Chapter 1 – The Boy Without a Crown
The bell of Astralis Dominion Academy echoed across the marble valley, its deep metallic resonance rolling over towers of white stone and crystal bridges suspended above the clouds. Every year, on the Day of Awakening, thousands gathered to witness the birth of new legends.
For the students standing before the Hall of Crowns, today would determine the course of their lives.
Some would become protectors of kingdoms.
Some would command armies.
Some would never leave the academy alive.
Zhyrael Veythor expected none of those futures.
He stood at the very end of the line, hands tucked inside the pockets of his faded black coat. Unlike the other candidates dressed in polished ceremonial uniforms embroidered with silver thread, his clothes were plain and worn from years of travel.
Whispers followed him wherever he walked.
“That’s him.”
“The orphan from the Gray District.”
“I heard he failed the entrance trials three times.”
“They only admitted him because Professor Lyskar insisted.”
Zhyrael ignored every word.
People always believed rumors because they were easier than discovering the truth.
Above the academy gates floated nine enormous stone crowns, each representing one of the Sacred Dominions. Their surfaces shimmered with ancient runes that no modern scholar could fully translate.
According to history, every human soul resonated with one Dominion.
Flame.
Ocean.
Storm.
Stone.
Light.
Shadow.
Life.
Time.
Or Void.
Only once in recorded history had someone awakened two.
No one had ever awakened none.
“Next.”
An elderly instructor raised his staff.
A young woman stepped forward.
The crystal beneath her feet erupted into emerald light.
A magnificent crown formed above her head.
“Life Dominion,” the instructor announced. “Second Circle affinity.”
Applause echoed through the plaza.
The girl smiled proudly as classmates rushed to congratulate her.
One by one, more students awakened.
Golden flames.
Crimson lightning.
Silver winds.
Even a rare Time Dominion appeared, causing excited murmurs among the nobles watching from elevated balconies.
Then came Zhyrael’s turn.
Silence spread almost instantly.
He walked toward the Awakening Platform, every step echoing across polished stone.
The crystal at the center was older than every kingdom combined.
Legends claimed it had been carved from the heart of the first fallen star.
The instructor glanced at him.
“Name.”
“Zhyrael Veythor.”
“No noble house?”
“No.”
The old man sighed.
“Place your hand upon the Heart Crystal.”
Zhyrael obeyed.
The surface felt strangely warm.
For a heartbeat...
Nothing happened.
Then...
A blinding flash consumed the platform.
Gasps erupted from every direction.
Runes spun wildly around the crystal.
The floating crowns above the academy trembled.
The sky darkened.
Several professors immediately stood from their seats.
“What is happening?”
“The crystal has never reacted like this.”
Energy surged upward in spirals before collapsing into complete darkness.
Every light vanished.
When the glow finally returned...
No crown floated above Zhyrael.
None.
The crystal had become perfectly transparent.
The instructor frowned.
He checked the readings once.
Twice.
Three times.
His expression slowly changed from confusion to disbelief.
“...Impossible.”
Another professor approached.
“What happened?”
“There is... nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing?”
“No affinity.”
“No Dominion.”
“No Crown.”
Laughter erupted among the students.
“I didn’t know that was possible.”
“So the rumors were true.”
“He’s literally powerless.”
Someone clapped sarcastically.
Another bowed dramatically.
“The Crownless Boy!”
Even several instructors exchanged uneasy looks.
One of the nobles shook his head.
“A defect.”
“What a waste of the academy’s resources.”
Zhyrael slowly removed his hand.
His face remained calm, but inside, questions collided like storms.
He had always felt different.
Not weaker.
Different.
Ever since childhood, strange dreams had haunted his sleep.
A throne buried beneath endless ash.
Nine broken crowns.
A voice calling his name from somewhere beyond the stars.
He had never told anyone.
Until now, he had hoped those dreams meant something.
Instead...
He possessed absolutely nothing.
The instructor cleared his throat.
“By the authority of Astralis Dominion Academy, candidate Zhyrael Veythor is officially classified as...”
The words struck harder than any weapon.
“...Crownless.”
The plaza erupted with whispers.
No one had ever received such a classification.
A historian seated near the royal delegation immediately began writing notes.
The professors looked almost frightened.
Not because Zhyrael had failed.
Because the Heart Crystal had reacted before declaring him empty.
That had never happened.
Never.
As the ceremony continued, Zhyrael quietly stepped away from the crowd.
No one tried to stop him.
No one wanted to.
He wandered toward the academy gardens overlooking the cliffs.
Clouds drifted below like endless oceans.
Wind carried the scent of ancient cedar trees.
“Running away?”
The voice came from behind.
A girl stood beneath one of the silver-leafed trees.
Long black hair flowed gently in the breeze.
Her academy uniform bore the insignia of the Noctrel House.
One of the oldest noble families.
Eryssia Noctrel.
She had awakened a Shadow Dominion of extraordinary purity only moments earlier.
Most students admired her.
Others feared her.
She crossed her arms.
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“I’ve disappointed people before.”
“Not like this.”
He smiled faintly.
“Probably not.”
She studied him carefully.
There was something unsettling about him.
Most rejected students cried.
Some shouted.
Others blamed fate.
Zhyrael simply looked... thoughtful.
As if the result had answered one mystery while creating another.
“You really have no Crown?” she asked.
“So they say.”
“And what do you believe?”
He looked toward the distant mountains.
“I believe the crystal wasn’t trying to tell me what I lack.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I think...”
“...it was trying to hide something.”
Before Eryssia could answer—
The ground trembled.
A violent shockwave spread across the academy.
Students screamed.
One of the floating crowns cracked.
Not shattered.
Cracked.
Impossible.
An alarm unlike anything heard in centuries echoed across Astralis Dominion Academy.
Deep beneath the academy...
Far below its foundations...
Inside a forgotten chamber erased from every map...
A single black crown resting upon a stone altar released a tiny fracture of crimson light.
For the first time in ten thousand years...
Someone had awakened.
And it had heard a name.
Zhyrael.
The ancient voice whispered through the darkness.
“...At last.”
To be continued...
Crown of the Forgotten God
