Night fell faster than usual, as if the very sky itself had shifted. The stars twinkled faintly, their light fragmented by ripples that only Izumi could perceive. Standing on the balcony of the academy's tallest tower, he could feel the faint hum of power in the world beyond—distant, immense, and ancient.
Aria joined him silently, her eyes tracing the subtle waves of energy. "The divine realm… it's awakening. I've sensed disturbances before, but nothing like this. They're watching you, Izumi."
Jack, leaning against the railing, shivered. "Wait… gods? Already? I mean, it's the first month! Why do they even care about a kid in an academy?"
Izumi didn't answer immediately. His senses reached beyond the physical, extending into the threads of reality. The shard pulsed violently, its energy stretching outward, brushing against forces far beyond mortal comprehension. Somewhere, distant yet close, the Ten Great Gods stirred, sensing the boy who had survived cycles of life and death, who had been reborn countless times, whose shard carried fragments of all their past.
> "Awaken… understand… or perish," the shard whispered.
Izumi closed his eyes, letting the energy envelop him. Memories surged—his first life as a human, dying alone in a city burning with indifference; his second, as the first god, betrayed and abandoned; and fragments of countless loops, each ending in failure, loss, or death. The pain pressed in on him, a weight he could barely tolerate.
But he did not falter. He allowed the shard's energy to merge with his own, reinforcing his mind, body, and spirit. His senses sharpened to a supernatural degree. He could feel the pull of destiny, the weight of all future battles pressing against him like an invisible storm.
Aria's hand rested lightly on his shoulder. "Be careful, Izumi. They will test you soon. Not all challenges will be fair… and not all enemies will be mortal."
The shard pulsed brighter, a golden thread extending beyond the academy, brushing against invisible currents of divine energy. Izumi understood instinctively: the world as he knew it was about to change.
Jack's voice trembled slightly, though he tried to mask it with bravado. "So… uh… just to clarify… we're gonna fight gods now? Like… actual gods?"
Izumi opened his eyes, gold flecks gleaming faintly in the dim moonlight. "Soon. And when that time comes, we must be ready. All of us. Together."
A subtle shiver ran through the balcony. The wind picked up, carrying a faint whisper—ancient, alien, and full of malice. Izumi's heart thumped, steadying as the shard pulsed in tandem.
The stars above fractured as if reality itself were bending. Somewhere in the unseen heavens, eyes turned toward the academy. The awakening of the boy named Izumi had not gone unnoticed.
And far away, in realms untouched by mortal life, the Ten Great Gods took notice.
The first ripple of conflict had begun.