> Sixty years ago, the sky shattered into a thousand pieces.
From that celestial rift, creatures descended—beings from a nameless world, colossal forms that defied all logic and understanding.
Some believed they were gods. Others saw them as divine punishment.
We called them Shinjuu, Divine Beasts.
Entire cities were wiped from the map.
Mankind's weapons could not harm them.
Prayers could not stop them.
Only when the first mages awakened the sealed abilities buried deep in their blood did the balance begin to shift.
Upon their deaths, the Shinjuu left behind crystalline structures in the shape of pyramids.
Small—barely the size of a clenched fist—but powerful enough to change the fate of a nation.
A new era was born.
An age of war, magic, and glory.
And, like all things that shine… one of arrogance, betrayal, and death.
---
The crunch of footsteps on loose gravel was the only sound breaking the silence.
A lone figure walked the path leading to the Tenryuu Imperial Academy of Magic.
Three-colored hair blowing in the wind. A black shirt with gold accents buttoned to the collar. White pants marked with black inscriptions that moved as if made of living ink.
In his right hand, a letter sealed with red wax.
His eyes, however, were utterly emotionless.
—"So this is the place..." he muttered flatly, stopping in front of the massive torii gates marking the entrance.
The academy loomed ahead like a temple from another world: towers reaching the clouds, floating training fields, and a golden dome at the center that hid the council chamber. Students soared through the sky on magical creatures, others trained with energy swords, their laughter blending with magical explosions.
A fantasy for many. A playground for others.
To Alex Shiranami, it was nothing more than another place full of people who believed that effort made them special.
He looked again at the letter in his hand. The paper was slightly wrinkled from his grip, but the seal still gleamed: a dragon coiled around an inverted pyramid.
> *"Dear Shiranami Alex,
You have been personally selected by Director Mikagami to join the Tenryuu Imperial Academy of Magic.
An anomalous synchronization has been detected between you and a pyramid core of unknown class.
Attendance is not optional.
Welcome to the beginning of a new era."*
—"Tsk… What a pain."
He shoved the letter into his pocket and stepped forward, crossing the threshold.
A warm gust of wind greeted him, as if the world itself exhaled in his presence.
He didn't know it yet.
No one did.
But in that moment, as he set foot inside the academy, the judgment of the ancient gods began to turn again.
And Alex, the boy without emotion, would be its executioner.
---
The main building's interior was wide, elegant, and silent.
Red carpets bordered with gold, black marble columns, and floating lamps that swayed like fireflies trapped in glass cages.
Alex stopped before a large double door carved with ancient symbols.
He didn't need to knock.
The door opened on its own.
Inside, seated at a wide blackwood desk, was Mikagami Satsuki, the woman who ruled the Tenryuu Academy.
She looked no older than thirty, but her eyes carried the weight of someone who had watched civilizations die.
Waist-length white hair, a violet dress woven with living runes, and an aura so powerful it spoke even in silence.
—"Welcome, Alex Shiranami," she said without raising her voice—yet the entire room seemed to tremble with her tone.
Alex walked in, hands in his pockets.
—"So you're the famous director who sends personal letters just to steal students from other systems?"
Mikagami raised an eyebrow with a faint smile.
—"I didn't steal anyone. You weren't in any system. No one knew you had a pyramid… until yours appeared."
She extended her hand, and a holographic image emerged above the desk: a black pyramid streaked with red veins, slowly spinning.
—"When we inserted the final Shinjuu core into the search vessel, only one coordinate appeared. One… and only one."
The image shifted, revealing Alex's room. His bed. His desk. His face, sleeping.
—"Your magical energy shouldn't even exist. But that pyramid rejected every other candidate. You're its only possible link."
Alex crossed his arms, refusing to look at the image.
—"And that gives you the right to drag me here?"
—"You hold a power that could shift the entire balance in the war against the Shinjuu. If you graduate… and take down a few of them along the way…"
She leaned forward.
—"You can have anything you want."
A long silence followed.
Then Alex smirked, sarcastically.
—"Wow… desperate, are we? Is it really that bad?"
Mikagami didn't answer.
—"A category 5 on the way?" Alex added. "Or have you just realized this academy is full of egotistical brats who think they're warriors because they have shiny pyramids? What'll they do when they face something real?"
The director watched him for a moment. Then turned her gaze toward the window.
—"If I weren't certain of what's coming, I wouldn't be speaking to you."
---
[A few hours later...]
The sky had cleared. Alex walked with hands in his pockets along the outer hallway leading to the testing field.
Stone columns lined the open-air corridor, where stands full of nobles and instructors looked down.
In the center, a black marble circle surrounded by floating runes.
There, the applicants waited with pyramids in hand.
Some glowed blue, green, or silver.
All held them with respect. With fear.
Only one had nothing in his hand.
Alex.
A tall man with short gray hair and dark glasses stood at the arena's center. His uniform bore the council's emblem and a flowing blue cape.
—"I am Instructor Renkai. This will be your entrance exam.
You will use the pyramids assigned to you to face a Category 1 Shinjuu.
If you succeed, you keep your core and are granted admission.
If you fail, your core will be confiscated… and your name forever stained."
A murmur ran through the arena. Nobles clenched their hands. Some whispered spells. Others glanced at Alex, confused.
—"...Excuse me, sensei," Alex interrupted, his voice bored. "Isn't this space a bit small for summoning Shinjuu creatures? Even if they're just level one?"
Renkai smiled. He didn't answer.
He raised his hand.
The entire room lit up. The floor dissolved like cosmic dust, and in the blink of an eye—the scenery changed.
Alex blinked once. Then again.
He was standing in an open field, surrounded by dark forests and floating mountains.
The sky was violet. The wind smelled of ash and fire.
—"This… is the real testing ground," said Renkai, now floating in the air, his voice echoing through the dimension.
"A sealed fragment of the Lost Domain, where level-one Shinjuu hunt the weak."
A roar tore through the air.
From the forest emerged a six-legged creature, its body made of crystal and a jaw that rotated like a broken lock.
—"Any volunteers to start?"
Alex smiled for the first time.
But it wasn't a happy smile.
It was that blend of boredom and irritation that someone wears when, at last, something mildly interesting happens.
---