‘no, no, no, no.’

Thorne’s brain raced, thinking of what could have happened.

‘How did I fall asleep? Am I dead?’

He looked around, head swiveling swiftly, his eyes dilating in anxiety. He saw the red wall unchanged, then looked down and saw his arm. The skin was intact, maybe a little pink, but it was a far cry from the bloody stump it had once been.

‘How, how, how…. Where is the pain? What happened to my arm?’

Thorne’s ears rung, and his senses contracted, rooting him to place. He looked down at his body and realized he had a soft amber robe on. An article of clothing he had no recollection of putting on.

‘I can’t be dead; the room is the same. My body must have been healed. Was it?’

His senses slowly returned. The manic insanity encroaching on Thorne’s mind dissipating. That was when he realized a voice was shouting his name.

“Thorne, listen to me!” an imposing man, no, Graald, the cultivator, shouted at him.

Thorne snapped back, blinking in bewilderment. He once again gazed around his surroundings, this time doing so slowly and precisely. He then returned his sight to Graald and calmed slightly; “What happened he spoke evenly, little trace of the previous panic left in his voice and face.

Graald leaned down and examined Thorne intensely for some seconds, “Celestials be damned, boy, I thought you went insane.”

Thorne looked up, his breathing quickening. He tried to use his voice and say something, anything, but no words were allowed out.

Graald sniffed in disgust before pointing towards the floor of the room. It was littered with Thorne’s formerly clotted blood and scabs.

Consequentially, after seeing his former skin, the smell registered in his mind, and the putrid, sweet-coppery smell assaulted Thorne.

Graald, apparently sick of the sight and smell of Thorne’s remains, indicated for him to leave. While they left the room, the older man satiated Thorne’s curiosity; “A healing cultivator healed you.” Graald looked back before smiling light-heartedly, “I think she hates you, by the way; I have never seen a healer so repulsed by a patient in all my years.”

Thorne smiled wryly and nearly winced, remembering the pain, “she all, right?” Thorne spoke genuinely, knowing he must have indeed looked monstrous. “Of course, she’s all right. Come on, boy, learn some humor.” Graald snorted, “Though, to be fair, you were a mess.” “Yeah, that track; how many days did that take?” Thorne questioned.

Gerald stopped entirely in his tracks, then looked at Thorne with his curling smile and glinting eyes, “I guess you did learn some humor; you spent seven minutes and thirteen seconds in the awakening process. And then about an hour being healed.” He then smiled even more widely, his teeth glistening in the red room, “You know, I thought you would take longer. Usually, geniuses take nearly half an hour or more, but you only needed fourteen measly minutes.”

Graald then turned away as he chuckled to himself.

This time, it was Thorne’s time to freeze, but unlike Graald, he didn’t have the luxury to do so for too long and quickly followed after the man.

‘How was that only seven minutes? It felt like a millennium.’

He then pondered Graald's last remark about the geniuses; ‘It seems my talent maybe isn’t too incredible. I guess I’ll have to work a little bit harder.’ He smirked to himself, a dangerous glint in his eye as he remembered his past.

The pair worked their way through the seemingly endless building. After nearly fifteen minutes of walking, they reached a lobby-like area packed with people occupied with various tasks. It was on the ground level with an ornate archway colored with the spectrums of combat leading out into the city. Four people were guarding the room outside, and one of the guards in particular caught Thorne’s eye.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

It was another non-human. The guard possessed a slender humanoid figure leaning more towards the female sex, yet Thorne could not be clear. Their metallic grey skin was speckled with tiny, barely visible holes throughout their entire body. The most shocking feature, though, was the location of their glowing yellow spectrum crystal; It was in the center of the torso.

Thorne looked at Graald in amazement, demanding an explanation.

“What? It’s just an Eldorian. You’ll see plenty of them here”, he spoke, confused about what Thorne desired. Thorne then pointed to the crystal; “how is it on their chest? I thought it only ever formed on the forehead.”

Graald bellowed in laughter, drawing the eyes of the residents in the lobby, but he did not mind the probing gazes; “You see two cultivators and automatically assume that applies to everyone.” Graald looked at Thorne, eyebrows raised, smirking, lightly mocking Thorne, “You better smarten up; you’ll see a lot more sights much more confusing than that in the universe.”

