When all hope seemed lost, when the five worlds were on the brink of total destruction, an entity had appeared.
It didn't come through a Gate. It simply was.
One moment, there was only despair. The next, a figure of pure, starlit energy stood in the void, blocking the Demon King.
The novel never gave it a name. It was just called the God.
A fight between the God and the Demon King had begun. It was a battle that shattered reality itself.
For a week, the beings of the five worlds watched their skies torn apart by flashes of golden light and abyssal darkness.
Stars were extinguished and reborn. The void itself seemed to scream as the two beings clashed.
After a week of endless battle, even the Demon King was exhausted. His infinite horde of demons was gone, wiped out as collateral damage.
The God was also fading, its starlight form growing dim.
He remembered the final, desperate panel he had drawn. The God, realizing the Demon King could not be truly killed, had made a final sacrifice.
It had wrapped itself around the Demon King, its body of light becoming a cage of chains.
Then, it had detonated.
The explosion wasn't sound or fire. It was a wave of pure, absolute nothingness that erased both from existence. At least that's what the novel said.
The jagged, black Gate of the demons collapsed, sealing itself shut.
The void was finally quiet. The war was over.
In the aftermath, the Great Alliance established a new continent in the middle of the void space.
They called it the Ethereal Nexus. The most powerful from all five races were invited to rule it, making a pact to guard the void.
And there, they built an academy. The Ethereal Nexus Academy. The best of the best from every world were sent there to train.
That was where the novel's third act was supposed to start. The real story. The real struggle.
'All our little fights here,' Azrael thought, 'they're just a prelude. A warm-up before the real hell begins.'
But there were still so many mysteries. So many plot holes the author had never explained.
Who was the Demon King?
Did they know each other?
And why did this stupid, world-merging system of Gates even exist?
His thoughts were cut short by a sudden, sharp hiss from Seraphina.
Before he could even react, the world exploded.
A massive fireball slammed into the trees right beside them. The force of the explosion sent them all flying.
Azrael hit the ground hard, the air knocked out of his lungs. He looked up, his ears ringing.
Zeyric, their silent third-year, was shielding Isolde with his own body, a deep, smoking gash across his back.
From the trees, another team emerged. Six figures, moving with perfect coordination. At the lead were two third-years, twins.
The Headmaster's nephew and niece. Orion and Lyra.
"Well, well," Orion said, his body crackling with blue lightning. "Look what we found. Team Seven, the team of monsters." ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ NoveIＦire.net
His twin sister, Lyra, stood beside him, her hands wreathed in flame. "Let's see if the rumors are true."
"You!" Selvara's voice was a low growl, but held a spark of genuine excitement. Her cold, icy eyes were fixed on Orion.
"It's been a long time. I hope you've improved, you little sparkler."
Orion just grinned, lightning dancing between his fingers. "I was about to say the same thing to you, Ice Witch."
They shot towards each other, a clash of pure elemental fury. Ice and lightning exploded where they met.
The rest of the battle descended into chaos. Two enemy third-years charged Zeyric, who was already injured.
Seraphina immediately moved to help him, creating a wall of crystal to block their path.
That left Lyra and her two teammates.
"You two, take the archer," Lyra commanded her second-year teammates, pointing at Liam. "The rest are mine."
She turned her fiery gaze on Azrael.
Liam, seeing two powerful second-years charging him, immediately started firing arrows.
Lyra walked towards Azrael, a cruel smile on her face. "So you're the famous Azrael Ashveil. You don't look like much."
She flicked her wrist, and a whip of pure fire shot towards him. He threw himself to the side, the heat scorching his cheek.
He was completely outmatched. Her control over fire was on another level. All he could do was desperately dodge and defend.
He saw Liam struggling. The quiet archer was good, but he was facing two opponents at once.
One was a knight with a massive shield, blocking all his shots, while the other was a fast-moving swordsman.
Then, disaster struck.
Zeyric, fighting a 2-v-1 while injured, finally made a mistake. One of the third-years landed a devastating blow on his wounded back.
Zeyric cried out in pain, and his pendant glowed, teleporting him away.
"Zeyric is out!" Seraphina shouted, her face grim as she was now left to face the two third-years alone.
At the same time, Lyra's attack intensified. She summoned a rain of fireballs that rained down on his position.
He was forced to constantly move, dodging and rolling, with no chance to even think.
He heard a cry of pain. He risked a glance over and saw the enemy swordsman had gotten past Liam's arrows.
A single, clean strike, and Liam was on the ground, his pendant activating as he vanished.
'Shit!' Azrael thought, his heart sinking. 'We're losing.'
Now it was him against Lyra, alone.
"Looks like your little friend is gone," Lyra purred, surrounding him in a ring of fire, trapping him.