Chapter 13: Into the World Space
The sky darkened over Apex Academy, not from clouds but from formations—grand spell circles floating like celestial diagrams above the highest towers. The day had come.
The World Space portal, sealed and hidden for decades, now shimmered above the Sky Cradle Plaza. The golden platform hummed with power, suspended between time and space, wrapped in an aura that made even Saint instructors bow their heads.
It belonged to the Celestial Fang Family.
Tory Vale stood on the edge of the crowd, the wind pulling lightly at his silver-white hair. His eyes stayed steady, while Jim, beside him, cracked his knuckles with a grin.
"So this is the big stage, huh?"
Tory nodded. "And it's not just us this time. The whole continent is watching."
---
The Celestial Fang's Arrival
They came without announcement.
One moment, the wind was empty. The next, ten streaks of light crashed into the plaza, each resolving into a youth clad in armor of flowing energy, their robes embroidered with silver fangs and radiant stars.
The atmosphere turned cold. Deadly cold.
Instructors turned to bow.
Saint Instructor Talien lowered his gaze. "The inheritors of the Celestial Fang."
Each of the ten youths exuded the calm arrogance of those born to power. They did not acknowledge the crowd. They stood like statues—silent, composed, and lethal.
A voice whispered behind Tory.
"Those are the ten hidden geniuses? I thought they were just rumors."
"They're real," Jim muttered, eyeing them. "And they're not here to make friends."
One stepped forward—his eyes a shade too dark, too endless.
He glanced briefly at Tory. Then, ever so faintly, his brow creased.
Tory felt it.
A ripple.
> [System Notice: Temporal Resonance Detected. Source Origin: Time Element.]
But it passed.
The boy turned away.
---
The Portal Opens
Headmaster Ryven raised his arms. The sky split.
An ancient gate rose from the ground, formed of obsidian, gold, and starlight. Etchings of beasts, war, and ascending cultivators glowed with ethereal fire.
"The World Space is open," Ryven declared. "All participants—step forward. This is not a simulation. Not an illusion. What lies within is real. You may die. You may return transformed. Those who find inheritance, fortune, or secrets shall be changed forever."
He turned to the Saint instructors. "Mark the thirty. They are to enter first."
---
The Top 30: New Additions
As the previous ten stood ready, twenty more students joined them—drawn from the second, third, and fourth years. But ten of these new arrivals stood apart.
The ten Celestial Fang geniuses had already seized ten of the top 30 spots during the qualifying trials.
Their names were not spoken.
They needed no introduction.
Each one exuded quiet superiority, but their eyes occasionally lingered on Tory and Jim.
---
Into the Realm
The gate pulsed.
Tory stepped forward, his System whispering silently:
> [World Space Integration Initialized. Dimensional Anchor Active. Elemental Attunement: Ready. Reality Core: Contained. Time Core: Masked. Gravity Core: Stable. Space Pathway: Aligned.]
They walked through.
---
First Trial: Ruined Plateau of Dominion
The realm was vast—a shattered continent hovering in an endless sky, islands of stone floating in chains of mana and broken time.
The moment they landed, formations ignited beneath their feet.
An instructor's voice echoed from nowhere:
"First phase—Prove your Dominion. Seize territory. Establish your zone. Hold it for twelve hours."
Immediately, chaos broke.
Tory and Jim landed near a broken temple. Ten others landed nearby.
One of them smirked—a Celestial Fang genius.
"Trash first, then territory."
Jim's eyes burned.
"I've been waiting to punch someone all morning."
The genius stepped forward, swirling spatial daggers and light-twisting threads. "Your existence insults our bloodline."
He shot toward Jim.
But Tory moved.
The world bent.
One moment the Fang genius was mid-charge. The next, he stood behind Tory, his weapon shattered.
"What—?"
Tory didn't answer. He pressed his palm to the air.
> [Gravitic Field: Activated]
The boy slammed into the ground.
The fight lasted seconds.
More came.
One by one, the proud Fang youths challenged Jim and Tory.
One by one, they fell.
Kael Zeyvorin, watching from afar, muttered, "He's not just some clever orphan. He's... something else."
Selia Aeloria, far above, carved her own temple into the floating continent using nothing but runes and frost.
---
The Watching Eyes
Far above, a chamber hidden in the higher realm of the World Space flickered into existence.
Five figures sat in silence.
Transcendents.
They watched.
Especially the youth with silver hair who moved space like water and bent time without trying.
"Who is he?" asked one of them.
The Celestial Fang elder remained silent.
The youth on the screen—Tory—shimmered faintly with a rhythm known only to them.
"...Is he one of ours?" the elder asked aloud.
"Or something far older?"
---
End of Day One
By the time the twelve hours ended, twenty-three participants had established domains. Seven had failed.
Tory and Jim held one of the most fortified plateaus—ringed with spatial traps, ash formations, and elemental fields.
Tory sat at the center, meditating.
> [System Notice: Temporal Core Pulse Detected. Synchronization… 5%. Caution advised.]
Jim leaned back against a broken pillar. "Hey, you okay?"
Tory's eyes opened, glowing faintly.
"Yeah. Just… tired."
But in truth, the resonance with the other Time user still vibrated in his bones.