Darkness. An endless, silent, and complete void.This was not the Abyss he had fought against. That had been a place of active malice, of screaming shadows and hungry things. This was different. It was a peaceful, featureless nothing. For a time that could have been a second or an eternity, Astraeus simply floated in it, a disembodied consciousness without form or memory. The agony of his death, the tearing of his divine core, was a distant, fading echo.Then, sensation returned, and it was an agony all its own.First came the cold. It was a biting, damp chill that seeped into him, a stark contrast to the celestial warmth he had known his entire existence. Then came the pain—not the grand, soul-shattering pain of a god's death, but a petty, grinding ache. His back hurt, his head throbbed, and a sharp sting pulsed from his cheek. It was the pain of a weak, fragile thing. A mortal thing.A voice, shrill and laced with contempt, cut through the haze. "Get up, you useless waste of space! Do you plan to sleep in the mud all day?"Astraeus's consciousness flickered. The voice was alien, the words spoken in a language he somehow understood despite its foreignness. He felt a rough kick connect with his ribs, and a grunt of pain escaped his lips. The sound was weak, pathetic. It was not his voice. His voice could command legions and shake mountains. This was the whimper of a frightened boy.Slowly, painfully, he forced his eyes open. The world swam into focus, a blurry mess of grays and browns. He was lying face-down in what felt like cold, wet mud. The smell of rain and damp earth filled his nostrils. He pushed himself up, his arms trembling with a weakness that felt profoundly wrong. His limbs were thin, his hands small and covered in dirt.He looked up and saw three figures standing over him. They were boys, perhaps sixteen or seventeen years of age, dressed in dark blue uniforms that were clean and well-kept, unlike his own mud-stained rags. The one in the center, a tall boy with a sneer on his face and slicked-back blond hair, was clearly the one who had kicked him."Look, the 'Noble' Ren is finally awake," the blond boy sneered. His two companions chuckled, their faces masks of cruel amusement. "I thought a little rain might wash the stink of failure off you, but it seems to be permanent."Astraeus stared, his mind a whirlwind of confusion. Ren? The name was a faint echo of his own, yet twisted. He tried to access his divine power, to smite these insolent beings for their audacity, but there was nothing. The wellspring of starlight within him was gone. He reached for his swords, Dawn and Dusk, but his hands found only empty air. He was hollow. Empty.This body… it was not his. It was small, underfed, and covered in bruises that felt both fresh and old. He was trapped.
"What's the matter, Ren? Cat got your tongue?" the blond bully, whose name was Kael, taunted. He nudged Astraeus's shoulder with the toe of his polished boot. "Or are you too busy dreaming about the magic you'll never have?"Magic. The word resonated with the new knowledge flooding Astraeus's mind. This world, this body… it belonged to a boy named Astraeus Ren, an orphan at the prestigious Silverwood Academy of Magic. A boy notorious for one thing: being the only student in the academy's history completely incapable of using magic.As Kael spoke, fragmented memories—not his own—surfaced. He saw through this boy's eyes: the jeers in the hallways, the pitying looks from instructors, the lonely nights spent in a cold, empty dorm room. He felt the boy's despair, his shame, his desperate, futile attempts to cast even the simplest of spells, only for nothing to happen. This body was a vessel of failure.Astraeus pushed himself to his feet, his new, weak body protesting every movement. He stood at a full head shorter than Kael, a fact that felt deeply insulting to the war-god who had once towered over giants. He met Kael's gaze, and for a second, the bully faltered. The eyes looking back at him were not the timid, defeated eyes of the boy he tormented daily. They were ancient, cold, and held a terrifying depth, like staring into the abyss between stars.Kael quickly recovered his bravado. "What are you looking at, you worthless runt?" he spat, shoving Astraeus backward.Astraeus stumbled, his balance poor. He was still adjusting to this frail form. But as he fell, a new sensation, something other than the boy's despair, sparked within him. It was a cold, analytical voice, speaking not to his ears, but directly into his consciousness.
[Threat Detected: Minor Physical Aggression.]
[Host's Physical Condition: Sub-optimal. 12% Stamina.]
[Recommendation: Tactical Retreat. Direct confrontation is not advised.]
Astraeus froze. The voice. It was the same one he'd heard as his divine form died. The God System. It was real, and it was inside him."Ignoring me now?" Kael snarled, his patience wearing thin. He grabbed the front of Astraeus's tunic. "I think it's time we taught you another lesson about your place here."
