Darkness.
Endless, silent darkness.
Feyi slowly opened his eyes.
There were no stars.
No ground.
No sky.
Only an infinite black void stretching in every direction.
For a moment, he thought he was dead.
He remembered the goblin crushing his body beneath its massive claws. He remembered the sound of his bones breaking and the darkness swallowing his vision.
Yet somehow…
He was still conscious.
He looked down at himself.
But there was no body.
Only a faint, glowing soul-form, floating in the emptiness like a drifting ember.
"What… is this place?" he whispered.
His voice echoed strangely, as if the void itself carried the sound across invisible walls.
Before he could think further, the same ancient voice he had heard during the trials spoke again.
The voice of the Realm Sorcery.
"Commencing appraisal."
Feyi stiffened.
Lines of glowing symbols appeared in the darkness before him.
They formed a list.
A system.
A record of his trial.
The voice spoke again.
"Feyi."
"You were introduced to the System."
"You have completed your first trial."
"You eliminated one hundred goblins."
Feyi blinked.
"One hundred?" he whispered.
He had never counted them. All he remembered was running, tricking them, and desperately trying to survive.
The voice continued.
"You were aided by the will of the gods."
"You have received the Void God Blessing."
A strange chill ran through his soul.
"Displaying status."
The glowing symbols rearranged themselves.
Name: Feyi
Title: Soul of Void
Rank: Aspirant
Core: 0
Relics: Goblin Dagger
Blessing: Void God
"Prepare to be reformed."
Feyi stared at the words.
His excitement quickly faded.
"Aspirant?" he muttered.
He had thought that surviving the trial would make him an Initiate.
After all, Initiates were the first true wielders of power.
But he was still only an Aspirant.
He felt slightly disappointed.
What he didn't know was something very important.
Before someone became an Aspirant, there was a trial.
And before someone became an Initiate…
There would be another trial as well.
The trial he had just completed was merely the first gate.
And compared to the trials ahead—
It was considered simple.
Yet even that simple trial had nearly killed him.
Suddenly, the void around him began to tremble.
"Beginning reconstruction."
Feyi felt pain explode through his soul.
Then his body began to reform.
First came his bones.
But they didn't form normally.
Instead, his old bones seemed to break apart and dissolve, replaced by stronger structures glowing with faint silver light.
Then his skin began to peel away.
Layer after layer fell from his body like burned paper.
Feyi screamed.
The pain was unbearable.
But the process didn't stop.
New skin slowly formed beneath the old layers.
It was stronger.
Tighter.
Healthier.
His muscles thickened slightly.
His breathing became deeper.
Energy surged through his body.
The voice whispered again.
"Fitness: 11 of 11."
Feyi gasped.
He suddenly felt stronger than he had ever felt in his entire life.
Years of hunger and weakness seemed to disappear.
Then the system continued.
"Clan designation in progress."
Feyi looked up nervously.
In the world of sorcery, clans determined one's origin and destiny.
Most people belonged to famous clans.
Like the Shadow Clan.
Or the Ice Clan.
Those clans were legendary.
Powerful.
He wondered which one he would belong to.
The voice spoke again.
"You are recognized as…"
"Soulless Void of the Voidless Clan."
Feyi froze.
"Voidless Clan?"
He had never heard of such a clan before.
He had expected something powerful like Shadow or Ice.
But Voidless?
What did that even mean?
Was it weak?
Rare?
Or something worse?
Before he could ask, the system continued.
"Power allocation beginning."
Feyi's heart began to race.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
The moment every Aspirant dreamed about.
His first true abilities.
The voice spoke clearly.
"Power granted."
"Invisibility."
"Self-Fragment."
Feyi stayed silent.
He didn't fully understand what those powers meant.
Invisibility… that part seemed obvious.
It was probably the ability that had allowed the goblins to lose sight of him during the trial.
But Self-Fragment?
That sounded strange.
Before he could ask further questions, another voice echoed within the void.
A softer voice.
Yet somehow more intimate.
"Spirit Soul recognized."
"Spirit Soul C-Rank."
"You may now enter your Spirit City."
Suddenly the darkness shattered.
Feyi felt himself falling.
Light exploded around him.
And then—
He landed.
But the place he landed was unlike anything he had ever seen.
