D Rank Potential — Physical Enhancement Affinity
What followed was Silence. Then murmurs.
"That's… normal."
"Pretty average."
"Strong build though… makes sense."
"No elemental affinity?"
"Just body reinforcement type…"
An instructor made a note on a floating tablet.
"Acceptable combat track candidate."
That was all. No alarm. No attention. No destiny awakening. Just another student. Riven slowly removed his hand.
Inside Relief flooded through him so strongly it nearly made him dizzy.
He had done it.
He had bent fate.
But Not Perfectly. As he turned to leave - A faint crack echoed behind him. He froze. The crystal's surface — smooth and flawless moments before — now held a thin hairline fracture where his palm had rested. So small most students didn't notice. But the instructors did. Their eyes narrowed. One of them touched the fracture gently, frowning.
"Mana feedback instability…?"
"Impossible… suppression resonance…?"
"Record his identification number."
Riven kept walking.Slow. Calm. Never turning back. But inside
…That was too close.
An attendant handed him a metal identification plate.
"Dormitory Sector C. Combat Foundation Program. Orientation begins tomorrow."
Standard placement. Lower-tier training. Minimal supervision. Perfect. Exactly where he wanted to be.
High above the courtyard, from a balcony concealed behind layered barrier glass, An elderly man observed everything. His gaze lingered on the cracked crystal. Then on Riven's retreating back.
"…Interesting."
His fingers tapped the railing slowly.
"Very… interesting."
The academy grounds felt different once the evaluation ended. Before, the air had been thick with anticipation. Now it buzzed with hierarchy.
Students walked in clusters shaped by invisible lines — rank, family status, potential. Already forming alliances. Already choosing who mattered… and who didn't.
Riven walked alone.
His assigned dormitory layed in the outer residential ring — Sector C. Functional buildings. Modest resources. Low expectation. Exactly where powerful people stopped looking.
The stone path curved through the central garden, where towering silverleaf trees filtered sunlight into shimmering patterns across the ground. Floating lantern spirits drifted lazily between branches, glowing softly even in daylight.
Beautiful.
Peaceful.
And completely meaningless to him.
Because the moment he stepped into the garden
He saw her.
Riven stopped walking. His heartbeat faltered once.
Then steadied.
…She's here.
Slowly, he turned his head. And saw her.
She stood at the intersection of three stone paths, sunlight falling around her like it had chosen her alone.
Long dark hair moved with the breeze like flowing ink. Her posture was straight, effortless — the kind of balance trained warriors struggled years to achieve.
But it wasn't her beauty that froze him.
It was her eyes. Sharp. Calm. Distant.
Eyes he had watched soften with laughter…
Eyes he had seen filled with tears as she died in his arms.
Qiyana.
Alive.
Whole.
Untouched by tragedy.
For a moment, the world lost sound. Riven didn't breathe. Didn't blink. Didn't move. Memories struck him in fragments—
Her hand in his.
Her voice whispering his name at night.
Her sword crossing his during training.
Her smile when their child was born.
Blood spreading across snow.
His chest tightened so violently it hurt.
She's… alive…
He had imagined this moment a thousand times while running toward the academy. Prepared himself. Rehearsed emotional control. But reality shattered preparation completely. Because she didn't look at him with love. She didn't recognize him. She didn't know him at all. Students stood gathered around her in a respectful distance — not too close, not too far. Whispers spread like wind through tall grass.
"That's her…"
"S Rank potential…"
"Highest recorded this year…"
"Royal instructor assignment…"
"Elemental mastery class…"
"Future National Pillar…"
Admiration. Awe.Fear.
Qiyana stood at the center of it all — composed, untouched by the attention, as if such reverence was simply natural. Her gaze moved across the passing students.
Evaluating.
Measuring.
Dismissing.
Then
Her eyes landed on Riven.
And paused.
Not with recognition. With assessment.
She looked at the identification plate clipped to his uniform. Sector C. D Rank potential. Physical enhancement type.
Her expression didn't change much. But her eyes cooled slightly. She stepped forward to pass him.
Just like passing a stranger on any street. Just like passing a background figure that never mattered.
Riven's fingers trembled slightly at his sides.
This woman… This girl…
Had once been the center of his entire world.
And now
He was nothing to her.