"Greetings, esteemed teachers and fellow disciples. My name is Shaun Thunderhawk. I am a first-year disciple at Silver Heaven Academy, aspiring to master the intricate arts of thunder magic."
"I come from a small farming family in Nuzzle Village, and my… my dream is to be… you see, my dream is to… is to… to become…"
Suddenly, Shaun's words trailed off as his mind went completely blank. His voice wavered, and a stutter escaped. A chilling wave of anxiety engulfed him, freezing his thoughts. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The eager faces surrounding him started to blur.
"What happened? Did he just forget his own dream? How embarrassing for him!"
"It seems the farm boy has forgotten his lines. Perhaps the village life didn't prepare him. No wonder he's so nervous."
"Some future thunder master, huh? Just look at him, completely frozen." The whispers intensified, morphing into a symphony of taunts that pierced Shaun's fragile confidence.
"Oh, Shaun… Come on, you can do it," Natasha's brow furrowed with concern, her hand twitching as if she wanted to comfort him. Then a sharper voice cut through the room like a blade.
"Are you quite finished with this pitiful display?" Katherine's voice rang out, cold and merciless. Her fan flicked open with a sharp snap, punctuating her disdain. "A moment ago, you had the gall to posture before your betters, yet now you can't even string together a single sentence? Where is that boldness you paraded earlier?"
Her lips curled into a cruel smile as she leaned back in her seat, eyes narrowing. "How fitting for a farmer's son — quick to bark, yet trembling when it matters. Your silence insults this academy. Spare us the farce and sit down, Commoner, before you waste any more of our time."
Shaun flinched, his heart hammering in his chest as his face burned with embarrassment, struggling to regain his composure.
"Pathetic," Katherine sneered, her cruel smirk deepening.
Maya's eyes narrowed, sending a silent, furious warning toward Katherine. Yet Katherine, unmoved, let her smirk linger, dismissing Grandmaster Maya's fierce glare.
No, that's not supposed to be happening. I've been working on my introduction all this time. How could I possibly mess it up? Why can't I just remember it now? Come on, Shaun, focus… focus…
Shaun internally chastised himself, his perfectly rehearsed introduction crumbled into dust. His heart raced against his chest. He shut his eyes tightly, attempting to grasp just a single thread of his lost words. And in that desperate silence, Natasha's calm, encouraging voice echoed in the corners of his mind.
"Alright, just take deep breaths and calm yourself. You've got this, Shaun. You are stronger than you think."
A swelling tide of anxiety began to subside, giving way to a soft wave of comfort. He took a slow, deliberate breath, steadying his trembling hands.
"Right. Deep breath. Natasha always says it. Come on, Shaun, you can do this. Just stay calm."
**********
"Natasha was right. I simply need to take a deep breath. I feel much better now. Now I am ready to do this… I can do this," Shaun inhaled deeply, soothing his racing thoughts, exhaling his fear. His tense shoulders eased, and the frantic rhythm of his heart calmed.
"Shaun Thunderhawk… It's time to open your eyes." A soft, melodic whisper drifted through the silence, accompanied by the faint drip of a water droplet.
"Huh? What? Who is that?" Shaun exclaimed, bewildered by the unfamiliar voice, and quickly opened his eyes.
The once-familiar classroom, alive with vibrant disciples just moments ago, had vanished. In its place stretched an unsettling, surreal void — an endless expanse of pristine white. The only remnants of reality were vacant classroom chairs, floating eerily like forgotten memories.
Shaun spun around, his eyes wide. "Where… where am I? What is this place? These chairs… they're from the classroom. But how can that be? And where did everyone go?"
Before he could take a step, a strange sensation beneath his feet caught his attention. As he cautiously looked down, his eyes widened. Beneath his feet, rippling gently, was water. Yet somehow, impossibly, he stood upon it without sinking. His reflection trembled beneath him, fractured by ripples.
"The ground… it's water? But I'm not sinking. This… this is impossible!"
Ripples spread from beneath his sandals, distorting his reflection. He stood effortlessly on the liquid surface, as though the impossible had become ordinary.
"This doesn't make any sense. Am I dreaming?"
"Shaun… my dear Shaun…" Again, the sweet, melodic voice called to him. He turned, his breath hitching.
He spun around. "Natasha? Is that you?"
But it was not Natasha. In the distance, a faint figure shimmered into being. A girl with soft pink hair flowing like silk, draped in a white celestial gown, stood watching him. Her features were indistinct, like a half-remembered dream, yet her gentle smile pierced his heart with a strange familiarity.
Shaun blinked, but when his eyes opened again, she was gone. Panic surged in his chest. "Where did she go? She was right there! Was I hallucinating?"
Panic rising, Shaun rubbed his eyes, pinched his arm, desperate to wake from the dream. Suddenly, gentle hands rested upon his shoulders. Shaun stiffened, his heart racing.
"A-aaah! G-g-ghost! Please don't haunt me! I'm too young to be haunted!" he stammered, frozen in fear.
