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Chapter 1: The Forgotten Class
Part 4: The Weight of Genesis
The silence that followed his awakening was heavy—too heavy. Even the flames in the braziers seemed to bow low, flickering nervously as though unwilling to challenge the strange force that had just been born in the chamber.
Lyra's fists clenched at her side, nails digging into her palm. He's… a commoner. Trash blood. How? Her pride screamed at the impossibility of it.
Taren swallowed, whispering, "A Genesis Core… doesn't that mean—he could—"
Professor Kael cut him off sharply. "Not a word. Not outside this chamber. Do you hear me?"
The professor's voice carried no room for debate, yet beneath it Jofyn could sense unease. Fear.
"Jofyn Vale," Kael said slowly, walking forward. "What you've awakened… is not a blessing the world will praise. It is a torch in the dark—and torches draw shadows."
Jofyn's chest was still heaving, his body trembling from the flood of visions that had ripped through him. His hands felt scorched, his heart heavy with something he couldn't name.
"I-I didn't… mean to," he stammered.
Kael's stern expression softened—just slightly. "Cores are not chosen, boy. They are revealed. And yours…" His gaze drifted to the cracked Anvil of Embers, a relic older than the kingdom itself, now broken. "…yours is something that should not exist."
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By the time they left the awakening chamber, whispers had already spread through the academy.
Lyra stormed off without a word, fury in every step. Taren lingered at Jofyn's side awkwardly, torn between awe and fear.
But the other students in the halls? Their eyes burned holes into Jofyn's back. Some in envy. Some in disbelief. Many in disdain.
"Impossible."
"He's lying. Must be some trick."
"A commoner can't hold a Genesis Core."
"If this is true… then the royals will come."
Jofyn gritted his teeth. He had always been used to the sneers, but this was different. The air around him now felt… dangerous.
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That evening, in the quiet of the forge classroom, Professor Kael called him aside. The room smelled of iron and oil, and the professor's hammer rested on the anvil between them.
"You don't understand what you've awakened, Vale," Kael said in a low voice. "The Genesis Core isn't just power. It is… hunger. It will demand from you. Every forge you strike, every enchantment you weave, every scrap of curiosity in your mind—it will push you further, until you either master it… or it consumes you."
Jofyn swallowed hard. "And if others find out?"
Kael's eyes darkened. "Then they will kill you. Or worse—chain you, and use you until nothing remains."
A heavy silence hung between them.
Finally, Kael placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, firm and grounding. "Listen well, Jofyn Vale. You will train here. Quietly. You will forge, you will enchant, you will grow. But never—never—reveal the true name of your core outside this class. To the world, you awakened a simple Red Ember Core, do you understand me?"
Jofyn hesitated, then nodded.
"Yes, Professor."
Kael leaned closer, his eyes fierce. "Good. Because the Genesis Core is not just the key to creation… it is the key to destruction. And both kings and monsters will bleed the world dry to claim it."
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That night, as Jofyn lay in his dorm bed, staring at the ceiling, the Genesis Core pulsed in his chest like a heartbeat.
Strangely… he didn't feel fear.
Instead, his mind swam with possibilities.
The pen on his desk—could he make it write homework on its own?
The candle at his bedside—could he weave it into an eternal flame?
The broken gear he kept from his father's forge—could he… make it whole again?
His lips curved slowly into a smile.
If the world feared creation—then he would show them what creation truly meant.
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