The sound was huge—like a punch to the chest.
Everyone jumped and turned.
Three practice crystals were just… gone. A cloud of dust was all that was left.
Lyric stood there, his hand out. He hadn't used flashy lightning or fire. It was just a raw, invisible force. He looked as calm as if he'd just picked up a pencil.
The room was dead silent.
Professor Aris stared at the dust. Then her head snapped toward Lyric. Her eyes were narrow, her mouth a hard line.
"Lyric!" Her voice was sharp, like a slap. "What is the one thing I said? Control! This was not control! This was a tantrum! An explosion!"
She took a fast step toward him, her finger pointing at the broken crystals. "You think this makes you look strong? It makes you look reckless! Dangerous to everyone around you! You have power, yes. But without control, it is worthless! Worse than worthless—it is a threat!"
Lyric didn't flinch. He lowered his hand slowly, his face still unreadable. He gave a small, almost imperceptible bow of his head.
"My apologies, Professor," he said, his voice flat and cool.
It sounded like an apology. But the words were empty. There was no regret in his eyes, only a quiet certainty. He wasn't sorry for the power; he was just sorry he got caught breaking the rules.
Professor Aris stared him down, her own anger simmering. After a tense moment, she let out a short, sharp breath.
"All of you take positions," She commanded.
The class shuffled into place, the air still buzzing from Lyric's explosive display. Now it was their turn, and the pressure was on.
Rafael found a spot, his stomach in knots. 'I'm going to look so stupid after all this.'
A boy with messy hair went first. He shot a blast of air at his crystal. It just wobbled. He tried again, and a small crack appeared. The professor said it was "okay."
Next, a girl made vines grow from the floor. They wrapped around her crystal and squeezed until it broke. "Good," the professor said.
Then it was Zack's turn. He grinned and punched the floor. A rock spike shot up and smashed his crystal to pieces. "Not bad," the professor told him.
Another student tried with fire but only managed to blacken their crystal. People snickered. Rafael felt his face get hot. 'That's going to be me.'
Then it was Fiyara's turn. She stepped forward, calm and focused. She held a hand toward her crystal, and the air around it grew damp as she pulled moisture from the air. A shell of water coated the crystal.
Then, she made a small, pulling motion with her fingers. The water shell instantly turned solid, becoming a block of clear, hard ice that encased the crystal completely. With a soft crack, the frozen crystal inside shattered under the pressure.
Just as quickly, she relaxed her hand. The ice melted away into nothing, leaving only the pile of broken pieces behind.
It looked effortless. But Rafael, watching closely, saw it—the faintest tremor in her fingers as she lowered her hand, and a quick, almost invisible shiver that ran through her shoulders. It was gone in a heartbeat, and her face remained perfectly calm. But for a second, using that precise control had taken something out of her.
"Precise," Professor Aris said, a note of clear approval in her voice. "You understand the basics of energy transfer. Well done."
After Fiyara, a few more students tried.
One boy tried to move his crystal with his mind. It only wobbled a little. "You need more practice," the professor said.
Another girl touched her crystal and made part of it turn brown and crumble, like old wood. "Interesting power," the professor noted.
Then a loud boy made a sharp noise with his power. The crystal cracked, but the noise was so loud it shook the room. "Too messy! Control it!" the professor scolded. He looked embarrassed.
Rafael watched them all. 'Some are weak. Some are messy. I'm both weak AND messy. I need to show at least something worthy.'
He felt worse with every student.
Then it was Fredric's turn.
Suddenly, the air felt thick and hard to breathe. A weird metal smell filled the room. The lights buzzed and got dim.
A loud humming started, so strong Rafael could feel it in his feet. Bright purple lightning started snapping around Fredric's hands, making crazy shadows dance on the walls.
Fredric shoved his hands forward.
A huge bolt of lightning shot out. The light was so bright it hurt Rafael's eyes. The sound was a deafening BOOM that shook the floor and made his ears ring. A wave of heat hit his face.
The lightning smashed into the crystal. The crystal didn't break—it just vanished in a huge flash of light and a shower of hot, purple sparks that stung his skin. The air smelled like after a thunderstorm.
For a second, nobody made a sound. Everyone was just staring.
"Whoa..." someone whispered, their voice full of awe.
Professor Aris looked at the empty spot where the crystal used to be. "That was way too much power," she said. "But you pointed it in the right direction. You controlled it." She gave a small nod. "Good job."
Rafael's stomach felt like a rock. He looked at his own hands, feeling very, very small.
After Fredric's lightning faded, a few more students took their turns. The air still smelled like a storm.
A boy made his crystal glow with a soft, warm light. "Good control, but no force," Professor Aris noted.
Then, a girl named Kelly was called up. She looked nervous but determined. She held her hands out, and a shimmering, semi-transparent golden shield appeared in front of her.
"Leo," the professor said, pointing to a boy who controlled fire. "Test her shield. Use a controlled flame."
Leo nodded. He shot a steady stream of orange fire from his palm. It hit Kelly's shield with a loud hiss. The air around them grew hot. Kelly's arms shook, and her face tightened with effort, but her golden shield held strong against the roaring flames.
After a few seconds, Leo stopped. Kelly let her shield drop, panting and wiping sweat from her forehead.
"Good defense, Kelly. You held under pressure," the professor said. "And good control, Leo. You didn't overload her."
Finally, the professor's gaze landed on the last student.
Rafael..
Rafael's heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat echoing in the sudden, heavy silence. All eyes were on him. He could feel the weight of them—Zack's amused smirk, Fiyara's cool analysis, Fredric's bored superiority. After the spectacle of pure annihilation, his own turn felt like a cruel joke.
Before he could even take a step, a loud, grating laugh echoed from the other side of the room. It was Zack, the earth-shaker, leaning against the wall with a cruel smirk.
"Oh, this is gonna be good!" Zack announced to anyone listening. "The grand finale! What's your trick, Raf? Gonna cry on it? Maybe you'll bore it to death!"
The heat of Zack's laugh seemed to physically press against Rafael's skin. He took a stumbling step forward, his legs feeling like they belonged to someone else.
"Enough, Zack."
The voice was calm, clear, and cut through the snickers like a shard of Fiyara's own ice. She didn't shout. She didn't even look at Zack. Her eyes were on Rafael, her gaze analytical but not unkind. "Let him concentrate."
Zack snorted, but the sound died in his throat under Professor Aris's sharp glance.
Right after Rafael reached near the crystal, his heart throbbed. It was giving signs of something unusual in his body. Something was changing.
Making Rafael stumble for a second, a few texts appeared in front of him.
[ First Potential Pathway Unlocked ]