[Status]

[Name: Elowyn Strix]

[Class: Empress of Time’s Edge (SSS)]

[???: ????]

[Affinity: Astral Abyss]

Elements:

• Fire (63% Mastery)

• Lightning (61% Mastery)

Unique Element:

• Red Lightning (59% Mastery)

• Time (18% Mastery)

[Rank: Platinum 1]

Skills:

• Calm Mind [C]

• Precision & Accuracy [C]

• Photographic Memory [B]

• Time Deceleration [SS]

• Future Sight [S]

• ??? [SSS] [Locked]

[Weapon Mastery: Sword (65%)]

Techniques:

• Cinder Rose Swordsmanship

• Mana Breathing Technique

Wings:

• Seris Vale

-----

The Day Before Cael Left Karyal City

The evening light filtered through the window, casting long shadows across her room. Dust motes drifted lazily in the golden beam, stirred by the faint breeze from the open balcony.

The clock on the wall ticked slowly, each second marking the passage of time she could never get back.

Elowyn checked her status interface and smiled. She had broken through to [Platinum] just now, at only sixteen years old. One month from now, she would turn seventeen.

The title of youngest [Platinum] ranker in history now belonged to her.

Three months ago, she had been [Gold 2].

Six months ago, she had been [Silver 3].

Her progression was ridiculous, almost unnatural, and she found it deeply terrifying.

Feeling happy despite her concerns, she climbed onto her bed and rolled to the side.

A mirror stood on the bedside table. In the reflection, she saw herself differently now.

Her hair was white, pale as fresh snow, and her eyes were red, deep as spilled blood.

The face staring back at her was her own, and yet it was not.

Ever since Lucian had given her the book, claiming her future self had sent it, she had never seen her black hair in reflections again.

After absorbing the powers, memories, talent, and fate from that book, something fundamental had changed within her.

The fate she had absorbed was trying to fight back. If she gave in, she would become another person: her future self, the Sovereign of Red Heart.

She could feel it. A part of her soul was already tainted by that fate.

Sometimes that tainted part even took control of her body.

How else could she explain her rapid progression?

How else could she explain the Affinity, the Time element mastery, and the wings listed at the bottom of her status?

The name "Seris Vale" stared back at her, a mystery she had not yet solved.

The Time element had been locked.

She did not know how to unlock it, and yet, when she randomly checked her status one day, it was already unlocked.

The experience was baffling and deeply terrifying.

Knowing she was becoming someone else and not being able to stop it... she hated that feeling.

Her hands trembled slightly as she lowered the interface.

Although she had future memories, they were vague and almost blurred, little more than fragments and impressions rather than clear instructions.

She saw flashes of events, faces without names, places without context.

Enough to know something was coming, but not enough to understand what.

Now, Elowyn had two options. She could accept that fate, or she could continue resisting it.

But the situation was not hopeless.

As long as her willpower remained strong enough, even after accepting that fate, she would still be herself.

The fate would not erase her; it would merge with her.

But Elowyn was not ready yet. She was waiting and training her willpower.

Once she was strong enough, she would accept it. Until then, she would resist.

There was another option: become a celestial herself.

Once she became a celestial, that fate would no longer affect her. She would be beyond it.

Elowyn took a deep breath and pushed those thoughts aside. There was no use in overthinking.

’I wonder how Cael is doing?’

She smiled as she recalled their interactions: the moonlight, the grass, the kiss, the way he had looked at her.

She should go say goodbye before he leaves for the selections.

Unfortunately, her team’s selections would be held at Everbright Academy. They were not going anywhere.

She sighed and slowly closed her eyes, drifting into sleep.

---

[S-Rank Skill: Future Sight Activated]

---

In the dream, Elowyn was hovering in the sky.

Below her lay a fallen stadium filled with corpses.

The other side of the stadium was completely incinerated, the ground reduced to ash and charcoal as if a massive explosion had occurred there.

The sky was full of clouds, and rain was falling steadily.

Despite the rain, the heat waves rising from the ground were still intense, and steam rose from the charred earth.

The air smelled of blood and smoke and something else, something older.

"W-what is happening? Where is this place?"

Elowyn was puzzled. It was a strange dream, but even if this was only a dream, how could she not be curious when she saw a stadium full of corpses?

Her eyes fell on a tattered poster: "The Golden Scale Academy."

