The Seven Paths
(Part I — The Evaluation Hall)
The afternoon bell echoed across the vast grounds of Spēju Akadēmija.
Its solemn chime rolled through the towering spires and ancient courtyards, washing over the academy like ripples spreading across the surface of a tranquil lake.
Gone was the lively chatter that had filled the Grand Dining Hall only moments ago.
Students who had been leisurely enjoying their lunch now hurried along the stone pathways to the Academy's training ground where sorting ceremony always parttake. Their conversations shifting from food and first impressions to the topic occupying every freshman's mind.
The Sorting Evaluation.
Darkus adjusted the strap of his satchel as he followed the stream of students leaving the dining district.
Sunlight filtered through the emerald canopy overhead, scattering golden rays across the white cobblestone paths. Tiny motes of mana drifted lazily through the air like glowing pollen, occasionally landing upon the academy's flowering hedges before dissolving into shimmering dust.
The entire campus looked almost dreamlike beneath the afternoon sun.
Peaceful. Beautiful. Ancient.
"...Wait for me!"
Darkus didn't need to turn around.
He already knew whose voice that was.
A second later—
Thump.
Someone bumped into his shoulder.
Not hard enough to hurt.
Just enough to make him stumble half a step.
He sighed.
"... You did that on purpose."
"I did not."
Laima answered with a smile so innocent it would have fooled almost anyone.
Almost.
Darkus looked at the empty space surrounding them again.
"... There's an entire road."
"There is."
"... Then why are you walking exactly beside me?"
She looked around dramatically before nodding.
"Hmm..."
"Good question."
"..."
"I still don't know."
Darkus pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a quiet sigh. Their conversations always followed the same pattern. Like an endless loop, they circled around the very same topic until, somehow, he was the one who ended up defeated every single time.
Here's the peace that I am dreaming. He thought
"You could've walked literally anywhere else."
"I could." She let out a cheshire grin that irrater the Darkus even, "But I didn't."
"... Why?"
Laima clasped her hands behind her back and skipped ahead of him before turning around, walking backwards with a cheerful grin.
"Because you're interesting."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm really not."
"I disagree."
"..."
"..."
"... You're impossible."
"I've been told hahahaha."
She laughed, the tiny bells tied to her crimson ribbons chiming softly with every step she took.
Darkus couldn't understand how someone could possess so much energy after walking around the academy the entire morning.
Was she always like this? Or was she simply pretending?
The thought lingered only briefly before he pushed it aside.
The more he thought about Laima, the more questions he ended up with.
≈≈≈≈≈
Soon, the stone pathways opened into a vast circular plaza unlike any place they had visited before.
Darkus instinctively slowed his pace.
At the center stood a colossal building crafted entirely from ivory-white stone. Unlike the other academy structures, this one had no visible windows. No banners. No decorative carvings.
Its smooth walls rose toward the heavens in perfect symmetry, giving it the appearance of a gigantic monolith placed gently upon the earth.
Seven towering pillars surrounded the structure. Each pillar stood nearly twenty meters tall and was carved from a different material. Obsidian. Marble. Crystal. Emerald. Sapphire. Bronze. And one... Fashioned entirely from a strange silver metal that reflected neither sunlight nor shadow.
Upon each pillar glowed an enormous symbol.
A sword engulfed in flames.
An open tome (Grimoire).
A pair of balanced scales.
A flourishing tree.
An intricate mechanical gear.
A silver crescent moon.
And finally...
A seven-pointed star enclosed within a perfect circle.
Unlike the others, the last symbol pulsed quietly. Almost like a heartbeat.
Darkus found himself staring.
"... This place..." He muttered, "... Feels different."
"It does." Laima's playful voice had grown unusually soft.
Darkus glanced at her. She wasn't smiling.
Her golden eyes remained fixed upon the silver star.
For just an instant, an unreadable emotion flickered across her face.
Recognition?
Nostalgia?
Fear?
Before Darkus could say another word, her usual cheerful grin returned as though the expression he had witnessed only moments ago had never existed. It vanished so naturally that he found himself questioning whether he had imagined it in the first place.
He no longer knew what to believe whenever he looked at her.
One moment, she felt undeniably real— a girl standing right before him, laughing and smiling as if nothing was wrong. The next, she seemed like an illusion, a fleeting existence that could disappear the instant he blinked. It was as though she existed somewhere between reality and fantasy, forever beyond his ability to truly grasp.
