Morning tasted like iron.
I woke long before dawn, long before Tarek's alarm crystal chirped its irritating birdsong. The sky outside our dorm window was still black, held in that fragile moment before sunrise.
And inside me…
The Starborn Light simmered.
Not violently.
Not with the wild surges from before.
But with a steady, impatient glow—like a heartbeat counting down to something inevitable.
Today was the Affinity Test.
The day the academy would measure my magical nature.
The day the world could see what I truly was.
For a few minutes, I just sat on my bed, hands folded in my lap, breathing slow and deep. The room was quiet except for Tarek's soft snoring (which sounded like a dying boar trying to whistle).
I touched my chest—right over where the light thrummed within me.
Please, I whispered inwardly.
Don't ruin everything today.
The light warmed in response.
Not threatening.
Almost… sympathetic.
As if saying:
I'm not the danger. You are.
I wasn't sure whether that made me feel better or worse.
---
The March to the Field
By the time Tarek woke, I was already dressed in my academy robes.
He blinked blearily at me. "Why are you up? You look like you've been staring at the wall for five hours."
"…I have."
He nodded seriously. "Understandable. Big day. Want breakfast?"
My stomach twisted. "I'll pass."
"Wrong answer," he said, grabbing my arm. "If you faint mid-test, I'm not carrying you."
"You barely carry your own bag."
"That's why I won't carry you."
Despite everything, I snorted.
We made our way to the Great Hall, which buzzed like a beehive kicked open. Students whispered anxiously. Some practiced hand gestures or muttered incantations. Nobles preened like peacocks, pretending they weren't terrified.
Kaelen stood surrounded by sycophants, receiving praise he clearly expected.
Celene was at his side, silent as always, eyes scanning the crowd intelligently—dangerously.
When her gaze passed over me, she paused.
Just a fraction of a second.
But enough to make my skin prickle.
Then Instructor Merel's voice echoed across the hall:
"All initiates, report to the Academy Field!"
My heart stopped.
Then started again.
Too fast.
Tarek clapped my shoulder.
"Time to show them you're not average."
I wished I believed him.
---
The Academy Field
The field was transformed.
The crystal pylons that stood quietly yesterday now glowed fiercely, each exuding a different color: scarlet, emerald, sapphire, gold, violet, obsidian.
They pulsed like huge, beating hearts.
Above them hovered a sigil circle so large it cast a shadow on the grass—a swirling array of symbols older than the continent itself.
A thousand students gathered.
And hundreds of instructors observed from the perimeter.
No pressure.
Merel raised her staff, voice clear and sharp:
"Each student will place their hand upon the Aetherstone. It will measure your magical affinity and channel the result into the nearest pylon."
She gestured toward the center of the field.
At its heart stood a stone pedestal carved from shimmering crystal, veins of mana pulsing through it like blood.
It felt alive.
Waiting.
My palms began to sweat.
Kaelen stepped forward confidently when his name was called.
He placed his hand on the Aetherstone.
Immediately, golden light erupted from the pedestal, racing toward the gold pylon.
A loud chime rang across the field.
"Incredible," someone whispered.
"Pure solar affinity."
"Of course he has it."
Kaelen turned, catching my eye with a smirk that said: Beat that.
Tarek went next.
He cracked his knuckles, grinned, and slammed his palm onto the stone.
A loud boom shook the air as fiery red energy shot toward the scarlet pylon, nearly overloading it.
Tarek whooped. "YEAH! Fire affinity, baby!"
Students laughed, clapped, cheered.
Then…
"Draven Valehart."
Everything went quiet.
My feet carried me forward, but I barely felt them.
Whispers followed me like shadows.
"Isn't he the strange one?"
"I heard he failed a simple mana test."
"No, he fought Kaelen."
"He's the one from that noble house—barely hanging on."
"Maybe he's talentless."
"Maybe he's dangerous."
I reached the Aetherstone.
My reflection stared back at me in the gleaming surface: black hair, pale skin, eyes too old for my young body. John Warner and Draven Valehart blended into one face.
My heart hammered.
My lungs tightened.
My fingers trembled.
And beneath it all—
Starborn Light surged eagerly.
Not now, I pleaded internally.
Please… not now.
I placed my hand on the stone.
---
The Star Awakens
At first, nothing happened.
No glow.
No pulse.
No reaction.
A few students snickered.
Embarrassment burned hot under my skin.
Come on, I begged. Give me something—anything—just don't—
Then the Aetherstone pulsed once.
Softly.
Curiously.
The students quieted.
The stone pulsed again.
Harder.
A faint hum filled the air.
The crystal pylons flickered like candles in wind.
Murmurs replaced snickers.
"What's happening?"
"Is the stone malfunctioning?"
"No—look at the sigils!"
"They're shifting!"
The sigil circle overhead began to rotate.
Slow. Then faster.
Faster.
The hum deepened into a vibration I felt in my bones.
Then—
Light exploded beneath my hand.
Not gold.
Not fire.
Not water, earth, wind, or shadow.
But white-gold starfire, bursting outward like a miniature sun.
Gasps echoed across the field.
My breath caught.
I tried to pull my hand away—
but I couldn't.
The light wrapped around my wrist like a living chain.
The Aetherstone cracked.
One fissure.
Then two.
Spiderwebbing outward.
The crystal pylons flickered violently.
Kaelen's face twisted from amusement to shock.
Celene stepped back, eyes wide.
Tarek yelled, "DRAVEN!"
I couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Couldn't breathe.
The light roared up my arm, across my chest, through my whole body, until I felt like I was made of molten stars.
Then everything snapped—
BOOM.
A column of starfire shot upward, slamming into the sigil circle.
The symbols rearranged instantly, forming constellations.
Whispers became screams.
The ground trembled.
The pylons blazed.
And above me…
A celestial shape appeared.
A star.
A six-pointed star with a burning core.
Instructor Merel whispered, horrified and awed:
"Impossible. Starborn… after centuries…"
My knees buckled.
I tore my hand away.
The light receded slowly—
like a beast returning to its cage.
I collapsed to the ground, chest heaving, vision blurring.
Someone grabbed me.
Tarek? An instructor?
I couldn't tell.
All I heard was Kaelen's voice—
for the first time stripped of arrogance.
"…What are you?"
I tried to answer.
But consciousness slipped away.
And everything went dark.