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đź“– Chapter 1: The Forgotten Class
Part 3: Awakening Ritual
The chamber of awakening lay deep beneath Ironveil Academy.
Stone steps spiraled downward into a cavern lit only by braziers of blue fire, their glow casting long shadows across carvings of hammers, anvils, and flames etched into the walls.
At the center was a vast forging circle inscribed into the ground. Sigils glowed faintly in molten orange, pulsing like the heartbeat of the earth. At its center stood a block of black iron, older than the academy itself.
Professor Kael's voice echoed as the three students approached.
"This is the Anvil of Embers. Every Forge Core must be born upon it. You will step into the circle, place your hands upon the anvil, and channel your spirit into it. If your soul responds, a core will ignite within you."
The stocky boy—Taren—swallowed nervously and stepped forward first.
He placed his trembling hands on the anvil. The circle flared to life, light rushing up his arms. His face twisted with strain, but then—BOOM!—a burst of flame erupted, settling into a warm orange glow in his chest.
Professor Kael nodded. "Orange core—Tempering Layer. Uncommon for a first awakening. A steady foundation, strong body, strong will. Not bad."
Taren's eyes shone with relief, and he stumbled back, clutching his chest where the light pulsed.
Next was the fiery-haired girl—Lyra Draemir. She walked with defiant confidence, slamming her palms onto the anvil as though daring it to resist her.
The circle roared with light immediately. Flames whipped around her form, wild and fierce. With a crack like thunder, a brilliant yellow core blazed in her chest, radiating sharp heat.
Professor Kael's eyebrows lifted. "Yellow—Shaping Layer. Rare indeed. Your will burns strong, girl. But remember—flame without control consumes even its master."
Lyra smirked, tossing her braid back. "Control is for the weak."
Jofyn shifted uneasily, gripping his hammer. He could feel it—an unspoken weight pressing on him as Kael turned his gaze to him.
"Your turn, boy."
Jofyn stepped forward, heart hammering. His palms were clammy as he touched the cold iron of the anvil.
The circle lit faintly… then faltered. Nothing surged like it had for the others. Murmurs of failure echoed in his mind—Makok's jeers, the whispers of the courtyard, Lyra's mocking eyes.
"Worthless."
"Another trash who can't even awaken."
"Commoner."
His breath caught, and despair gnawed at him.
But then… his hand brushed against the old hammer at his belt. The one his father had left him.
Suddenly, the anvil responded.
BOOOOM!
The entire chamber shook. The circle flared, not with red, nor orange, nor yellow—but with a storm of shifting colors. Flames, shadows, sparks, and ripples of light burst outward, filling the cavern with blinding brilliance.
Professor Kael's eyes widened, his composure cracking for the first time. "Impossible…"
The light condensed in Jofyn's chest, not a single color but all of them intertwined—swirling like molten metal infused with starlight. The anvil itself glowed as cracks spread across its surface, as though unable to contain the force pouring from him.
And then, it spoke.
Not in words, but in a resonance—deep, ancient, shaking his bones.
⚡ "The Forge that Births All Things… the Core of Creation." ⚡
Jofyn gasped, falling to his knees as the power seared into him. His vision blurred, but in that haze he saw flashes—weapons unmade and remade, worlds hammered into form, stars cooling in the void, gods trembling before a forge older than them.
When the brilliance faded, the cavern was silent. The Anvil of Embers was cracked. The circle's glow had died.
And in Jofyn's chest, not a simple ember, but a pulsing, radiant core of shifting light throbbed.
Lyra stared at him, speechless for once. Taren gaped like a fish.
Professor Kael stepped forward slowly, his voice hushed, reverent, yet shaken.
"…A core beyond the layers… not Red, not Orange, not Yellow… but something higher. Something… forbidden."
He looked directly into Jofyn's eyes, and in that gaze was both awe—and fear.
"You, boy… have awakened the Genesis Core."
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