The morning after the assassination attempt, the halls of Valewind Institute buzzed with a strange, electric tension.
Rumors raced like wildfire.
"Two dead — assassins!"
"Targeted one of the new elite candidates…"
"They say it was him — the Amateur who defeated a Wyrm."
Whispers followed Kaelen wherever he walked, but he ignored them.
He had bigger concerns.
Because this morning, a sealed letter had been slipped under his door — stamped with the crest of the Inner Circle.
The true rulers of Valewind.
The Inner Sanctum of Valewind
The chamber was small, simple, and brutally bare — stone walls, a circular table, six seats.
Five seats were filled.
Veteran warriors. Arcanists. Strategists.
Men and women who had fought dragons, broken guilds, survived wars.
Only the strongest instructors ever sat here.
Kaelen stood before them without fear.
At the head of the table, Commander Ardyn leaned forward, elbows resting on worn oak.
His scarred face broke into a faint, wolfish grin.
"You survive a Black Moon strike team," Ardyn said.
"You solo-kill a Wyrm."
"You break two noble students' pride without lifting your voice."
He thumped a fist against the table.
"Valewind needs you."
Kaelen said nothing — simply listening.
Another instructor, a stern woman with frost-white hair, spoke:
"The Grand Awakener Tournament approaches."
"Normally, only Astralis students are considered for the Royal Division — but this year… we intend to shatter expectations."
She slid a heavy bronze medallion across the table toward Kaelen.
Engraved upon it were the ancient words: "Forge Thy Own Path."
"Preliminaries begin in one month," she said. "The Selection Rites. Battles, trials, dungeon races. The strongest will represent Valewind against Astralis and the others."
Commander Ardyn's grin widened.
"We want you at the front, boy."
Kaelen stared down at the medallion.
At the offer.
At the future stretching out before him.
This was it.
The first true step into the world beyond schoolyards and provincial guild politics.
A chance to carve his name onto the bones of history.
He reached out — and closed his hand around the medallion.
The instructors nodded approvingly.
The frost-haired woman spoke again:
"But beware. This is no simple tournament. Secrets stir beneath the banners of honor. Blood will be spilled, and not all battles will be fair."
Commander Ardyn added:
"And know this —"
"Astralis will do everything they can to crush you before you reach the real stage."
Kaelen smiled faintly.
"Let them try."
Meanwhile — Obsidian Hollow Academy
Far to the west, beyond the safe borders of the kingdom, Obsidian Hollow Academy rose from blackened cliffs like a wound in the earth.
There, in a shadowed courtyard, a different gathering occurred.
The strongest students of Obsidian Hollow trained like rabid beasts, their bodies scarred, their weapons stained with blood.
At their head stood Dredge Marrow — heir of the Blood Specter Guild, a rising terror among the Thieves and Assassins.
Beside him stood Garrick Thorn, a towering figure armored like a fortress, his eyes burning with endless rage.
Their instructor — a man whose name was only whispered — addressed them.
"The Grand Awakener Tournament is not for glory," the instructor hissed.
"It is for conquest."
"Kill the weak. Break the noble bloodlines. Bury the myths of Astralis under ash."
The Obsidian students roared their approval.
Their path was simple:
Destroy.
Dominate.
Devour.
And at the center of their plans, unknowingly, Kaelen Drayce's name was already written — a target marked for death.
Back at Valewind — Later That Day
Kaelen sat atop the highest battlement, the bronze medallion glinting in the setting sun.
Eren and Selina joined him, dropping heavily onto the stone beside him.
"You're insane, you know that?" Eren muttered, grinning. "Going up against Astralis and Obsidian? You're practically asking to get killed."
Kaelen shrugged.
"Maybe."
Selina smiled warmly.
"Or maybe you're just strong enough to win."
Kaelen said nothing.
But inside, his heart burned like a forge.
He wasn't fighting for medals.
He wasn't fighting for titles.
He was fighting to prove that no fate, no bloodline, no noble decree could chain him.
And soon — the world would learn:
The Sovereign of Infinite Paths was coming.