He stood inside a vast, empty city.
The buildings were made of black crystal.
The streets were silent.
Everything seemed unfinished.
As if the city was waiting to be built.
"This…" Feyi whispered.
"Is my Spirit City?"
Above the city floated a massive dark sphere.
It looked like a moon made of shadows.
Its presence filled the entire sky.
Feyi stared at it in awe.
Then suddenly—
A small strand of his hair floated upward.
He blinked.
The strand separated from his body.
It hovered in front of him like a tiny living thread.
"Is this… Self-Fragment?"
Feyi slowly raised his hand.
The strand floated closer.
It twisted and turned gently in the air.
"Can I create fragments of myself?"
He tried to touch the floating strand.
But his hand passed through it.
"Wait… what?"
The fragment wasn't physical.
It was more like a ghostly extension of his senses.
Feyi suddenly realized something.
Through the fragment—
He could see.
Not with his normal eyes.
But from the fragment's perspective.
The small strand drifted across the city.
It passed through walls.
Floated above rooftops.
Looked into empty streets.
Feyi gasped.
"So it's a scout…"
The fragment couldn't attack.
It couldn't interact with objects.
But it could observe.
It could explore.
It could spy.
"That's actually useful," he murmured.
The fragment continued drifting until it eventually floated back toward him.
Without any command, it wrapped around his body.
Then it dissolved into his skin.
The ability had ended.
Feyi looked around again.
Then he noticed something strange.
In the center of the city stood a void portal.
It swirled slowly like a miniature black hole.
Feyi walked toward it cautiously.
Just as he prepared to step inside—
Something appeared behind him.
He turned.
And froze.
Standing across the street were the goblins he had killed during the trial.
All of them.
One hundred green monsters.
They stared directly at him.
Feyi clenched his fists.
"Come on then…" he whispered.
He expected them to attack.
To charge.
To roar.
Instead—
Every goblin dropped to one knee.
They bowed.
Feyi blinked in shock.
"What…?"
The monsters lowered their heads in silent respect.
It was as if they acknowledged him as their conqueror.
Or perhaps…
Their ruler.
Before he could understand what it meant, the vision faded.
The goblins disappeared.
The city dissolved.
And the void portal swallowed everything.
Return to the World
Feyi suddenly felt solid ground beneath his feet again.
He opened his eyes.
He was back on the street.
The same street where the orbit had swallowed him.
People surrounded him.
They stared in amazement.
"That beggar boy survived?"
"I thought the goblin trial would kill him!"
"Look at his face… he looks different."
A girl whispered to her friend.
"Are you sure he isn't an undercover Initiate pretending to be a beggar?"
Feyi felt embarrassed.
But before he could respond—
Someone approached him.
The man was tall.
His appearance was breathtaking.
His skin looked like polished jade, smooth and flawless.
His long hair flowed like silk behind him.
And his eyes carried the calm authority of someone extremely powerful.
The crowd instantly stepped aside.
Even the guards lowered their heads.
The jade-skinned man stopped in front of Feyi.
He studied him quietly.
Then he smiled.
"My name is Aurelian Jadeborn," the man said.
His voice was calm and elegant.
"Young Aspirant… you have completed your trial."
Feyi swallowed nervously.
Aurelian continued.
"You cannot remain on the streets any longer."
"You must be taken somewhere proper."
"Somewhere where your power can grow."
Feyi blinked.
"Where?"
Aurelian smiled faintly.
"The Astryx Academy of Sorcery."
"The greatest training ground for Aspirants and Initiates."
Before Feyi could ask another question—
Aurelian raised his hand.
Space bent.
The street twisted.
Light exploded around them.
And suddenly—
They vanished.
The Academy
When the light faded, Feyi found himself standing somewhere completely different.
Before him stood an enormous academy.
Tall towers stretched toward the sky.
Beautiful gardens surrounded marble pathways.
Floating runes hovered above ancient buildings.
The entire place radiated power.
Magic filled the air.
Students in elegant uniforms walked through the gates.
Some controlled floating weapons.
Others practiced spells.
Feyi stared in awe.
"This…" he whispered.
"…is where I'm going to train?"
Aurelian placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes."
His jade eyes glowed softly.
"Welcome to Astryx Academy."
"Your journey has only just begun."