Echoes of Three Years
Amaya Green's eyes pierced Kai Dawnsworn, intense and unflinching. Confronted with the slight, roguish smile he showed her, her thoughts involuntarily flashed back three years to the Academy Entry Talent Inspection.
He had been just twelve at the time, facing the assembled masters of Greenhold Academy. As the other kids quaked with stage fright and stuttered in their assessments, Kai Dawnsworn's smile had stayed genuine, proud, unwavering—entirely unruffled by the pressure of examination.
That examination had verified his extraordinary talent, the level of his understanding of Mana the highest among his age group. The judgment had been emphatic: he was a born martial artist.
Three years now, and nothing had shifted in his mind, nor had his aircraft upgraded. He was the same carefree, idle young man, frequently not attending class. But the gleam in his golden eyes—the radiance and acuity—had not faded.
"What if you can't?" Amaya asked gently, the crease of anxiety masked beneath her calm voice.
"It's your decision," Kai Dawnsworn said airily, as if the consequences did not mean anything to him.
Please, don't risk Boomer's future," Amaya implored, looking in the direction of the boy sitting behind Kai.
Boomer's metal-element sense had already ascended to the eighth Awakened Plane, the Transfigure Plane, higher even than Amaya herself, who had reached the seventh Awakened Plane, the Enigma. Boomer's future shone bright, and it could not be risked by Kai Dawnsworn's folly.
"Sure," Kai Dawnsworn replied, a slight smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. But in his mind, he was aware of the truth—could he really succeed?
Amaya swiveled back to the podium, her black hair brushing against her shoulders as she moved with refined authority. Her green eyes swept over the room, resting momentarily on each student. "There is only one month before the Fall Quarter Examination. Use this time wisely.". If you wait until spring next year, there will be a new group of students who will come in and compete with you. Leo, you are on the sixth Awakened Plane, the Impervious; Feya, you have been stuck on the fifth Awakened Plane, the Unstoppable, for much too long. I expect both of you to make actual progress by next year's Spring Quarter Examination."
Awakened Plane was the initial level of progress, broken down into nine specific planes: Nexus, Growth, Vascular, Resolute, Unstoppable, Impervious, Enigma, Transfigure, and Nullforge.
Official student status at Greenhold Academy was achieved by getting to the seventh Awakened Plane, the Enigma, before one's eighteenth birthday and proving corresponding success in the Spring Quarter Examination.
I will, Ms. Green," Leo replied resolutely, as Feya balled her fists, her resolve burning more intensely than ever before.
You are dismissed," Amaya whispered, and then she turned away and out of the room. Her elegant form demanded the attention of all, herding the boys' eyes after her as she left. With the door clicking behind her, the room's focus returned to Kai Dawnsworn—the brazen boy who had so just now dared show disrespect to their goddess.
Turn around, Kai Dawnsworn," said a harsh, cold voice, pulling all eyes. Feya, who had been sitting behind him, had stood.
Feya, although only fifteen, was undoubtedly beautiful. Her fine eyes sparkled with power, her face perfect, and the energy of youth made her pure and fascinating. She was tall, long legs and slender, her presence demanding respect.
"How dare you do this?" Feya exclaimed, black eyes blazing with rage.
Kai Dawnsworn smiled lazily, a glint of amusement flickering across his golden eyes. "You're jealous, aren't you?"
Feya halted, for an instant speechless. A few breaths down the line, she continued. "How will you tell your father about this?"
"Tell him what?" Kai Dawnsworn blinked, then remembered his father's coarse comment on her—how Feya's curves would make her a good mother. His gaze had rested longer than he meant to.
"Do not think crazy thoughts! We are still young; the time to discuss children has not yet come," Feya snapped, burning cheeks.
The classroom went silent at his brazenness. The other boys were a combination of anger and shock on their faces. First, he had courted Amaya Green; now he was shamelessly talking to Feya, who was unquestionably gorgeous and little more than fifteen. What kind of young man was this?
Feya's mind raced. She recalled her father's awkward joke with Kai Dawnsworn's father about the two of them having children. Her blush deepened, realizing that the boy's audacity was no accident—he was mocking her deliberately.
I meant… if you were kicked out of the academy following the Fall Quarter Examination, how would you tell your father?" Feya explained, her chest heaving with shallow breaths. She was incredulous; she could not envision Kai Dawnsworn passing the examination remaining on the Nexus Plane.
"I will pass," Kai Dawnsworn replied serenely, his head shaking by almost a fraction of an inch, his golden eyes fixed on hers.
A new voice cut sharply through the tension. "Come on, you've been stuck on the Nexus Plane for three years, yet you're still confident? Seriously, Kai Dawnsworn, spell the word 'shame' for me," said Leo, seated behind Feya, his tone cold and measured.
Leo, the talented wind-element mage, had already attained the sixth Awakened Plane, the Impervious, and his ability made him stand out amongst the fifteen-year-old group. His eyes, however, were still on Feya, not on Kai Dawnsworn.
"You are the worst student in this class, but you spout nonsense to a girl like Feya," Leo went on, voice steady but stinging. "Your arrogance springs from nowhere. No wonder they say, 'he who knows not, fears not.'"
His words hung in the balance of the entire room, carrying the approval of their whole class to judge Kai Dawnsworn—the most shameless of them all.
Boomer, standing silently at the side of Kai Dawnsworn, exuded a quiet dignity. His mere presence commanded respect from his fellow cultivators, the subtle air of an up-and-coming cultivator few could look away from.
"Boomer," Feya breathed softly, almost automatically, her dark eyes tracing his authoritative presence.