The crimson formations gradually lost their brilliance before slowly sinking beneath the polished stone floor. One after another, the ancient runes disappeared until the enormous platform returned to its pristine state. The silence that followed seemed to stretch endlessly, broken only by the faint footsteps of the silver-robed officials as they rearranged themselves around the hall.
Hundreds of candidates remained seated in complete silence.
The Bloodline Verification had ended.
For many, it had been a relief. For others, it had quietly shattered long-held hopes. Yet no one dared voice their disappointment. They all understood that Star Realm Academy was merely verifying what had already been decided long before they stepped into this tower.
The elderly examiner stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression as calm as ever. He waited patiently until the hall had settled before speaking again.
"The second assessment has concluded."
His voice wasn't loud, yet every candidate heard it as though he stood beside them.
"The verification formations have confirmed those whose Bloodlines awakened successfully during their Awakening Trial."
He slowly swept his gaze across the crowd.
"Remember this."
"A Bloodline is a gift."
"It is not a guarantee."
"Many of history's greatest cultivators possessed no Bloodline at all."
His words eased the expressions of several disappointed candidates.
Cultivation had never belonged solely to the gifted.
Countless legends had carved their names into history through unwavering determination alone.
The elder gave a slight nod before continuing.
"The next assessment concerns another gift bestowed during the Awakening Trial."
A gentle wave of Origin Essence spread from his sleeve.
The platform trembled softly.
Unlike before, there was no violent rumbling. Instead, delicate streams of azure light emerged from beneath the stone floor like flowing water.
They intertwined gracefully before forming ten exquisite circular arrays.
Each formation was carved with countless eye-shaped runes.
The symbols continuously shifted and rotated, giving the unsettling illusion that the formations themselves were alive.
A strange feeling immediately spread throughout the hall.
Several candidates unconsciously looked over their shoulders.
Others frowned.
It felt as though countless invisible eyes had quietly opened somewhere within the chamber.
Watching.
Observing.
Judging.
The elder allowed the candidates a few moments to absorb the sight before speaking once more.
"The third assessment..."
"...is the Eye Ability Verification."
Unlike the Bloodline Assessment, the hall didn't erupt into loud discussion.
Instead, the atmosphere grew noticeably quieter.
Eye Abilities were far rarer than Bloodlines.
Many cultivators lived their entire lives without ever meeting someone who possessed one.
Even among the powerful clans gathered inside the hall, only a handful had ever produced Eye Ability users.
The elder continued calmly.
"As with the previous assessment, these formations do not awaken Eye Abilities."
"They merely verify that an awakening has already taken place."
He looked toward the nearest formation.
"Every one of you who successfully completed your Awakening Trial already knows your own result."
A ripple of understanding passed through the crowd.
This assessment contained no surprises.
Only confirmation.
The elder slowly raised one finger.
"The Academy has no interest in exposing your secrets."
"The formations cannot determine the category of your Eye Ability."
"They cannot reveal its powers."
"They cannot reveal its grade."
"They cannot reveal its origin."
"They will produce only one of two results."
He paused briefly.
"Eye Ability..."
"...Present."
"...or Absent."
Several noble youths visibly relaxed.
That was exactly what their clans had hoped to hear.
The Academy respected secrecy.
It sought talent, not family inheritances.
The elder smiled faintly.
"Your Awakening Trial belongs to you."
"The secrets you obtained there belong to you."
"Star Realm Academy will not violate that trust."
At those words, Zion's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
Awakening Trial...
The elder spoke as though every cultivator had experienced one.
Yet Zion couldn't shake the feeling that his own trial had been fundamentally different.
The endless darkness...
The mysterious voice...
The overwhelming sense that something incomprehensibly ancient had been watching him...
None of it resembled the simple explanation the elder was giving.
"If everyone undergoes the Awakening Trial..."
"...why was mine different?"
The question surfaced once more.
But just as quickly, Zion buried it.
There were no answers here.
Not yet.
One day...
When he became strong enough...
He would uncover the truth himself.
Standing quietly in one corner of the hall, the old janitor swept the spotless floor with slow, steady movements.
