"So this is the green Jade Heaven Obelisk…" Boshi's voice trailed off, he craned his neck, hoping to glimpse at the peak of the structure that vanished into the heavens. The tower's green jade and stone shimmered with Ti, its surface alive with veins of jade that pulsed with what seemed like life. Around the Obelisks's base stretched gardens and courtyards, yet the Obelisk itself rose endlessly above them, as if it were a pillar holding up the sky. A sigh escaped him, pride swelling in his chest, today was the day, after years of study and failure and sleepless nights, that he would get a chance at apprenticeship here. The Obelisk was no ordinary academy; it was a faction known across the world, a citadel of Auctors who dedicated their lives to documenting and shaping Movements, and now, at nineteen, Boshi had earned the right to take his first step inside.
"One more hurdle, no point in being nervous." Boshi muttered under his breath, trying to steady himself. Truth be told, his stomach was in knots. A little nervous? He scoffed at his own lie; no, he was terrified.
Boshi slowed his steps as he approached the Jade Heaven Obelisk. When people said it pierced the heavens, they hadn't been exaggerating. The tower soared so high he couldn't make out its peak, vast enough to dwarf entire cities in its shadow. It wasn't just a school, it was a kingdom enclosed in jade and stone, inside, Auctors ate, slept, trained, and dreamed. Layer upon layer of markets, districts, and living quarters stacked endlessly upward. He had heard that even lifelong disciples, those who never left the tower's walls, explored no more than a tenth of its expanse. Boshi swallowed hard. Compared to this place, his nineteen years felt tiny, almost laughable.
Boshi was ordinary. Curly dark brown hair fell across his forehead, his features nothing remarkable, and his brown eyes held no trace of distinction. He stood around six feet tall, neither particularly strong nor weak. He was an Original—an unaltered human, untouched by any Territory's Movement. If there was anything unusual about him, it was that being an Original was rare in itself. "I guess the only unordinary thing about me is my race..." he muttered under his breath.
Boshi's eyes roamed the crowd streaming toward the Jade Heaven Obelisk. He saw a tapestry of races—some familiar, others extraordinary. Beastmen, born of the Godbeast Territory, moved with raw strength and animal grace. Plantmen, from the Gilded Apothecary, exuded resilience and quiet endurance. Boshi felt a pang of envy, he wished he possessed the Beastmen's power or the Plantmen's fortitude, instead of being… well, just himself. An Original, rare perhaps, but ordinary in every other way.
Among the crowd were rarer sights: Colourmen from the Painted Sea, their skin and hair tinted in vibrant, different hues, and dragons, once fearsome beasts, now transformed into humanoid forms, carrying the subtle majesty of their original power in every movement.
"Guess I'll be in the background again, like always," Boshi said, a heavy weight pressing on his chest. He had always faded into the backround, forgettable and unremarkable.
As Boshi and the other aspiring Auctors entered the hub to take the entrance exam, their eyes were drawn to a magnificent sight. The interior had many shades of green jade, walls and ceilings carved with intricate murals, thick, twisting roots rose from the floor and walls, supporting the grand structure.
Then she appeared, an elderly Plantwoman in flowing green robes. Her skin carried a subtle greenish-grey hue, and her long hair, crimson like petals. Deep pink eyes, bright and knowing, scanned the room with a calm authority, at her presence, the crowd settled into silence, everyone taking their seats.
"Welcome, future Auctors. You stand at the threshold of knowledge older than any of you can imagine. Here, within Jade Heaven Obelisk, you will study the secrets of life itself, the intricate symphony of nature, the study of body, soul, and fate. You will learn to see beyond the ordinary, to understand how all things are connected in nature, and to shape that knowledge into your own Movements. The path ahead will test you, challenge you, and demand everything you have. But for those who endure, the rewards will be beyond measure."
She paused, letting the weight of her words sink into everyones hearts.
"Now, the exam begins, Show us the depth of your understanding, and the potential within each of you!"
Boshi leaned over his desk, quill in hand, trying to steady his shaking fingers. "I know this… it's all about the three bases of life and Symphony."
Body, Soul, Fate. The foundations of all existence, the body was the shell, the vessel through which Ti—the raw essence of life—flowed. The soul was the mind, the consciousness, the memory of all one had learned throughout there life. Fate determined the lifespan, the natural limits of the lifeform, and the threads that connected soul and body.
As he wrote, he recalled how Symphony manifested: Movements, extensions of a person's experience, profession, and scientific understanding, all flowing through their soul and expressed via their body. Low-level Auctors experimented and learned; mid-level Auctors refined their path and could create Grimoires to store knowledge; high-level Auctors achieved partial Apotheosis, improving body, soul, and magic; apex-level Auctors completed Apotheosis, shaping their Territories and extending their lifespan.
Territories themselves were living extensions of their master's Symphony. Entire landscapes, flora, and even creatures adapted to the nature of the Auctor's Movements. Oni, Beastmen, and Colourmen were all examples, races born and shaped by Territories over generations.
Boshi glanced at the ranks chart printed in the exam booklet. Every Movement, every Auctor, every Territory had a hierarchy: low, mid, high, apex. It wasn't vague; it was systematic. Every rank carried responsibilities, limitations.
He exhaled. "I've studied this for years… I can do this."
Many hours passed as the exam stretched on, covering everything from biology to theory, and even history. Boshi's mind was full of names and dates: the Godbeast Territory, whose immense power had shaped the Beastmen; the Gilded Apothecary, home of the Plantmen, whose careful cultivation of flora and symbiotic knowledge had influenced generations; and the Spore Territory, where Fungusmen thrived in dense, ever changing ecosystems. Other Territories existed as well, each leaving its mark on the land and the people within it. Boshi himself came from a small, unremarkable region sandwiched between all of them a place ordinary enough to be overlooked, yet close enough to witness the influence of each Territory's power.
-
A sudden stillness filled the air.
Suddenly, the scratching of pencils ceased. A chill swept through the room, prickling Boshi's skin. He lifted his head from the desk and froze, everything around him had stopped, suspended in eerie stillness.
"Hello? Is… is everyone okay?" Boshi's voice wavered, breaking the sudden silence.
Boshi's stomach churned as a wave of revulsion washed over him, a sensation like something was crawling across every inch of his body. He jerked his head up, A massive, grotesque pupil hovered in the air, shifting and undulating like thick, dark fluid, scanning the room with an unnatural curiosity.
"What the…?" he whispered, voice trembling.
The eye seemed to sense him, because in the next moment suddenly, its gaze locked onto Boshi, and an icy chill surged through his body. Before he could react, an invisible pressure bore down on him, pinning him in place gooey disgusting feeling, no indication no sound no nothing. It pressed into every muscle, every bone, traveling inexorably up to his head. Boshi gasped, struggling, but his limbs refused to obey. Darkness crept in, and then… nothing.
-
Boshi slowly stirred, the dull throb in his head making him wince. He pushed himself upright as the numbing pressure gradually eased.
"My head… what was that?" he said, glancing around the featureless grey room.
His eyes fell on another figure in the room. Something about them was off, they didn't resemble anyone from the Green Continent. Their features, posture, and clothes, felt alien, unfamiliar.