Then her gaze paused on a wraith hovering above the stadium.

The wraith had a few burn marks, but she was otherwise unharmed.

Elowyn immediately knew who it was: the Wraith Princess, the eldest daughter of the Wraith King.

As a guild master’s daughter, she knew many things.

Her father’s intelligence network had profiles on every major threat to humanity, and the Wraith Princess was near the top of the list.

Soon, the space around her began to crumble, and Elowyn’s eyes snapped open.

...

"What a strange dream,"

She muttered, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Was it because Cael is going to Golden Scale that I dreamed of Golden Scale?"

Then the interface appeared before her. As she read the lines, her eyes widened.

---

[S-Rank Skill: Future Sight Deactivated]

----

"Don’t tell me... what I saw was the future?"

She sat upright on the bed and climbed down. Myriad thoughts crossed her mind.

The image of the fallen stadium, the corpses, the Wraith Princess, all of it burned in her memory like a brand.

"What should I do?"

...

Back to Present – Golden Scale Academy, Guest Dorm

Cael was recovering from the lucid feeling after copying the new SS-rank skill.

He did not check the skill description.

He climbed down from the bed and saw Edwin closing the door. The room was dim, lit only by the fading evening light outside.

Edwin looked at Cael with surprise.

"You woke up already?"

Cael nodded.

"Was there anyone who entered the room while I was sleeping?"

Edwin shook his head.

"Nobody entered the room, but..."

Cael pressed immediately.

"But what?"

Edwin sighed.

"Ethan and some other students came to me. They asked for sparring matches between our academy students. They were so damn rude."

Cael paused.

’The one who used that skill on me... was that person among those students?’

Thinking this, Cael asked,

"Did someone... use any..."

Before he could complete his sentence, Edwin understood what Cael was going to say.

"No. They did not use any violence."

Cael nodded and did not ask further. The mystery of the vision would have to wait.

Just as Edwin was about to say something, someone knocked on the door. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Both Cael and Edwin turned their heads.

"I will check it."

Edwin said. He moved and opened the door.

The black-haired boy stood in the doorway, his three-star locket gleaming faintly in the dim light. It was Ethan.

Edwin looked at him with a strange expression.

"You again? What do you want now?"

Ethan forced a smile.

"I want to meet your representative."

Cael, who was inside the room, heard the request and raised an eyebrow.

Edwin looked back at Cael, and Cael nodded.

Edwin stepped aside.

"Come in."

Ethan walked inside and saw Cael sitting on the bed, his long silver hair a mess.

With a small smile on his face, Cael asked,

"What is it?"

Ethan took a deep breath.

For some reason, he felt that Cael was different from an hour ago, when he had guided them inside.

There was something in the air, a tension that had not been there before.

’Whatever.’

Ethan stated bluntly,

"Students from Golden Scale are requesting Everbright Academy students for a sparring—"

Before he could complete his sentence, Cael said,

"Not interested."

Ethan was surprised.

"It is Golden Scale Academy’s rules. You guys should at least participate in one spar."

Cael spoke slowly.

"I will think about it after the selections."

Ethan shook his head and tried to mock Cael.

"I guess my friend’s words were true. You, Everbright Academy students, are cowards. Just admit defeat in the match. At least try."

Cael sighed.

Seraphina had told him to avoid trouble and not to create any, but this fellow intended to drag him into a mess.

’This won’t do.’

Cael stood up from the bed and activated Battle Reaper’s Dominion.

Instantly, Ethan felt chills run down his spine. Danger seemed to emanate from every corner of the room.

Ethan’s breath caught in his throat.

He could feel the pressure of Cael’s presence, subtle but undeniable, like a blade resting against his neck.

The room felt smaller than before. Behind him, through the open door, the corridor stretched empty and silent.

Not a single voice echoed. Not even Edwin, who was standing beside the door.

It was as if the world itself was waiting to see what would happen next.

Cael calmly walked toward Ethan and placed his hand on Ethan’s shoulder. His grip was light but firm, unmoving.

With a slight smile, Cael said,

"It seems you are misunderstanding something. The reason I said sparring after the selections is not because we are afraid of you guys."

His smile widened slightly, though his eyes remained cold.

"It is just that... you would not want your academy’s students to be in the medical dorm during the selections. Would you?"