His cloudy eyes never left the ground.
Yet hidden beneath those faded pupils...
Silver light flickered for the briefest instant.
No one noticed.
The old man continued sweeping as though nothing had happened.
Nearby, Kellan stretched lazily before flashing a grin toward Zion and Mira.
"Well, this one should be the easiest."
Mira smiled knowingly.
"We already know our results."
Kellan laughed.
"Exactly."
"The formations are just confirming what the Void already told us."
He folded his arms behind his head.
"I just hope they hurry."
"I'm more interested in seeing whether anyone here actually possesses an Eye Ability."
Mira nodded in agreement.
"They're incredibly rare."
"I've only ever heard stories."
Zion remained silent.
Unlike his two friends, he had a reason to be cautious.
Deep within him rested the Supreme Eyes.
An existence hidden even from the universe itself.
If the Academy's formations truly functioned as the elder claimed...
Then they would simply confirm its presence.
Nothing more.
If that was true...
He had nothing to fear.
Far away, the old janitor's broom paused for only a fraction of a second.
"Let's hope..."
"...the ancient formations behave themselves this time."
The silver-robed officials stepped into position around the ten azure arrays.
One official raised his voice.
"Candidates will proceed according to the same groups as before."
"Prepare yourselves."
The enormous hall instantly fell silent.
The Eye Ability Verification...
Was about to begin.
---
The silence lasted only a few breaths before one of the silver-robed officials stepped forward.
"The verification will proceed according to your previous groups," he announced. "The procedure is identical to the Bloodline Verification. Step into the formation, circulate a strand of Origin Essence, and allow the array to complete its work. Do not resist the formation, and do not attempt to interfere with its operation."
He glanced across the hundreds of waiting candidates before adding calmly, "Remember, the result will only confirm whether an awakened Eye Ability exists. Nothing more."
With that, he raised a hand.
"Group One... prepare."
The candidates assigned to the first group stood almost simultaneously. Some walked with confidence, while others couldn't hide the nervousness in their expressions. Although everyone who had completed an Awakening Trial already knew whether they possessed an Eye Ability, standing before the academy's ancient formations still carried a strange pressure.
The first candidate stepped into the glowing azure array.
The eye-shaped runes beneath his feet slowly rotated as he released a thread of Origin Essence.
A moment later, pale words materialized above the formation.
Eye Ability: Absent.
The official nodded.
"Next."
The second candidate entered.
Again, the runes revolved before the same result appeared.
Eye Ability: Absent.
One after another, the candidates continued.
Absent.
Absent.
Absent.
Not a single "Present" appeared.
The atmosphere inside the hall gradually changed.
At first, everyone had watched with curiosity.
Now, they watched with understanding.
Eye Abilities truly were as rare as the stories claimed.
Even after dozens of candidates...
Not one had appeared.
Among the spectators, Kellan folded his arms and let out a low whistle.
"I knew they were rare..."
"...but this is ridiculous."
Mira nodded thoughtfully.
"Most cultivators never awaken one."
"The elders in the village said many large clans can go generations without producing a single Eye Ability user."
Kellan scratched his cheek.
"I suddenly feel sorry for the officials."
"They're probably going to stare at 'Absent' all day."
Mira couldn't help smiling.
"You have a strange way of sympathizing with people."
Nearby, Zion remained silent.
His attention wasn't on the candidates.
It was on the formations themselves.
Every time someone stepped into an array, the eye-shaped runes rotated in precisely the same pattern before producing a result.
There wasn't the slightest deviation.
The formations were astonishingly stable.
Unlike the Spirit Origin Monolith.
That thought caused his brows to knit together slightly.
If the cultivation talent test had malfunctioned...
Why hadn't any of the academy elders reacted?
Surely such an important artifact would be inspected immediately.
Yet...
No one had even mentioned it.
It was almost as if...
Nothing unusual had happened.
The thought lingered in his mind before he quietly dismissed it.
There wasn't enough information to reach any conclusion.
At the edge of the hall, the old janitor continued sweeping with slow, deliberate movements.
