A selection exam.

Scarcely had Shiro finished whispering when the headmaster of Maria Academy spoke from the stage.

"New students, welcome to Maria Academy."

The headmaster was an elderly man with white hair. His back was unbowed, but his wrinkled face and long beard bore witness to his years. Yet despite his aged appearance, his eyes remained sharp.

"As you all know, Maria Academy is Callisto's foremost educational institution. However... we have far too many new students this year."

A murmur spread through the newcomers. They had all been thinking the same thing. There were simply too many of them this year.

"Some of you received invitations from the academy. Others applied of your own accord, and still others have letters of recommendation for the special scholarship admissions track."

The headmaster's gaze swept over the newcomers in the auditorium.

"You are all uncut stones. Yet truly precious gems are rare even among such stones. Until last year, the academy identified those gems in advance to select its new students... This year, however, we will make an exception and take a different approach."

The headmaster raised a hand. His wrinkled fingers tapped lightly against the empty air.

VROOM!

The auditorium floor rumbled. The marble below the stage split apart, and ten circular platforms rose from it. A faint blue glow shimmered in the intricate patterns engraved on their surfaces.

"Let me say this once again. Maria Academy is Callisto's foremost educational institution. To pass through its doors, you must prove yourselves worthy."

The headmaster's voice resounded through the auditorium with a weighty resonance.

"This year, we will hold a selection exam for new students before everyone's eyes. The first test is Manifestation."

His eyes swept over the newcomers.

"Upon these platforms, demonstrate the existence of the constellation with whom you have contracted. The platforms will read your aether and your constellation's blessing, then project its image. The clarity of that projection will be proportional to your talent and ability."

The murmuring grew louder. The newcomers gazed at the platforms with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.

"I understand that constellations, too, differ in rank. On rare occasions, a person contracts with a constellation that is weak relative to their own ability. Therefore, these platforms project not only the constellation's presence, but your aether as well."

Shiro glanced at Yuto with a faint smile and gave him a light nudge with his elbow, as one might a friend.

"That's fortunate for you, Yuto."

"Yes. It is."

Yuto answered without letting his expression slip, but a small uneasiness stirred within him. He had never expected the selection exam to take this form.

What worried him was the possibility that the platform might project the Void. As though sensing his concern, Elun's voice immediately rang through his mind.

["There is no need for needless worry. Unless you choose to reveal it, the Void will never be dragged out by some paltry platform."]

Her voice was cold, yet filled with certainty.

"In this test, you can neither conceal nor exaggerate what you possess. You will find no fairer examination."

The headmaster continued. At his gesture, one of the professors unfolded a list.

"Step onto the platforms in groups of ten, in the order your names are called. The first group—"

The newcomers' names were called. Ten students stepped onto the platforms, their faces tense.

Soon, the engraved patterns shone, enveloping them in light. Then translucent figures appeared behind their backs.

Behind one boy stood the faint spirit of an old general holding a spear. It appeared to be a middle-ranking war constellation. Its outline was indistinct, but the spearhead alone looked as clear as the real thing, its aura keen.

Behind one girl appeared a woman wearing a wreath of medicinal herbs. A soft green light enveloped the girl. Judging by the feeling alone, it seemed to be a healing constellation.

Behind another boy loomed the shadow of a man holding a large telescope. He was probably an explorer or a navigator.

Apart from those three, most of the others produced silhouettes that were barely recognizable. Faint patterns, animal shapes. Flickers too feeble even to be called light.

"Isn't that bad enough to fail?"

"All I can see is color."

"Even that one's aether is weak."

The newcomers began passing judgment. They had not even enrolled yet, but they were already evaluating and ranking one another. The selection exam was mercilessly cruel.

The first group's overall standard was low. The boy who had projected the old war-general constellation was somewhat better than the others, who stepped down with their heads bowed.

The second group, then the third. With each round of projections, the newcomers' standards rose. As one group followed another, they learned to gauge which projections were impressive and which were insignificant.

Occasionally, a projection caught their attention. In the fourth group, the outline of an enormous firebird appeared behind a boy, drawing gasps from the auditorium. The firebird's form was indistinct, but the aether released with it made the air around the platform shimmer.

"That's... a high-ranking fire constellation."

"A projection like that is quite respectable."

There were roughly a thousand newcomers, called up ten at a time. That meant at least a hundred rounds of testing, but those striking projections kept the exam from becoming dull.

The eleventh group. A noble girl stepped onto a platform with a solemn expression.

Behind her appeared a queen clutching a jeweled staff. The instant she manifested, an air of majesty radiated from the girl. The clearly defined queen bore no weapons, but her presence had a substance unlike any of the previous projections.

The auditorium fell quiet, then filled with low murmurs.

"A high-ranking constellation..."

"Isn't that the clearest one yet?"

"Who is she? What house is she from?"

The murmurs persisted even after the girl stepped down. Hers had been the most impressive projection so far.

Yuto narrowed his eyes as he watched her walk away confidently, without a trace of shyness.

'She's talented.'

He had never taken a test like this before, but anyone who could project a high-ranking constellation that clearly would rank among the best newcomers. He committed her face to memory.

The twenty-seventh group.

"Aizen Carte."

The atmosphere in the auditorium changed at the name. Beside Yuto, Shiro's eyes lit up as he looked at the boy. House Carte, a marquessate of the Kingdom of Ristal, was renowned for three generations of military distinction. It was a name that warranted the interest of both Shiro and the newcomers.

'Aizen...'

Yuto remembered the boy as well. Overshadowed by the extraordinary Shiro, he had never made a name for himself or grown close to Yuto. But Aizen, too, had earned many honors in the war against Eclipse.

Aizen stepped onto the platform, his face expressionless.

