Ruler of Beyonders

At Morning.Ren awoke before the alarm.

The pain in his body had dulled. It was still there, under the skin, like bruises waiting to bloom. But he could move now. Breathe deeper. Think more clearly.

As he washed his face in the small sink, he saw his reflection.

No glow.

No mist.

Just a boy.

A tired, unsure boy.

He stepped into the hallway.

Teya was already waiting.

Her hair was tied into a tighter knot today. Her expression unreadable.

"You've been moved to private training," she said without looking at him.

Ren blinked.

"Why?"

She started walking, expecting him to follow.

"Because you need it. Because someone asked for it. Because things are changing."

They walked in silence down a narrow corridor with low ceilings. The air here was colder. The walls older. Pipes ran along the ceiling like veins.

Ren noticed guards standing at every turn. Quiet men in black armor. Eyes hidden behind visors. Weapons holstered but ready.

"Where are we going?"

Teya tapped a card against a sealed door.

"You'll see."

The door slid open.

Ren stepped inside.

The room was wide. A dome with no corners. The floor was smooth and black. Lights lined the ceiling like a galaxy frozen above him. And in the center of the room stood Seroi.

The older man was dressed in a different uniform today. A long black coat with silver lines running down the arms. His gloves were off. His hair was tied back.

He turned as Ren entered.

"You look like hell," he said.

Ren shrugged. "Feels about right."

Seroi smiled faintly. "Good. That means you're learning and improving."

Teya nodded and stepped out, leaving them alone.

Ren walked forward slowly.

"You moved me here?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you don't need basic drills anymore. You need direction like your magic type was so unimaginable so only you can conquer that."

Seroi walked toward one of the wall panels and tapped it.

A large image appeared. A map. Not of a city. But of something massive.

"That's the facility," Seroi said. "What you've seen is ten percent of it."

Ren stared.

The map showed underground levels. Towers. Bridges connecting inner sectors. A central core labeled only as Tier Zero.

"And this?" Ren asked.

"This," Seroi said, "is the oldest surviving sanctuary built after the Collapse. Arkenhall. Named after the first Mage-King who tried to stop the end of the world."

Ren stayed quiet. And then asked, his face is looked like he is amazed...

"First mage...Mage-King who was that..."

"Who is that they still alive but where? No body knows. I will tell you someday about that when time comes."

Seroi continued.

"This place doesn't just train Awakened. It studies them. It watches the flow of magic, records mutations, tests theories, predicts awakenings."

Ren stepped closer to the panel.

"And me?"

"You're not the first mystery. But you are the biggest. Unknown. Abyss-type. Adaptive soul-class core. Resonant field displacement. And still human."

Ren turned to face him.

"Still human?"

"For now," Seroi said simply.

Ren didn't speak.

He didn't need to.

And Seroi spoke once more.

"Now… are you ready?"

Ren took a breath.

And nodded.

"Then we begin."

Ren stood in silence. He moved towards the centre of the hall and Seroi teleported to the operating chamber. The air in the dome training hall was thick with something that wasn't mana. It felt heavier. Expectant.

Seroi watched him from the center of the chamber.

"You're here now. And time is short," he said.

Ren stayed still. His body ached, but the ache was familiar now. A companion. He could move through it.

"From this moment," Seroi continued, "your training belongs to us. But your path… that is still yours to shape."

Ren stepped forward, toward the center of the black-floor chamber. The lights above flickered softly, mimicking stars. It was the closest he'd seen to a sky since he entered Arkenhall.

Seroi raised a hand.

"Before we begin, let me introduce those who will be shaping your next ten years."

The chamber's walls opened in a quiet circular motion.

From hidden doors, three figures stepped into the dome.

The first was a woman in a flowing coat made from dark threads that shifted with her breath. Her hair was long, tied with sharp silver cords. Her eyes held no color, only white and storm-gray swirling together.

"This is Veyra Quell," Seroi said. "Master of mental resistance, soul pressure, and illusion breaking."

Veyra didn't speak. She simply looked at Ren and gave a slight nod.

The second was a massive man, bald, with skin marked by hundreds of tiny scars that shone like silver veins. His arms were bare. His breath was slow, controlled.

"Korrin Bast. Master of physical control and combat flow. He once shattered five awakened with bare hands during the siege of Old Cynash."

Korrin smiled faintly and cracked his knuckles.

The third was the smallest. A thin man with sharp fingers and ink-stained robes, eyes hidden behind square black lenses. He carried a floating slate behind him covered in notes.

"And this is Imvar Sol. The Dark elemenal mage. He will help you shape the Abyss."

Imvar gave a low bow without bending his knees. His voice was smooth.

"I will not teach you to control the abyss. I will teach you to speak with it."

Ren glanced at all three.

Seroi stepped aside.

"For long time, these halls will be your world. You will train. Fail. Bleed. Wake again. Until your soul hardens into what it must become and you will not mastered the Abyss."

Ren didn't blink.

"Good," Seroi said. "Then follow."

They exited the dome chamber. Long halls stretched before them. No students here. Only sealed rooms, old light, thick air.

Imvar spoke quietly.

"You will begin in the Black Bloom Chambers."

Ren looked sideways.

"Black Bloom?"

"A training field where we test how much of your Abyss responds to focus. It forces adaptation. Brutally. You might pass out. Or worse."

Ren said nothing.

They reached a curved doorway. Veyra touched a panel and it hissed open.

Inside was a strange space. A jungle made of moving roots, ash-covered vines, and trees with black leaves. The floor pulsed slightly beneath their feet. The air smelled of soil, blood, and metal.

Korrin stepped forward and grabbed Ren's shoulder.

"No food. No water. No light. You leave when the bloom accepts you."

"How long does that take? What it means bloom accepts you? " Ren asked.

"Depends on how fast you will understand your abilities. And the bloom accepts you means you understand your true powes and weaknesses of it also. "

Then the door shut behind him.

Ren stood still.

And then the forest moved.

The first week, Ren was torn apart by shifting vines that tested his balance, speed, and reflexes. The mist within the bloom chamber altered his sense of direction. Time fractured. His thoughts broke into fragments. He learned to breathe without light. Sleep without closing his eyes. Like every vines were alived and attacked on Ren. In reality they was alive and they truly attacked towards the Ren but they all were controlled by facility.

Nyxa spoke rarely.

Only once did her voice slip through, when he tried to force the abyss forward and failed.

"You're not here to burn your way out, Master. You're here to become something that cannot be swallowed."