Chapter 26:University Allocation
The NS-Sovereign hung in the lightless void like a silent, obsidian whale, its massive hull shimmering with the reflected glow of distant nebulae. Inside its medical wing, the atmosphere was a sterile cocktail of antibiotics, high-grade flux particles, and the low, rhythmic hum of life-support machinery.
In the center of the intensive care bay, Roman Dawson lay suspended in a state of profound, artificial stillness. He was submerged in a recovery tank filled with Grade-A Restoration Fluid, his body adrift in the glowing teal liquid. The thick, pressurized bandages wrapped around his head were a grim testament to the price of victory.
The medical droids had been blunt in their assessment. The Primordial Bolt had acted as a surgical strike of divine lightning, channeled through the weakest points of the human skull—the optic nerves. It had not just blinded him; it had vaporized the delicate structures of the eyes and cauterized the pathways to the brain. Roman had been blind to begin with, a "broken asset" with a film over his eyes, but now, the bridge between his mind and the visible world had been utterly burned away. There was no flesh left to regenerate. The doctors had noted that while his body would heal, Roman Dawson would never again look upon the world with physical eyes.
Six hours after the final shuttle had docked, the silence of the recovery wing was broken by a sharp, synchronized chime that echoed through every corridor, common room, and bunk of the gargantuan ship.
The results were live.
The Galactic Leaderboard
Across the ship, students who had spent the last few hours in deep, dreamless exhaustion sat up in their bunks. The tension was a living thing, a weight that pressed down on the hearts of the four million candidates who had survived the "Forgotten Cradle."
[ UHF NATIONAL ENTRANCE EXAM: FINAL STANDINGS ]
The screens in the Grand Hall flickered, and the leaderboard began to scroll.
1. Lyra Valerius (Core World: Aethelgard) - Rank 3 Mid.
2. Nero Vane (Mars Sector) - Rank 3 Mid.
3. Kaelen Sol (Jupiter Moons) - Rank 3 Early.
...
10.Roman Dawson (Terra Sector) - Rank 3 Early.
The leaderboard sent shockwaves through the ship. Roman's name sat among the gods of the student world. It turned out there were more hidden geniuses than anyone had anticipated—scions of royal families and corporate dynasties who had already advanced to Rank 3 through the use of rare resources before the exam had even begun. They had navigated the planet with a grace Roman had to earn through raw survival.
Further down the list, the other names from the Eastern Sector appeared:
13. Ellen Sun (Terra Sector)
15. John Irons (Terra Sector)
19. Shane Voidchild (Unknown Origin)
The "Trash Trio" and the enigmatic Shane had cracked the Top 20 of a National Exam, a feat that would be etched into the history of the Terra sector for generations.
While the ship celebrated or mourned their rankings, a heavy, soundproofed door slid open in the High Command center. High Proctor Vane sat behind a desk of polished dark matter, his eyes fixed on the three students standing before him: Ellen, John, and Shane Voidchild.
The air in the room was cold. Vane tapped a finger on a holographic report showing the charred, melted crater at the summit of the obsidian peak.
"Explain it again," Vane commanded, his voice like grinding stones. "From the moment you reached the final ridge."
John stepped forward, his knuckles white as he gripped the straps of his armor. "Like we said, sir. The flux was heavy. We were exhausted after the wolf pack. We reached the plateau, and then... nothing."
"Nothing?" Vane leaned in.
"It was like a dream," Ellen whispered, her voice trembling with the memory of the illusion. "One moment we were walking, and the next, I was back home, hearing my mother's voice. I couldn't move. I couldn't fight. It was a fog."
"And when you woke up?"
"The fog just... burned away," Shane Voidchild said, his usual playful demeanor replaced by a look of genuine fear. Shane, whose father had warned him about the dangers of the galaxy, knew exactly how close they had come to disappearing. "The first thing I saw was Roman. He was standing there, but he wasn't himself. There was a roar—not a beast's roar, but the sky itself screaming. And then the lightning... it didn't come from a beast. It poured out of his eyes in a pillar of white fire. It hit that man in the black coat and... there was nothing left but ash."
Vane watched their biometrics. Their heart rates were spiked, their pupils dilated. They weren't lying. They had been trapped in a high-level illusion, likely a Grade-A psychic trap from the Saviours Organisation, and they had only been freed when Roman unleashed a power that defied standard rank-scaling.
"You may go," Vane said, dismissively. "Prepare for your university allocations."
As the door closed behind them, Vane looked at a hidden monitor. It showed the agent of the Saviours Organisation—or what was left of him. "A 'Saviour' turned to soot by a boy from Terra. This 'Roman Dawson' is either the Federation's greatest hope or its most dangerous variable."
The Grand Rotunda was a gargantuan hall with a floor of transparent reinforced glass, offering a dizzying view of the stars below. The Top 50 candidates were summoned here—the elite of the elite.
