook. His armor was etched with solar sigils, his spear a burning comet. Below him, the text scrolled:
> Fell in the 3rd Rift Incursion. Eternal honor to the Awakened.
James looked away.
Leona didn't push. They walked in silence the rest of the way.
---
The Awakening Hall was a cathedral of light.
Domed ceilings pulsed with artificial sunbeams. Pillars hummed with Aether runes. And at the center of the circular chamber stood the Aether Conduit—a monolith of crystalline energy, reaching twenty feet into the air. It rotated slowly, as if stirred by unseen breath, colors shifting between silver, blue, and red.
Students filled the outer ring in uniformed clusters, each holding tightly to their identification tags.
Instructors in long coats and ceremonial staves took names, organized rows, and silenced chatter with practiced looks.
Instructor Varra stood at the front, tablet in hand, jaw set.
"Leona Hart."
Leona gave James a casual two-finger salute and sauntered forward. The moment her palm met the crystal, it flared bright blue, a sound like bells ringing through the chamber.
"Elemental Affinity: Fire. Class: Mage."
Scattered cheers. Some impressed murmurs.
Leona flashed a grin over her shoulder as she returned. "Your turn to show off, Solkaris."
James didn't answer. He was too focused on the sudden cold knot forming in his stomach.
Then—
"James Solkaris."
The name rang like a bell through his bones.
He stepped forward.
The chamber hushed.
His hand rose—steady, despite the pressure building in his chest. As it touched the crystal's surface, he expected heat. Or a pulse. Or something.
Instead—
Nothing.
A flicker. A faint shimmer. But then… silence.
James blinked. Waited.
The crystal pulsed once, faintly red.
Then—
CRACK.
A spiderweb fracture danced across the surface.
A burst of wind slammed into his chest, hurling him backward. Energy whipped around him, threads of gold and crimson light spiraling like ribbons of wildfire. Students screamed. Instructors stepped back.
And James—
He couldn't breathe.
His veins burned. His bones ached. His mind—
> "…my flame… awaits you…"
The voice wasn't loud.
It was ancient.
Gentle.
Then—
Darkness.
---
His eyes opened to white.
Ceiling tiles. Infirmary hums. The rhythmic pulse of an Aether IV dripping into his arm.
A monitor beeped softly beside him. The screen read:
> Patient ID: James Solkaris
Status: No Resonance Detected. Class: Unawakened.
The door opened. Instructor Varra stepped inside, tablet in one hand, the other pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Well," she said flatly, "you didn't die."
James stared at her.
"You also didn't Awaken. Not officially, anyway. The Conduit overloaded. No Class stabilized. Whatever reaction you triggered—it was incomplete."
He said nothing.
"Rest," she added, turning. "You'll be re-assigned to General Education for now. Further testing will be scheduled."
The door closed behind her.
James lay still.
General Education.
Code for: the non-Awakened. The ones who didn't make the cut. Who didn't become Knights or Mages. Who never left the walls.
He exhaled shakily and stared at the lights above.
Then—
Something flickered at the edge of his vision.
A screen. Transparent. Faint.
[Solar Core System – Booting…]
> Primary Bond: Unconfirmed
Status: Vital Link… Syncing… 3%
Warning: Source Entity in Dormant State
Initializing Core Loop...
James sat up, pulse racing.
The screen blinked—and vanished.
He stared at his hands.
And far below the Academy, beneath countless layers of stone and ancient shielding, something pulsed faintly in the dark—
A single egg, cracked at the edges, its surface glowing with gold and crimson threads.