“What?”The word slipped through Levi’s lips like a sharp protest, nothing like he intended. This was yet another jolt of surprise flowing through his already fraying nerves. He’d been certain the System was the source of his newly rising tormentBut Lyra had just shattered that certainty.“You’re telling me it’s not the System?” he asked, his voice low but strained like a rope on the verge of snapping. “Then what the hell is it?”Lyra tilted her head, almost like she was listening to something far beyond the silence between them. Her eyes clouded—not with ignorance, but with something uncertainty. “I know you’re about to ask,” she said softly, her voice almost a whisper wrapped in resignation. “But even I don’t know what it is. I can’t name it... but I can feel it. It’s powerful, and that’s what they’re after.”"Wait—wait, wait...” Levi raised a hand like a referee calling time, eyes shut tight as he tried to catch his scattered thoughts. The air felt thinner all of a sudden. He op

There wasn't even time to blink.It all happened before he could complete his last thought.All he felt was a twist in his stomach twisted. His mind barely even registered the sensation before everything stilled.By the time he became aware of his surroundings again, the castle was gone.Below them was an entirely different landscape. A large compound spread across the area, structured with multiple buildings. Some had tall, glossy designs, while others were domed, their curved rooftops glowing under the morning sun.As they descended, the details sharpened.Students moved around in matching blue and white uniforms, some engaged in conversations, others walking hurriedly across the grounds. From above, it looked like a well-organized, living blueprint of a school—except this was far bigger than any school Levi had ever imagined.High school, middle school, and elementary students all within the same space. Levi could tell, even in an advanced world like this, his current environment

The classrooms felt silent as Zenon and Levi stood at the entrance. They couldn't believe their eyes. Most of them had only heard of him but never seen him in person. But now this figure they've only dreamt of meeting was now standing at the entrance to their class. And he was talking to a boy who looked like he was around their age. News had already circulated from the students who had seen them together earlier. Captain Zenon was present in their School with his brother. They had initially discarded it as a joke. A baseless rumor. But now, what they all initially shrugged off as a joke from a prankster was now standing before them a a reality impossible to ignore.With a small sigh, Zenon murmured, "I guess I really shouldn't have come here with you." Zenon exhaled slightly, his eyes scanning the sea of students staring in awe.Levi, still absorbing the weight of the many gazes drilling into him, didn’t even look at him as he muttered back, "You think?" His voice was simply dr

"So what do you think?"Emilia looked up from where she sat, her eyes meeting Lyra’s. Her room had floating orbs in the air like miniature moons. The soft glow from each of them bathed the space in a warm golden light. But for all its beauty, the room had a cold feeling to it. Perhaps it was the way Emilia sat, arms crossed, legs tucked under her, staring out the curved window that displayed a breathtaking view of the forest surrounding the castle. Only when Lyra stepped closer did Emilia sigh and turn her gaze toward her."I don’t need to say it," she replied, her voice low and firm. "You know it too. He’s not ready to handle this. If he ever will be."Lyra folded her arms. "He’s not ready now because he’s never had any form of training," she countered. "But the moment I touched him, I felt it… dormant, but undeniably there. Emilia scoffed, leaning back against the cushioned seat. "That’s exactly the problem," she muttered. "

Binary opposites. A theory put forward by Claude Lévi-Strauss of the Structuralist school of thought. The theory suggests that human understanding is built on contrast. That the world we live in defines things not just by what they are, but by what they are not. In other words, for light to be understood, darkness must exist. If there are heroes, there must be villains. Where truth thrives, lies linger in the shadows. If life has meaning, so must death. And ultimately, if the possible exists, then the impossible must, by extension, have a place too. Astrovia was a world where the line between what is possible and what is normally deemed impossible for humans had long since been blurred. Where the laws that bound Earth’s reality were no more than flexible suggestions. Gravity lost is crushing pressure and bent for the gifted. Time slowed for those wh