In the center of the hall, the top ten universities of the United Human Federation were displayed in shimmering, three-dimensional gold:
Unversity Name Specialization
1 Astral Star University
2 Federation Star Academy
3 Nebula Institute
4 Zenith Tamer College
5 Core World Conservatory
6 Void-Walker Academy
7 Titan's Reach University
8 Crystalline Spire Labs
9 Solaris Flight Academy
10 Lunar Shadow Institute
As the students stood before the rankings, a recruiter from a mid-tier academy—ranked 32nd—stepped onto the podium. He adjusted his glasses and looked at the young geniuses with a mix of pity and pragmatism.
"Listen well," the recruiter began. "I know the allure of the Top 10. You see those names and you think you've reached the summit. But I urge you: do not swallow more than you can chew. If you come to my academy, you will be treated as the gods you are. You will be the geniuses of your year. But in Astral Star or Federation Star, you will be... ordinary. You will be the pebbles under the feet of monsters. Is it not better to lead in the light than to be a shadow in a palace?"
A heavy silence followed. Several students, their confidence shaken by the brutal reality of Planet X-99, actually stepped out of the elite line. They opted for Rank 30 or 40 schools, choosing to be "big fish in small ponds."
But Ellen, John, and Shane didn't move.
"Astral Star University," Ellen said, her voice clear.
"Astral Star," John echoed.
"I go where the best gossip is," Shane Voidchild chirped, though his eyes remained serious. "Astral Star."
Roman Dawson was not present to choose. However, the AI system had already processed his "Natural Selection." Based on his 10th-place ranking and his application filed weeks ago, he was automatically admitted into the Rank 1 institution. Astral Star University only accepted 1,000 students annually from a pool of trillions; to them, a 10th-ranked survivor with a Dual-Sovereign beast resonance was a prize they would never let go.
The recruitment process was a cold, efficient machine. Once the Top 50 had made their choices, the school's AI algorithm scanned the remaining millions who had passed. The "Invitation of Excellence" notifications flew through the ship's network like digital sparks.
For the millions who weren't in the top bracket, their fate was decided by the UHF AI Proctor, which matched their utility scores to schools that required their specific skill sets. It was a lottery where the stakes were an entire life's trajectory.
Three hours later, as the medical droids were checking Roman's stabilizing vitals, three terminals chimed in unison.
[ NOTIFICATION: ADMISSIONS OFFICE - ASTRAL STAR UNIVERSITY ]
[ CANDIDATES: ELLEN SUN, JOHN IRONS, SHANE VOIDCHILD ]
[ STATUS: ACCEPTED ]
[ DEPARTURE: T-MINUS 12 hours. ]
[ TRANSPORT: ELITE CLASS CRUISER 'THE STAR-REACHER' ]
John and Ellen stood by Roman's tank one last time before the move. He was still unconscious, his chest rising and falling in a slow, hypnotic rhythm. The restoration fluid swirled around him, but it couldn't mend the darkness behind his bandages.
"We're leaving, Roman," Ellen whispered, her hand pressing against the cold glass of the tank. "They're moving you to the Star-Reacher's medical suite. You made it. We all made it."
"He can't hear you, Ellen," John said softly, though his own eyes were red. "But he'll know when he wakes up. He'll feel the flux of the Core Worlds."
Phase 2: Infiltration
As the students prepared for their departure, deep in the maintenance sub-levels of the NS-Sovereign, a small, inconspicuous cleaning droid stopped in front of a primary data-node. It emitted a high-frequency burst of encrypted code that bypassed the ship's military-grade firewalls.
Message: Target Dawson confirmed for Astral Star. Target Ellen and Target John confirmed. The agent on X-99 was a necessary sacrifice to confirm the 5-star resonance. The 'blindness' is an added benefit—his sensory range will be reduced. Phase 1 Complete. Initiate Phase 2: Infiltration. The Saviours Organisation will be waiting at the gates of the Star.
The Saviours Organisation didn't view the charred remains of their agent as a loss. To them, it was merely the cost of doing business. By going to Astral Star University, Roman and his friends were walking into the most resource-rich, high-security environment in the galaxy—but for the Saviours, that just meant the harvest would be more concentrated.
Twelve hours later, the Star-Reacher ignited its massive ion engines.
The ship was a masterpiece of luxury and defense, a white-and-gold spear intended to carry the future of the Federation. Inside a private medical suite, Roman Dawson remained in his coma, his mind drifting through the lightning-forest of his soul. He was blind, he was unconscious, and he was being hunted by a shadow that called itself a "Saviour."
But as the ship jumped into warp-space, heading for the heart of the galaxy, the Star-Spirit Dream-Devouring Butterfly fluttered within Roman's spirit-sea. The "broken asset" of Terra was gone. The King of Ash was on his way to the stars.