CHAPTER 36: The Thirty-Sixth Fracture

The sun had barely crested the horizon.

Mist drifted across the courtyard like breath held by the world itself—cold, quiet, untouched.

Then the chimes rang.

Not the ordinary bell. This one was deeper. Older. Like the academy itself was exhaling.

A projection formed in the sky, vast and elegant, etched with Scalar patterns. Principal Lyra’s face appeared in pale light, composed, her voice steady and clear.

“To all students of the Academy—and to our guests. Due to growing interest beyond our borders, tomorrow’s match will no longer take place within academy grounds.”

Across the campus, the world paused.

“The location has been changed to the Celestia Arena—capital fracture’s coliseum. One of the largest combat auditoriums in the known realms.”

A pulse of quiet energy passed through the courtyard.

“This match will be public. Witnessed. Broadcast across realms. This is no longer an internal trial. This is history.”

The projection collapsed into a single glowing glyph and faded into mist.

Stillness lingered.

Then movement.

Alric flipped a coin, catching it mid-air.

Saaya lowered her spear.

Karna landed beside us, golden artifacts humming with subtle light.

I stood still as the last of the mist pulled away from the stone.

They wanted the world to watch.

My glyph circle activated beneath my feet. Three orbs of deep purple revolved slowly around the outer ring. Behind me, another trio hovered, tracing celestial arcs through the air. The gravity around me thickened. A shimmering, purple aura wrapped around my body.

The others turned toward me.

I looked down at my hands and closed them into fists. The aura pulsed. The strands of gravity were visible—like violet threads anchoring me to the world.

Avalon appeared in front of me without warning. She positioned herself carefully, posture poised, presence deliberate.

My glyphs calmed. The aura faded slightly.

“I’ll be joining you on the journey to Celestia Arena. I brought someone with me.”

Yuuka stepped forward from behind her.

“Yuuka,” I said. “How have you been? Are you recovered?”

“I’m much better now. I just needed rest. I would’ve fought beside you, but I can’t risk my powers losing control again—not during a brawl this important.”

“It’s alright. Thank you. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Yuuka nodded, her expression softening.

I turned to Avalon.

“You’ll be joining us?”

“I’m a substitute fighter.”

“We can have those?”

“You weren’t paying attention again?” Saaya’s voice came from behind.

“I was focused on the blonde-haired kid.”

Principal Lyra arrived in the courtyard.

“All right, everyone. Ready to go?”

We nodded.

With a single gesture, a portal opened—its frame humming with Scalar glyphs, the space beyond it glowing.

We didn’t step through the portal right away.

Lyra lowered her hand as the swirling gateway shimmered before us, Scalar glyphs rotating in silence across its frame. The path to Celestia Arena was open—but we wouldn’t walk into the spotlight unprepared.

A secondary glyph flared to life above us, casting a soft pulse of light across the courtyard.

“Changing room’s ready,” Alric said, reading the signal before anyone else could.

Without a word, we followed.

Through the east wing. Down familiar stone halls now humming with tension. The academy was quiet—too quiet—as if even the walls were holding their breath.

We reached the door. A single symbol glowed across it: Preparation Chamber—Team Alpha.

“Alright the men will change over here and you ladies can change over there.” Alric said this pointing to the women’s quarters inside the chamber. It was divided for men and women.

I enter my fitting room thinking about what I want to wear going into battle. I pondered my options. I could wear anything. I said out loud

“Hehhe I guess I could always dress up similar to that one character with the dual wield swords from that series where he’s a future heroic spirit. That’s a cool color combination, red and black.”

I think of what I wanted created for me in the stall and then it came to me.

I turned to the clothier inside the stall, voice steady.

“I want something tailored, something mine. A sleeveless, form-fitting black top—reactive fabric that shimmers with fractal glyphs when it catches the light. From the waist, asymmetrical cloak-panels: one side short, the other long, flowing like shadow and etched with deep violet symbols.”

I paused, then added, “Obsidian-gray pants, reinforced with scale-textured armor at the joints. Flexible, but protective. A wrapped belt—tight, but not restrictive—inscribed with softly glowing scalar coordinates.”

My hands curled slightly. “Matte black vambraces with pulsing micro-glyphs. Fingerless gloves—threaded with glyph-lines to help me stabilize and amplify my scalar control.”

“And the boots,” I said, lowering my voice. “Sleek. Grounded. Etched with gravity-stabilizing runes in the heels.”

I let my aura flicker for just a second. Three violet orbs rotated into view behind me.

“When it’s active… this is how it’ll look. The orbs. And a faint circular halo of light—like a divine engine waiting to be unleashed.”

I put on the clothes and look at myself in the mirror admiring myself.

“Yeah this is it”

I walk out and I already see Karna. He wore the same thing when I first saw him. No shirt, loose black pants—not baggy, not tight. Although there was a crimson belt holding his pants up. That’s new

“No change in appearance aside the belt?” I asked

“Na, I’m comfortable in this. But look at you. A total change. I like what I see. You have the outfit of someone crossing over into the realm of magic, but still sticking to your modern home look.”

“Yeah I am. I thought this was a solid pick.” I responded

“Looks good. I bet Saaya will say something.” As he nudged me

That’s when the curtain opened and Alric walked out

Alric stepped out next, his new battle attire a perfect fusion of law and tactical precision. He wore a sleeveless onyx mantle etched with silver-gold geometric glyphs, anchored by a rotating sigil of law on his back that pulsed with cosmic order. Beneath it, a fitted combat suit threaded with glowing runes channeled scalar energy, responding to the laws he invoked mid-battle. Platinum-black vambraces along his arms bore the Edicts of Binding and Cancellation, tools for reshaping the rules of engagement. His belt buckle—a living scale—measured both intent and consequence, while armored pants and rune-lined boots kept him grounded in judgment. When empowered, an arc of golden law-glyphs hovered behind him like a divine tribunal—silent, absolute, and inescapable.

Karna and I both look at Alric

“What?” He said

“Nothing, just never expected you’d wear an outfit like that. I’ve only seen you in the preppy school uniform.” As i chuckle

“Shut up” , blushing a little and turning his head.

I look to Karna “bros a tsundere”

Karna looked at me saying “a what?”

“Neved mind, it’s a thing from my world.”

Then the last curtain opened and Saaya walked out

I stared at her new outfit, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She had such beauty and elegance. Enough to make any man jealous

Saaya’s new outfit blends divine grace with sharpened defiance—an evolution of her past look into something far more commanding. She wears a deep midnight-blue bodysuit with high-cut sides and an open back, the fabric sleek and reactive, woven with faintly glowing glyphs that shimmer with every motion. A fitted half-skirt of translucent, gold-lined fabric flows from her waist, split cleanly for ease of movement—revealing her legs in motion but never compromising her poise. Gold-trimmed straps cross over her collarbone and shoulders, framing her figure with sharp, angular elegance. Armored greaves wrap around her calves, etched with inverted causality glyphs, and her fingerless gloves are reinforced with silver filigree channels for spear resonance. Her signature spear rests across her back, held in place by a diagonal magnetic clasp. When her Reverse Glyph activates, a radiant pattern blooms across her exposed back and thighs—cause and effect made visible in glowing golden veins that pulse with reversed fate.