Daemon felt like he had entered a completely different world. There was barely any noise except from the crowd, who were ordered to come. The streets were quiet and lined with smooth white stones. Mansions and bungalows stretched as far as their eyes could see.
Guards in polished and shining armours stood at every corner, their eyes sharp and landing on the crowd. Big fountains shimmered in the city squares, and gardens filled the air with fresh flowers. Nobles could be seen walking with pride, dressed in exquisite clothing made from fine silk. They walked slowly, unhurried.
Daemon felt that this place was completely different from the other two levels, almost as if it were somewhere else. He could see the royal castle even from far away.
The royal castle rose high above the city, its tower seemingly reaching the sky. The walls shone faintly, and banners of the Bloodvale Kingdom could be seen vaguely. Even from a distance, it looked massive.
After everyone was finally let in, the guards finally spoke, "Behave yourselves and follow us to the Imperial Magic Academy."
"Further instructions will be given to you by the instructors there, and don't wander off anywhere without permission." One of them continued. When everyone seemed to have agreed, they turned around and signalled with their hand.
Everyone in the crowd was enchanted by the beautiful sight of the innermost level. It was simply too ethereal. There were commoners among the crowd as well. They were all admiring the beauty of this city. However, soon, the majority of them turned gloomy as they had to forcefully go through awakening.
There were no nobles among them. Nobles were exempt from this order. Children of the nobility did not have to go through awakening. Rules favoured them.
However, they still sent their children directly to the academy itself to make them go through awakening. It was to ensure their families were strengthened and didn't lose power. This continent admired those with strength; the weak would be taken as a pushover.
Most of the people here had already formed groups among themselves, as a lot of them were familiar with each other. Although Daemon's social skills were good, he had never befriended someone of his age. Others were walking alone just like him.
"Isn't that Vael? Haha, it's him. Look." Someone suddenly said. Daemon looked towards the source of the voice. He saw a boy his age with short dark blue hair that reached his eyebrows. He had a pointy face and drooping eyes.
The boy was with a group of four people, and he was pointing towards someone with his finger as he had a mischievous look on his face.
Daemon looked where the boy was pointing, and he saw another boy who had white hair. He was slender and looked very frail for his age. He didn't seem to care and kept on walking. "So his name is Vael." Daemon thought to himself.
"Is that little kid ignoring us? This cursed bastard has no reason to act like he's a bigshot." The dark-haired boy continued making fun of Vael along with his friends.
"That's enough, Evan. Your jokes are going overboard now." Someone interjected. It was a girl with long auburn hair tied up in a bun. She had beautiful emerald eyes, and her facial features were stunning. She carried elegance and purity with her.
Evan wanted to retort, but then he saw the young lady. He knew who she was. The girl belonged to one of the most wealthy families in the second inner level. Her father, Victor Kingsley, was a powerful Aether who served the kingdom.
"I'm sorry, Miss Celestine. It seems I have offended you with my vulgar mouth." He would never think about offending Celestine, someone who belonged to a powerful family, so he apologised immediately.
"As long as you know your place," Celestine said as her disgusted gaze shot towards Evan. She always felt disgusted whenever someone bullied the weak. She felt immense hatred towards this continent where the strong can get away with such actions.
Celestine looked at Vael's back. "White hair, how unusual." She muttered to herself as they walked. She had never seen someone with natural white hair. It was very uncommon.
Daemon quietly watched this happen. He felt admiration for Celestine. He wasn't someone who would stand up for others, but he admired those who did.
"Should I have a small talk with her?" However, he quickly rejected that idea. "Randomly approaching her would be creepy." he thought and nodded.
After some minutes of walking, the academy was finally in sight. The academy stood on a wide stretch of ground, and its tall tower stood very high. The walls were made of pale stone, and runes on the walls glowed faintly. There was a huge silver coloured gate, and guards stood there. After some period, everyone was let inside.
The academy today was empty. The main hall was massive, its arched roof held up by big carved pillars. Banners of the kingdom could be seen- A silver sword piercing a crimson moon. There were hundreds of classrooms. This was the main building, and there was another building specifically for Aethers to train. Daemon would be able to enter it once he became an Aether.
He finally saw nobles as he was looking around. They did not have to come with such a big crowd; they came directly here. Naturally, all of them had formed groups. There wasn't a single one of them alone. It had to do with how the nobles had social circles, so everyone was in at least a social circle.
He saw a training ground behind the two buildings. It was huge, it stretched far into the distance, enough to accommodate hundreds of Aethers.
The guards stopped, "Now, everyone, you all will be led to the underground of the academy, where the Aether Well is. You will get further instructions from special instructors. Wait here till the instructors come." The guards separated and stood in different corners, keeping watch on the crowd.
Daemon saw everyone admiring the academy. He was bewitched by the majestic place just like them. His eyes soon landed on Celestine, who was sitting alone, and she seemed to be looking at Lucien.
Vael sat quietly, his eyes looking out, far into the sky. He had red eyes, but they looked lifeless. He had visible dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was pale.
