The road wound downward into the valley, each step carrying them closer to the gleaming spires that pierced the heavens. What had seemed distant and dreamlike now grew sharper with every mile — towers of white stone coiled like serpents toward the sky, banners stitched in gold and crimson flaring in the wind, walls etched with runes that shimmered faintly in the light.
Heaven School was not merely a fortress of learning. It was a city in itself. A bastion carved by ambition, raised on power, and sustained by those who sought to climb higher than the gods.
Elira's steps were steady, but her chest felt heavy with the weight of it. For all her training, for all her strength, she had never stood before a place like this. The Ember Sanctum had shaped her, but it had been a crucible hidden away in shadow. This was different. This was open, dazzling, merciless.
Marcell gave a low whistle. "Guess I should've polished my boots. Feels like we're walking into a temple, not a school."
"Polish won't help you," Vaelith said, his tone dry, his sharp gaze lingering on the figures patrolling the walls. "They'll see straight through you no matter how you shine."
"Comforting," Marcell muttered, though the grin on his face did not fade.
Serenya did not slow her pace. "Eyes forward. Do not gape like villagers on their first visit to a market. You are here to dominate, not to marvel."
As they approached, the gates loomed higher, carved from massive slabs of stone veined with glowing runes. Intricate wards shimmered faintly across their surface — protections woven to keep out corruption, illusions, and unworthy power. A line of aspirants stretched before the gates, dozens of young men and women clad in armor or robes, each one carrying the weight of their clan, their kingdom, or their lineage.
Some wore crests of noble houses embroidered on their cloaks, others bore strange weapons or talismans that hummed faintly with power. Their eyes flicked toward Elira and her companions as they joined the line, some curious, some calculating, a few openly hostile. The air itself seemed charged with competition, ambition bleeding from every gaze.
Marcell leaned close, his voice low. "Looks like everyone here's already sizing us up."
"Good," Serenya said. "Better they know we are not prey."
Elira said nothing. She could feel their stares — heavy, prying, judging — but she kept her gaze forward, her posture unflinching. She was no stranger to scrutiny. Yet this was different. This was not the judging eye of instructors meant to forge her. This was rivalry, pure and sharp, from those who would just as soon see her fall as see her rise.
The gates shuddered. A deep hum resonated through the ground as the wards flickered, then parted. Slowly, with a groan that seemed to carry the weight of centuries, the gates of Heaven School opened.
A voice rang out — clear, commanding, reverberating from the walls themselves.
"Step forward. Prove you are worthy to pass."
One by one, the aspirants advanced. Each was halted before the gates, where a shimmering barrier of light formed. Some walked through effortlessly, their bodies passing as though through mist. Others faltered, the barrier sparking, rejecting them with a flash that sent them staggering back. The unworthy were left kneeling in the dust, their ambitions stopped at the threshold.
Marcell exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Guess they're not handing out invitations."
"No," Vaelith said softly. "The gates test your flame. Your strength. Your control. They do not open for weakness."
When their turn came, Serenya stepped forward first without hesitation. The barrier shimmered, rippling around her like fire meeting steel, and then parted cleanly. She did not look back as she crossed into the light.
Vaelith followed, his form flickering with shadows for an instant before he vanished into the gate as though swallowed whole.
Marcell glanced at Elira and grinned. "No pressure, huh?" With a wink, he strode forward. The barrier pulsed, sparks dancing across its surface, and for a heartbeat Elira thought it might reject him. But Marcell only laughed under his breath, pressed his palm against the light, and shoved his way through with a cocky ease that was half bravado, half stubborn will.
Then it was her turn.
The whispers began the moment she approached. Not from the crowd — from the gate itself. Voices slithered through the air, layered and countless, speaking in tongues she could not understand yet somehow knew.
Unworthy. Dangerous. Consuming. Too bright. Too dark. Too much.
The barrier formed before her, a curtain of light that pulsed like a heartbeat. The closer she came, the louder the whispers grew, until they pressed against her skull like claws.
"Elira…"
Her name. Her true name, spoken by a thousand mouths.
She clenched her fists, her flame flaring within her chest, her silver eyes narrowing. She had been forged in fire, broken and reforged until only steel remained. She would not falter here.
She stepped into the light.
For an instant, it was agony. The barrier burned, seared against her skin, against her soul, probing every fracture within her. The ember within her roared, straining against her control, demanding release. The whispers crescendoed, a deafening chorus.
Consume. Destroy. Burn.
Elira's breath came sharp, ragged — and then she seized the flame within her, bent it, chained it, forced it into stillness. Her will slammed down like iron, and the ember shuddered, but obeyed.
The barrier split open, its light bending around her, and in a rush of heat and silence, she passed through.
When her vision cleared, she stood within the walls of Heaven School.
The city stretched out before her, far greater than she had imagined. Streets of polished stone wound between towering spires, each engraved with runes that pulsed like living veins. Bridges arched high above, connecting towers that seemed to defy gravity, and everywhere she looked, students in robes and armor sparred, studied, or conjured flames of every color. The air vibrated with power, ambition palpable in every step, every breath.
Marcell let out a low whistle beside her. "Well. Looks like we found the belly of the beast."
Serenya's eyes swept across the city, sharp and measuring. "Do not be fooled by their banners or their walls. This is not a sanctuary. It is a battlefield dressed in finery."
Vaelith's lips curved into the faintest smirk. "And we've just been thrown into the pit."
Elira stood in silence, her gaze lingering on the distant spire that rose higher than all the rest — its peak gleaming like a blade held against the heavens. Something stirred within her, quiet but undeniable.
The Ember Sanctum had forged her.But Heaven School would test if she was truly unbreakable.