"Come on!" She excitedly grabbed his sleeve. "They're opening the doors."
Darkus frowned.
"... Can you stop grabbing my clothes?"
"I could." She released him. "...But then I'd have to find another way to get your attention."
"I'd rather you didn't."
She giggled. "I know."
With a thunderous rumble that seemed to shake the earth itself— the enormous bronze doors slowly swung inward.
A cool breeze drifted outward.
It carried with it the scent of old parchment. Ancient stone and something else...
Something difficult to describe.
Like rain falling upon forgotten ruins.
The freshmen collectively fell silent.
One after another, they stepped inside.
Darkus crossed the threshol but immediately stopped.
"... Impossible."
The building was far larger than its exterior suggested.
No...
"Larger" wasn't the right word.
It was as though the interior belonged to an entirely different world.
Well, we are different from normal humans. He thought.
An immense amphitheater stretched before them. Tier upon tier of marble seats rose in concentric circles, enough to accommodate several thousand students with ease. The ceiling was nowhere to be seen. Instead, A vast sky extended overhead. Clouds drifted peacefully. Birds soared through the endless blue. Sunlight poured down naturally, despite the building being completely enclosed from the outside.
"... Spatial magic."
Darkus whispered.
"No."
A voice beside him replied.
Laima smiled.
"It's older than that."
Darkus looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
She shrugged.
"I don't know."
"... Then how do you know?"
"I don't."
"..."
"... Sometimes words just come out."
Darkus sighed.
"... You worry me."
"I know."
At the center of the amphitheater floated seven massive stone platforms.
Each platform hovered several meters above the ground, slowly rotating around a gigantic circular emblem carved into the floor below.
Countless runes glowed along its edges. Mana flowed through them like rivers of liquid starlight. The entire arena hummed with ancient power. Even breathing felt different.
Heavier.
As though the air itself contained magic.
Freshmen quietly took their seats. No one dared raise their voices. Even Laima remained surprisingly quiet.
Professor Aster Valen stepped onto the central platform. His long academy coat fluttered gently despite the absence of wind.
He surveyed the countless new students before speaking.
"Welcome..." He started, "...to the Hall of Sorting and Evaluation."
His calm voice resonated throughout the amphitheater without the aid of magic.
"For more than a thousand years..." He continued with such suspense, "...every student of Spēju Akadēmija has begun their journey here."
He slowly raised one hand.
Immediately, the seven hovering platforms ignited with brilliant light.
The enormous symbols suspended above them shimmered one after another.
Professor Valen continued.
"Many of you believe today's session is about choosing your future."
He smiled faintly.
"It is not."
Murmurs spread among the freshmen.
"You do not choose your Path. The academy does not choose your Path. The professors do not choose your Path."
Darkus frowned.
Then who does?
Professor Valen's gaze swept across the silent amphitheater.
"There are seven Paths within Spēju Akadēmija."
"Seven inheritances."
"Seven philosophies."
"Seven ways to stand against the darkness that exists beyond these walls."
"The question..."
"... is not which Path you desire."
His expression became solemn.
"... The question is..."
"... which Path is willing to accept you."
Silence.
Not a single student spoke. Even the floating mana lights seemed to dim. Darkus felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Somehow, those words carried a weight that no ordinary speech should possess.
Beside him, Laima quietly whispered.
"... It begins."
Darkus turned.
"What begins?"
She blinked.
"Hm?"
"You just said—"
"I did?"
She smiled.
"I don't remember."
Darkus stared at her for several long seconds.
She's doing it again.
She would say something completely beyond his understanding, only to act as though she had never uttered those words in the first place. It was as if she had already forgotten them— a memory that had faded long ago despite having happened only a minute earlier. Her expression remained as bright and carefree as ever, giving no hint that anything strange had occurred.
As much as Darkus wanted to dwell on her cryptic behavior, he found his attention being drawn elsewhere. The Sorting Evaluation was about to begin, and whatever mysteries surrounded Laima would have to wait. For now, the trial before him demanded his full attention.
Then slowly looked back toward Professor Valen.
For some reason, he had the unsettling feeling that this afternoon's lecture wasn't merely an orientation.
It was the opening move... Of something much, much bigger.
—End of Part I—