The Melika Realm.
A land where kingdoms rose...
Empires clashed...
Ancient beasts ruled forbidden lands...
And countless organizations sought the mysteries of Gaia.
Yet among them all...
There existed one power that stood apart.
The Grand Academy of Melika.
Unlike the Imperial Academies founded by emperors...
Or the great sects built by Monarchs...
No one truly knew who had founded the Grand Academy.
Its history stretched so far into the past that even the oldest records contradicted one another.
Some claimed it had existed before the first empire.
Others believed it was created by a gathering of Domain experts.
The oldest legends whispered something even stranger.
That the Academy had not been built...
But inherited.
Inherited from a civilization that had disappeared long before the current age of Gaia.
Whether those stories were true...
No one knew.
One fact, however, remained unquestioned.
The Grand Academy had never once involved itself in the politics of the Melika Realm.
Empires could wage war.
Kingdoms could rise and fall.
Organizations could flourish or perish.
The Academy simply remained.
Watching.
Teaching.
Waiting.
And every ten years...
Its gates opened.
---
Skyreach Mountain.
The home of the Grand Academy.
Above the clouds floated seven enormous islands.
Each housed countless halls, libraries, arenas and cultivation grounds.
At the very center floated a single island larger than all the others combined.
The Island of Origins.
Few students ever set foot there.
Only the Headmaster...
The Vice Headmaster...
And the Seven Grand Elders possessed unrestricted access.
---
Within an ancient chamber beneath the island...
The Headmaster walked alone.
The room contained no furniture.
Only a massive stone sphere suspended in midair.
Its surface resembled the night sky itself.
Billions of tiny stars shimmered across it.
The old man gently placed his palm upon the sphere.
Immediately...
Hundreds of lights awakened.
Each represented a child whose talent had reached the Academy's standards.
The sphere did not reveal names.
Nor faces.
Only potential.
"This generation..."
The Headmaster whispered.
"...is brighter than the last."
Behind him, an elderly woman entered.
She was the Vice Headmaster.
"The Invitations have been prepared."
The old man nodded.
"Release them."
She hesitated.
"There are several lights that cannot be located."
"I know."
"Their locations are obscured."
The Headmaster smiled faintly.
"Then let the Compass choose."
---
The Vice Headmaster produced an ancient silver compass.
Unlike ordinary artifacts...
It possessed no needle.
Instead...
A tiny droplet of golden Magna floated within its center.
She gently placed it beneath the celestial sphere.
The moment she did...
The compass began to rotate.
Once.
Twice.
Ten times.
Then...
It stopped.
The droplet stretched into countless threads of golden light.
Each thread shot out of the chamber before disappearing into the sky.
The Vice Headmaster watched silently.
"They're gone."
The Headmaster nodded.
"They will find those who are meant to receive them."
She frowned.
"Even those hidden by formations?"
"Even those hidden by Monarchs."
"What about Sovereigns?"
For the first time...
The Headmaster became silent.
After several moments, he answered.
"The Compass does not seek people."
"It seeks possibility."
"It follows neither Magna nor aura."
"It follows destiny."
His gaze lingered on the celestial sphere.
"And destiny..."
"...cannot be hidden forever."
---
Across the Melika Realm...
Golden threads crossed mountains.
They passed through storms.
They ignored barriers.
Ancient formations failed to impede them.
Even hidden realms remained untouched...
Until the threads simply vanished before those they had chosen.
---
Gardenia Empire.
One thread descended into the Imperial Palace.
It transformed into an elegant silver scroll before Emperor Alexander.
He smiled knowingly.
"So..."
"It has begun."
---
Gandis Empire.
A laughing Dimitri caught the scroll before it touched the ground.
"Hahaha!"
"Still as dramatic as ever."
Javier merely sighed.
"The Academy never changes."
---
The Emerald Forest.
A thread drifted through countless ancient trees.
None of the guardian beasts attempted to stop it.
Even the Worldroot remained still.
The light gently settled before Queen Sylvia.
She looked toward the enormous tree.
"So..."
"You approve."
The Worldroot's leaves rustled softly.
---
Ashfall Village.
Master Aldren personally handed Ronan his invitation.
"You've earned the right to dream beyond these mountains."
Ronan accepted it with trembling hands.
---
The Ash Quarter.
Leon found a silver scroll resting upon the broken statue where he often sat.
There was no messenger.
No footsteps.
Only the invitation.
---
The Black Lotus Sanctuary.
Instructor Zero silently placed another scroll before Cassian.
"You will represent us."
Cassian simply nodded.
---
Meanwhile...
Within the Hidden Valley.
Crystal was preparing medicinal herbs when she suddenly stopped.
Her emerald eyes narrowed.
"...Strange."
A single strand of golden light had entered the valley.
It hadn't broken her concealment formation.
Nor had it bypassed it.
Instead...
It had simply appeared within it.
As though distance itself had become meaningless.
The golden thread slowly condensed before her.
Moments later...
It transformed into a silver scroll bearing the ancient crest of the Grand Academy.
Kael's pupils narrowed.
"Impossible."
"Nothing should have found this place."
Crystal slowly picked up the invitation.
Her expression grew solemn.
"It didn't."
Kael looked at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
She gazed at the scroll for a long time before speaking.
"It never searched for the valley."
"It searched..."
Her eyes drifted toward Kieran, who was happily chasing butterflies near the stream.
"...for him."
Silence filled the valley.
Even Kael found no words.
After several moments, he asked quietly,
"Shouldn't that be impossible?"
Crystal gave a bitter smile.
"It should."
"But the Grand Academy possesses mysteries older than the current empires."
"It has always been this way."
"No one truly knows the limits of its foundations."
She slowly rolled the scroll closed.
"For now..."
"Kieran stays here."
Her voice was calm.
Yet deep within her heart...
She understood something she had long tried to deny.
If an artifact capable of tracing destiny had found Kieran...
Then one day...
Others would as well.
High above Skyreach Mountain...
The Headmaster stood before the Celestial Compass.
One golden thread continued shining brighter than all the others.
Unlike the rest...
Its destination remained hidden behind an endless golden mist.
The old man smiled.
"So..."
"Even fate refuses to reveal you."
His ancient eyes gleamed with interest.
"Very well."
"I shall wait."
For the first time in centuries...
The Headmaster looked forward to meeting a student.
End of Chapter 29