System Awakening: Rise Of Thomas Walker

CHAPTER THREE

The train hissed to a stop, steam curling into the morning air like. One by one, students began to highlight from it in their black suits.

They were filled with anticipation as they stepped onto the stone platform. Before them stood the greystone academy.

It was not a simple building, it was a fortress carved into the heart of the mountain itself, its spires rising like black fingers into the cloudy sky.

The walls are made of grey stone older than the town, as a glowing light pulsed faintly with magical energy.

There were towering gates of steel, above was a massive crest carved a winged serpent coiled around sword, with the words "From shadow, power" written below in ancient words.

Jerry whistled, adjusting his suit. "Wait...this is it? This is the academy?" He said, his voice rising in awe. “I don't think it'd be so big. It's like a castle."

Thomas nodded slowly, his mouth slightly open. "It's...awesome," he said.

The students, all ages seventy and turning, stood motionless as they admired the sight.

Some students were whispering while others were looking around like they were tourists and few looked terrified.

Suddenly a huge doorway opened and three people stepped out.

A man who appeared to be the leader with an aura that can't be explained.

He was tall, his posture was good, with grey hair combed neatly back and a long black coat that swept the floor as he walked. His eyes were shat and his aura was huge, calm, commanding and ancient.

Two older students stood beside him in black battle jackets. You could almost sense the power within them.

The air around then felt charged.

One of them stepped forward and spoke, his voice loud. "Silence, everyone! Master Iverson is here to welcome you!" he said.

The courtyard went completely still, every student turned it towards the three figures. Even Duke, who has been cracking jokes moments before, straightened slightly at the sudden authority in the voice.

Master Iverson stepped forward, his eyes sweeping the crowd of new students like a hawk observing prey and potential in equal measure. "Welcome, I trust you all know why you're heart." He said.

"Today, you begin a new chapter of your lives. Your lives are about to change and you need to be ready" he said, his hands were folded behind his back.

"For centuries, Greystone has been at war, a war against which I believe you are aware of the monsters that came out from the portal three hundred years ago. Some of those beasts we learned to live with. Others, we learned to fear." He said.

Murmurs stirred among the students, but Iverson's gaze quickly silenced them.

"As you already know, when a child of Greystone reaches the age of eighteen, the gift of power bestowed by ancient prophecy awakens within them. You are here not only to receive that gift but to learn how to wield it. To master it. And to defend this world." He said.

He turned slightly, gesturing to the two warriors beside him.

"These two are my finest pupils. They have fought at my side, bled on battlefields and brought down monsters that would freeze the heart of lesser men." Master Iverson said.

The first warrior stepped forward. He was broad shouldered and moved powerful. His name was Mike.

He worked his jacket open at the chest, revealing scarred skin and faint blue light pulsing over his heart.

"Super strength. Enhanced speed. I've used these gifts to rip through stone and shatter bones, but it took years of training, discipline, pain. What you saw in me today.... didn't come overnight." Mike said without pride, just fact.

He stretched out his arm with speed and smashed the floor with his fists.

Crack!

He shattered the floor and everyone gasped in awe.

Then the second warrior stepped forward. She was tall and had brown hair. Her name was Allison and unlike her, her powers didn't radiate with physical might, it flowers like the seasons.

"I command the elements, fire, water, air and earth." She said calmly.

She raised her hand and a ball of flame appeared suddenly it turned to water and then changed into ice which she later transformed to wind.

More gasps, more awe.

"This is the path you know to walk. To take what you awaken with and make it into something powerful. Something worthy of prophecy “Mike said, stepping beside her again.

Master Iverson nodded in approval. "Rest well tonight. Tomorrow your testing begins. When you awaken...you may not yet understand the weight of your gift. But know this, it will shape not your life but the fate of our realm." Master Iverson said.

He turned and with a single motion of his hand, the great doors of the academy creaked open.

"Dismissed." Master Iverson said.

Thomas and Jerry found out they were roommates. The room was simple, two beds, desks and a window with a beautiful ceiling.

"This place is insane, seriously...fireballs?, shattering floors? Did you see that dude's arms? I bet his fists could punch through a carriage." Jerry said with excitement.

Thomas sat down carefully on his bed, still reminiscing."I thought I was ready, but now I'm seeing it all. I don't know “he said softly.

Jerry raised a brow." Are you nervous? He asked.

"A bit, yeah." Thomas replied.

"Good, if you weren't, I'd think you were lying." Jerry joked.

The two boys share a quiet laugh, and Thomas felt something hadn't in a long time, comfort.

The kind that came from having someone at your side, even in a world full of danger and uncertainty.