Three hours before the exam, Liora stood in front of me, carefully adjusting my clothes.
Her hands moved with their usual precision. She checked the collar of my shirt, smoothed the sleeves, adjusted my shoes. Everything was correct. Everything was in place.
—"You don't need to be nervous," she said with a gentle smile. "It's just an exam."
That unsettled me.
Just an exam.
I knew very well that it wasn't.
That exam didn't merely measure ability. It measured value. Expectation. The place you would occupy in the world from that day forward—especially for someone born into the Great Houses.
But I didn't contradict her.
—"Just do what you know how to do," she added. "Don't let it intimidate you."
I nodded.
While she spoke, my thoughts drifted elsewhere.
To my past life.
To the boy I had once been.
Isolated.Silent.Rejected for no reason.
I didn't want to repeat that.
This time, I had parents.I had a home.I had a place.
I didn't want to lose it.
When Liora finished, she looked at me for a moment longer than necessary.
—"Everything will be fine," she said.
But her voice didn't sound convinced.
The exam hall was the same one Selene had used.
But it didn't feel the same.
There was no noise.No murmurs.No anticipation.
The people present barely reached ten.
My mother.Liora.Father.Pedro Arias and Silvia.Pedro Vides and Miladiz.Alexander.Cael.Yeimi.And a few servants of absolute trust.
No one else.
No outside observers.No representatives from other houses.No journalists.
That wasn't normal.
For Selene's exam, the hall had been full.
I swallowed.
What unsettled me even more was who stood at the center.
My uncle Alexander.
—"Jhosep Arias," he announced. "Your Three-Year Exam begins."
I took a deep breath.
PHYSICAL TEST
—"We begin with balance."
A line of light appeared on the floor, firm and stable.
—"Walk," he ordered. "No running."
I took the first step.
My body responded instantly. There was no doubt, no tremor. I advanced with my weight properly distributed, posture straight, rhythm steady.
One step.Another.
The line did not narrow.Did not tremble.Did not demand correction.
When I reached the end, my breathing remained controlled.
—"Perfect balance," Alexander noted.
—"Reflexes."
Points of light flashed around me, appearing and disappearing without pattern.
I didn't think.
I moved.
Right.Back.Up.
Each point was touched before it vanished. My body reacted without hesitation, as if every movement had already been decided before my mind caught up.
—"Advanced reflexes," Alexander said. "Far above average."
—"Coordination."
Two spheres appeared, moving in opposing patterns, crossing paths, accelerating and slowing.
I observed for a second.
Then moved.
A short turn.A precise shift.A minimal adjustment.
Nothing broke.Nothing strained.
When the spheres vanished, I was still standing, breathing normally.
—"Excellent coordination."
The following tests—strength, endurance, agility—I passed with the same flawless ease. I jumped, ran, climbed without losing rhythm.
Alexander recorded each result without surprise.
Optimal.Excellent.Advanced.
—"Physical test completed with no remarks."
He closed the record.
The hall remained silent.
And yet… something was missing.
—"The exam has concluded," Alexander said.
I froze.
—"…Already?" I asked. "That's all?"
—"Yes," he replied. "It's finished."
A hollow feeling spread through my chest.
—"But the mana test is missing."
The air shifted.
My mother covered her face.Liora looked away.Father lowered his head, exhausted.
Cael turned toward the door.Yeimi averted her gaze.
—"Uncle," I insisted. "I want to do it."
—"It isn't necessary."
—"Yes, it is."
I stepped forward.
They had always avoided my questions about mana. About forming the sphere. They had always changed the subject whenever I mentioned it.
No one spoke.
Cael stopped at the doorway.
—"This is what I warned you about," he said without looking at me. "You can't cut something like this away and then pretend there won't be consequences."
His gaze swept over the adults.
—"You knew. And you still brought him here."
He paused.
—"Now deal with it."
He left.
The door slammed shut.
My mother broke into tears.
I looked at Alexander.
—"Please," I said. "Let's do the test."
Alexander closed his eyes.
—"…Very well."
He knelt in front of me.
—"Listen carefully."
He explained the core.The channels.The sensation.The intention.
Everything matched what Selene had told me.
I raised my hands.
I breathed.
Nothing.
I tried again.
Nothing.
Again. And again.
Nothing.
My hands remained cold. Empty.
—"Jhosep," Alexander said softly. "That's enough."
—"No. I can still try."
He held my shoulders.
—"Son… listen to me."
—"No!" my mother cried.
Alexander clenched his eyes shut.
When he looked at me again, he was trembling.
—"I will tell you, even if it destroys me."
I swallowed.
—"When you were born… you weren't like the others."
The silence was absolute.
—"Every living being has a small flame of mana. Always."
His voice broke.
—"But you… never had one."
He looked at me, eyes filled with guilt.
—"Jhosep… you were born without mana."
I didn't scream.I didn't cry.
I looked at my hands.
The air felt heavier, as if it were pressing down on me from the inside.
And I understood.
The excuses.The looks.The silence.
It wasn't that they didn't want to teach me.
There was nothing to teach.
Alexander pulled me into a tight embrace.
In that moment, everything fell into place.
Not just the exam.
My childhood, too.
This life had been different.I had parents.I had felt something I never had before.
And now I understood why that affection had become fragile.
In my past life, I had been rejected without reason.
Here… the world would have one.
And I had believed this time would be different.
That hope faded.
Not suddenly.
It simply stopped existing.
I lowered my hands.
The world had already decided who I was going to be