His expression never changed.
Yet hidden beneath his lowered eyelids, the silver light of the Fate Eyes flickered once.
"Good..."
"These formations are behaving exactly as they should."
The verification continued.
Absent.
Absent.
Absent.
Finally, the last candidate from Group One stepped away from the formation.
Not a single Eye Ability had been verified.
The official recorded the results before raising his voice again.
"Group Two."
The process repeated itself.
Candidate after candidate stepped into the arrays.
The outcome never changed.
Absent.
Absent.
Absent.
The atmosphere that had once been filled with anticipation gradually settled into quiet acceptance.
It wasn't that the formations were failing.
Eye Abilities were simply that uncommon.
Soon, another official called out,
"Group Three."
Mira rose gracefully from her seat.
She adjusted the strap of the small notebook hanging at her waist before smiling at Zion and Kellan.
"I'll be back in a moment."
Kellan grinned.
"Be back soon"
With calm, measured steps, Mira joined the other candidates walking toward the nearest azure formation.
She neither hurried nor hesitated.
The moment she entered the array, the runes beneath her feet came alive, revolving in elegant circles.
She released a strand of Origin Essence.
The formation emitted a faint hum.
A heartbeat later...
Soft azure words appeared in the air.
Eye Ability: Absent.
The official glanced at the result before making a note on his jade tablet.
"Verification complete."
Mira offered a small nod and calmly stepped down.
There was no disappointment on her face.
She had already known the result since completing her Awakening Trial months ago.
Returning to Zion and Kellan, she smiled faintly.
"Just as expected."
Before the conversation could continue, another official called out,
"Group Seven."
Kellan immediately stretched his shoulders.
"My turn."
He walked toward the formation with his usual carefree confidence.
Unlike many candidates before him, he showed no trace of nervousness.
After all...
The outcome had already been decided the day he faced the Void.
He merely had to let the academy verify it.
---
Kellan strode toward the nearest azure formation with far more confidence than he had shown during the Cultivation Talent Assessment.
The eye-shaped runes beneath the formation slowly began revolving as he stepped into the center.
A silver-robed official spoke calmly.
"Release a strand of Origin Essence."
Kellan nodded.
A thin stream of Origin Essence flowed from his body into the ancient formation.
For several breaths, the runes glowed softly.
Then...
Words of azure light slowly appeared above the array.
Eye Ability: Absent.
The official nodded.
"Verification complete."
Kellan casually stepped out of the formation before returning to Zion and Mira.
He shrugged.
"Exactly what I expected."
Mira smiled.
"If Eye Abilities were common, they wouldn't be considered one of the greatest gifts a cultivator could receive."
Kellan laughed.
"True enough."
"If everyone had one, they'd just be ordinary eyes."
Even Zion couldn't help smiling at the remark.
Around them, the assessment continued without interruption.
Groups passed one after another.
Candidate after candidate entered the formations.
The outcome never changed.
Eye Ability: Absent.
The officials continued recording results without the slightest change in expression.
The atmosphere inside the hall gradually settled into an unusual calm.
Most candidates had already accepted reality.
Eye Abilities were simply too rare.
Many academy officials had likely overseen dozens of recruitment examinations without seeing a single one.
The old janitor quietly swept the floor near one corner of the hall.
His movements remained slow and unhurried.
Yet beneath his lowered eyelids, silver light quietly flickered.
"Soon..."
"Very soon..."
His Fate Eyes drifted toward Zion once again.
Invisible threads stretched endlessly around the young man.
Unlike everyone else's...
His threads refused to settle.
They twisted.
Shifted.
Changed.
Even someone who had observed fate for thousands of years couldn't completely see where they led.
The old man sighed inwardly.
"The heavens cannot conceal you forever..."
"Yet neither can they expose you today."
Not far away, the elderly examiner watched the assessments with calm indifference.
Everything was proceeding exactly as expected.
No Eye Ability had appeared.
That wasn't surprising.
Across an entire region, it was common for only one or two Eye Ability users to emerge every several years.
Some recruitment examinations produced none at all.