CRACKLE!

Electricity sparked. The figure that appeared behind Aizen was a giant standing within thunderclouds. Its muscular arms clutched lightning, and white electric light streamed from its eyes.

The clarity of his projection was on an entirely different level from every student before him. Rather than translucent, the giant looked almost solid. Currents forked from the thunderclouds and ran over Aizen's shoulders and arms, while electricity seethed beneath the platform.

CRACK! CRACKLE!

The auditorium lights flickered. Static sent the hair of the newcomers on nearby platforms standing on end.

"...!"

The newcomers caught their breath. There was no comparison. The girl who had projected the high-ranking queen constellation had been impressive, but Aizen's projection far surpassed hers.

Aizen stepped down, his face as expressionless as before. He paid no heed to the awe around him. His face said that this result was only natural.

Exclamations of admiration erupted among the students gathered in the auditorium.

"House Carte was that powerful?"

"Such a clear projection...!"

"It's almost solid. That's... that's an absurd amount of talent."

Several more groups were called, but no projection surpassed Aizen's.

The fortieth.

"Shirin Ristal."

The auditorium fell silent once more.

"I'll be back."

Shirin gave Yuto and Shiro a bright smile, then headed toward the platforms. She showed no sign of nervousness.

The pattern on her platform shone, and a figure appeared behind her.

It was a woman suffused with moonlight. Her long silver hair drifted without a breeze, and a crescent-shaped crown rested above her closed eyes.

She held a long sword. Silver light flowed from its surface and wound around Shirin.

The projection was no less clear than Aizen's. But whereas his had exuded overwhelming menace, Shirin's was its opposite. The air in the auditorium settled into calm. A tranquil aura spread, like a lake beneath the full moon.

"Beautiful..."

Someone spoke without realizing it. Rather than powerful or frightening, Shirin's projection soothed the hearts of those who beheld it. It felt that way even with a sword in its hand.

When Shirin stepped down, the students' gazes naturally converged on one person.

If his younger twin sister could do that, what could her brother possibly show them?

"Shiro Ristal."

Shiro's name was called in the fifty-third group. He stepped forward with a faint smile.

The moment he set foot on the platform, the auditorium changed.

There were no sparks of electricity as with Aizen's projection, nor a quiet settling as with Shirin's. Simply—everything changed.

What appeared behind Shiro did not feel like a hero, a warrior, a queen, a monster, or anything of the sort.

The projection was a woman in flowing garments. Her body was composed of slender lines of starlight. She wore no crown proclaiming her majesty, nor was she grotesquely enormous.

Yet the instant her presence was revealed, everything in the auditorium aligned. The aether lingering on the platforms grew still. The auditorium lights steadied. The presence radiating from the constellations on the other platforms fell silent, and the students' aether fell into harmony.

As though correcting the world's disorder, the being behind Shiro placed everything within order.

The woman's eyes were closed, and she held a set of scales. Nothing rested on either side, yet they were perfectly balanced.

The auditorium was silent. There were no gasps, no murmurs.

Beyond admiration, beyond feeling overwhelmed, there was nothing they could do but fall silent.

"..."

Aizen's eyes wavered slightly. Shirin's projection had been magnificent, but in all honesty, he had thought his own was better. Yet... at the sight of Shiro's projection, his expressionless mask cracked.

This was a different order of being.

The constellation Aizen had contracted with was powerful, certainly. But before Shiro's constellation, even the menace of lightning seemed liable to be brought to order. This was not a difference in strength, but in hierarchy.

Shiro quietly stepped down. His face was not expressionless. He was still smiling.

The auditorium remained silent for some time after he had left the platform.

The projections continued. But none of the students after Shiro drew any attention. The impression his projection had left was far too powerful.

Then came the final group.

"Yuto."

For the first time in a while, murmurs returned to the auditorium. As the gathering emerged from its silence, derisive laughter broke out here and there.

"What could a slum dweller without a constellation possibly show us?"

"I wondered why they were holding this test... The headmaster has a cruel sense of humor. He's telling that slum rat on the special scholarship track to get lost on his own, isn't he?"

"Marigold will be fucking humiliated too. What's the point of stepping onto the platform? Nothing's going to appear anyway."

The mockery was exactly what he had expected. Yuto walked toward the platform without replying.

Before stepping onto it, he looked around the auditorium. His eyes met Levian's on the upper floor. She had her hands tightly clasped as though in prayer.

Next, he looked at Shiro and Shirin. Shirin looked worried, while Shiro was smiling. Yuto watched them briefly, then stepped onto the platform.

The pattern shone.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Nothing appeared.

"Just as I thought."

"He has no constellation. Of course there won't be a projection."

"Not even any aether?"

"I'm sure it's there. Just too insignificant for our eyes to see."

Snickers spread through the auditorium. Some students sighed openly. Upstairs, Levian gripped the railing.

Four seconds.

Five seconds.

The headmaster's eyebrows shifted ever so slightly. Murmurs were spreading among the professors as well, but his sharp gaze remained fixed on Yuto.

Six seconds.

The pattern on the platform went out.

Its light vanished. The newcomers' mockery began to grow louder.

Yuto lowered his eyes to the platform.

The pattern had not gone out.

It was turning black.

"What...?"

Someone muttered.

The blue pattern on the platform was changing to a pitch-black glow. No—not just the pattern. The platform itself was turning black.

Soon, something rose behind Yuto.

It was not a constellation. Not the form of a hero, the outline of a god, or a radiant being.

It was darkness.

Pitch-black darkness surged up like a pillar behind Yuto.

That darkness had no form. It bore no one's likeness, as a constellation's projection did.

It merely devoured.

Pure darkness that swallowed light, sound, and air.

The auditorium lights went out.