The Null dorm felt quiet.
The building looked plain, with narrow halls and dim lights. Nothing here tried to impress anyone. Silas placed his bag down and looked around.
This was his place now.
Footsteps came from behind.
Elias entered the room.
You'll need these, he said.
He placed a few items on the table.
A thin black band.
A small metal token with a faint symbol.
A academy card.
The band helps stabilize your mind, Elias said.
Wear it during classes.
Silas picked it up.
And the token?
Access, Elias replied.
Doors. Rooms. Emergency exits.
Silas nodded.
Elias looked at him carefully.
One rule, he said.
Stay away from nobles.
Silas frowned.
Even if they talk to me?
Especially then, Elias replied.
They don't approach people without reason.
Silas remembered Elena.
I'll handle myself, Silas said.
Elias shook his head.
No, he replied.
You'll survive by avoiding attention.
He turned toward the door.
I have work to do, Elias added.
I'll be gone for a while.
Silas felt a strange unease.
How long? he asked.
It takes some time, Elias said.
He paused.
And don't get into trouble, he continued.
No fights. No conflicts.
Then he left.
---
The next class began in a wide hall.
Instructor Varik's voice echoed across the room.
This is a mental endurance test, he said.
Not strength. Not skill.
The lights dimmed. Pressure filled the air again. Thoughts slowed. Breathing felt heavier. Silas focused on staying aware. Someone nearby laughed softly.
Null always looks like lost, a voice said.
Silas glanced sideways.
A student from Vanguard pushed pressure outward, testing limits.
Silas felt his vision blur.
Careful, the student said.
You might break.
Before Silas could respond, the pressure vanished. A familiar presence moved between them.
That's enough, Elena said calmly.
The Vanguard student frowned.
This doesn't involve you.
It does now, Elena replied.
The air shifted. The pressure disappeared completely. Instructor Varik glanced their way.
You both enough and continue, he said.
The student backed away. Silas released a slow breath. Elena looked at him briefly.
Focus, she said.
This test ends only if you give up.
Then she moved away.
Silas closed his eyes.
And endured.
---
The pressure inside the hall kept increasing.
Thoughts slowed.
Breathing felt heavy.
Several students already looked pale.
Silas focused on the band around his wrist.
Stay awake.
The pressure didn't stop. Instead, it pushed deeper. Something inside Silas reacted.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Recognition.
The air near his hand darkened.
Shadows gathered.
They twisted and folded, moving like liquid smoke. The darkness stretched outward, shaping itself.
A weapon formed.
Not metal.
Not magic.
Something unknown.
A long blade appeared in Silas's hand, black and silent, its surface absorbing light. The edges looked unfinished, like reality itself had been cut wrong.
The pressure vanished instantly.
Silence filled the hall.
Everyone stared.
A Null student had manifested an ability.
During a mental test.
Someone whispered.
That's… a weapon.
Another voice trembled.
I don't feel mana.
Instructor Varik's eyes narrowed.
That substance… he said quietly.
I've never seen something like this.
Caleb felt it from across the room.
His chest tightened.
That thing… he muttered.
It feels wrong.
Elena stopped moving.
Her breath slowed.
Dragon senses flared.
Danger.
Not uncontrolled.
Not wild.
Absolute.
Her eyes fixed on the blade.
That weapon… she thought.
It doesn't belong to this realm.
The shadows around Silas shifted again. A second weapon began to form.
Then a third.
Different shapes.
Different purposes.
All silent.
All waiting.
The band on Silas's wrist burned. The air twisted. Footsteps echoed.
Elias entered the hall.
His gaze locked onto the weapons.
…How did it appear here? he thought.
His mind moved fast.
That darkness.
That structure.
A weapon capable of killing gods.
Elias raised his hand.
That's enough, he said.
The weapons froze.
Elias focused.
Return, he ordered.
The shadows hesitated.
Then slowly, the weapons broke apart, dissolving back into nothing.
Silas gasped.
The pressure faded.
The hall remained silent.
Instructor Varik looked at Elias.
That ability—
Elias cut him off.
This test is over, he said.
For him.
He looked at Silas.
Do not use that again, Elias said calmly.
Not until I return.
Silas nodded, unable to speak.
Elias turned away.
Inside his mind, a thought surfaced.
He already received his or I say my brother's weapon…
His jaw tightened.
So this is why he was chosen.
Elias left the hall.
And for the first time, everyone understood
Null was no longer empty.
---
Silence stayed in the hall.
Elena's eyes never left Silas.
That thing… she said quietly.
It's definitely dangerous.
Silas looked at her.
What was that? he asked.
I didn't control it.
Elena moved closer.
Her voice dropped.
Who are you? she asked.
No—what are you?
Before Silas could answer, Caleb pressed a hand against his chest.
My power… Caleb said.
It went wild for a moment.
He clenched his teeth.
It felt like it was being pulled,
he continued.
Like something was overwriting it.
Students whispered. Fear spread faster than curiosity. Instructor Varik turned away.
This was already beyond him.
---
The news moved fast.
Too fast.
Within minutes, the academy heads gathered.
The heads of the Four Cuts.
And observers from the Circle.
One voice broke the tension.
A Null manifested an ability, it said.
Weapon creation.
Another followed.
Impossible. Null has no abilities.
Eyes turned toward Elias.
Explain, someone demanded.
How does a sealed division gain power?
Elias didn't raise his voice.
The seal is weakening, he said.
The room froze.
The seal? another asked.
On who?
Elias answered without hesitation.
On him.
Murmurs rose.
So what is he? a voice asked.
And what does that ability mean?
Elias looked across the room.
That ability does not belong to this world, he said.
It creates weapons from an unknownorigin.
A pause.
Capable of killing gods.
The room went silent.
One of the Circle members spoke.
If that's true, they said,
then we must take him under our control.
Another voice followed.
Or kill him.
A colder one joined.
If he's related to him…
we cannot allow him to grow.
Elias' gaze sharpened.
No one will touch him, Elias said.
He remains under my observation.
A presence pushed outward.
Pressure filled the room.
You all know what happens, Elias continued,
if you turn against me.
Someone scoffed.
You're unarmed.
Elias smiled faintly.
I don't need my main weapon, he said.
I still have enough power to erase everyone here.
Silence returned.
He stepped forward.
And remember this, Elias added.
You need me.
He looked at the Circle.
You'll need me, he said,
when the seal weakens again.
No one argued.
They couldn't.
Elias turned away.
The decision was made.
Silas would live.
For now.
———
END OF CHAPTER 5