The Lost Kingdom | Nova Terra Chronicles

Location: Unknown:

The skies above Nova Terra shimmered with an unusual hue, fragments of stardust streaking across the firmament like fireworks frozen in time. Students from Academy Astral and Academy Dimensions found themselves walking side by side down the spiral starmetal path that led to the Celestian Nexus, the pocket-dimension observatory where the final evaluations would be conducted.

This wasn't just another test.

This was the invitation.

Zerith, now cooling down from his radiant exhibition, stood at the far end of the crystalline platform. His cloak of woven void shimmered faintly in the light. Beside him, Alira leaned against one of the floating crystal spires, quietly tuning her glowing harp.

"You're still thinking about your performance~" she teased gently, eyes glinting under the astral moon.

Zerith didn't glance her way. "If I'm to be the first to ascend into a true Astral Wielder, I can't afford to slip."

"You already dazzle everyone else. Maybe try dazzling me sometime instead~" Alira hummed.

He smiled--barely--but said nothing.

On the mirrored side of the observatory, the tension was a different flavor.

Tiven twirled his staff idly, a black gravity orb pulsing at its tip. Quess, elegant and composed, stood several steps behind him, her Star-Crossed Blade folded behind her back like a divine relic waiting to unsheathe.

From the far end, Aurora arrived last--her long, twin-toned coat trailing behind her, plasma gun holstered on her thigh like a sleek meteorite. Her presence was sharp, like a solar flare hidden behind a polite smile.

"You missed the warm-ups," Quess noted.

Aurora winked. "Fashionably late. I let my light arrive first."

She made direct eye contact with Tiven, who raised a brow but said nothing.

Quess narrowed her eyes just slightly.

A sudden pulse rippled through the floor--a signal.

A council of Nexus overseers appeared above them, projecting from a suspended rift in space.

One of them spoke with a voice like shifting planets.

"You five are hereby selected for the NovaTerra Arena Games. Your potential, unity, and flair have echoed across realms. But remember... The Arena does not favor brilliance. It favors will."

With a shudder, the Nexus cracked open to reveal a floating badge--glowing with the crest of the Arena.

Each of them stepped forward to claim it.

Zerith took his calmly. Alira's fingers grazed his as they both reached for theirs. She giggled under her breath.

Quess's badge pulsed with a steady white light.

Tiven's badge devoured surrounding light with a quiet hum.

And Aurora?

Aurora reached forward, but not before her eyes briefly locked with Quess's.

A small, almost imperceptible smile curled on her lips.

The quiet war between starlight and supernova had begun.

As they descended from the Celestian Nexus, the five champions looked toward the shimmering horizon--where Nova Terra's greatest would gather.

And deep in the shadows, a new player was watching them all...

A Nova Knight, wearing a fractured helm, silently gripping a blade infused with the edge of galaxies.

Their role? Still unwritten.

As the ceremony began to wind down and the energies of the Celestian Nexus dulled, Zerith, Alira, Tiven, Quess, and Aurora stood at the center of the ring, the stars above now calm, the pressure lifted. The overseers whispered among themselves behind shimmering veils of magic and data.

But before any could disperse, the Head Curator of the Nexus, an ageless woman adorned in robes stitched from fractal threads, raised her staff once more.

"These five have proven their strength, harmony, and identity--marking them worthy of the Arena Games..."

Murmurs spread. It sounded like the selection had concluded. Dex Spiralyn scoffed quietly from the side, "Guess my razzle-dazzle wasn't razzly enough, huh?"

But the Head Curator turned again, her voice echoing in layered resonance:

"Yet... balance must be kept. The Astral Flame and Dimensional Pulse are two halves of the same spirit. Thus--let all ten who stepped forward today be invited to represent their kind."

Gasps and shouts erupted.

Rhian Planefold raised a brow but smiled faintly, his sword phasing between shapes.

Zeek Unit 7 blinked twice, then threw his arms in the air. "YO, LET'S GO! UPGRADING TO Champion Mode!"

Tess Vortira simply exhaled, content, her eyes focused on the future that flickered in her mind.

Dex Spiralyn flipped both daggers in hand and laughed, "Knew it! That monologue was way too dramatic to be a 'no'."

Frix Cosmotek tapped his chest. "My bots calculated the odds. 87.3% chance I'd make it. Thanks for the confirmation."

The crowd cheered as the ten gathered at the center platform, starlight pulsing beneath their feet.

Zerith turned to the rest. "Guess the cosmos aligned after all."

Tiven crossed his arms. "They better be ready. I'm not planning on coming in second."

And in the distance, hidden among shadows, a few Arena overseers from the Capital of Nova Terra watched.

"Interesting," one murmured. "Once the Mysteries from Terra Vetus come to the Arena, then the stage will be set."