A soft laugh, like bells in the breeze, answered him. "A ghost? Hardly. I would never harm you, Shaun. You hold too precious place for me."
He felt her warmth against his back, steadying, reassuring. A sweet fragrance enveloped him like spring blossoms, calming his frantic heartbeat.
Shaun's breath caught. "Precious? H-how do you know my name? Who are you? Where are we?"
The figure leaned close, her voice brushing against his ear, gentle yet powerful. "You already know the answer, Shaun. You stand within yourself, upon your own heart's reflection. This place… is you."
Shaun's breath trembled. "Me…? Then why are you here?"
The girl's hand moved from his shoulder to his chest, resting above his heart. "Because you've hidden your true dream. You fear others will laugh, will scorn you, will call you arrogant. But Shaun… your dream is not arrogance. It is your truth. Why silence it?"
His eyes widened. Natasha's encouraging words earlier echoed in his mind. Don't dim your light for others.
The mysterious girl smiled, her voice glowing like dawn. "Speak what is in your heart. Not what others expect. Not what feels safe. You already know the words, Shaun Thunderhawk. Declare them."
Shaun's trembling stilled. His fists clenched as warmth surged in his chest. He whispered, testing the words:
"My name… is Shaun Thunderhawk. And my ambition…" His voice cracked, but then grew stronger. "…my ambition is to challenge the three Supreme Mages, and to become the World's Strongest Magus!"
The girl's smile deepened, proud and serene. "Yes. That is the Shaun I wished to see. Bold. Unafraid. True to himself. Never forget—your dream shines brightest when spoken with courage."
Her form began to fade into the white expanse, dissolving like mist. He turned sharply to face her.
"But wait! Who are you? Please — at least tell me your name!"
The girl's figure was already fading, her outline dissolving into the white expanse. Yet she turned, her pink hair glimmering faintly as her voice lingered, soft as a lullaby, sharp as truth.
"Names are but shadows before their time, Shaun Thunderhawk. Do not seek mine just yet. When dawn and dusk embrace, when destiny's tides converge, you will know me. And when that day arrives… I will walk beside you, not as a whisper, but as fate itself."
Her final words drifted away like petals on the wind, echoing in the emptiness until the void dissolved…
**********
Meanwhile, in the lively academy classroom, Shaun's body stood frozen, drawing every eye. The disciples exchanged uneasy glances, whispers stirring like restless winds.
"Shaun! What's wrong? Please, say something!" Natasha's voice cracked, her confidence giving way to raw worry.
"This is odd… he hasn't moved at all," Edward muttered, concern flashing across his usually calm face.
"Perhaps the pressure of so many discerning eyes is too much for him," Lily said gently.
"Tch. Pathetic." Katherine sneered, snapping her fan shut. "A commoner wasting everyone's time with this charade. This is why standards matter."
"Katherine, enough!" Sakura snapped, sharper than her usual playful tone. She leaned forward, her voice softening as it reached Shaun. "He's unresponsive… Shaun, darling, can you hear us?"
Still, Shaun did not stir. The weight of silence pressed on the chamber until Maya's firm voice rang out.
"Shaun, if you are unwell, say so, and we shall arrange aid. But if you are merely hesitating, then I urge you—gather your courage and speak."
No response. The tension tightened like a bowstring. Maya's tone hardened. "Shaun Thunderhawk! Speak up, or you will be dismissed from this ceremony!"
The silence cracked. Shaun suddenly inhaled, his chest rising with controlled steadiness. His eyes snapped open. He stood once more at the front of the classroom, facing his peers. The whispers still buzzed, Katherine still sneered, but his heart no longer quaked.
The mysterious girl's words burned within his chest. For the first time, Shaun stood tall, ready to speak—not with borrowed words, but with his own true voice. He raised his head, shoulders squared, no trace of fear in his black eyes. His voice, clear and unwavering, cut through the tension like lightning splitting the sky:
"My name is Shaun Thunderhawk! And my dream is to challenge and defeat the three Supreme Mages—the strongest in the Silver Heaven Region—and to claim the title of the World's Strongest Magus!"
The declaration thundered through the hall, echoing against the ancient stone walls like a divine oath. For a heartbeat, time itself froze.
Maya's stern mask cracked, her eyes widening. Sakura's grin faded, replaced by sheer astonishment. Natasha's face glowed with pride, her lips trembling into a smile as tears welled in her eyes.
"Oh, Shaun… I knew you could do it," she whispered.
Then the silence shattered. A collective gasp surged through the disciples, followed by an eruption of voices—admiration, envy, disbelief, and mockery colliding in a storm.
"What?!?" the classroom roared, as the weight of Shaun's words shook Silver Heaven Academy to its core.
High above the clamour, in the teacher's row, Master Kunochi's lips curled into a faint, knowing smile. Stroking his beard, he whispered so softly that only Maya and Sakura caught his words:
"Like I said… the winds of fate… they are beginning to shift."
**********