Chapter 30: The Mandate of the Core
The silence following the short-circuiting of Kaelen Sol was heavy, thick with the scent of ozone and the realization that the hierarchy of the freshman class had just been violently destabilized. On the floating platform, the petite girl in the Rank 3 seat stopped swinging her legs and leaned forward, her chin resting in her palms as she watched Roman with predatory curiosity.
Dean Malakor, however, didn't spare a second glance for the twitching student being hauled off the stage by medical droids. To him, weakness was simply a variable that had been corrected.
"Let us continue," the Dean's voice boomed, vibrating through the Void-Glass dome. "You have survived the entrance exams, but the Federation does not reward survival. It rewards utility. As of this moment, the period of 'free enterprise' has officially ended. In the Eastern Sector, you were students. Here, you are assets. And assets must be maintained through the acquisition of Merit Points."
A collective murmur rippled through the thousands of students in the lower tiers.
"Everything on Planet Astra—from the specialized nutrient meat you feed your beasts to the high-grade cultivation chambers in your villas—has a price," Malakor continued, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "We do not use credits here. We use Merits. You earn them through mission completion, academic excellence, and successful challenges. If you cannot afford to feed your beast, your beast will starve. If you cannot afford your tuition, you will be expelled. This is the law of the Star."
He waved a hand, and a distribution chart appeared in the air.
"To give you a starting edge, the university provides a baseline based on your entry rank:
Top 10: 200 Merit Points
Top 20: 150 Merit Points
Top 50: 100 Merit Points
The Remainder: 10 Merit Points"
The disparity was brutal. A student at the 11th rank had significantly less than Roman at the 7th, while the thousands of students in the general dorms were essentially starting in poverty.
"You have twenty-four hours to choose your primary departments," Malakor added. "Combat, Research, Beast Synthesis, or Strategic Command. Along with your electives, your choices will dictate your mission access. Choose wisely."
As the Dean continued to lecture on the complexities of the merit system, the world around Roman began to fade. The golden sunlight of the Star-Palace and the whispering of the students receded into a dull background noise.
The Azure Dragon Stone in his storage was no longer just humming; it was vibrating in resonance with his pulse. In the depths of his mind, the memory of his recuperation in the infirmary resurfaced—the moments when he was neither awake nor truly asleep, suspended in a realm of white lightning and ancient shadows.
In that half-dream, the colossal dragon had spoken to him again, its voice not a sound, but a fundamental truth etched into his soul.
"You carry the Azure Bolt," the dragon had rumbled, its nebula-like eyes filling Roman's entire field of vision. "But you must understand, little spark, that lightning does not strike in isolation. I am the leader of the Seven Creation Beasts. Since the birth of the first star, we have stood as the pillars of the cosmic balance."
Roman felt the weight of his new eyes—the green irises that felt like they were viewing the world through a filter of raw energy.
"To each of the Seven, there is a chosen host," the dragon continued. "Each beast bestows a unique eye ability upon its master, creating the Cosmic Eye Holders. You have been chosen by the Core, the Leader of the Seven. Your mandate is to grow strong enough to lead the others. When all eyes are gathered, they can execute a joint attack that transcends the limits of this reality, and the Leader is the Core that binds them."
"You, Roman Dawson, are the Fourth Eye to awaken. Prepare yourself. The human race only produces these eyes in the shadow of true necessity , when the human race is about to face an apocalypse .The others are moving. You must be ready to lead them when the time comes."
Roman's eyes snapped back to the present. He was sweating, his heart hammering against his ribs. He looked at his hands and felt the terrifying reality of his situation. He wasn't just a student; he was a piece of a cosmic puzzle.
The fourth eye, Roman thought, his green gaze sharpening. If I am the fourth, who are the others?
He looked toward the twins at the front. The girl of darkness and the boy of light sat like statues. Their auras were immense, but they felt different from the other geniuses. There was a density to their power that felt ancient.
"Roman? You okay?" Ellen whispered from the 11th chair. "You look like you just saw a ghost."
"I'm fine," Roman replied shortly, his mind racing.
He looked back at the Dean, who was finishing the ceremony.
"Departments and electives must be submitted by midnight," Malakor concluded. "Dismissed."
High above the Star-Palace, in a spire that touched the edge of the atmosphere, Dean Malakor stood before a wall of monitors. He wasn't looking at the merit distributions.
He was looking at a slow-motion playback of Roman's lightning strike against Kaelen Sol.
"The frequency of the discharge," Malakor whispered to the empty room. "It's not standard flux. It's primordial. Just like the others."
He turned to look at the profile files of the Rank 1 and Rank 2 twins. Last year, the Federation Star Academy had managed to secure a Cosmic Eye holder, a feat that had put Astral Star in a defensive position. Malakor had spent months of political maneuvering and back-alley deals to ensure he secured the twins this year—two more Cosmic Eyes to bring under his wing.
"I had to spend half my soul-reserves just to suppress the primordial aura in those twins," Malakor muttered, rubbing his temples. "Their power is so raw it would have shattered the campus's equilibrium. And now... a fourth one appears right on my doorstep, unannounced and unrefined."
He watched the feed of Roman leaving the hall. The boy's aura was leaking; it was faint, but to a master like Malakor, it was as loud as a scream.
"Roman Dawson... the Azure Core," Malakor said, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes. "He doesn't even know what he is yet. If that aura isn't suppressed soon, the Saviours Organisation will track him down before the first semester is over."
He pulled up a schedule.
"I need to find a chance to meet this boy privately," the Dean decided. "I'll have to suppress his primordial signature just like I did for the twins. If I don't, this entire star system will become a beacon for every monster in the void."
As the students began to filter out of the Star-Palace, John, Ellen, and Shane surrounded Roman.
"Two hundred merits," Shane said, whistling low. "Roman, you're basically a millionaire compared to the rest of the freshmen."
"It won't be enough," Roman said, his mind still on the dragon's words. "If we want to stay ahead, we need more."
"What department are you choosing?" Ellen asked.
"I'm choosing Combat as my primary and beast creating as a minor.Roman decided. "But for my electives, I'm taking Ancient Artifact Logistics and Void-Space Theory."
He needed to understand the history of the Seven. If he was the Fourth Eye, and the twins were two more, that left four others scattered across the galaxy. One was already at the Federation Academy. That meant three were still unknown.
The group boarded the rail, heading back toward the Solar Grotto. As they zipped across the landscape, Roman felt the Azure Dragon Stone pulsing against his chest. He was the Core. He was the Fourth Eye. And he was currently a beacon of primordial energy in a university full of sharks.
He needed to get stronger, and he needed to do it before the world realized exactly what had just walked onto Planet Astra.