The main plaza was buzzing with energy, a wash of twilight blue clung stubbornly to the pale sky, leaving a stark contrast to the energetic hum of the excited new students below. They walked about in their new uniforms, colors fresh, eyes wide, voices bubbling with excitement and nerves. The sky above the academy shimmered with arcane patterns, the faint outline of the Arcane Array spread across sky leaving faint outlines of moving runes.
Zeke stood among the crowd, his hands tucked into the pockets of his new school blazer. beside him, Kaito yawned theatrically, Tala adjusted her leather cuffs with quiet focus, and Rian who was staring at a woman in the distance who had a wild look on her face, two little cat ears peaking through the tangle of hair on her head, clearly a beast woman.
"I knew this guy was a weird one." Zeke chuckled.
"Orientation, huh?" Kaito muttered. "Hopefully there wont be speeches. I'm allergic to boredom."
As soon as he finished talking the light in the plaza cut off.
Everyone gasped as they felt something pull at them. Mana spiraled around the cohort leaving everyones new uniforms crumpled and deformed.
And then, darkness. They were no longer in the plaza.
They were seated in a massive stone amphitheater, levels upon levels of seats starting from the ground spiraling up, the open roof let them know they were still in the academy as the runes of the arcane array were still flickering above.
Tiered seats arced like crescent moons, all filled with students with shocked expressions on their faces. At the highest levels, teachers in formal robes watched silently as if scouting out new prey. Scattered through the stands were older looking students, many of them cloaked, symbols of rank embroidered into their collars. Their eyes held a hint of mockery as they watched their new juniors flailing around.
At the center of the arena on the floor lay a ring of silverstone with pulsing markings etched into the ground.
"Where... what is this?" Tala whispered, her voice lost in the murmuring of hundreds if not thousands of first-years.
A gust of wind spread through the arena forcing silence to fall, it was as if the air itself had gone still.
Above the center of the arena, mid air, the void opened, black as night, rippling with quiet tendrils of energy.
And from it... someone stepped through.
Like a celestial being stepping down into the mortal world, his cloak flowed behind him, woven from threads of starlight and shadow. His boots touched the arena floor with no sound.
He looked... too perfect, just like Professor Lira who they met on the first day.
And when he raised his eyes to look across the amphitheater, the thousands of students shrank back, breathing caught in their throats.
Even Zeke felt his heart jolt. Something about the man's presence pushed down on his spine, made the world feel a little too narrow.
The figure raised his hand with a smile.
"Welcome."
One word yet it silenced everything. As if it didn't come from just him, it echoed across the arena in layers, like a choir speaking through one mouth. Male, female, old, young.
"You may have come expecting some magical ceremony that would undoubtly blow your minds away. A cheerful speech maybe even a song, perhaps."
He paused, and a smile made its way onto his perfectly symetrical face.
"You're mistaken."
The crowd of students stirred uneasily, finally over the shock of being teleported to this strange place. "What's going on?" "What is this guy saying?"
"We are at war."
The words hit like thunder.
Confused glances. Murmurs broke out like sparks across dry grass.
"War? With who?"
"Is this... some kind of test?"
"Did he say war?"
The ethreal voice continued, unfazed by the noise.
"You may have heard whispers of the Hollowed... corrupted beings who devour mana, soul, and self."
"What you don't know… is their goal."
He took a step forward, the sound echoing in the hearts of the students. The lights in the arena seemed to dim, the sky itself paling behind him.
"They seek the fall of our kind. What they call... a cleansing."
The cohort fell silent. This wasn't public knowledge, rumors about monsters in far off lands sure, but not this.
Zeke clenched his fists as his brows furrowed, "Of course theres a war as soon as I escape from home, should've expected something like this to happen."
"Here at the Institutum Virtutes Arcanae, we do not train prodigies anymore. We train survivors, leaders, warriors."
"And so, your first trial... will be this."
He scanned the crowd again, face indifferent as he watched the students went through different stages of shock.
"You will be sent into the Wildlands. Survive for ten days."
A gasp ran through the crowd. The teachers standing on the side just as suprised, clearly oblivious to the plans.
Kaito stiffened beside Zeke. Tala's mouth parted in disbelief.
"You will not be alone," the speaker said, voice still rich with amusement. "Our instructors will monitor you all from afar. But we will not interfere."
He let the pause stretch then added, with something like a smirk.
"Don't worry"
A bit of colour returned to the faces of the students, expecting the man to say something comforting.
"If you die, we will bring back your corpses."
A ripple of horror passed through the first-years.
"He's joking, right?" someone whispered behind Zeke.
The man chuckled.
It was not a kind sound.
"Let's begin."
The students paled.
Snap!
Before the students could scream, move, or even breathe.
They vanished.