Water erupts from the nozzles embedded in the bronze walls, slamming into Orian's body like countless needles. Every inch of his skin burns. His consciousness is scattered once more by the sour, stinking torrent, plunging into a vast and silent darkness.
He lies on a hospital bed. The monitor beside him continues its steady pulse. Eris grips the azurite necklace tightly, as if it were the only thread capable of pulling Yuyan back from Death's grasp. He drops to his knees before the doctor.
"Dr. Stein—I'm the president's son," Eris pleads. "I can give you anything. Just bring him back."
"Orian?" Belly lifts his face in both hands. Deep within her eyes, frost crystallizes once more into blooming flowers. Suddenly, Orian wants to tell Eris the truth—that he may never return to the world he once lived in, and that they are no longer the inseparable friends they used to be.
A skeletal dragonfly streaks past Orian's shoulder. Swarms of golden cicadas with flaming wings crawl out from the cracks in the ceiling, circling and shrieking through the air. Orian presses his palm against the freezing bronze wall, his fingers tracing the uneven carvings in search of a hidden mechanism. There is no drainage outlet. The water level continues to rise—it will soon swallow everyone.
Spiked rollers studded with blades rotate endlessly, rolling above and beneath the water's surface. Several mud-born children are slashed; blood instantly stains the Hall of Baptism red. Giant red-headed hornets fire poisoned stingers from the side, striking Howie. Belly shields her younger brother and cries out in despair, "Orian—think of something!"
Some children sink beneath the water, only to be seized by witch hags who pry open copper plates. With grotesquely long tongues, the hags coil the children up and drag them behind the stone slabs.
Others thrash helplessly in the water. Their cries fade, swallowed by choking silence.
Orian raises the feather, quickly deciphering the sigils etched upon it. He grabs one of the wall-mounted nozzles. Pressure screams against his palm as it vibrates violently. He twists it, aiming at the burning cicada swarm. A torrent surges forth, scattering them instantly. The moment the flaming cicadas touch the water, they transform into gleaming keys.
With a thunderous roar, hundreds of doors emerge from the towering copper walls of the cavern. Orian lifts the keys, opening door after door. An iron-and-stone tunnel reveals itself before the mud children.
Passing through the Gate of Fate, the students gather by a crescent-shaped lake. Azure waters mirror their young faces. Around the lake stand empty seats engraved with the Four Sacred Beasts—Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger.
Suddenly, thunderous applause erupts. The lake churns as an elderly figure rises from the water. His molten-gold robes flow beneath the sacred light of the dome, a prismatic bow tied neatly at his collar. He raises a hand adorned with a twin-headed Azure Dragon ring. His voice is solemn, resonant, and commanding.
"Welcome, gifted newcomers of the Azurite World. Through wisdom and courage, you have passed the entrance trials of the Glass Academy. I am Professor Woods, the thirty-second Headmaster of the Academy—Dragon-Blood Archmage of the Apocalypse.
"In the trials to come, you will fall again and again—and rise again and again. Some of you will become divine authorities, demigods. Some will become pillars of the Academy. And some will be eliminated. But I swear upon the name of the Academy: all who are eliminated will be safely returned to their homelands."
"The Azurite Tree World calls for your strength. Only through sincere self-sacrifice may you repay the boundless grace granted by the Creator Ala and the Azurite Tree. Now, apprentices of divine magic, take your seats upon the Four Symbol Thrones. Here, by Crescent Moon Lake, the waters shall reflect your soul origins and assign you to the Academy's islands."
One by one, the apprentices sit. Beneath the dome, crystal petals drift down like snow, each settling gently into the water sigil before every student. The lake begins to change—some reflections become radiant spirit birds, others ice wolves, flame panthers, or golden-winged tigers. Water sprites rise from the lake, whispering excitedly among themselves.
Orian watches the colors of his companions' souls, a question swelling in his chest. What will his soul origin be?
An angel, like the noble Prince Rhys?
A dragon, bearing the ancient bloodline of the Elder Dragon Ring?
The Kunpeng of Zhuangzi's Free and Easy Wandering, soaring across heaven and earth?
Or perhaps… a blood elf from World of Warcraft?
It is Belly's turn. Her reflection is not an animal, but a frost-sealed plum blossom. Nicky, the Divine Law Warden, exchanges a glance with the battle mage Alex, "From the Sacred Flower Clan?"
Howie clutches a rusted electronic teddy bear. A single-spotted ice beetle leaps from the lake. Beside Orian, Leo stares into the water as a crystal ant crawls out from the ripples.
Orian fixes his gaze on the sigil beneath the water. His heart sinks. He looks up at the Headmaster. The twin-headed dragon ring gleams, as if piercing the lake—and stabbing straight into his chest.
The Headmaster snaps his fingers.
Light ripples across the water. A small, scrawny red chicken emerges—skinny, trembling, feathers sparse, pitifully bare. It shrinks in the light, as though terrified of the world itself. Orian sees it clearly—the chicken's heart is sealed by a Seven-Star Divine Curse.
He steals a glance at Belly. Her eyes are filled with pity.
The next second, laughter explodes across the Crescent Hall.
"I knew it—just a cowardly chicken."
"Let's call him Baldy Chick."
Prince Rhys rises from his seat. The fourth-tier demigod nobles beside him chuckle softly. James, the blood elf, pats Orian's shoulder in feigned comfort. The prince unfurls his immaculate angel wings, dazzling beneath the dome's light. A single feather drifts down, brushing the water at Orian's feet.
Orian clenches his fists, praying only that the ceremony ends soon. Even the Headmaster stares at the reflection—as though he has never seen such a soul form before. How could someone like this have been chosen?
At last, the little chicken lowers its head and vanishes into the ripples. With it sinks the last shred of Orian's dignity.
After enduring that humiliation, Orian forces himself through the remaining enrollment procedures. In the Crescent Lake Hall, students step forward one by one to sign the Contract Scroll. The text is written in ancient Sky-Azure, a language no one but Orian understands.
He watches others sign their names in blood. After a moment's hesitation, he presses his own name onto the thick parchment. Within the golden blood-script, he catches several Sky-Azure words: "Death" "Personal Responsibility" "Sacrifice" "Glass Tree Soul Relic"
Once the contract is sealed, pedestals rise from the water before each apprentice, displaying insignia earrings, soul-core rings, spellbooks, academy laws, and a divine crystal. The earrings mark different divine-domain castles.
At the center of the lake stands a towering statue of the Creator Ala, gazing down upon the assembly. Yet Orian's eyes are drawn to a necklace on the statue—nearly identical to the one Eris once gave him.
Instinctively, he reaches for his own neck, only to realize the necklace vanished during his crossing between worlds. The Headmaster waves his ring, and the earrings attach themselves automatically. On Orian's earring appears the number 222, alongside the emblem of a tiny red chick.
Then glasslight begins to flow from the crystals within the hall. More cosmic deities emerge from the walls and the lake's depths—the Jade Emperor, Guanyin, the Buddha, Zeus, the Abyssal God, Apollo, Yama, Archangels, and countless others. For a full hour, accompanied by mysterious music, the glasslight dances among the statues, shifting in form, rhythm, and color—a ritual ancient and unfathomable.
The hall remains utterly silent. Time seems to dissolve. Consciousness freezes, leaving only light and melody.
Through stained-glass windows, the Twin Moons of Yin and Yang rise. Silver radiance pours into Orian's violet eyes. Guided by the ancient magic grandmothers, the apprentices step onto the Path of Light leading toward the heart of Crescent Moon Lake.