An announcement began to echo through every room: "You are expected in the arena for the first trial."
The announcement had barely finished when Kaen jolted awake, breathless; on pure instinct, he drew his soul bind even before his eyes were fully open.
As his eyes opened, he scanned the room, ready to kill. There was nothing there—just motionless shadows, no signs of forced entry. Slowly, he lowered his weapon.
'I'm too on edge,' he thought, letting out a sigh.
His gaze lingered on his sword for a few seconds as it gradually faded from reality.
'It's time to go.'
He grabbed the door handle and opened it; the corridor was teeming with all sorts of students—some grumbling because they'd been woken too abruptly, others panicking about exams, and those trying to put on a confident front.
He followed the crowd, too tired to look for the arena amidst all the chaos. Suddenly, he felt the urge to go to the toilet. He spotted some toilets on his right and stopped there for a moment.
But when he returned to the corridor, no one was there, and only silence greeted him; all the students had vanished.
"Bloody hell... which way is the arena again?" he muttered to himself.
***
From another perspective
Unlike most of the students who had been startled awake, two young women sitting at a table were finishing their coffee, which they had prepared in full anticipation of the exam.
Having anticipated the event, they had gotten up at dawn to be ready to face the challenge at any moment. It was then that a voice suddenly blared from the loudspeakers.
Solvane set down her coffee cup and looked at Azriel; she raised her voice slightly to be heard above the din caused by the announcement. "Did you hear that? We should go now, don't you think?"
Azriel then asked Solvane, "Actually, where are Kaen and that other clown?"
She held her cup up to her mouth and looked Azriel straight in the eye; she had rarely seen Azriel take an interest in anyone.
"I don't know," replied Solvane, finishing her cup of coffee, "and that worries me a bit, knowing Kaen."
"I see. Well, it's time to head for the arena; we were supposed to meet there," said Azriel, setting down her cup and getting up to head for the arena.
Solvane stood up and followed her.
They walked, but compared to the day before, people were so obsessed with the event that they didn't pay attention to who was there or not, so no one let them through.
Suddenly, a student running past collided violently with Azriel. Instead of making her stagger, he felt as though he had hit an impenetrable wall and found himself mysteriously thrown to the ground.
Azriel looked down at him: "Are you all right?" she asked with a smile, holding out a hand covered in an elegant black silk glove.
He began to blush. "Er... I'm really sorry, Princess Azriel," he said, still lying on the ground.
He stood up and bowed.
"I'm really sorry again."
Unable to hold her gaze, he fled.
Solvane walked up to Azriel and asked, "Are you all right? I hope that person is all right, too. He looked a bit odd, don't you think?"
Azriel gave her an enigmatic smile and replied, "You're probably right."
A few minutes after the incident, they finally arrived at the arena.
"We should go and look for big brother," said Solvane, her voice trembling.
"No, we can't now; they're about to start another speech," said Azriel, looking straight ahead as she waited for the next announcement.
"But… but I'm worried now that he's lost his memories," said Solvane, looking at Azriel with a dejected expression.
Azriel looked at Solvane and narrowed her eyes slightly. "Only since he lost his memories?"
And for the second time, a stunning blonde woman appeared on stage; she picked up a microphone and announced
"Hello everyone, I hope you've all had a good night's sleep. Today marks the start of the entrance exams for the Stellaris Academy," said Alice with a small smile, not as dazzling as presenters usually are, but still elegant."
Something huge appeared above her head.
Look at this board; the names of the people who are going to compete against each other are displayed here, "Good luck to all the candidates. I expect a lot from some of you—don't let me down," she said, fixing her gaze on Solvane and Azriel. Her eyes then fell on her brother Lucien, and she gave him a smile. She scanned the arena for Kaen but found no trace of him, which made her frown.
'Where is he? I saw him yesterday, though.' Alice wondered: 'Oh well, it doesn't matter for now.'
Alice turned towards the large screen levitating above her; everyone fell silent without a word. All the crowd's excitement turned to anxiety, leaving only a sombre atmosphere.
"First match," she announced in a clear voice. "Solvane will face Eliane Vance." Solvane began to watch her and clenched her fists slightly, ready for a fight.
On the huge screen, the names began to scroll down faster and faster, though the list seemed endless, comprising hundreds of contestants.
The announcements followed one after another for what felt like hours, the crowd applauding politely but beginning to grow bored.
"Sixty-eighth match: Leon Vesper versus Kaelgar."
A few polite claps echoed into the void; no one knew this Leon—probably yet another commoner who'd come to try his luck at winning power and fame. Alice paid it no mind, and her voice grew a little more solemn.
Sixty-ninth match: His Highness, Prince Lucien, will face Valerius Thorne.
Suddenly, a wave of applause rang out for the prince of the humans and the younger brother of the Council President.
Alice let the silence return. Her eyes scanned the very last line of the display. An amused, almost predatory smile stretched across her lips.
Finally, for the very last match of this first round... Her Highness Princess Serafina will face... Kaen
The crowd erupted in whispers.
"Who is this Kaen? He doesn't even have a surname; he must be a low-ranking commoner."
Another said, "A noble princess against a commoner? I'd almost feel sorry for him; he's going to get crushed."
In the stands, Solvane turned abruptly towards Azriel, her eyes wide with panic.
"Azriel... He's up against the princess! And... and he's not even here yet!"