Echoes of Awakening

The Aetherfield rippled.

As the wave of light receded, silence fell across the Awakening Hall. The students blinked, some gasping, some weeping. The moment they'd spent their whole childhoods anticipating had come and gone.

Lucien exhaled slowly, his expression unreadable.

"Archetype detected," the System chimed within his mind, cold and unfeeling.

[ARHETYPE: Null Sovereign] Classification: [Unranked - Data insufficient] Traits: [Obfuscated]

A crownless king in a kingdom yet to be named. Lucien’s lips barely curved. Still the same. The Null Sovereign... hidden even from the System's grasp.

But he didn’t need it to tell him what he already knew. He remembered everything—how this Archetype had terrified even the Elders in his past life, how it had been locked away in sealed tomes and whispered legends. The ability to erase, overwrite, and render ‘power’ meaningless.

He pressed his palm over the glowing sigil on his chest. It flickered, and then faded from view. He'd let the others believe he'd Awakened something unimpressive—better that than become a target this early.

From his left, a student burst into elated laughter. “S-Rank! I'm an actual S-Rank!” he shouted. Cheers erupted. A girl nearby clapped with tears in her eyes. “My Archetype’s a Stormcaller! My mother’s going to cry when she hears!”

Lucien observed them, silent.

“...And what about you?”

He turned. The voice was calm, yet curious.

Kael Everhart.

Golden-haired, eyes like polished amber, posture radiating easy strength. The protagonist of the original timeline. The one who was meant to stop the descent of the world into chaos.

Lucien remembered the first time Kael had stood against him. Back then, the boy had been naïve, idealistic to a fault. But he’d grown into a formidable force. A true hero.

But this time, Lucien thought, I’m not the one you're going to save the world from.

He offered a faint, calculated smile. “Nothing fancy. Just a support-type. Hardly worth mentioning.”

Kael grinned. “Don’t be so modest. The Awakening always reflects what’s within. Even support types can become legends.”

Yes, Lucien mused. But what if what’s within is a void so absolute, it consumes legends?

Before he could reply, another presence made itself known.

“Excuse me,” a softer voice interjected. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

Seraphina Duskweaver.

Hair like spun silver and violet eyes that shimmered like the Aether itself. There was something distant yet piercing about her gaze. Like someone seeing more than what was in front of her.

“You didn’t react much during the Awakening,” she said, tilting her head toward Lucien. “That either means you’re hiding something... or you truly don’t care.”

Lucien raised an eyebrow, carefully neutral. “Why would I hide anything?”

Her lips quirked. “That’s the kind of answer someone hiding something would give.”

Kael laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “She’s got you there.”

“I simply prefer not to announce myself to the world,” Lucien replied, tone even. “Let the loud ones draw the eyes. Shadows serve better than stages.”

Seraphina studied him for a moment longer before nodding slowly, almost as if filing him into a category of her own making.

A loud chime echoed across the hall.

“Attention students,” came a commanding voice. Professor Aldric, stern and weathered, with an aura that could silence storms. “You will now be assigned dormitories and undergo aptitude assessments. Your Archetypes determine much, but not all. Remember, potential must be honed.”

Lucien followed the others into the corridor, the wide hallway lit by softly pulsing mana-lamps. Banners of the Five Founding Archetypes hung above—each representing ancient powers that once carved the shape of the world: Emberheart, Frostwrought, Stormborne, Verdantspire, and Mindshade.

None of them matched me, Lucien thought. My Archetype... doesn't belong in their legacy. It writes its own.

He cast a glance at Kael and Seraphina walking just ahead.

In the original story, they’d be the perfect duo. Light and resolve. Truth and empathy. Meant to clash against the great evil...

But now that great evil walked beside them, hidden in plain sight.

Let the pieces fall as they may. This time, I choose the game.