As Ronan and Suri stepped through the gates, they were greeted by a sight that seemed almost otherworldly. The university wasn’t just a cluster of buildings—it was a sprawling realm of its own, stretching as far as the eye could see. Towering structures made of dark and light stone and shimmering glass rose into the sky, their surfaces catching the sunlight and casting a warm glow that contrasted with their otherwise imposing forms.

Some buildings looked as if they had been carved from a single massive stone, their surface adorned with intricate carvings of mythical creatures and symbols that pulsed faintly with a mystical glow.

What is up with these creatures everywhere he sees? And where the hell are these creatures anyway? He didn’t see a single one yet.

Other structures defied conventional architecture, with walls and towers twisting and spiraling in ways that seemed impossible, suspended in place as though gravity was merely a suggestion. Spires topped with crystal spheres gleamed in the sunlight, their colors shifting as clouds passed by.

The glass used in the buildings wasn’t ordinary either. In some places, it was clear as water, allowing glimpses into halls filled with bustling students and professors. In others, the glass shimmered with iridescent colors that shifted and changed, creating a kaleidoscope of colors that played across the ground in a dazzling display. The metal framed windows glowed with a faint blue light, looking to be charged with electricity.

Bridges made of white stone arched over clear canals that wound between the buildings, the water rippling. Garden pathways lined with fruits and flowers led to courtyards where fountains sprayed water through the different artistic statues in the center.

At the heart of it all, the largest building towered above the rest, its stone exterior lined with silver and gold. The building was beauty in itself, and Ronan, who had lived in the slums and who had been exposed to so much in the span of a few days, hadn’t seen something so beautiful in his whole seventeen years of pitiful life. Right at the entrance, an archway of marble held a large emblem engraved with what he assumed was the university’s crest—a phoenix entwined with a dragon.

Ronan was speechless. He glanced over at Suri, who was equally entranced, his eyes wide with awe. For a moment, neither of them moved. This wasn’t just a university; it looked something like a world crafted from dreams and magic, beyond anything he could have ever imagined. Honestly, Ronan couldn’t gather the energy to take even a single step forward.

Ronan’s eyes scanned the students clustered all around the university campus. The amount of personalities, clothes, and accents—he didn’t think he could count it. Some students huddled in tight groups, their whispers alive with excitement. Others walked alone, eyes cool and calculating as they sized up the crowd. A girl with elegant robes strode past, her head high, barely glancing at anyone around her. Nearby, a boy in simple clothes looked nervous, clutching his books tightly to his chest. And then there were the loud ones, with a crew of what he assumed were lackeys, or whatever. Cloaks embroidered with gold threads, rings with glimmering stones, and amulets that caught the light adorned many of them.

He almost laughed out loud at the sight. All that wealth and they’re here to learn magic? Was it for a fancy light show? For a second, he had thought about striking up a conversation with someone, maybe even trying to blend in. But just as he had taken that step, he caught the kind of conversations he wasn’t sure he wanted to be part of.

“My father says I’ll inherit the family’s phoenix relic when I graduate. A lineage of over seven generations, can you believe it?”

A girl with a jeweled necklace laughed. “Well, my family’s Grimoire of Aurelia has been passed down for centuries. Only those with real magic can unlock it.”

“Your tutor’s name was Alistair Vale?” another group’s voice came from the other side. “He’s one of the empire’s finest. Mine was under Lord Erith. Tough, but worth it.”

A boy in elaborate robes smirked. “Try learning under a High Sorcerer. My family doesn’t settle for anything less.”

He noticed a group right in front of him discussing some kind of freshman ball, with one girl laughing as she told how her sister was crowned newcomer of the year last year.

He clenched his jaw, reminding himself how different he was from these people.

Turning away, he let his gaze drift back toward the campus beyond. But conversations were everywhere around him.

A group of students walked by him, engrossed in conversation. “Can you believe the Shattered Maze is real?” one of them asked, wide-eyed.

Another student scoffed, his cloak flowing dramatically behind him. “Of course, it’s real! My father’s been through it. Said you can actually hear it whispering to you as you walk.”

Ronan listened, half-intrigued and half-amused at this point. He imagined some of these students had never so much as dirtied their boots. And here they were, talking about dangerous artifacts and grimoires like trophies in a collection.

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Ronan tried to take in everything, but his heart was yelling at him to run. This wasn’t a place someone like him should be at.

Suri suddenly pulled at his hand. He looked at him and then at where his sight was. Shrugging because he didn’t know what he was actually seeing, he let Suri pull him toward a large, open field where a group of students was already playing some kind of weird game. The field itself was a mirror, an actual mirror. What were the rules to this game? Some were skating on the mirror, and some were flying in the air.