He slowly closed the jade record in his hand.
"If this continues..."
"...today's assessment will end with no verified Eye Ability."
One of the nearby elders nodded in agreement.
"That would be the norm."
Neither of them noticed the old janitor quietly sweeping only a short distance away.
Nor did they realize that fate itself had already begun to shift.
...
Eventually...
The final candidate before Zion completed the verification.
Again...
The result was unchanged.
Eye Ability: Absent.
The official recorded the outcome before lifting his head.
His voice echoed clearly throughout the hall.
"Next."
"Blue Star Village..."
"...Zion."
The hall grew noticeably quieter.
Although the Eye Ability Assessment had attracted far less excitement than the Cultivation Talent Test...
Zion remained a figure of interest.
After all...
He was one of only three extraordinary talents from Blue Star Village.
He possessed Epic Rank Cultivation Talent.
An awakened Bloodline.
And during the first assessment...
The Spirit Origin Monolith had behaved in a way no one could explain.
Several candidates quietly turned to watch.
Even Darius opened his eyes.
His expression remained calm.
Yet a trace of curiosity flashed across them.
"Let's see..."
"Will anything strange happen this time?"
Beside Zion, Kellan gave him a light punch on the shoulder.
"Go on."
"Don't keep everyone waiting."
Mira smiled softly.
"This one should be simple."
Zion nodded.
"It should."
Slowly...
He rose to his feet.
His footsteps echoed faintly across the polished floor as he walked toward the nearest azure formation.
Unlike before...
His heart remained perfectly calm.
The elder had already explained everything.
The academy wasn't testing his Eye Ability.
It was merely confirming whether one existed.
It couldn't determine its category.
It couldn't determine its rank.
It couldn't reveal its abilities.
At least...
That was what the elder believed.
Standing quietly in the corner...
The old janitor's broom stopped moving.
For the first time since the assessment had begun...
He lifted his head completely.
His cloudy eyes vanished.
Replacing them...
Were a pair of ancient silver pupils filled with countless flowing threads of fate.
His gaze fixed firmly upon the formation before Zion.
"Ancient Array..."
"Don't disappoint me."
"See only what you were created to see..."
"Nothing more."
Zion stepped into the center of the formation.
The eye-shaped runes beneath his feet slowly illuminated.
Azure light spread outward in delicate circles.
The silver-robed official spoke in the same calm tone he had used for every other candidate.
"Release your Origin Essence."
Zion slowly raised his hand.
A single strand of Origin Essence flowed quietly into the formation.
For one heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Then...
Every eye-shaped rune within the formation froze.
For a brief moment, the entire hall became unnaturally quiet.
The ancient formation beneath Zion's feet had stopped.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
The countless eye-shaped runes that had been revolving in perfect harmony froze in place as though time itself had been halted.
Several silver-robed officials frowned simultaneously.
One of them instinctively took a step forward.
"...Why has the formation stopped?"
Another official quickly checked the control formation at the edge of the platform.
"The array is functioning normally."
"Then why..."
Before anyone could finish speaking, the ancient runes suddenly erupted with dazzling azure light.
The brilliance spread through the entire formation like ripples across a calm lake.
The air trembled.
The officials' expressions immediately became serious.
Although the Academy's verification arrays had existed for thousands of years, they rarely behaved in unexpected ways. During countless recruitment examinations, the formations had almost never reacted beyond their intended purpose.
Yet today...
This was already the second anomaly.
First, the Spirit Origin Monolith had nearly lost control while testing Zion's cultivation talent.
Now, the Eye Ability Verification Array was behaving strangely as well.
Even the elderly examiner standing at the center of the platform narrowed his eyes.
His spiritual sense quietly spread toward the formation, attempting to determine the cause.
At the far corner of the hall, the old janitor's broom stopped moving.
His aged figure remained bent as before, making him appear no different from an ordinary servant.
Only his eyes had changed.
The cloudy pupils disappeared, replaced by ancient silver irises within which countless threads of fate intertwined.
The moment his Fate Eyes focused upon Zion, he saw something that no one else in the hall could perceive.
