Chapter 1: The Weakest of Them All


    Caseoh’s breath came in ragged gasps as he pressed his back against the cold stone wall of the academy training grounds. His heart hammered in his chest, not from exertion — no, he was used to running — but from the overwhelming pressure that had filled the air the moment his opponent had drawn their weapon.


    “Pathetic.” The word stung as much as the bruises on his body. A tall figure stood in front of him, sneering. Elric. He was one of the top students at the academy, blessed with divine-tier magic from birth. His sword crackled with energy, thin arcs of white lightning jumping across the surface.


    “Come on, Caseoh,” Elric said with a cold smile. “You can’t possibly expect to survive the awakening ceremony like this. Why don’t you just give up?”


    Caseoh gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet. His limbs ached, but the weight in his chest was heavier — the weight of knowing that Elric was right. The awakening ceremony was in less than a week. Every student in the academy would receive their divine blessing — a reflection of their inner strength and potential. But for Caseoh, there was nothing.


    It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried. He’d studied harder than anyone, trained until his body screamed in protest, but when it came to drawing on his mana — nothing. He couldn’t cast even the simplest of spells. The other students at least had some affinity, even if it was weak. But Caseoh? He was empty. A void.


    “Leave him alone,” a voice cut through the tension. It was Renna, one of the few people who didn’t look down on Caseoh. She stepped between him and Elric, her golden eyes flashing. “You’ve already beaten him.”


    Elric’s smile deepened. “Tch. Always playing the hero, Renna. You’re wasting your time. He’ll never awaken.”


    Without waiting for a reply, Elric turned and strode off, his sword disappearing in a flash of white light. His entourage followed, leaving Caseoh and Renna alone in the quiet courtyard.


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    Renna knelt beside him. “You okay?”


    Caseoh forced a weak smile. “Sure. Just another day of proving how useless I am.”


    Renna frowned. “You’re not useless.”


    “Easy for you to say. You can actually use magic.” He sighed, brushing dust from his uniform. “I’m just… tired. No matter how hard I try, nothing changes.”


    Renna hesitated, then leaned in closer. “What if… you’re not meant to awaken like the others?”


    Caseoh’s brow furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”


    Before Renna could answer, a wave of pressure crashed through the courtyard, sending dust and debris swirling into the air. The sky darkened unnaturally, and a deep rumbling sound echoed through the ground.


    “What’s going on?!” Caseoh shouted over the noise.


    Renna’s eyes widened in shock. “It’s—it''s the gods!”


    A crack formed in the sky above them, splitting reality apart. Through it, a figure descended — impossibly large, yet somehow compressed into a humanoid shape. His presence distorted the air, bending the very fabric of existence. His eyes — infinite pools of black and gold — locked onto Caseoh.


    Caseoh’s breath hitched. He recognized that presence instinctively. Absolute. Overwhelming.


    Xa?eoh.


    The figure’s gaze sharpened, and his mouth curled into something resembling a smile.


    “It’s time,” Xa?eoh said. His voice reverberated through every corner of existence. “Caseoh — the time for you to awaken has come.”


    A golden light erupted from Xa?eoh''s hand, and Caseoh’s entire body seized with unbearable heat. His vision blurred as an overwhelming force tore through him — a flood of power and knowledge, endless and eternal. He screamed as the world itself seemed to split open beneath his feet.


    What… is this?!


    Flashes of memory and impossible knowledge raced through his mind — infinite worlds collapsing, gods falling to their knees, boundless rivers flowing through existence itself. He saw the end of creation and the beginning of something far greater. And at the center of it all… himself.


    The golden light receded. Caseoh collapsed to his knees, gasping. His hands trembled. He could feel it — the shift inside him.


    Xa?eoh’s eyes narrowed. “Stand.”


    Caseoh lifted his gaze. His breathing slowed as a strange calm settled over him. He rose to his feet, golden light still swirling around his hands.


    “What… what did you do to me?”


    Xa?eoh smiled. “I gave you what you always had — but could never reach.”


    Renna stumbled back. “Caseoh… your eyes…”


    Caseoh touched his face. His reflection stared back at him in a nearby pool of water. His eyes — once dull gray — were now swirling pools of gold and black, mirroring Xa?eoh’s.


    Xa?eoh turned away. “Your power was never missing, Caseoh. It was sealed. By the gods themselves.”


    Caseoh’s breath hitched. “Why?”


    Xa?eoh’s gaze darkened. “Because it was too dangerous. For them.”


    Before Caseoh could respond, Xa?eoh raised a hand and pointed toward the horizon, where a dark shape was beginning to rise.


    “The true enemy approaches.” Xa?eoh’s expression hardened. “And now that you’ve awakened, you’re the only one who can stop it.”


    Caseoh swallowed hard. His hands tightened into fists as the golden light surged around his body.


    For the first time in his life…


    He didn’t feel weak.


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    End of Chapter 1


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