Beyond Phantasia

The warp gate was an expansive room filled with several large, circular portals. These gates made traveling around Volara easy, but for interplanetary journeys, ships were still necessary.

“Fall in! Let’s go, S-class! Get a move on!” Instructor Weak's voice echoed across the building.

The class, along with me, made our way to the center of the room.

“Now, as much as I love taking charge of you all, your trials will be instructed by Vice Dean Kossi,” Instructor Weak announced. “But the rest of the instructors, including myself, will be watching! Good luck, make us proud!”

The students' murmurs ran wild.

"Oh my gosh, the Vice Dean?"

"She's my inspiration!"

"I heard she rejected all the professors in the academy."

"I heard her beauty can kill you if you stare long enough."

“Dude, take a picture of her for me.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of heels silenced the room as a black-haired beauty stepped to the front of the class. She smiled, revealing her shark-like teeth.

“Hey, S-class! Are you ready~?” she cheered.

The room was silent.

Was this her personality?

“I said, S-class, are you ready~?” she cheered again, this time clapping her hands, creating giant bubbles of water hovering above us. “You might wanna cheer.”

WOOOOOOOOOOOO! The whole class cheered like maniacs.

Ah. So, she’s like that. Scary.

“Good! That’s the spirit! Welcome, S-class. Just call me Instructor Kossi. I’ll be in charge of your trials unless I get bored— then I might leave,” she laughed. “Kidding! Maybe. I’m here to watch. Explaining isn’t really my thing, Cefy~... mind doing it?”

“Kossi…” Instructor Cefin said.

I swear I saw his eyebrow twitch.

“Nope, not feeling it,” Instructor Kossi said.

“Hah…fine,” Instructor Cefin said, giving in.

“Thanks, Cefy~. I owe you one!”

Instructor Cefin walked to the front.

“Ahem. Welcome, S-class, to the Socrilium Trials. Here, you will enter the warp gate to the Prism. For those who haven’t heard of the Prism, it’s a facility designed to contain the immense power of socriliums, which is too strong for a regular facility. Funded by the Royal Von Castille family, the Prism is a massive protective field surrounding a large island where the socriliums are kept.”

Instructor Cefin paused to make sure everyone was paying attention.

“Now, you might be thinking, ‘They’re just orbs.’ That may be true, but the power radiating from them is so immense that it attracts creatures, even socrixes, if they’re within range. You must be careful while traversing the Prism, as the laws of nature run wild there. Every socrilium is spread throughout the island, and those seeking stronger ones must venture deeper into the island.”

So… this island is essentially a trash dumping ground for socriliums, got it.

“Once you find a socrilium of your choosing, you must bond with it in a safe environment. There will be a period requiring complete focus; otherwise, you could endanger yourself. However, if the situation does arise, an instructor will intervene to help, but you will be disqualified from the trials. Do I make myself clear?”

“YES SIR!” Everyone shouted.

“Good. I wish you all the best during the trials.” Instructor Cefin concluded.

“You all heard Cefy! These orbs aren’t toys to be played with, so do your best!” Instructor Kossi said. “Now, let’s get started.”

Instructor Kossi stood at the center of the warp gate room, exuding an air of calm authority. Her demeanor completely changed with a focused expression as she raised her hands, her fingers moving in intricate motions reminiscent of a calming ocean. The air around her crackled with a palpable surge of energy, and her aethergaunts shone with a vibrant navy color.

As she gestured, streams of shimmering light flowed from her fingertips, weaving into the warp portal's frame. The portal responded to her command, expanding and shifting in response to her movements. The once-contained vortex grew, its swirling colors intensifying as the energy converged.

With a final, sweeping motion, Instructor Kossi completed her cast, and the expanded portal stabilized. A giant vortex hovered above us, staring down as we all looked up.

This… this is the spatial affinity? She expanded the portal and made it even larger than it already was. How was that possible?

“Good luck, everyone!” Instructor Kossi cheered, pointing her middle finger to the ground.

Huh? Why did she do that?

“Kossi! You really need to change that!” Instructor Cefin said. “You know everytime you do that then…”

As I looked up, the vortex advanced toward us at an alarming rate.

Ah, I see.

I heard a few screams before everything went dark.

A few seconds passed.

Usually this is where the loading screen would happen. So, I should be there any moment now.

SWOOOSH! The sound of wind blasted through my ears.

What the—?

I opened my eyes.

Clouds?

I looked around and realized I was falling from the sky, along with what seemed to be everyone else in the same predicament.

“You’ve got to be fucking with me!” I yelled.

I quickly pressed my collar, activating my helmet to prevent the wind from damaging my eyes. I then flipped my body over and was met with the sight of the island.

About 14,000 feet until I hit the ground.

As I was figuring out what to do next, multiple small portals appeared in the air, dropping backpacks. I could see people trying to reach for them, but it was difficult since they were freefalling faster than we were.

“Those better me what I think they are.”

Repositioning myself, I dove down, tucking my arms close to my body to increase my speed. The wind roared past me as I plunged headfirst, cutting through the air in a desperate attempt to catch this stupid backpack.

“Almost…”

My fingers stretched out, reaching for the strap.

10,000 feet.

“C’mon!”

I tucked harder and managed to grab the backpack. Repositioning myself again, I grabbed the backpack. A tag on it read, 'Forgot about these, sorry!' with a drawing of a fish sticking out its tongue.

“Ridiculous.”

AHHHHHHHHHHH!

"Was I imagining things? It’s hard to hear right now. Maybe it’s just—

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! The sound was now unmistakably closer. A scream. I turned to my left and saw someone spiraling downward.

Hah…I’m gonna regret this.

I dove down toward the person.

“Hey! Stop flailing like a fish!”

“I-I can't! Help me!” they cried.

“Breathe! Just relax!” I said. “Copy what I do.”

Slowly, they mimicked my form and managed to stop spinning.

"‘All right, hold onto my hand.”

They grabbed my hand, which helped them stabilize further. I could hear their voice more clearly now.

“You don’t have a parachute, do you?” I asked.

‘N-no! I like totally missed my chance. I was with my friend, but he wasn’t there when I opened my eyes!’" she said. “Novy! Where is he?”

Don’t tell me…

“Iris?”

"Oh my gosh, you’ve heard of me? Well, I mean, who hasn’t? I mean, I am the Iris Mercier..." she continued to ramble on.

She needs to survive and qualify. If she doesn’t pass the trial then the game won’t progress properly. It’s important that Novian has all his companions by end game.

“Listen to me Iris,” I said.

I took off my backpack.

About 6000 feet left. I’m running out of time.

“Put this on.”

“‘Hm? Huh? Why? What about you? Won’t you be disqualified?” she bombarded me with questions.

‘Just put it on.’”

“No, I am not doing it, that's like messed up.”

“Tsk. Weren’t you supposed to be more self centered?”

“Huh? Wait did you just click your—?”

“No.”

I pulled her arm and forced the backpack onto her. She tried to resist, but I was more in control of my freefall than she was. Click! The buckle fastened.

“S-stop it! Lucien, I know that’s you!” Iris protested.

“Good, then you can thank me later.”

4000 feet — just in time.

“You owe me one,” I said, deploying her parachute.

“W–w-wait! You jer—!”

WOOSH!

Her parachute deployed, stopping her from falling even further.

"Now, how do I handle this mess?” I said to myself.