Ronan’s attention turned to the ball—at first, it was blazing with fire, leaving a trail of flickering embers each time it was tossed from one player to the next. Just as he thought he was getting a tiny hang of the rules, the ball changed, its surface swirling with an intense spiral of wind, blurring as it spun faster in mid-air. A player on the far end lunged, catching it with ease, and the ball shifted again, this time condensing into a heavy, dense clump of rock. The player stumbled slightly under its sudden weight, and a ripple of laughter and cheers broke out from the sidelines.

Ronan couldn’t help but stare. The game was unlike anything he’d ever seen—not just a sport but it looked like a show of controlled chaos, where magic itself seemed to be the game’s most unpredictable player. Despite its playful nature, there was a fierceness to the players’ movements, a razor-sharp focus as they passed the randomly transforming ball back and forth, trying to adapt to its unpredictable changes.

Beside him, a few students were engrossed in the action, whispering eagerly to one another.

“Did you see that? Full wind to earth transfer! Not a lot can control the element shift, so it’s all about reflexes,” one girl said, her voice filled with awe.

Her friend nodded. “It’s called Aether Surge for a reason. They say only the best can react fast enough to every element change. My brother told me the ball can even turn into lightning during the upper-level games.”

A boy next to them grinned, nudging his friend. “Imagine controlling a lightning ball mid-air—one wrong move, and you’re out cold.”

Ronan took a step closer, entranced by the energy of the game and the intensity in the players' eyes as they dashed across the mirrored field. It was nothing like the life he’d known, and something about the magical sport felt almost surreal.

He could see why the students around him seemed so invested.

As the afternoon wore on, they kept wandering around, outside the buildings, mostly in the gardens. Suddenly, a clear voice echoed across the campus, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.

"All freshman students, please gather at the front gate of Arcadia Hall for the entrance ceremony. Repeat, all freshman students to Arcadia Hall."

Ronan blinked, trying to locate the source of the voice, but it was as if the words had been spoken directly into his mind. He felt a prickle of nervousness, realizing he had no idea where Arcadia Hall was. His eyes swept across the campus, trying to see if any signs pointed to it, but he came up empty.

“Uh… Arcadia Hall?” he muttered to himself, his gaze bouncing from one impressive building to the next, all of them equally towering and imposing.

Suri tugged at his sleeve, catching his attention. “Maybe… maybe we could follow them?” he suggested, nodding toward a group of students moving purposefully toward one of the larger stone buildings across the lawn.

Ronan’s initial reaction was to brush it off, unwilling to just trail after a bunch of strangers. But seeing as he didn’t have much of a choice and Suri did have a point, he gave a reluctant nod and sighed. “Alright, let’s go,” he said, his voice low.

The two of them joined, hopefully, the stream of first-year students making their way across the campus. Suri, still looking at everyone with googly eyes, clutched his bag tighter, glancing up at Ronan with something close to excitement.

Ronan couldn’t share the enthusiasm, though. As they approached a relatively large building, he saw Arcadia Hall written in large gothic letters. He felt a strange mix of anticipation and dread pooling in his stomach. This was it.

He kept saying this was it, but he didn’t have any idea what it was. The gates loomed ahead, and the chatter of other students around him felt like static, buzzing louder as they neared.

The line of students snaked around the hall entrance, each one waiting to register their name before stepping into the imposing Arcadia Hall. Ronan and Suri joined the line, their gazes drifting over the bustling crowd and the grand hall doors that loomed ahead, decorated with intricate carvings and gleaming with some kind of translucent sheen.

When it was finally Ronan’s turn, he stepped up to the registrar’s desk, the official glancing up at him with a practiced, polite smile.

“Name?”

“Ronan,” he said, his voice steady.

The registrar looked at him from over his glasses, “Your FULL name?”

Ronan tried to keep a neutral face, but failed, “Ronan G. Vandross.”

That caught his attention real quick. He took off his glasses and did a blatant double take. Ronan took a deep breath and let him look.

The registrar did not say anything else and after a moment, jotted down his name, then looked over to Suri, eyeing him with a detached curiosity. “And your name?” she asked.

Before Ronan could respond, Suri shook his head, speaking up. “I’m just his attendant,” he said with a faint, polite smile.

The registrar put his pen down and gestured towards a garden beside the hall, “All attendants must wait over there.”

Ronan frowned, the rigid formality of it all grating on him. "That’s ridiculous. He’s here with me, so why can’t—”

“Ronan,” Suri cut in gently, placing a reassuring hand on his sleeve. “It’s alright.” He gave a slight, encouraging smile, as if this was all completely normal. “I’ll wait for you here after the ceremony, alright? And... good luck.”

Ronan’s irritation softened at Suri’s expression, a mix of confidence and hope, and he felt a pang of guilt for wanting to argue. But Suri just gave him a small nod, stepping aside as Ronan moved forward toward the main hall.

He turned back once, catching Suri’s eye as he took his place among the students. Suri waved, his hand lifting in a quick, cheerful gesture, and despite himself, Ronan managed a nod, feeling a little lighter as he walked into the massive hall.