Thorne shrugged, ignoring the playful mockery. He was content that he had been given a response, even though it was not a succinct answer.

Graald and Thorne walked side by side to a large rectangular silver box situated at the corner of the lobby area. The box reminded Thorne of the old metal detectors meant to scan for contraband at airports. It had one of the typical black walls that acted as doors in this building. The box also had a teal screen, which Graald started interacting with. After a couple seconds of Graald working with the device, a small socket opened in the wall of the box, and a metallic red and amber card was produced with a bold “1” plastered at the top.

Graald handed Thorne the card; “Hold it up to your crystal and let it absorb it.”

A little confused, Thorne obliged and hesitantly held the metallic card up to his crystal. Then, in an instant, it disappeared, seemingly absorbed instantaneously.

Ever since awakening his spectrums, Thorne had felt a vague sense of the energy in his body. The two spectrums swirled around, giving him strength and power. Upon absorbing the card, he felt something new, a small amount of a new, distinct energy entering his body. The energy was like his own, a mix of amber and red, yet that’s where the similarities ended. A unique energy signal was also within this energy. It was distinct, and Thorne felt it held no actual power or utility.

Luckily, Graald was there to explain, “It's your identification signature. As a grade one student, you have access to the academy, of course, as well as other areas. This energy will allow you discounts on transportation, shops, and other perks. Of course, as you grow stronger, your authority will be upgraded.” Graald pointed to the box, “Go on, test it out.”

Thorne looked at the black entrance and replicated what he had seen Graald do earlier in the teleportation room. He placed his open palm over the entrance. As he did so, he felt a probing sensation as the door searched for his energy for identification. After a split second, it found it and opened obediently.

“Good,” Graalds expressed absentmindedly, “Now go in there, stand straight with your arms spread wide so the printer can make a uniform for you.”

It was a quick process, and after ten seconds, Graald asked Thorne to come out. A new coin-sized hole opened on the printer's exterior, and a silver object plopped out into Graald's hand, who quickly handed it to Thorne.

It was beautiful, a stylistic masterpiece. It appeared to be the Zupu Academy crest. The center of the crest contained an intricate octagon with a different spectrum color at each point of the shape. In the center of the crest was an ornate “Z” inlaid with different materials, making the Z shine and glow distinctly. The rest consisted of a sharp wing shape surrounding the octagon.

“This is your academy crest; it is also a small spatial storage system. Hold it up to your crystal and allow your energy to claim the crest.”

Thorne did so, feeling the crest being taken over by his own energy. Instead of being absorbed like the card, though, it flew by its own volition and inserted itself into the back of Thorne’s left hand with a small pop.

A minor pain afflicted him, yet he ignored the sensation. It was nowhere near the level of awakening.

As the crest implanted into Thorne’s hand, he felt an otherworldly connection. It felt as if he could see two worlds at once. He, of course, saw reality with Graald in front of him and the busy lobby. Yet he also saw a five foot by five foot indigo room containing various apparel which Thorne recognized as his new uniform.

“The storage space is directly connected to your mind. So, you can materialize any object in it at will. Be warned; many planets require it to be searched to be allowed entry.”

Thorne registered the information and nodded lightly, still enthralled by the majesty and wonder of the crest. He then focused on his new garb. There were multiple sets of the same clothes: plain black pants, a black tee, and a beautiful amber and red combat robe, the two colors working to amplify themselves to appear as beautiful as possible.

‘wonderful,’ a dreamy, lucid expression took over his face, yet disappeared in a split second.

‘This may be nice, but I can’t be overwhelmed by this new world.’ A newfound determination overtook his face, ‘I must seize the new opportunity!’

Graald smiled softly to himself upon seeing the boy’s expression before reverting to his usual mocking smile; “All right, boy, you have everything you need.” Graald flashed a radiant smile in self-anticipation, “I’ll be gone now. By the way, the official academy inauguration starts in...one hour. There might be some consequences if you’re not there…” Graald trailed off, smiling devilishly, “Well, have a good life!”