As Everett stepped out of his moss-laced, dust-layered house, the world outside welcomed him with a shimmer of the future. The air was cleaner, yet carried hints of ozone and magic. The sky shimmered slightly—not unnaturally, but like a living canvas. Floating carts zoomed past quietly on invisible lanes. Streetlights were replaced by glimmering trees whose branches curled with soft-glow orbs. Children rode on crystal-backed serpents like pets, while hawkers sold levitating dumplings to laughing teens who wore robes woven with runes.
Everett wandered through this changed world with wide eyes, a mix of reverence and nostalgic dissonance in his heart. Technology and magic danced together in every corner. A street magician conjured floating bubbles that contained memory-visions, while behind him, a woman paid for her snack with a wink and a hologram flick. Everett smiled. He had only been gone for three days, but thirty years had reshaped his world.
Hungry, Everett walked beneath a floating restaurant named "Lunar Drift." The aroma of food danced in the air. As he looked up at the levitating building, a floating staircase descended beside him as if beckoning him silently. Stepping on it, he ascended to the open dining floor, where translucent shields kept the rain away.
Checking his balance, he was relieved to see that the inflation hadn't obliterated his savings. He ordered six dishes—roasted mana-duck, elemental rice, thundercrab soup, vinefruit salad, void dumplings, and a glass of cold starlight cider. As he ate, comfort settled in his belly. He felt human again.
Just as he finished the last dumpling, a chime rang on his system. It was a message:
"Candidate Everett Miracle. You are summoned to the Federation Council at 16:00 tomorrow. Please arrive at Skyward Sector, Tower A."
He let out a sigh and returned home. That night, Everett slept soundly for the first time since the frost trials. No monsters whispered through ice. No curses stirred. Just dreams.
—
By morning, he had bathed—his first in decades, it felt like—and wore clean clothes he had stored before his cosmic departure. Breakfast was simple—synth-toast, boiled eggs, and a steaming mug of mossmint tea. He spent the early hours walking around the local district, laughing with kids, greeting street vendors, and marveling at magical drone birds that delivered letters.
But at exactly 10:03 AM, a sensation surged through him. A pull in his chest. The Cube of Becoming emerged from his body, hovering mid-air.
A message appeared on the system:
Mystery Slot: UNLOCKED
Slot One Activated: Realm of Frost
Underneath it, a strange inscription appeared:
"You who have endured the biting silence of frost, carry a shard of that realm within you. A mirror grows beneath the skin, where time remembers the cold and space breathes the memory. Within you, the Realm awakens again. Not behind, not ahead—but beside."
" His breath hitched. The cube pulsed once… twice—then everything dissolved. Not into light, but into frost-dusted red."
He found himself standing in an endless red-moonlit desert, frost-sand crunching beneath his feet. No sky, no wind, just a haunting stillness. A single moon hung above, bleeding crimson light.
As Everett thought about the First Sun, it rose in the horizon—cold and red. He pondered summoning the Second Sun, but nothing happened. Perhaps the cube had not stored that memory. He let it go.
He tried summoning a beast—and a Wind Elephant materialized. Its power felt equal to his own. Everett was thrilled… until the elephant flattened him in seconds. His frost injuries from the trial were gone, thankfully, and here, damage felt temporary. He healed quickly, but learned he could only summon each beast once—no duplicates.
Over three hours, Everett tested and summoned all nine beasts:
Wind Elephant — the storm-footed giant
Thorn Boar — bristles of shrapnel
Glimmer Wolf — vanishes between breaths
Ice Salamander — spitting frostfire
Plated Serpent — mirror-scaled coils
Shard Vulture — predator of glass winds
Phantom Bear — silent even when roaring
Cradle Leech — feeds on fear and warmth
??? — a frost-eyed creature who simply watched
He couldn't defeat any alone. But he studied them, and their presence assured him: they were his, echoes from the Realm of Frost.
Time passed similarly inside and outside the pocket realm. He exited, relieved.
Everett cleaned up and wore his finest outfit—black coat with silver-thread trim. At 15:30, he headed toward the Federation Administration Building. Tower A loomed like a cathedral-temple—its spires ancient, yet it hovered subtly above the ground, like time itself had lifted it in reverence. Runes scrolled across its glass-steel walls, whispering secrets.
Inside, sleek marble halls merged with ethereal glow. A receptionist AI nodded and directed him to Sector 5-H.
There, he met others like him—travelers, awakened ones.
A man with a thick moustache and gear-studded uniform addressed them:
"Congratulations to all of you. You survived the First Day—and for that, you stand among the top 5% of candidates. Whether you stayed for two days or more, your strength has already been witnessed."
He paced before them.
"Today is your assessment. If you excel, the Imperial College may await you. If not, fear not—there are countless institutes that need awakened talents."
With that, they were led to a glass lift that rose to the 67th floor. There, cubicles lined a wide corridor.
Everett was assigned to one.
Inside, a floating A.I. assistant appeared and spoke calmly:
"Candidate Everett Miracle. This session is confidential. Only essential inquiries will be made."
And the assessment began.