Two Weeks Later
Hal woke up and went through his morning routine. A single bag waited for him by the door—everything he owned. Over the past two weeks, he had taken care of everything, ready for a fresh start. He returned the keys to his apartment and had been staying at a hotel in the meantime, just counting down the days.
Now, jacket on and bag in hand, he made his way to the Trein station.
He never thought he'd ride a Trein in his lifetime—something that could travel between planetary districts, even planets. But his destination wasn't a world. It was Academy Continent, suspended high above the atmosphere, resting atop The Aegis—a floating continent home to dozens of academies. And at the very top of them all was HighGuard, the most prestigious of them all, known for producing Liberators so powerful, some had even liberated entire planets—something only a "God" was believed to be capable of.
Hal arrived at the station. A towering, muscular man stepped forward to inspect him.
"Ticket, name, destination," the man barked.
Hal flashed the digital pass on his phone. "Hal Brenn. Academy Continent. Academy 001—HighGuard."
The man looked surprised. "To think a HighGuard student takes the Trein and doesn't have their own transport…"
He straightened up and moved aside, then pointed down a hallway.
"Station 5. Ship Epsyl."
Hal boarded the ship. It accelerated with a silent pulse, light blurring around him. He murmured to himself, "Traveling at the speed of light… sure is convenient."
In what felt like moments, he arrived at the Trein hub on Academy Island. He disembarked and found a glowing tablet standing in the center of the terminal. A message blinked: Select Academy.
Thousands of academy names and logos flickered across the screen. He tapped the search icon and typed in HighGuard. A code appeared on the screen, with instructions to show it to a nearby Guide.
He spotted one quickly—a robed figure pulsing with magical energy.
The Guide looked at the code, then raised a hand and etched it into the air with glowing symbols. "I declare," the Guide intoned.
In an instant, Hal felt a shift. The space around him folded—light, sound, gravity bending—and then he was seated in a vast auditorium. Thousands of others filled the rows around him.
This is the beginning, Hal thought.