Sixty years ago, the sky shattered.
From that celestial rift, creatures descended — beings from a world without a name, colossal forms that defied all logic and comprehension.
Some believed they were gods. Others saw them as divine punishment.
We called them Shinju. Divine Beasts.
Entire cities were erased from the map. Humanity's weapons could not wound them. Prayers could not stop them.
Only when the first mages awakened the abilities sealed deep within their blood did the balance begin to shift.
Upon their death, the Shinju left behind pyramid-shaped crystalline structures — small, barely the size of a clenched fist, yet powerful enough to change the fate of a nation.
A new era had begun.
An era of war, magic, and glory.
And, like all that shines… one of arrogance, betrayal, and death.
---
The only sound was the crunch of footsteps on loose gravel.
A solitary figure walked along the path leading to the Tenryuu Imperial Magic Academy. Tri-colored hair waving in the wind. Black shirt with gold details buttoned to the collar. White trousers marked with black inscriptions that moved like living ink.
In his right hand, a letter with red wax seal.
His eyes showed absolutely nothing.
"So this is the place..."
Alex Voss stopped in front of the enormous torii gates without bothering to lift his gaze fully. The academy sprawled before him like a temple from another world: towers that reached the clouds, floating training grounds, a golden dome concealing the council chamber. Students soared through the sky riding magical creatures. Others trained with energy blades, their laughter mingling with magical explosions.
A fantasy for many.
For Alex, it was a playground filled with people who mistook effort for talent.
He glanced at the letter one last time. The seal still glowed: a dragon coiled around an inverted pyramid.
"Dear Alex Voss,
You have been personally selected by Director Mikagami to join the Tenryuu Imperial Magic Academy.
An anomalous synchronization has been detected between you and a pyramid core of unknown class.
Attendance is not optional.
Welcome to the beginning of a new era."
"Tsk."
He tucked it into his pocket and crossed the threshold without pausing.
A warm gust of wind greeted him as he passed. As if the world itself exhaled.
He didn't notice it. Or if he did, he didn't care.
---
The interior of the main building was spacious, elegant, and utterly silent.
Red carpets embroidered with gold. Columns of black marble. Floating lamps swaying like fireflies trapped in glass cages.
Alex stopped before a large double door carved with symbols he didn't recognize — and clearly had no interest in.
The door opened by itself.
Inside, seated behind a desk of black wood, was Mikagami Satsuki — the woman who governed Tenryuu Academy. She appeared no older than thirty, but her eyes carried the weight of someone who had watched civilizations die. White hair reaching her waist. Violet dress woven with living runes. An aura that filled the room without need for words.
"Welcome, Alex Voss."
Her voice was calm. The entire room trembled regardless.
Alex entered with his hands in his pockets.
"So you're the famous director who sends personal letters to recruit students."
"I recruited no one," she replied without losing composure. "You weren't in any system. No one knew you existed… until your pyramid appeared."
She extended her hand. A holographic image emerged above the desk: a black pyramid with red veins, slowly rotating in the air.
"When we inserted the last Shinju core into the search vessel, only one coordinate appeared. A single one."
The image changed. Alex's room. His bed. His desk. His face, sleeping.
"Your magical energy shouldn't exist according to any known record. But that pyramid rejected every previous candidate. You are the only possible link."
Alex didn't look at the image.
"And that gives you the right to drag me here?"
"You possess a power that could shift the balance in the war against the Shinju." Mikagami leaned slightly forward. "Graduate. Eliminate a few in the process. You can have whatever you want."
Silence.
Alex looked at her for the first time since entering. Not with interest. With the expression of someone calculating whether it's worth responding.
"How desperate are you people."
Mikagami didn't blink.
"A category five Shinju on the way?" Alex continued. "Or did you simply realize this academy is filled with kids who think they're warriors because they have shiny pyramids?" He paused. "What will they do when they face something real?"
The director shifted her gaze toward the window.
"If I weren't certain of what's coming," she said quietly, "I wouldn't be speaking with you."
Alex didn't respond.
He slipped his hands back into his pockets and turned toward the door.
---
The testing ground was a circle of black marble surrounded by floating runes, flanked by stone columns and stands filled with nobles and instructors observing from above.
The aspirants waited in line with their pyramids in hand. Some glowed blue. Others green or silver. All held them carefully — with that respect mixed with fear that people show when they know something can destroy them if they make a mistake.
Only one held nothing at all.
Instructor Renkai — grey hair, dark glasses, flowing blue cape with the council emblem — positioned himself in the center of the circle and waited until silence was complete.
"This is your entrance examination. You will use the assigned pyramids to face a Category 1 Shinju. If you succeed, you keep your core and are granted admission. If you fail…" he paused deliberately, "your core will be confiscated. And your name will be forever stained."
A murmur rippled through the stands.
"Excuse me."
The voice was calm. Almost bored.
Everyone turned their heads.
Alex had his hand raised with the same energy of someone asking for the check at a restaurant.
"Isn't this space a bit small for summoning Shinju? Even if they're level one."
Renkai smiled. He didn't respond.
He raised his hand.
The ground dissolved.
In an instant — without warning, without countdown, without any consideration for people who weren't ready — the stage changed completely.
Alex blinked.
He was standing in an open field surrounded by dark forests and floating mountains. The sky was violet. The wind smelled of ash.
"A sealed fragment of the Lost Domain," Renkai's voice resonated from somewhere in the air. "Here, level one Shinju hunt the weak. The examination has begun."
From the forest emerged a six-legged creature. Body of crystal. Jaw that rotated like a broken lock. Pupil-less eyes fixed on the group.
The aspirants stepped back. Some raised their pyramids with trembling hands.
Alex didn't move.
He slipped his hands into his pockets, tilted his head slightly toward the creature, and studied it with the same expression one looks at a menu from a restaurant they already know by heart.
"Category one," he murmured to himself.
And sighed.