Behind Zion...
An endless darkness stretched into infinity.
Within that darkness floated a pair of colossal eyes.
They were neither open nor closed.
They simply existed.
Ancient.
Supreme.
Untouchable.
Even the endless river of fate refused to flow near them.
The old man's pupils contracted violently.
"So..."
"It truly is you..."
For the first time in countless years, genuine shock appeared on his weathered face.
The prophecy had not exaggerated.
It had understated everything.
Those eyes did not belong to this universe.
They did not belong to any race recorded within the Universe.
They stood outside every known law.
Outside destiny itself.
The ancient verification array had sensed only the faintest trace of their existence.
Yet even that tiny glimpse was enough to push the ancient formation to the brink of collapse.
The old man knew he could not allow that to happen.
Not here.
Not now.
Not before Zion had grown strong enough to protect himself.
Without attracting the slightest attention, his finger moved almost imperceptibly beneath his sleeve.
An invisible strand of fate silently wrapped around the ancient formation.
The violently fluctuating runes gradually calmed.
The overwhelming azure radiance dimmed.
The pressure that had begun spreading throughout the hall vanished as though it had never existed.
To everyone else...
It seemed as if the formation had merely suffered a brief disturbance before correcting itself.
The officials visibly relaxed.
"It stabilized..."
"Perhaps it was simply an ancient array experiencing a temporary fluctuation."
The elderly examiner observed the formation for another moment before slowly withdrawing his spiritual sense.
He found nothing unusual.
Satisfied, he turned his attention back toward the verification.
Within the formation, the runes resumed revolving at their normal speed.
Moments later, a single line of azure light rose above Zion's head.
Eye Ability: Present.
Nothing more appeared.
No category.
No rank.
No explanation.
Exactly as the Academy had promised.
A wave of astonishment swept through the hall.
"So someone actually has one!"
"I knew Eye Abilities were rare, but I didn't expect to see one today."
"The village boy again?"
"First Epic Rank talent, then an awakened Bloodline, and now an Eye Ability?"
Even Darius' expression darkened for the first time.
He had never considered Zion a true rival.
An Epic Rank cultivation talent was impressive, but his own Legendary Rank still gave him confidence.
However...
Adding an awakened Eye Ability changed things.
Although dual awakeners were exceedingly rare, they did exist. Darius had only heard of a handful within the entire Star Domain. The appearance of one in this year's recruitment was enough to make anyone pay attention.
Although he could not know what type of Eye Ability Zion possessed, any awakened Eye Ability was a priceless advantage.
Darius quietly clenched his fist before forcing himself to relax.
"So what if he has one?"
"I still possess Legendary Rank cultivation talent."
"The future will decide who stands higher."
Meanwhile, Kellan stared at the glowing words with his mouth hanging open.
"...You actually have an Eye Ability?"
Zion stepped out of the formation.
Zion simply nodded.
Mira looked at him thoughtfully before smiling.
"It seems Blue Star Village continues to surprise everyone."
The three exchanged amused glances, unaware that nearly every candidate in the hall was now secretly observing them.
From an unknown village that no one had ever heard of...
Three remarkable youths had appeared.
One possessed Legendary Rank cultivation talent.
Two possessed Epic Rank cultivation talent.
All three had awakened Bloodlines.
And now...
One of them had also awakened an Eye Ability.
It was a combination that no ordinary village should have been capable of producing.
Far away, the old janitor slowly lowered his head once more.
His silver eyes faded, becoming cloudy with age.
The prophecy had advanced another step.
Yet no one had noticed.
That was enough.
For now.
As he resumed sweeping the spotless floor, a faint smile appeared beneath his beard.
"Grow stronger, child..."
"For the day your true eyes awaken before the universe will be the day the heavens themselves learn fear."
He lowered his head once more and resumed sweeping the spotless floor.
No one noticed the old janitor.
No one knew that the greatest existence in the hall wasn't the examiner.
It wasn't the academy elders.
It wasn't even Zion.
It was the old man quietly holding fate together...
...one thread at a time.