Daemon looked at him and thought, "He seems to have given up on life. I wonder if he will survive." However, he immediately stopped thinking about him.
What happened to Vael did not concern him. He only had to think about himself right now.
Nobles did not interact with commoners. Often, they interacted with the rich merchant families. The group of boys would at times look at Celestine; not only did she belong to a rich merchant's family, but she was also a beauty. No one had the guts to initiate a talk with her as she looked deep in her thoughts.
In under half an hour, two instructors came. The man had a scar on his forehead. His hair was black with streaks of grey, he had deep blue eyes, and his beard was trimmed nicely. He had sharp eyes and a pointy nose. He had an arrogant look on his face.
The other was a woman. She had smooth skin and bright brown eyes. Her hair flowed down neatly, and she had a confident demeanour. She had a fresh expression that made everyone feel at ease.
"I'm Andre Walker, and she's Irene Smith," Andre said as he pointed at the woman. "We will give you the instructions when we reach underground. You have to keep these instructions in mind; otherwise, death is the only ending for you." He continued.
"The door that leads to Aether Well is nearby. Follow us without creating a ruckus." Irene spoke loudly and gestured for others to follow them.
The main building had multiple sections. One of the sections was heavily guarded. The crowd followed the instructors and entered the heavily guarded section. The gate that led to the underground was mystical.
The gate stood above everything around it, built from dark stones and reinforced with iron. Its surface was marked with carvings, old symbols, giving it a grand look. Two guards stood on each corner. They were Aethers. Upon seeing the instructors, they opened the gate. The gate opened slowly.
Daemon felt a sort of mysterious connection to this place. He couldn't describe this connection in words; it was inexplicable.
There were stairs leading under the academy. The instructors gestured for everyone to move slowly and come down.
Everyone's eyes fell on the Aether Well. The Aether Well stood in the centre; it looked like something out of a legend. The well glowed; it was as if the light itself was flowing inside of it. The stones around the rim were old and big.
Blue coloured mist could be seen coming out of the well, and it drifted into the air like breath. Light blue crystals could be seen forming slowly near the well. These were the Aether stones.
People say the well is the heart of the world. Everyone felt energised as the Aetherflow near the well was concentrated.
"This feeling is addicting. It makes me want to stay near the well and never leave." Daemon thought, but shook the idea right away.
A normal person could not stay near the well for long. Their body would overflow with Aetherflow and ultimately reach a point when their body bursts.
Everyone had Aetheflow in them; it is the essence of the world.
Aethers would have no problem standing near the well as they could release the flow from their body at will, but normal humans couldn't.
"Now listen carefully," Andre shouted to grab everyone's attention. "We will use a mythral to concentrate all the Aetherflow at one place to open portals to the Mystic Realm."
"When you enter the portal, only your soul will be able to enter the realm. It's a place deeply related to mysticism. No one knows what kind of danger you can face there. So when you enter, stay still."
"We don't know why, but the Mystic Realm reacts to Ancient Ramies. It's a language that is thousands of years old. People say it came into existence when our world was formed."
"All you have to do is chant, 'I am here to take the First Ordeal', in Ancient Ramies. It will create a mystical connection between you and the realm. The realm will give you a personalised test; it can be anything. The ordeal is extremely challenging."
"Your soul will wake up in the ordeal and we cannot tell you what it will be. You can discover mythrals inside to help you beat it. Only the strong will survive and become Aethers."
"When you finish the ordeal, you will get the Aetherbrand. The brand you get will be completely random. Your soul and your body will directly come back to the real world after you beat the ordeal."
"That's all you need to know. I'm warning all of you again, do not wander in the realm at all costs and chant the sentence in Ancient Ramies as quickly as you can." Andre finished speaking and looked at everyone's expression.
The atmosphere was extremely gloomy. They just wanted to run away if they could. The sounds of weeping among the crowd could be heard. Daemon was indifferent; he had been preparing himself for the worst. How could he be overcome with emotions at a crucial time? Only the strong-minded survived.
The instructors told them the chant in Ancient Ramies. "We are now gonna open up the portal," Irene said when everyone seemed to have prepared themselves. Irene gestured with her hand, and the workers of the academy brought multiple mirrors.
They were Mythrals. The mirror was used to concentrate all the Aetherflow on the glass to connect to the Mystic Realm and open the portal.
They set up the mirrors near the well and distanced themselves. Mythrals could be used at the user's will. The user only had to think. Soon, all the Aetherflow in the air started to concentrate on the mirrors. After a while, a cloudy white aura covered the mirrors and white light emitted from the them. The portals were created!
"Enter the portal. We do not know what will happen to your physical body when you enter it; however, if you manage to pass the ordeal, you will come out of it along with your body. Portays stay open for two days. Time flows differently in the Mystic Realm and the ordeal. Two days are more than sufficient" Andre announced, and no one objected.
The crowd took turns to enter the portal, and it was finally Daemon's turn.
"Here goes nothing." He mumbled slowly as he entered the portal to the Mystic Realm.