Headmaster August continued. His eyes swept across the hall.
"Power begins with understanding," he said. "You will study the foundations of your Bloodmarks, ether circulation, and to control all of it. Without knowledge, power is nothing more than a hazard for you and everyone around you. A lot of students before you have learned that lesson the hard way."
A few students straightened at that. However, the others did not.
"But remember this," August went on, his smile fading slightly. "Power is never free. Your strength demands a cost, and every cost demands responsibility. Those who seek power without accepting its weight will not survive here."
Dominic's eyes shifted through the rows. Several students stood with lazy postures, arms crossed, their expressions openly bored. Nobles, he was sure of it.
He wondered how they could act like that while standing in front of someone who could crush them without effort with that attitude. Dominic clearly knew how strong August was even when he had never shown his true power.
Maybe they were confident nothing would happen. That certainty unsettled him, and a quiet worry took root about his days at the Academy.
August raised a hand, drawing attention back to himself.
"You will not learn just inside the classrooms," he said. "Beneath this Academy lies an entrance to the Labyrinth. That section of the Labyrinth is already mapped and controlled by our professors. It was safe ground, as far as the Labyrinth ever allows."
A ripple of murmurs spread through the hall.
"What you will do there and how you will survive it will be explained by the instructors in charge," August continued.
Then his voice hardened.
"Understand this as well. There are several hundred of you standing here today. When graduation comes, that number will be smaller."
The hall fell silent.
"Rest while you can," August said, his smile returning. "Your first lesson begins in one hour. Dismissed."
As the lines broke and students began filing out, Dominic moved with them. That last statement lingered in his mind ominously. He did not dwell on it for long, though. There was no point yet.
They returned toward their dorms.
Sevran entered the room first and moved straight to his bed. He sat down cross-legged, straightened his back, closed his eyes, and rested his hands on his knees.
Dominic paused while setting his things down.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Sevran opened one eye and glanced at him.
"You still don't know about cultivating your body?" he asked back.
Dominic scratched his cheek. "Uh… I think I have some ideas. But I'm not really sure," he admitted.
Sevran nodded slowly. "Hmm. Alright. I'll tell you what I know."
"Tell me," Dominic said, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
"If you really lived deep in the forest, far from civilization, then it makes sense you wouldn't know much," Sevran said. "Don't worry. What I know is basic too. We'll learn the real stuff from the professors later."
He closed his eyes again as he spoke.
"This basic cultivation basically just means that you need to concentrate on your ether and let it circulate through your body. Slowly. You're not forcing it. You're making pathways so it's easier to use later."
Dominic listened in silence.
"There's a lot of ether around here," Sevran continued. "The rocks in this cliff emit the ether. I'm certain that our dorm location was intentional to make it easier for students to cultivate on their own."
Dominic frowned slightly. He focused, trying to sense what Sevran was talking about. He felt nothing. Just cold stone and still air like the first time he entered this dormitory.
That surprised him. He made a mental note not to rush anything before properly understanding it or it will garner attention to himself later. It would be weird if he didn't sense something that should be natural for all of them.
After a while, Sevran opened his eyes and relaxed his posture. "That's about it. It's not that complicated."
Dominic fell silent while a realization slowly took shape inside his mind. What Sevran had described was not unfamiliar. For the past three months he had already been circulating ether through his body while moving through the forest, whether he was hunting, walking, or doing chores.
He had never thought of it as real cultivation, just something that Felix told that made the movement of his ether feel smoother and more natural.
Based on what Sevran told him most people needed to remain completely still to do that.
For him, meditating indeed improved the flow even further, making it calmer and more efficient. But he could do it just fine while doing something else.
That meant he was not starting from nothing.
With time still left before the first class, Dominic sat on his bed and adjusted his posture as well.
He closed his eyes and let his awareness turn inward, allowing the ether to circulate as it always had.
—
Deep beneath the Academy's structure, a man walked alone through the stone passages. His black coat brushed against the floor.
In his hands he carried a large sealed jar filled with something that resembled flesh suspended in a thick viscous red liquid. He held it carefully, as if even a slight misstep could ruin what was inside.
He stopped before a massive black door that looked as though it had been carved from obsidian itself.
Placing both palms against its surface, he pressed forward.
The door responded immediately and split open in four directions without a sound.
The moment he stepped through, the ether changed.
It pressed against his skin. It felt heavy and rich and far denser than anything found on the surface. The man's lips curled into a smile. This was the ether of the Labyrinth. Every visit here filled him with the same joy.
But he could not come here often because that would draw attention. Attention invited questions, and he didnt want that.
He continued onward, navigating corridors that twisted unnaturally, passing sealed doors and branching paths that would trap anyone without precise guidance.
He did not slow because he knew the way.
Finally, he entered a vast chamber.
There were black veins pulsed along the walls, the floor, even the ceiling, throbbing as if the chamber itself possessed a living heart.
The man's smile widened, bordering on reverence. This was where he belonged.
Then a voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
"The child… came…"
His expression darkened, the smile fading as his steps slowed.
—