Morning sunlight didn't exactly descend upon the Primordial Academy—it appeared, gradually and gently, as if reality itself was remembering the idea of light. The veil of starlight that blanketed the sky peeled away layer by layer, revealing the soft golden shimmer of Solara's radiance. It brought a calm warmth to the stone paths and crystal towers, lighting up the Academy like a divine stage.
Inside the Courtyard of Reflection, students sat in quiet contemplation. The old marble ground, engraved with forgotten symbols, shimmered faintly under their presence. Small pools of water—some natural, some formed from condensed celestial energy—sat undisturbed among trimmed hedges and meditative platforms.
Dawn sat at the far end, away from the rest.
The water near him didn't ripple, even when a leaf fell upon its surface.
He was calm.
Yet inside, a storm stirred.
---
Will strengthening.
To some, it was a daily task, no different from breathing. To others, it was a lifetime endeavor. Dawn understood now why the Academy had placed such importance on it. Without a strong Will, all other strength would collapse like a castle built on mist.
The instructor's words from orientation echoed in his mind.
"A Prime without Will is just an echo waiting to fade."
There were three ways. Each unique. Each demanding honesty and depth of soul.
Affirmation of Existence.
Dawn exhaled and closed his eyes. Slowly, he allowed his thoughts to dive inwards, to descend the staircase of memory.
He saw a child in a small city, laughing in the streets, surrounded by warm gazes.
He saw the same child, tied down in bloodied rooms, screaming beneath stone and steel.
He saw the monster. The mistakes. The revenge. The regret.
He saw the cursed one. And then the one who fought against it.
All of them—him.
"I am all of them," he whispered. "And I accept them."
The air shifted around him, a flicker of light blooming faintly at his core—Void Radiance, the unseen light. It did not shine, did not dazzle. Yet its presence pressed outward, undeniable. It was there, beyond comprehension, like a forgotten truth whispering at the edge of awareness.
The Primal Origin Light reacted, Growing.
---
Nearby, a few students watched Dawn out of the corners of their eyes. His presence had changed since the Vanishing Sky Lake. It was calmer, yet heavier. Lighter, yet denser. Paradox stacked on paradox, like layers of unknowable truth.
Gary sat a short distance away, pretending to be engrossed in his own meditation. But his mind was far from still.
Since Dawn had returned… something was different.
Not just in power. In presence.
He looked—cleaner, if that made sense. Not in the physical sense, but something deeper. There was a clarity in his gaze now. A softness that hadn't been there before. Gary remembered how, when Dawn stepped out of the lake, even the surrounding grass had shimmered as if nourished by something pure.
And yet…
Something lingers, Gary thought. Something I can't see.
Sometimes, when the light hit him just right, there was a faint flicker—a shadow that didn't quite match his movement. A grin that vanished too quickly. An aura that whispered of something barely tamed.
---
Affirmation of Goals.
Dawn opened his eyes and stood.
He didn't need to close his eyes to find purpose.
"I want to heal what was broken in me. To understand what lies beyond the twisted," he murmured, glancing toward the far-off mountains. "And I want to be a shield for those who never had one."
The words weren't grand. They were simple. But they rang with power.
He recalled the radiant figure's words.
"There are many Primes, but few who walk forward with purpose and understanding. Fewer still who remember who they are."
The strange, invisible radiance within him pulsed again—growing deeper, more resonant. It didn't blind. It didn't glow. But it hummed within him like a quiet promise.
---
Affirmation of Morals.
This was the most difficult.
Power corrupted. Ideals faded. Who was to say what was right?
But Dawn remembered the children in the streets of his old city. He remembered the laughter, the kindness of strangers, the feeling of safety in the smallest gestures.
He remembered what was lost.
He remembered why it mattered.
"I will protect. Not because I must, but because someone has to. And I will not let the darkness in me drown the light I've found."
He let the words settle.
The Void Radiance didn't flare.
It hummed. Like a note sustained in perfect harmony. His Resonant Layer flickered subtly, barely visible to the eye—but he felt it, coiled around his Mortal Shell like a second skin. The resonance between the two, once shaky, now aligned. Not perfectly—but enough to begin.
---
Elsewhere in the courtyard, students struggled through their own paths.
One girl wept silently as she whispered apologies to memories long buried.
A boy carved symbols into the earth, praying to ancestors for strength.
Another simply sat and stared at the sky, refusing to speak but radiating stubborn intent.
Each of them took different paths. Some focused on one affirmation. Others tried all three.
This was not a race. Will strengthening was like sculpting one's soul—slow, painful, but endlessly rewarding.
---
As the day wore on, Gary finally stood and walked toward Dawn.
"You seem… quieter."
"Is that a problem?" Dawn replied, not looking up.
"No. But it's new."
Dawn let out a slow breath. "It's necessary."
There was a beat of silence between them. The wind rustled a few leaves from the high trees, making the pool's surface shimmer with broken reflections.
Gary shifted slightly. "Whatever you saw in that lake… it changed you. I know you won't tell me all of it, but I just hope—"
"I'm still me, Gary." Dawn interrupted, softer than expected. "But I had to see my past… in order to walk forward."
Gary nodded slowly. But he still watched that faint flicker around Dawn's shadow, lingering just a second too long behind him.
---
As the Academy bell chimed, marking the end of Will practice, the students stood and began to disperse. Some looked more grounded. Others more shaken.
But Dawn—he stood taller.
Not because he had fully awakened, but because he had finally begun.
And in that silent courtyard, as the veil of starlight began creeping back across the sky, a thought echoed in Dawn's mind:
To walk the path of the Prime is not to erase your past. It is to bear it with pride—and choose to rise anyway.
[End of Chapter 23]