Aerion understood one truth now—
The Continuum Watch never asked permission.
They tested.
Silently.
Relentlessly.
The realization came to him as he walked alone through the outer corridors of the Academy, the black coin heavy in his pocket. The night air felt different—thicker, tense, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
I'm being measured, he thought.
Not by strength.
But by choice.
A sudden chill crawled up his spine.
Aerion stopped.
The torches along the corridor flickered… then went out.
Darkness swallowed the path ahead.
"Nyxa," he said calmly, without turning. "You're terrible at subtlety."
A soft clap echoed.
"Ouch," her voice came from somewhere behind him. "And here I was thinking I'd improved."
She stepped into view, leaning casually against a pillar, twin daggers spinning lazily around her fingers.
"Midnight walks alone?" she asked. "That's either bravery or stupidity."
Aerion faced her. "This is the test, isn't it?"
Nyxa's grin widened.
"Smart boy."
Before Aerion could react—
The corridor exploded.
Stone shattered as something slammed down between them, sending debris flying. Aerion leapt back instinctively, barely avoiding the impact.
From the dust emerged a figure wrapped in black armor etched with crimson runes.
Its presence was wrong.
No mana flow.
No heartbeat.
Just emptiness.
Nyxa's tone turned sharp. "Survive till dawn."
"What is that thing?" Aerion demanded.
Nyxa's eyes gleamed. "Your consequence if you fail."
And then she vanished.
The construct moved.
Not fast—
Inevitable.
Each step warped the stone beneath its feet, cracks spreading outward like fractures in reality itself.
Aerion steadied his breathing.
No infinity. Not yet.
He reached for mana—
And felt resistance.
The air rejected him.
"Anti-mana field," he muttered. "Of course."
The construct raised its arm.
A blade formed—not summoned, not created, but revealed, as if it had always been there.
It attacked.
Aerion rolled aside as the blade carved a trench through the corridor wall. Stone screamed as reality struggled to hold shape.
This thing isn't using power, Aerion realized. It's enforcing a rule.
A rule that said—
You don't exist.
Aerion clenched his teeth and ran.
The Academy grounds were a maze of shadows.
Students slept unaware as Aerion sprinted across rooftops, the construct following relentlessly below, tearing through walls instead of navigating around them.
Aerion's lungs burned.
His thoughts raced.
Nyxa wants to see what I choose.
Fight and reveal himself?
Run and abandon others?
Or—
Something else.
The construct leapt.
Aerion spun midair, barely deflecting the blade with a conjured barrier that shattered instantly.
He crashed into the courtyard fountain, water exploding outward.
The construct landed opposite him.
Silent.
Judging.
Aerion stood slowly, blood trickling from his forehead.
"You're not alive," he said quietly. "So why do you hesitate?"
The construct tilted its head.
Just a fraction.
Aerion smiled grimly. "You're waiting for authorization."
He closed his eyes.
Not to summon infinity—
But to remember discipline.
I wasn't always a weapon, he thought. I was a soldier.
He moved.
This time, his steps were precise.
Controlled.
He baited the construct, drawing it toward the mana statue at the courtyard's center—a relic infused with layered enchantments.
As the construct swung—
Aerion redirected the strike.
The blade sliced through the statue.
Runes flared violently.
The enchantments collapsed inward, creating a feedback loop.
The construct froze.
Its empty aura fluctuated.
Cracks spread across its armor.
Aerion stepped back, breathing hard.
The construct shattered into fragments of black glass that evaporated before hitting the ground.
Silence returned.
Aerion sank to one knee.
"I didn't use it," he whispered. "I didn't use infinity."
A slow clap echoed.
Nyxa appeared atop the fountain, crouched casually.
"Well done," she said. "You passed."
Aerion looked up sharply. "That thing could've killed someone."
Nyxa's smile faded slightly. "It wouldn't have. You were here."
"That's not an answer."
She hopped down, meeting his gaze. "The Watch doesn't protect the world by trusting hope. We test certainty."
Aerion stood. "And if I had failed?"
Nyxa held his gaze.
"Then Seris would've erased tonight from everyone's memory."
Aerion felt cold.
Later, deep beneath the Academy, Seris and Elowen observed a projection of the courtyard.
"Elimination avoided," Elowen reported. "Subject demonstrated restraint and adaptability."
Seris nodded. "He didn't awaken the weapon."
"That increases long-term risk," Elowen said.
"It also preserves his humanity," Seris replied quietly.
Elowen paused. "…Humanity statistically leads to failure."
Seris smiled faintly. "And yet… it's the only thing infinity never predicts."
As dawn approached, Aerion returned to his dorm.
Lyria stirred as he entered.
"You're bleeding," she said sleepily.
"Training accident," Aerion replied smoothly.
She studied him for a long moment, then nodded. "Be careful."
Always that.
Careful.
She fell back asleep.
Aerion sat on his bed, staring at his hands.
They were steady.
But inside—
Something had changed.
The infinity mark pulsed once.
Not demanding.
Waiting.
A whisper brushed his mind.
You chose restraint… again.
Aerion stiffened.
"Show yourself."
The silver-haired woman emerged from the shadows of his thoughts.
Her expression was unreadable.
"You're delaying the inevitable," she said softly.
"I'm choosing my own path," Aerion replied.
She smiled sadly. "That path ends the same way."
"Then I'll change the ending."
Her form began to fade.
"Be careful, Aerion," she whispered. "Infinity doesn't fear your power."
Her voice lingered.
"It fears your defiance."
Far away—
Beyond worlds—
A second faction stirred.
Robed figures knelt before a shattered symbol of infinity, chanting softly.
"The anomaly has survived."
A voice answered from the darkness.
"Good."
"Shall we proceed?"
The voice smiled.
"Send the Null Apostle."
Back at the Academy—
Aerion looked out at the rising sun, unaware that his next test would not be one he could run from.
And this time—
Someone was coming to kill him.