The hallways of the Awakened dorm were nothing like the ones I’d grown used to.
Here, the air was thicker,not with dust, but with power, like the whole building was breathing. Every footstep echoed differently, like the building itself recognized those who’d crossed a threshold no unawakened ever could.
My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag as I walked past other students, each one radiating confidence, and fierce competition sparked in every single one of their eyes.
This wasn’t just a dorm.
And I was the new prey.
I stood in front of the dorm room door for a solid minute before knocking.
Not because I was nervous,okay, maybe a little but because this moment mattered. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
From this point on, I wasn’t just some forgotten unawakened.
I was part of the Awakened.
And behind this door was my new life... and possibly a roommate who might hate my guts as much as I already hate his.
The door creaked open before I could even lower my hand.
A tall guy stood in the doorway, one eyebrow arched, a lollipop lazily hanging from the corner of his mouth. His hair was a tousled mess of midnight blue, like he hadn’t bothered brushing it in days, but his eyes sharp, calculating missed nothing. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.
"Hi," he said, voice casual, almost amused. "You must be my new roommate, right?"
He stretched out a hand, and I hesitated for half a second before shaking it. His grip was firm, not aggressive,just solid. Like he didn’t need to prove anything.
"I’m Nick, by the way," he said, holding onto the handshake just long enough to be friendly, not awkward. Once we let go, he leaned back a little, hands slipping into his pockets. "I got here yesterday. Guess that’s why we got paired up."
He looked me over,not in a weird way, just curious. "What about you? Just moved in?"
"Yeah," I said, dropping my bag beside me with a quiet thud. "Literally just walked in."
Nick gave a short nod. "Nice timing, then. You get the grand tour yet, or did they just toss you in here and wish you luck, just like me?"
I let out a dry laugh. "Pretty much tossed. Still trying to figure out if I’m supposed to feel excited or terrified."
"Both’s a good place to start," he said, grinning.
We stood there for a beat. No one rushed to fill the silence, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. The light from the window stretched across the floor between us, and for a second, it was like we were both sizing each other up without quite meaning to.
"You from around here?" I asked, just to break the tension.
"Nah. West Quadrant," he said, nodding toward the far wall like it meant anything. "Small place. You?"
"South Sector," I replied. "Smaller."
Nick smirked. "So we’re both from the middle of nowhere. Figures."
I shrugged. "Guess so."
Another pause. He tilted his head, eyes narrowing just a touch not unfriendly, but sharper now. "So... what’s your affinity?"
I felt the weight of the question land. He didn’t ask it casually, and we both knew it. That was the kind of thing that mattered here not your name, not where you were from. Just what you could do.
I didn’t answer right away.
"You don’t have to answer that, okay," he said, already heading back to his own side of the room.
"Lightning," I said after thinking about it for a while. "I have a lightning affinity and I’m a late awaken."
He smiled and looked at me. "Space affinity," he said.
I was quite shocked, due to how rare it was to see an Awakened that could manipulate space. Those kinds of affinities were sought after by guilds, the Federation, and many more.
There was a reason why I didn’t reveal my shadow affinity yet. Even though it was possible to have more than one affinity, only the Academy was aware of my shadow affinity.
And the only reason why... was because it was necessary to give them a reason to let me remain in the Academy even though I awakened late. Because as much as I know, the Academy wouldn’t want to waste their resources on me, a late awaken and one from a poor family.
So I had to give them a reason why.
"That’s quite rare, you know,the space element," I said, and he nodded but didn’t say anything about it.
He was hiding something.
There was something he wasn’t telling me about himself.
But I didn’t push, because everyone had their own secret.
"Okay, that door over there will lead you to your room. Mine is over there," he said while pointing to the right side of the room, which was his, and mine was to the left side.
"Your belongings are already there, and guess what? Dinner’s on me," he said with a smile.
I just nodded and smiled back at him.
I headed to my room and opened the door.
The room was actually cozy and neat.
As I stepped into the room, the first thing that hit me was the warm glow of sunlight pouring in through the large sliding glass doors.
The view outside revealed soft autumn trees planted in the Academy grounds, their amber leaves casting gentle shadows across the floor. The sheer white curtains danced slightly with a breeze, diffusing the golden light into a calm, dreamy ambiance.
To the left, a clean and organized desk setup featured a desktop PC tower, a dual-monitor screen, and a comfortable blue chair possibly for studying. Above it, shelves displayed small books, likely my textbooks assigned by the Academy, and neatly arranged novels. A flat-screen TV was mounted near the corner, close enough for both desk and bed viewing. Beneath it sat a modern, low-profile cabinet for storage.
The bed sat on the right side of the room, tucked neatly under another set of equipment. The sheets were simple, but the pillow had a charm to it, fitting the room’s aesthetic. Near the foot of the bed was a small nightstand or set of drawers, possibly for clothes or daily essentials.
In the center, a large orange-brown rug warmed up the space, covering the dark wooden floorboards.
The room didn’t feel cluttered and was neatly arranged,luxurious, fitting the reputation of one of the best academies in the world.