The world around Eghosa did not just grow bigger—
it changed shape.
Every breath she drew as she followed the glowing path felt like inhaling a different universe.
Even the air felt thicker, charged with something ancient and indifferent, like the dimension itself was watching her walk through its veins.
The path pulsed softly under her feet, warm like living earth.
Trees bowed, branches woven into natural arches that filtered light into shimmering rivers.
And the silence…
Not empty.
Not lonely.
Just vast.
The kind of silence that only existed in places not meant for ordinary life.
Eghosa had never felt so small.
Ahead, Melissa walked quickly, pretending not to be overwhelmed.
Cairn marched with the confidence of a knight.
Amos… Amos walked like nothing in the world could touch him.
Calm.
Quiet.
Absolute.
She didn't know if she admired him or feared him.
---
The First Zone
They approached the first monumental structure.
ZONE 1 — ORIENTATION HALL
Empty now, but still glowing with the memory of thousands of students.
Constellations drifted lazily beneath the ceiling.
The Empire's insignia pulsed faintly — a heartbeat of authority.
Eghosa paused instinctively.
For a moment, she felt a presence.
Behind her.
Above her.
All around.
Watching.
She did not turn back.
---
The Race Domains
The glowing path split and rejoined, guiding them deeper into the academy dimension.
ZONE 2 — RACE-SPECIFIC GROUNDS
Even from the walkway, the training domains of the twelve Master Races stretched out like myth-made-real.
Baka domain:
A land of broken monoliths and jagged peaks.
The scent of dust, iron, and challenge.
Planticus domain:
Vine-towers glowing with bioluminescent leaves.
The air rich with living pollen that pulsed like stars.
Omini-Narian sector:
Pillars of bending light, floating rings of gravity, arcs of energy so bright they hurt to look at.
Jada sanctum:
A calm field of mirrors… whose reflections moved a heartbeat too late.
Melissa slowed.
"Is this… normal?"
"No," Cairn answered. "Nothing about this is normal."
Even Amos glanced sideways at the Omini-Narian zone, galaxies glimmering in his dark irises.
Eghosa hugged herself.
Earth-236 felt like a bad joke.
The path narrowed into a shimmering bridge.
Water swirled below, defying gravity — flowing upward, sideways, folding in on itself like ribbons of living glass.
Mist brushed against her skin.
Cold.
Warm.
Something in between.
Eghosa inhaled shakily.
"Calm down," she whispered to herself.
And then—
The hall appeared.
It wasn't a hall.
It was a sky wearing the shape of a room.
Massive. Limitless. Terrifying.
But not as terrifying as the humans inside it.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
From three hundred different domains.
And they did not look like her.
Some had bodies carved like weapons.
Some wore military uniforms that whispered war.
Some emitted pressure so intense she felt faint when they walked past.
Melissa murmured, "We… are village children."
Cairn smiled with a soldier's hunger.
"This is going to be fun."
Eghosa swallowed.
Earth-236 wasn't weak.
Earth-236 was nothing.
She looked at Amos.
Still.
Silent.
Unreadable.
He did not look impressed.
He looked… curious.
And that scared her more than anything she'd ever seen.
---
"EGHOSA!!!"
Trisha ran toward her, arms wide.
They hugged like two girls who had survived a war together.
Behind her stood someone new—
Tall.
Beautiful.
Silver-haired.
Golden-eyed.
Alexandria.
The air around her hummed, subtle but sharp — the same kind of natural superiority Sol-Vaar wielded without effort.
"Everyone," Trisha said proudly, "this is Alexandria. She's… well, strong."
Understatement.
They exchanged greetings.
Even Cairn's heartbeat spiked.
Melissa's eyes narrowed.
Eghosa felt Alexandra's presence like a rising tide.
And Amos—
Amos didn't flinch.
He simply looked at Alexandria, and she narrowed her eyes almost imperceptibly.
Eghosa noticed.
Nine figures approached.
All human.
All strong.
Too strong.
Their footsteps seemed synchronized.
