The world had changed.
Or rather, Lucian's world had.
Since the Awakening Ritual, the Academy had not been the same. Everywhere he went, he felt the weight of lingering stares—some filled with curiosity, others with barely concealed fear. Even those who had never spoken to him before suddenly found reasons to cross his path, their gazes flickering toward his forearm where the golden sigil had been burned into his skin.
Lucian had wrapped his arm in bandages to conceal it, but it didn't matter. The rumors had already spread.
"A forbidden Eidolon..."
"No one has ever seen an Eidolon like his before."
"Did you see how the professors reacted? Even they looked afraid."
"Do you think the Celestial Council will act?"
Despite the murmurs, Lucian walked through the halls of the Celestial Academy as if nothing had changed. His expression remained composed, his steps measured. But beneath the surface, he was anything but calm.
Because the truth was—he had no idea what had happened that night.
He had expected a Zephyrus Eidolon, or maybe a Luminara, something befitting an heir of House Veyne. Instead, what had appeared was something entirely different.
An Eidolon woven from pure light and drifting feathers of gold.
It had no defined shape, shifting between a bird and a humanoid form, its very essence unstable. And unlike the others, it did not roar or howl. It had simply gazed at him, as if seeing something within him that even he could not understand.
Then, it had vanished.
Unlike the others who had proudly left the ritual with their Eidolons materialized at their side, Lucian had walked away with nothing but a sigil on his arm and a thousand unspoken questions.
The Celestial Academy was not just a school—it was the heart of the Skyborne aristocracy.
Built upon one of the grandest floating isles of Skyveil, it stood as a testament to the nobility's dominion over the skies. The Academy was divided into three Grand Halls, each one representing a core discipline of nobility:
The Hall of Resonance – Where Eidolon summoning and enhancement were studied.The Hall of Ascendancy – The domain of combat, tactics, and aerial warfare.The Hall of Celestials – Dedicated to governance, politics, and history.
For six years, Lucian had trained within these halls, perfecting his swordsmanship, his strategy, his knowledge of ancient texts. But now, no amount of training could answer the questions that plagued his mind.
"What exactly did I summon?"
"Why was my Eidolon… different?"
"And why did the professors look afraid?"
The sky was painted in hues of crimson and gold as Lucian entered the Astral Gardens, one of the Academy's rare places of solitude. Here, beneath the cascading lights of floating lanterns, he finally let his composed mask slip.
His fingers traced the bandages on his arm. The sigil beneath pulsed faintly, as if responding to his touch.
A sigh escaped him.
"This is not what was supposed to happen."
"You're overthinking again."
Lucian looked up to see Elaine Astrid approaching, her sharp eyes studying him carefully. She moved with the practiced grace of a warrior, the silver falcon emblem on her uniform gleaming under the lantern light.
"You always hide in quiet places when something bothers you," she remarked, leaning against the stone railing beside him.
Lucian exhaled, offering a wry smile. "Is it that obvious?"
Elaine folded her arms. "Only to those who've known you long enough."
For a moment, silence stretched between them. Then, she spoke the words he had been dreading.
"Lucian, what did you summon?"
He hesitated. The truth was, even he didn't know.
When he didn't answer, Elaine sighed. "You should talk to Professor Aldric. He's one of the foremost scholars of Eidolon Resonance. If anyone can explain this, it's him."
Lucian shook his head. "If the professors knew what it was, they would have told me already."
Elaine studied him for a long moment. Then, quietly, she asked, "Are you afraid?"
Lucian didn't answer.
Because the truth was—yes.
The night air was crisp as Lucian found himself standing before the Grand Archives—the oldest and most extensive collection of knowledge in the Academy.
He had spent hours searching through ancient tomes, hoping to find a reference to an Eidolon like his.
But there was nothing.
The Eidolons of Skyveil had always fallen into well-documented categories—Zephyrus, Luminara, Obscura, Chrono. But his Eidolon…
It was none of those.
And then, buried within the pages of a forbidden manuscript, he found it.
A single passage, written in ancient script:
"There exists an Eidolon beyond the laws of magic, one neither bound to the light nor the dark. A being of golden feathers and shifting form…"
"The Arcane Eidolon."
Lucian's blood turned to ice.
The Arcane Eidolons were a myth. A legend whispered only in the darkest corners of history. Said to be tied to the Fallen Arcana, the force that had once shattered the balance of the world.
"A power that could bend fate itself."
Suddenly, the weight of his Awakening pressed down on him like never before.
Was this why the professors had looked afraid?
Had he… awakened something that was never meant to exist?
As Lucian left the Grand Archives, his thoughts in turmoil, he felt it—a presence watching him.
His steps slowed. The halls were empty, yet the sensation of unseen eyes lingered.
Then—a whisper, carried on the wind.
"He bears the Sigil."
Lucian's heart pounded. He turned swiftly, but there was no one there.
Only the silent halls of the Academy.
Yet, deep down, he knew—this was only the beginning.