The God of War's throne trembled, its golden pillars shattering at his fury. "A mortal insect thinks he is the Universe?!" His words rattled the heavenly plane, scattering lesser gods like leaves on an autumn wind. "Summon the Herald of Ruin. Burn the pretender's world into ash until he begs for annihilation."
A shadowy form knelt, its form fluctuating between man and beast.
"As you command."
Down below, Ravi Sharma sneezed in his dormitory, covering notes for a remedial potions exam all over the place. Someone's talking about me, he thought, smiling. Must be fan club business.
Astra Academy's Theory of Magic class hummed with superiority. Professor Vayne, a monocled skeleton man, lectured on "mana channeling fundamentals." Ravi sat in the back, doodling a stick figure slaying a dragon.
"Mr. Sharma!" Vayne's cane hit his desk. "Explain the Third Law of Elemental Transmutation."
Ravi sat bolt upright, glasses at an angle. "Uh. turns. fire. kittens?"
Laughter erupted. Klaus smirked. "Even kittens would flee his incompetence."
Liora rolled her eyes but tensed as Seraphina walked in, her ice-blue eyes raking the space. The headmistress lingers on Ravi, her aura probing.
She's sharp, Ravi thought, letting his mana pulse just enough to mimic a novice's stumble. Seraphina's brow furrowed, unsatisfied.
"Enough," she declared. "The Phantom Labyrinth trial tomorrow will test practical skill. Get ready. or die."
Students went pale. The Labyrinth was a death trap—moving walls, magical creatures, and whispers of a cursed relic.
Klaus stepped in close to Ravi. "Wet yourself before the first turn, you bet."
Ravi massaged his head. "Do they provide bathroom stops?"
Perfect, he inwardly cheered. Another stage for "The Universe" to crash.
During lunch, Ravi "accidentally" stumbled into the cafeteria fountain, eliciting jeers. Splashing about like a soaked cat, a silken laugh echoed.
"How delightfully graceless."
A girl watched him, her beauty sharp as a dagger—jet-black hair, eyes like twilight, and a crown of obsidian roses. Princess Lysandra Veyra, heir to the Eclipse Empire, notorious for reducing suitors to ash.
"You're the blacksmith's boy," she said, offering a hand. Her touch burned cold. "I adore underdogs. They're so… entertaining to break."
Ravi blinked water off his eyelashes. "Uh… thanks?"
Liora stepped forward, half-drawing his sword. "He's not your toy, Veyra."
Lysandra grinned. "Jealous, half-breed? Don't worry—I'll bring him back…mostly whole."
As they bickered, Ravi spotted Mira peeking out from behind a pillar, her cheeks flushing. Harem trope: committed, he thought, suppressing a laugh. The world's script writes itself.
That evening, Ravi stood at the top of the highest spire of Luminara, snacking on popcorn conjured into being. In the slums, the Herald of Ruin moved—a hooded monstrosity whose eyes burned, infecting the air with every step.
"Pathetic," Ravi complained. "War sent a glorified pest control?"
He descended, cloak billowing dramatically. "Your incursion here ends. And your fashion sense. Black cloaks are so last eon."
The Herald snarled, reality distorting into jagged spikes.
"Die, false creator!"
Ravi yawned, catching a spike in mid-air. It turned into a bouquet of lilies.
"Cute effort. Here's a rewrite."
He clicked his fingers. The Herald disintegrated, its message now nothing more than a squeaking rubber duck. Ravi tossed it into a fountain.
"Quack at the gods for me."
Hidden, Seraphina observed in the darkness, her silver locks shimmering dimly. Who… no, what are you?
The following morning, students faced the Labyrinth's open mouth. Seraphina's voice boomed: "Survive six hours. Obtain a crystal shard. Die, and your family pays a burial fee."
Ravi stepped in line, being shoved. Lysandra winked. "Stay close, puppy. I'll take care of you."
Liora laughed. "Stay behind me. And don't touch anything."
Mira trembled. "I-I'll cure you, Ravi!"
Klaus snorted. "He'll walk into a mimic's maw."
The gates creaked.
Pandemonium erupted. Students scattered as walls crumbled, traps snapping. Ravi let himself be "swept away," dodging arrows with laughably accurate stumbles.
"Found you," Lysandra cooed, herding him into a corner. "You're keeping something back. I love secrets."
Ravi rubbed his nose. "Uh… I once stole a cookie?"
Its bellow shook the hallway. A twelve-eyed monstrosity rushed, spittle dissolving rock.
Lysandra raised a hand, dark fire seething. "How boring. I'll burn—"
Ravi "slipped," shoving her aside as the beast came at him. Its claw raked his arm—a scratch he endured.
"Fool!" Lysandra spat, scorching the beast. "You'd die for a stranger?"
He smiled. "Cookies are worth it."
Something flashed in her eyes—curiosity, annoyance, interest.
While she battled a ghostly knight, her blade ringing out as Mira stitched wounds, she snarled, "Where's Ravi?!".
"Most likely getting himself killed," Klaus taunted, running from a cloud of scarabs.
At the labyrinth's heart, Ravi found the artifact—a jagged crimson shard pulsating with cursed energy. "Oh, a 'Soulrend Shard.' How edgy," he muttered, pocketing it.
Seraphina's voice boomed: "Trial concluded."
Meanwhile, at the academy, Ravi was bandaged (by Mira) and scolded (by Liora). Lysandra watched, intrigued.
Seraphina monitored the surveillance crystals. Every time Ravi "stumbled," a trap broke down or an animal wandered. Coincidence?
In the skies, the rubber duck floated into the God of War's throne room.
".What is this?"
"Quack," it replied.
The god's roar shattered galaxies. Ravi smiled at the stars. We'll see them dance again.