Their aura shifted the air.
A young man stepped from the center.
Tall.
Long black hair.
Dark green eyes.
Regal.
Calculated.
Varis.
Eghosa felt a shiver.
He looked like Amos.
Not in appearance — in the way he carried the world like a puzzle he had already solved.
"Princess Alexandria," Varis said with a small bow.
Melissa sucked in breath.
Cairn's eyes widened.
Princess?
Eghosa froze.
Varis smiled softly.
Deadly softly.
"I intend to unite the humans of all 300 Earth-domains."
His voice was smooth and political.
Too smooth.
"We will share knowledge, support, and resources. Together, we will thrive."
Alexandria raised a brow.
"And how do you plan to unite hundreds of planets? With pretty speeches?"
"Identifiers," Varis replied.
"Every student has a unique ID.
Share it — and we can locate each other anywhere in this dimension."
Eghosa felt Melissa tense beside her.
Cairn frowned.
Trisha leaned closer to Alexandria.
Alexandria inhaled, glanced at Varis…
…and said:
"No."
Shock rippled through his followers.
Varis didn't blink.
"I don't like you," Alexandria continued.
"Or your intentions."
A lackey stepped forward.
"You refuse for personal reasons? When humanity needs unity?"
Alexandria's aura tightened like a blade.
"Say that again."
Trisha tugged her sleeve.
"I mean… he's not wrong—"
Varis smiled inwardly.
His trap worked.
Alexandria exhaled.
"Fine. I will join. Under two conditions."
Varis leaned forward eagerly.
"One:
I lead it."
Varis nodded without hesitation.
"Of course, Princess."
"Two:
The name becomes Knights of Humanity."
"Done."
Everyone—including Alexandria—froze.
He accepted too quickly.
Too easily.
Alexandria handed over her ID hesitantly.
Trisha followed.
Eghosa lifted her hand—
And stopped.
A hand held her wrist.
Amos.
Varis and Alexandria both froze.
Amos didn't raise his voice.
"We won't be giving ours."
The silence hit like a stone.
Varis studied him slowly.
"So you lead this group?"
Amos did not answer.
He simply let go of Eghosa's wrist and stepped back.
Varis smiled politely — but his eyes sharpened.
"I look forward to working with you all… eventually."
They left.
Alexandria gave Amos a long, unreadable look.
"Be careful," she said quietly.
"Varis is dangerous."
And then she walked away with Trisha.
A sharp hum rippled through the hall.
The doors sealed.
Eghosa's heart jumped.
A tall human stepped forward—
but he did not look human.
He looked like evolution sculpted him by hand.
Every movement perfect.
Every breath measured.
When he spoke, the hall fell dead silent.
"Welcome, humans of the 300 domains."
His gaze swept across them.
"You stand with pride from your origins."
A pause.
"And delusion."
Eghosa felt her heart squeeze.
"No matter your world…
No matter your talent…
No matter your training—
Most of you begin at zero here."
A hologram erupted overhead.
A map of humanity.
Three hundred Earths.
Paths of evolution.
Power structures.
Hidden hierarchies.
Earth-236 flickered faintly.
Barely a spark.
The instructor's voice deepened.
"You will not be tested as 300 worlds…
but as one species."
Pressure crashed through the hall.
The floor hummed.
The walls pulsed.
Gravity thickened.
The air turned heavy, crushing.
Eghosa gasped.
Melissa swayed.
Cairn took a fighting stance.
Amos did not move.
Not one millimeter.
Across the hall, elite humans from other domains stood effortlessly under the pressure.
The hologram shattered.
Her identifier vibrated.
A line of text appeared:
HUMAN ORIENTATION SESSION: BEGIN.
Space twisted.
Gravity surged.
Light shifted.
Something pressed into their minds—
cold, heavy, invasive.
This wasn't training.
It was survival.
Eghosa felt the ground fall away.
The Academy had begun revealing its true nature.
And humanity's place in the galaxy…
was about to be rewritten.