The following morning, Philippine Hunter University came alive with a symphony of power.
Training fields crackled with mana as students clashed in sparring duels. Incantations echoed through marble halls. In alchemy labs, flasks fizzed and glowed; in summoning chambers, ritual circles shimmered with celestial light. From the air to the earth, PHU thrummed like a living entity, pulsing with magic and potential.
But away from the energy and noise, in a quiet courtyard beneath the twisting limbs of a massive balete tree etched with glowing runes, **Grim Arclight** sat cross-legged—alone, still, and silent.
He hadn't slept.
The old woman's silver eyes haunted him like a fading dream. *You walk the path unseen, but not unchosen*—the words repeated in his mind like a heartbeat. Not ominous, not reassuring. Just... true.
And now, when he closed his eyes, he felt it. A faint vibration beneath his skin. An itch in his bones. Like something ancient was shifting inside him, turning slowly toward the light.
He breathed out.
*What does it mean to summon something?*
He raised his hand—awkward, unsure. His mana, still raw and untrained, pulsed weakly, like a heartbeat muffled through layers of cloth. He whispered. Focused. Reached.
Nothing.
He tried again. Still nothing.
Frustration flickered behind his calm eyes. On the third attempt, a whisper of something brushed against the edges of his awareness.
A shape—vague and shadowed. Clawed. Hunched. Watching him from behind a veil.
Then it vanished.
Grim's eyes flew open. Sweat clung to his brow, and his breath quickened. The moment had been brief, but it was real.
He wasn't imagining it.
Something was there.
*Something is waiting.*
---
High above the campus, in the sun-drenched observatory of the **Student Council**, a different kind of energy buzzed.
The room, all glass and polished marble, overlooked the campus like a throne gazing down on its kingdom. Magical screens floated in the air, replaying orientation footage, student data, combat profiles, and mana readings in real-time.
**Elyse** sat at the head of the table, pristine as always. Her silver hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her violet eyes, normally steady, now lingered on a particular still frame.
Grim Arclight. Quiet. Observant. An outlier in every scan.
She didn't understand it—but she *felt* it.
"Elyse," said **Kyle**, reclining lazily on a velvet-cushioned bench, lightning flickering faintly across his fingertips. "That guy—Grim. No entry in the pre-blessing registries. No testing data. Nothing."
"Late awakener?" Kana suggested, flicking through her mana tablet. Her ice magic made her breath frost the air. "Or maybe a falsified record. But his aura... I've never seen one like it."
"It's not his aura," said **Zeke**, arms crossed. "It's his stillness. Like he's listening to something we can't hear."
"You're all overthinking it," said **Mika**, the Council's Light Mage, from her seat near the window. Her voice was soft, but curious. "Maybe he's just not awakened yet."
"No," Elyse said, her voice cutting through the room like a blade. "He has awakened. He just doesn't know how to look inward yet."
She stood, walking toward the window.
"Watch him. Closely. There's something buried in that boy. Power. Or danger."
"Or both," Zeke murmured.
---
Down in the **training hall**, Section A stood in a wide arena lined with floating panels and sigils that pulsed with active runes. Ambient mana filled the air, electric and heavy. The smell of burnt ozone and old stone clung to the walls.
**Professor Karina** entered with sharp precision, her emerald eyes scanning the group. Her braided green hair swayed behind her like a vine caught in wind.
"Today," she announced, "you begin your first resonance training."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
"Resonance is the alignment of your mana with your blessing. It's not about raw power. It's about *connection.* Feel it, don't force it. Let it answer you."
She tapped a glowing panel. Names flickered.
"Pair up."
Marcus was on Grim in seconds. "Let's go, mystery man! Time to see if you've got anything under that cool silence."
Grim raised an eyebrow. "You're sure?"
"Bring it."
They stepped into the circle. Around them, students gathered, whispering.
Grim—tall, composed, unreadable.
Marcus—grinning, cocky, fists already burning with fire.
"Begin!" Karina's voice cracked like a whip.
Marcus charged, flame spiraling around his knuckles. His punches came fast—fiery, wild, but controlled. He wasn't just throwing sparks. He'd trained. He was testing Grim.
Grim moved like water.
No explosive counters. No flashy magic. Just perfect instinct—leaning, shifting, evading by a hair's breadth.
Each dodge was clean. Fluid.
The crowd murmured. Some stared. Others watched with dawning interest.
Marcus grunted, a little winded. "Okay, okay. Let's spice it up!"
He thrust forward, sending a burst of flame in a wide arc.
Instinctively, Grim raised his hand.
And for the briefest of seconds, the flame hit... *something.*
A veil. A shimmer of black mist.
The fire scattered like it had struck a ripple in reality.
Gasps filled the room.
Even Karina stepped forward, brows drawn.
"...That wasn't a dodge," Marcus muttered. "What *was* that?"
Grim didn't answer. He looked at his own hand. The air around it shimmered faintly before fading. He hadn't meant to cast anything.
But something had answered him.
Karina clapped once. "That's enough."
She walked forward, heels echoing in the stunned silence.
"Mr. Grim. You claim no combat training. Yet you moved like a duelist and blocked elemental magic."
Grim met her gaze evenly. "I just moved."
Karina's eyes glinted, but she didn't press. "We'll test that claim during your first Gate simulation. Dismissed."
---
Evening fell like a soft curtain, draping the campus in gold and indigo.
Grim walked alone again, down one of the quiet roads that twisted past the outer wall. The sounds of campus faded behind him—replaced by birdsong and wind.
And there—at the same crosswalk as before—stood **her**.
The old woman.
Still, silent, framed by shadows.
Her eyes shimmered silver.
"You've heard them now, haven't you?" she asked.
Grim stopped. His voice was low. "Heard what?"
She smiled gently. "Not *what.* *Who.* The voices of the summoned. They know you're waking up. They remember you."
"I don't understand."
"You will."
She stepped closer, leaning on her cane.
"The seal on your soul is breaking. The veil between you and your destiny thins. Your summons are calling. You've just been whispering to them... when you need to scream with your soul."
Grim's throat tightened.
"Who are you?"
Her eyes crinkled at the corners. "Someone who once failed to answer the call."
And then, just like before—she vanished.
No light, no sound. Just... gone.
Grim stood in the empty street, the wind tugging at his coat.
But this time, he didn't feel alone.
He could feel it now—faint, but growing. A thrum in his chest. A whisper behind his thoughts. Not fear.
Not yet.
But awakening.