CLEAVER OF SIN

The girl with the number 101 written neatly on her slip of paper rose from her seat in silence. She took a deep breath, steadying herself, and then walked forward with composed, almost measured steps toward the tall, ominous door at the front of the chamber.

Asher immediately sharpened his senses. He pushed his Omni Perception to its very peak, straining to see or sense what lay beyond the door.

Yet, even with his perception stretched to its utmost limit, the thick walls of the chamber acted like a barrier, suppressing and obstructing his ability to reach further. He frowned faintly. No matter how much he tried, the door yielded nothing but a veil of emptiness.

What lay beyond was shrouded, an empty corridor, long and stretching. He could see the girl step inside, her eyes shifting briefly to one side, and then she calmly turned in that direction, vanishing into the unseen as the heavy door closed firmly behind her with a dull echo.

Silence reclaimed the chamber.

Asher and William sat together, their gazes trained on the door, their bodies still. No words were exchanged, for both were waiting, waiting for the girl to return, waiting to see what lay at the heart of this mysterious first exam.

Minutes passed. Then tens of minutes. Before long, nearly half an hour blurred by like smoke in the wind. The chamber was still, filled only with the faint breathing of the gathered candidates. Finally, at the thirtieth minute, the door opened once again.

The girl stepped back inside. Her expression was unchanged, calm yet not blank. But there was a smile lingering at the corners of her lips, subtle, but undeniably there. A smile of success, or perhaps relief.

Asher's gaze sharpened once more. He locked his Omni Perception onto her, not to invade her thoughts, but to carefully observe her, her stride, her movements. What he saw was confidence. She walked not as someone defeated or broken, but as though whatever test she had faced beyond the door had ended in her favor.

No one rushed forward to question her. No one dared break the fragile rule of silence imposed upon them, but everyone, every single student in that chamber, watched her with scrutiny, desperate to glean even the smallest fragment of information from her calm return. The tilt of her head, the steadiness of her stride, the faint upward curve of her lips, everything became a clue.

Moments later, the orb above the door frame flickered with light once more. The soft glow condensed into symbols, and a new number appeared, this time belonging to a boy.

The boy did not waste even a second. He rose from his seat briskly, his eyes betraying both nervousness and determination. Without uttering a word, he walked directly to the door, disappeared beyond, and, like the first girl, returned precisely thirty minutes later. His face, too, carried no sign of failure.

The pattern repeated. Candidate after candidate was summoned. Some came back smiling faintly, others returned wearing calm masks, betraying nothing. And yet… not everyone returned.

Asher noticed it first. Some who entered the door never came back to this chamber. It was as if the trial beyond had rerouted them elsewhere, to another location hidden from the rest. He frowned faintly, his arms crossing over his chest, his legs folded neatly, deep in thought.

'Are they separating those who fail from those who pass?' he wondered silently.

'If that is the case, which group remains here? Are we the successful ones… or are we being kept aside as the failures?'

The thought lingered in his mind for several moments before he dismissed it with a small shake of his head. Overthinking would yield no results. The Academy had their methods, and speculating endlessly would change nothing.

What mattered to him most was reaching the combat examinations. It had been months since he and Virelass had torn through real flesh, and he longed for that thrill of battle again.

"It seems this is a written exam, Tenth Sun," William's voice broke the silence. His tone carried amusement as he sat in a relaxed position, his smile calm.

"But isn't that a little unfair?" he continued, his expression darkening slightly. "The commoners do not have access to libraries, to books, to the wealth of knowledge that nobles are raised with. Wouldn't this kind of trial place them at an undeniable disadvantage?"

"Life isn't fair, William. You know this well, don't you?" Asher replied calmly, his gaze unwavering.

William sighed, his hand rubbing his chin in thought. "I suppose… but fairness or not, it makes little difference. I only need to endure it, complete it, and pass."

Asher gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

It was at that moment that a hushed conversation broke out at the far end of the chamber. A girl leaned closer to her friend, whispering curiously about what lay beyond the door. The friend hesitated, glancing around nervously, but when she saw no supervisor watching them and no force preventing her, she gave in and prepared to share what she knew.

But before the words could fully leave her lips, a sudden glow erupted beneath her feet.

Light engulfed her instantly, and in a flash, she was gone.

Everyone in the chamber froze. No explanation was needed. They knew, instinctively, what had happened. She had been expelled, sent back to Canestane territory in a flash, all for breaking the simplest rules.

Whispers rippled through the group.

"Damn. Is that girl stupid? Didn't she know the Academy was watching us somehow?" one student muttered under her breath, her voice sharp with disbelief.

Asher, however, remained impassive. He shook his head faintly but chose not to comment. This only reaffirmed what he had already learned in the lobby earlier: the Star Academy was ruthlessly serious about its rules, and they tolerated no disobedience.

The orb above flickered once again, this time forming the number 179.

William's turn.

"Wish me luck, Tenth Sun," William said with a faint smile as he rose to his feet.

"You won't need it," Asher replied nonchalantly, his tone light but calm.

William chuckled softly, saying nothing further. His calmness never wavered as he strode toward the door.

Asher watched him leave, his gaze lingering thoughtfully. Although he said nothing aloud, his mind was already forming impressions of William. His composure, the way he carried himself, his measured words, William was not ordinary.

'Who would have thought I'd meet someone so interesting before even stepping foot into the Academy proper?' Asher mused with a faint smile.

There was something more. Though one could not measure the flow of Astra through another's veins with absolute precision, Asher's Astra Star Energy had heightened his sensitivity. Through his perception, he could sense the abundance of Astra coursing within William. It was powerful, far beyond the average student.

Of course, every candidate here was a genius in their own right. The Star Academy only admitted the best. Yet even among geniuses, William's light stood out brightly.

Thirty minutes passed, right on time, and William returned. A smile stretched across his face as he walked past the others without sparing them a glance, his steps carrying him directly back to Asher.

"How was it?" Asher asked calmly, his eyes still faintly narrowed in scrutiny.

"Nothing much," William answered with an easy smile. "I'll be waiting for your return."

Asher inclined his head slightly in acknowledgment. His gaze then shifted to the glowing orb above the door frame. The light pulsed, symbols forming in radiant green.

The number 233 appeared.

His number.