Occupying one of the coaches of the aether rail, the seven candidates from Ardentia were traveling toward the same island where William and Emma had nearly lost their lives not too long ago.

The rhythmic hum of the rail echoed faintly through the coach as the landscape outside blurred into streaks of green and stone.

The front seats were occupied by Kevin and Natalie, both sitting upright, their posture composed and attentive. Right behind them sat Gizel and Mia—one calm and sharp-eyed, the other nervous and murmuring, as if already sending the disaster upcoming

Two rows behind them sat a young man with long, mid-back-length dark-green hair cascading down his back. He had remained silent for most of the journey, rarely engaging in conversation and keeping his gaze fixed either on the window or his own thoughts. He was the least associated with the rest of the group.

This was Daven—the same man who had rejected Dorothy a few days ago and was infamous throughout the academy for his flirtatious personality.

And finally, on the last seat of the coach, sat the golden couple of Ardentia.

The two who had inspired the greatest number of freshmen this year.

Emma and William.

They had departed only a few hours ago, yet the journey felt longer—perhaps because none of them truly knew what awaited them at the destination.

All seven of them had been chosen by the Tower to serve as the Pillars of Ardentia.

A role bestowed upon only a select few students—those deemed strong enough, composed enough, and decisive enough to stand between danger and civilians when the world turned grim.

The students were strictly forbidden from telling anyone where they were headed or why. The Great Hall feared that spreading such information would ignite panic among the academy.

However, that decision felt a little too considerate.

These students deserved to know what was coming—something far more real and dangerous than dungeon raids or flashy contests designed to entertain spectators.

But the Hall's decision was final.

And no one could change it.

"I don't even know why I was selected…" Mia whispered to herself, her shoulders slumped as she stared at her clasped hands.

The girl was shy by nature and painfully anti-social, and the weight of responsibility pressing down on her made her stomach churn. She genuinely looked like she might throw up at any moment.

"There were so many people stronger than me," she muttered.

Gizel turned her head slightly, casting a sideways glance at the redhead. "Then why is it," she asked bluntly, "that you possess such a strong skill but lack confidence?"

She paused before adding, "You earned four stars during your last raid, didn't you?"

Mia flinched. "But… that was because of Emma. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have even made it past the earlier stages."

"Yes," Gizel replied without hesitation, "but no one can take away the support you provided, especially during the fourth-floor raid."

Mia groaned softly and leaned back against her seat. "Are you… trying to motivate me?"

Gizel scoffed. "I'm reminding you," she said firmly, "that you're representing Ardentia now. If you can't be confident, then at least pretend to be."

Mia whimpered inwardly.

Why did she have to sit next to someone so relentlessly honest?

Meanwhile, at the back of the coach…

Emma leaned her head against William's shoulder, her breathing slow and even. The gentle sway of the rail had lulled her into a short nap.

William kept his gaze fixed outside the window.

The forest rushing past wasn't particularly remarkable, but the quiet isolation of the moment allowed his thoughts to flow freely—away from the academy's noise, away from spectators, surrounded only by people with strong mental fortitude.

His mind inevitably drifted back to the spell he had used on the fourth floor.

A black hole.

Even light had seemed hesitant to cross that space, bending inward as though afraid of what awaited at its center.

In this world, aether filled everything. Stone, air, flesh—each held a delicate balance between substance and particles. That spell had severed the balance entirely. It created a hollow where aether simply refused to remain—a void so absolute that the world itself attempted to correct it.

And in trying to do so, everything nearby was dragged inward.

Not because it was forced.

—but because there was nowhere else left for it to exist.

William remembered the sensation vividly. His own magic had been tested, stretched thin, as if the spell were quietly questioning whether he deserved to remain whole.

This was not destruction magic.

Destruction broke things.

This spell erased the idea that something had ever existed in the first place.

Walls did not shatter.

Flames did not extinguish.

They were unmade—returned to a silent state before form, before purpose, before meaning.

Now, thinking about it calmly, William realized just how terrifyingly magnificent the spell was.

To meddle with emptiness itself was to challenge the world's right to exist as it did.

What should I name it? he wondered.

He didn't even know whether he would ever use the spell again. The price it demanded had left him drained beyond measure.

Yet the name came to him almost instantly.

Void Dominion.

A name befitting a technique so overwhelming that even the Prism Ape had chosen to flee rather than face its grasp.

Was William afraid of using it?

No.

What truly terrified him was the thought of harming someone on his side with such overwhelming power.

But if he ever stood alone on a battlefield…

Then things would be different.

Just then, the scenery outside the window began to slow.

William tilted his head and caught sight of the familiar towering gates of the island emerging in the distance.

His gaze shifted slightly, and a faint smirk tugged at his lips when he spotted the bridge he had once destroyed—now completely rebuilt, standing as if it had never fallen.

The movement stirred Emma awake.

"Have we reached?" she asked groggily, rubbing her eyes as her slightly disheveled hair fell over her face.

William smiled at the sight. "Do you want some water?"

She shook her head weakly. "I need food."

He chuckled softly. "Didn't I tell you to eat something before we left?"

Emma groaned in response, just as a man stepped into the coach.

"Please take your belongings and step out."

Kevin and Natalie were the first to rise, followed closely by Gizel, who reached up to pull their bags from the overhead compartment. Mia stayed glued to her side, moving like a child frightened of large crowds.

Squeezing Emma's hand, William said, "Go. I'll bring the bags."

Emma nodded and stood up, still a little light-headed from her nap.

William reached for his own bag but found it caught on a slightly protruding nail. As he wrestled with it, trying to pull it free without tearing the fabric, he heard a sudden yelp to his left.

He turned—

And froze.

Emma, still drowsy, had clipped the corner of a seat and lost her balance. She was about to fall when a pair of arms caught her mid-fall, gripping her waist firmly.

For a brief moment, she stared into a pair of green eyes looking down at her.

"Are you okay?" Daven asked.

The next instant, Emma realized where his hands were—and her temperament changed immediately.

"Yes. I'm fine."

She stepped away sharply.

Her abrupt movement left Daven stunned, but what truly made his body go cold was the overwhelming aura pressing down on him from behind.

He didn't even dare to turn.

"I apologize for touching you inappropriately, sister," he said quickly, lowering his head before marching out of the coach.

Emma huffed as she watched him leave.

Then she turned back toward William.

The moment their eyes met, the chill in her expression melted away completely.

°°°°°°°

A/N:- You thought things were going to go that way, but I hate such stuff. Thanks for reading.

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