Just as Kael drew back his fist to punch him, the world seemed to slow. The raindrops hung in the air like suspended crystals. The sneers on the faces of Kael's friends became frozen masks.
[System Intervention Protocol Activated: Imminent Danger.]
[Analyzing Threat… Kael of House Valerius. Minor magical affinity, enhanced physical strength. Predictable attack pattern.]
[Calculating Optimal Response…]
Astraeus felt a strange energy, not magic, but something colder and more precise, flow through him. It wasn't his old divine power; it was a guiding force. A series of faint, glowing lines appeared in his vision, mapping a trajectory from Kael's fist to his own face. A second line highlighted a patch of wet mud just behind Kael's left foot.
[Action Mandated: Evade and Destabilize.]
[Instruction: Shift weight to right foot. Lower center of gravity by 15 degrees. Push off exactly 0.3 seconds after threat initiates forward momentum.]
The instructions were bizarre, alien, yet his body responded instinctively. The world snapped back to normal speed. Kael's punch flew. But Astraeus was no longer there. Following the system's guidance, he dropped and twisted, the motion clumsy but effective. Kael's fist whistled past his ear, the force of it carrying him forward.At the same moment, Astraeus, still following the system's silent command, kicked out. It was not a powerful kick, but it was perfectly placed, striking Kael's ankle just as all his weight shifted onto that foot. The bully's eyes widened in surprise as his ankle buckled, his feet sliding out from under him on the slick mud.Kael yelped, flailing his arms wildly before landing hard on his back with a loud, undignified splash. He was covered head to toe in the same mud he had been mocking Astraeus for moments before.His two friends stared, dumbfounded. First at their fallen leader, then at Astraeus, who was now standing, breathing heavily, just as shocked as they were. The boy who couldn't fight back, the boy who couldn't do anything, had just humiliated Kael Valerius without casting a single spell.
[Threat Neutralized.] the system's voice announced calmly in his mind. [Stamina now at 9%. Warning: Physical exertion is unsustainable.]
Kael sat up, sputtering, his face a mask of pure fury and humiliation. "You… you will pay for that, Ren!" he roared, scrambling to get up.But Astraeus wasn't listening. He was staring at his own hands, then at the sputtering bully. He had done that. Or rather, the system had done it through him. It was a power that didn't rely on magic or divine strength. It was a power of pure calculation, of perfect, logical action. It was a power that could allow even this weak vessel to survive.Before Kael could lunge again, a sharp, authoritative voice cut through the air. "What is the meaning of this, cadets?"All four boys froze. Standing at the edge of the training courtyard was Instructor Evangeline, her severe expression and perfectly immaculate uniform a stark contrast to the muddy scene before her. Her eyes, sharp and discerning, took in the situation in an instant: Kael, covered in mud and radiating fury; his two cronies, looking guilty; and Astraeus, disheveled but standing his ground."Fighting in the courtyard? Valerius, I expected better from you," she said, her tone dripping with disappointment. Kael's face went from red to pale."Instructor, it wasn't—he tripped me!" Kael stammered, pointing an accusing finger at Astraeus.Instructor Evangeline raised a skeptical eyebrow. She had seen Kael and his friends tormenting Ren for months. She looked at Astraeus, and for a moment, her stern expression softened with a flicker of something that might have been surprise. The boy looked different. He wasn't cowering."Enough," she declared. "All of you, back to your dorms. Now. And Kael, you will report for cleaning duty in the potion labs for the next week. Perhaps that will cool your head."Kael shot Astraeus a look of pure hatred, a silent promise of future retribution, before storming off, his friends trailing nervously behind him.Astraeus was left alone with the instructor. He braced himself for a lecture, for more pity. Instead, she just watched him for a long moment."The Trial of Summoning is in one week, Ren," she said, her voice even. "Every student must participate. Do not be late."leaving Astraeus standing alone in the rain. The Trial of Summoning. The memories of the mortal boy supplied the details: a dangerous ritual where students were sent to a pocket dimension to form a contract with a summoned being. It was the most important test of the year.Astraeus looked down at his small, weak hands. One week. He had one week to understand this new body, this new world, and the mysterious "God System" that was his only ally. And he had to survive a trial designed for powerful mages when he had no magic at all.A cold, grim smile touched his lips for the first time in this new life. It was an impossible task. A suicide mission.For a god of war, it felt just like home.