The skies rolled overhead like a black sheet. Looking closer, it was a massive, shifting wave of darkness, swallowing everything ahead until no trace of sky remained.
Below, the ground stretched like a desert but not of sand alone. Vast crimson streams of blood carved through it, flowing endlessly across the red dunes. The entire landscape was drenched in scarlet, silent and empty, devoid of a single living soul.
Suddenly, a voice descended from the rolling black heavens resounding through the space and creating shockwaves.
"Your race bears too much blood on its hands. The punishment you face is beyond what you or your descendants could ever endure. All members of the Kastiya tribe are cursed to death, their bloodline forever sealed. The name of Kastiya will never rise again."
A faint chuckle echoed across the blood-soaked desert.
"That isn't for you to decide. You may win now, but the blood of Kastiya will never fall. Mark my words."
Silence swallowed the desert once more.
Then, the black sky cracked like a droplet striking still water. The fracture spread outward, forming a vast circular rift, its edges swirling with light like a raging vortex.
"There's no point in resisting. This is the end of the Kastiya tribe. This is not my judgment, it is the will of the heavens. The universe cannot tolerate the existence of a race like yours."
"If the heavens cannot tolerate us," the voice roared, "then we will defy them and carve our own path! The tribe of Kastiya will return!"
A scream tore through the world, shaking the earth and sending violent shockwaves across the desert. Then—silence.
A sigh drifted from the rift in the sky.
"Why resist? The heavens have decreed your end. There is no escape from fate."
Slowly, the tear in the sky began to close. The swirling light faded, and the darkness sealed itself once more.
The rolling black heavens continued their endless tide.
And everything fell silent again.
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Blackthorn Academy
Walking down the university's hall, Draxus kept his head down while holding the books tight to his chest, the halls were silent and deserted while he hurried through.
"Professor Kingsley is still waiting for me I need to hurry up or I'll be in trouble." He muttered while looking at the books in his hands.
Blackthorn Academy was one of the Empire's top tier Academies and it was based solely on magic users, he couldn't afford to enroll there as a student but he passed the test to be an assistant researcher after several challenges and was eventually accepted.
Walking towards the door at the end of the hall, he opened the door and walked in to reveal a spacious research chamber belonging to Professor Adrian, one of the five senior Researchers of the Academy. The middle aged professor was sitting at a table scrolling through a few books when Draxus entered with the books in his hand.
"Sir Adrian, I checked the library and found a few you can use!" Draxus said with an excited look on his face.
The professor looked up at Draxus with a smile and said "Thanks I already found what I was looking for though."
Hearing this a disappointed look surfaced on Draxus' face, "I thought it would help."
"Place it on the shelf, I might need them later and thanks for the help." Professor Adrian said then left Draxus to his own device.
Draxus walked towards the shelf on the right of the professors research chamber then carefully placed it there and left the room to avoid disturbing the professor.
After gently closing the door to avoid disturbing the professor, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder and jolted back in shock.
"You look frightened Draxus, is there anything wrong?" Lucien asked while staring at Draxus with a wide smile on his face.
"No I'm alright, the professor has been worried over his new research so I decided to search the library for a few books that might help but it seems he found a solution already." Draxus explained then turned to look at the other three assistants standing nearby.
"That's nice to hear then, thanks for covering up for me earlier by the way, it helped a lot I appreciate." Lucien said with a smile.
"No need to worry, we're friends anyways, if you guys don't mind I'll take my leave now." Draxus said then bowed a bit and left.
"Sucking up to the professor everyday in hope of gaining favoritism, he sucks." One of them standing at 1.4 meters high with flowing black hair looking about 18 years old said while looking at the departing Draxus.
"What do you expect from an orphan from the countryside? He's just a bumpkin, let him live his life the way he wants Henry. It all ends tonight anyways." Another one standing close to the window said while looking out at the horizon.
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Draxus returned to his room in the living quarters of the academy, the professors office was quite a distance away from the main academy area. As one of the five senior Researchers of the academy he might be a normal human but he was renowned all through the Empire for his inventions.
A bumpkin like Draxus couldn't have qualified to be his assistant With no background and below average skill but the professor picked him during the screening process among many other prodigies. He didn't know what he saw in him or why he was picked him but he vowed to pay him back tenfold, the other four assistants were from influential families or royalties and only came to learn under Adrian but he treated him as his saviour doing everything from menial jobs to the hard ones even helping his colleagues complete their job, All to assist and repay Adrian.
He had no family left, his father died during a raid against a demonic beast when he was twelve years old while his mother died to an illness shortly after, they could've cured her but the drugs weren't affordable by their middle class family and his last remaining relative, his brother who enrolled at the capital's academy suddenly sent missing without any report of his whereabouts.
It could be said that of their small Katapinon family of four, he was the only one left alive and he would've been suffering in the slums or probably be dead if it wasn't for Adrian.