Under the loving care of his parents, the baby soon grew into a child. Raven-black hair emerged, and he became a tall, sturdy boy. By no means was he fat, but neither was he anorexic, his body directly in between. He was tall and strong, and willing to help, assisting his neighbors in their household tasks and work. The entire time, his parents watched over him as the intelligence that he had as a baby grew, turning him into a prodigy.

  Jay walked out of his house after saying his goodbyes. Almost immediately, he started running, his deep blue eyes sparkling. His parents had a no-running rule within the house, but outside, he was free to go at top speed. Jay slowed directly in front of his neighbor's house. "Hey, ottoman!"

  "Yeah?," Charles "ottoman" called out. He had gained the nickname due to how fat he was, starting the joke of him being an 'ottoman' himself. Others had quickly caught on, and the name stuck. "Are you here to torture me with your incessant speaking again?"

  "Hey, you get to listen to my melodious voice. I think it's a win-win," Jay stated matter-of-factly. "Anyways, I'm off to school now. Father Alzardin got me in. He said this was a good place for me to go."

  "Where are you going?," Ottoman asked, picking up a pitchfork.

  "I'm going to the capital. The Triad's School."

  "But that's for people with Gifts useful against the demons! The people here don't have Gifts made to fight, and you don't even seem to have one!," Ottoman said, turning to face him.

  "Hey, the old man told me to go, so I'm going," Jay said, raising his hands in a 'what can I do' manner. "Besides, I'm the only person in the world without a Gift. I don't have an affinity either, so I'm unique in that way as well."

  "I don't really understand your reasoning, but you should go, if you don't want to be late for whatever transport he's prepared. By the way, your eyes changed color again."

  Jay nodded. "It happens all the time. Alzardin said it's not a Gift, but a random quirk of my body."

  Ottoman nodded. "Off with you, then. Come back in a year, and I'll call it a success."

  Jay nodded. "Sure."

  Jay started running again, directly towards the church, a small building owned by Father Alzardin. It was actually his home, but he had converted it into a small shrine to his god. He pulled out a mirror while running, to check his eye color. It was bloodred. "Well, I'm going to scare anyone I come across for a while," he muttered to himself.

  Soon, he got to the church, stopping in front of the front door. He grabbed the star-shaped knocker and hit the door with it a few times. Almost immediately, it opened. Father Alzardin stood there, almost fuming. "You're almost late. You don't keep the most famous spatial mage in the world waiting. Get in the house, step in the portal, and go. Now."

  Alzardin grabbed him by the neck and tossed him into the living room, not leaving him a choice. A black oval stood in midair. Jay swallowed. "Bye."

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  He stepped forward, into the portal. As he pulled his other foot up to step in, he looked back at Alzardin. Alzardin waved at him, and Jay moved completely through the portal.

  Alzardin frowned after the boy left. As Jay had looked back, he had noticed a peculiarity. Jay's eyes were black.

  Alzardin shook himself. He had to continue with his work. He didn't know how someone with a Guardian's Wall Omen didn't have a gift, but this child would be at the center of everything happening for a while. More messages had to be sent.

  Jay immediately gasped in wonder after stepping through the portal. A castle rose in front of him, completely made of an unblemished white material. There was a single entrance, a massive drawbridge at the front. Large magical letters floated in the air in front of the drawbridge. "School of the Triad," Jay muttered.

  "Forgot about me?," someone standing directly next to him asked.

  Jay nearly jumped away, flinching. "Uh. Sorry. Didn't notice you there. Are you the person who portalled me?"

  "Yes, I am," a woman said. She wore a black dress and a smile, stepping gracefully and elegantly in front of him. "I am one of the Triad, the school's founders and headmasters. I am the Triad of Reality, Ruby. You are qualified to participate in the entrance examinations, so I portalled you here. They will start soon, inside the castle. Your first objective is finding your way inside. After you do so, the first trial will be the next thing you do. This is the limit of the information I can provide. Goodbye."

  The woman immediately disappeared as Jay processed the information. "Get into the castle... Alright."

  He walked towards the castle. The white material didn't seem to be any physical building material, but more... magical. It seemed like hardened light. Jay inspected the walls. There didn't seem to be any defenses, and this was an easy jump.

  Jay jumped, flying directly up the wall and landing on the top. Then he jumped off the other side, landing back down on the earthen ground. Jay looked up. A massive crowd stared at him. "Um. Hi?"

  "Our last participant is here!," Ruby said. She was up on a wooden stage, projecting her voice impressively. "All of you except for one managed to open the gate by pulling the correct thread in its weave. As for the last one of you, who jumped over the wall... well... technically you passed?," she said, seeming unsure towards the end.

  Then she started speaking once more. "The first competition to get into our school is now starting. We are having a big fight. Everyone will be transported to a random corner of the castle, and everyone gets to fight each other. The top hundreds will be let into the next competition. We're starting now. Good luck, prospectors!"

  Black portals suddenly appeared beneath each person's feet, and everyone fell in, marking the start of the first event.

  "Ruby."

  "Hm?"

  "You know the guy without a gift?"

  "Yeah."

  "He needs to die. He has the Guardian's Wall Omen."

  "You know what my school is like. Hands off him if he gets through the entrance exams. I can't do anything about the thugs you have in the exams, but that's an underhanded move, you bastard. Then, when he's in school... he either gets strong, or you'll find a way to kill him. You still have rules that need to be followed, though. If you break a single one, you're dead. Not being part of the Quad anymore restricts you, doesn't it?"

  "... Yes, I will follow the rules."

  "Good, you'd better."

  "Have you considered joining the dark gods?"

  "Do you really think I have?"

  "No, I don't. But the child... I'm going to kill him. Either by tricking him onto our side, or by just murdering him."

  "You underestimate human tenacity."

  "Wait, don't go yet."

  "Hm?"

  "One last thing. Do you ever regret our breakup?"

  "No. As soon as you started serving evil, I was done. Even if the Monsters come for us, I will stand and fight until I die. And I suspect the boy will too, except he won't die. He'll become the pillar of hope that supports us all. Rot in Darkness, Onyx."

  "Goodbye."

  Ruby did not deign to reply, leaving quickly and silently.