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    Elias hadn’t expected to feel so… unprepared. He had thought the examination would be relatively straightforward. After all, his countless hours spent observing others—watching as they fired spells at targets on the far side of an arena—had led him to believe the focus was on power, precision, and maybe a little showmanship. He’d been ready for that, eager even.


    But this? This was something entirely different.


    Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Elias''s patience was wearing thinner with each passing moment. Far from a test of skill, of firepower and precision, this… this felt like a test of endurance—of the body and the mind.


    Elias clenched his jaw, his fingers tightening around the wand at his side. He blinked rapidly, trying to shake off the weight pressing on his mind. He strained to make sense of the words, to pull something coherent from the ceaseless flow, but the longer he listened, the harder it became to focus.


    The announcer’s voice droned on, weaving through tales of the academy’s founding principles and its many triumphs, but to Elias, the words had long since blurred into an incomprehensible hum. It was as if the speech wasn’t just long; it was designed to stretch on forever.


    His mind wandered, struggling to latch onto something concrete. Had he been standing there for minutes or hours? The unchanging cadence of the voice bent his perception of time, and the world around him seemed to narrow to the sound of the endless speech.


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    He tightened his grip even harder than before, his fingers digging into his palm so hard it felt like he might draw blood. The spiraling construct of flame pulsed in response, its heat intensifying as if mirroring the frustration building within him. Focus, he told himself, blinking rapidly to stave off the fog settling over his thoughts. But the harder he tried to concentrate, the heavier the words pressed against his mind, wrapping around him like chains.


    This can’t be the whole exam, can it? There has to be more than this…


    His eyes darted around the crowd, searching for a clue, an end to the monotony.


    Curiously, a smiling boy stood perfectly upright, completely unaffected by the penetrating voice, and standing opposed to the wavering hopefuls around him, as if none of it had any impact on him at all. Elias''s thoughts about the boy were abruptly interrupted however, when an even more curious sound echoed from somewhere behind him.


    The sound was faint at first—just a soft thud. Elias’s brow furrowed, his grip on his wand loosening slightly as he tilted his head to listen. Another thud followed, then another, irregular but unmistakable.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    He risked a glance over his shoulder, his heart quickening. A few students were crumpled on the ground, their expressions slack, as though they had simply given up and collapsed where they stood.


    Yet, no one else seemed to notice. The crowd remained eerily still, their gazes locked forward, entranced by the announcer’s voice. It was as if the very sound had them in a trance, holding them captive in its endless loop.


    Elias swallowed hard, his throat dry. What’s going on here?


    He wanted to run, to escape somehow, to shake off the oppressive weight of the voice droning endlessly in his mind. But as the thuds continued, each one like a dull hammer striking his nerves, Elias realized that the only thing he could do was focus on staying upright, on not collapsing like the others.


    His legs trembled, the heat of his wand now almost unbearable in his clenched fist. Sweat trickled down the side of his face, and his breaths came shallow and quick. Stay standing. Just stay standing, he repeated to himself like a mantra, forcing his knees to lock and his mind to focus on anything but the pull of the voice.


    He gritted his teeth, the torment pressing heavier with each passing second. The droning voice bore into his mind like a relentless tide, and with every thud behind him, his resolve wavered. Part of him braced for the worst—an escalation of the already unbearable ordeal, some new layer of punishment to test his limits further.


    But then, just as his knees began to shake, and the oppressive fog seemed ready to drag him down, the voice shifted.


    “And now, it is my honor to welcome these aspiring hopefuls,” the voice boomed, shattering the trance-like monotony and regaining the crowd’s attention.


    Elias blinked, his grip on his wand slackening as he processed the sudden change. Around him, students began stirring, their focus sharpening, the spell seemingly lifted.


    “May your journey here ignite the flames of your potential,” the voice continued, its tone bright and commanding, “and may Aetherion Academy be the forge where your brilliance is shaped!”


    A rush of applause erupted from the crowd, startling Elias. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, his muscles relaxing for the first time in what felt like hours. A flicker of pride sparked within him—he’d endured. He was still standing.


    A quick glance around revealed far fewer students than there had been moments ago. The crowd had thinned considerably, the line of hopefuls much shorter than before. Elias’s eyes scanned the area, expecting to find the crumpled forms of those who had fallen.


    To his surprise, there were none. Not a single body remained where they had collapsed. It was as if they had been quietly whisked away, removed without a sound or trace.


    He frowned, his brow knitting in confusion. Where did they go?


    But almost as soon as he’d voiced his concern, the trial gates in front of him began to shimmer, their surface rippling like liquid silver. The strange disappearance of the fallen lingered in his mind for only a moment before his focus shifted entirely to what lay ahead.


    Elias tightened his grip on his wand, this time not out of panic, but resolution. The faint warmth of the spiraling flame steadied his nerves as a staff member stepped forward, motioning for the remaining students to form rows.


    The crowd stirred, moving into a semblance of order as the students began their march toward the academy. The hum of anticipation returned, filling the air with a mixture of excitement and tension.


    Elias fell into step, his gaze fixed on the shimmering gates as they loomed ever closer. The endless droning speech and the strange happenings moments before faded into the background, replaced by a single, all-consuming thought: This is it.


    It was far from a smooth start, but the examinations had finally begun.