“Come on, more running?” Aurelius let out a wail of distress. Lucian had a knack of pushing him into running too many times. Aurelius didn’t want to do an early morning exercise right after he woke up.

“Well, I told you I would be coming to wake you up early, but you still didn’t get up. So, to compensate for our lost time, we’re going to sprint there, or we’re going to be late!” Lucian shouted out as Aurelius began his run.

Aurelius had no choice but to follow, his lungs crying out in riot from the strenuous activity.

They weaved through the tall majestic buildings, hopped over fences, raced through thick crowds, and ran straight toward the large looming gates that bore down upon the new students. Two silent and dangerous Angelous guards stood still. Their soft eyes and features clashed with their glorious armor and gave off an intimidating aura as they patiently watching over their surroundings. If Aurelius hadn’t known any better, he would’ve thought they were statues, but that was the mentality of all Angelous guards. Barely moving, but serious in the work that they did.

Lucian and Aurelius finally slowed down. They went past the guards and through the gate that seemed to extend into a tunnel of bright light. The moment they came out from the other end, they were out in a beautiful open field.

The school grounds were heavily littered with students from Esequi Nuntis species. The Angelous students were all wearing white and gold school uniforms, while the Daemons had on all black and red like Lucian. The only difference was that Lucian had added extra accessories onto his clothes, announcing to everyone that he was a council member; differentiating himself from the rest even more.

In a brilliant red and orange outfit that was made out of fire and showed off quite a lot of skin, a Djinn proudly floated in a wisp of gray smoke. Djinns tended to stick together in groups. Many of the Djinns had geometric tribal tattoos plastered on their arms and also had horns growing out of their foreheads. The most memorable part of the Djinn was the third eye that was situated in the middle of their foreheads.

In brown and green clothes, a handful of mismatched humanoid creatures from different worlds made up the fourth group. They were many different shapes and sizes; all with their own unique cultures and races.

Aurelius straightened his rumpled clothes and gazed around with awe. Rare white flowers with pearly dews dripped down the side, giving the proceedings a glistening glow. Bees buzzed around the flowers, and birds sang their joy, welcoming in the new students.

Everything was natural; even the college building was made partly out of plants, twisting and winding around into an intricate design. In between, the plants were perfectly molded together, with cold metallic machines wrapped around them. Nothing was built by destroying the landscape, and instead they would rebuild on top or around nature. One could tell that the building was created and grown from a master architect, based on the natural and symmetrical design that merged seamlessly into the environment.

“We made it just in time.” Lucian patted Aurelius on the back with a grin, startling Aurelius out of his stupor. “We should go find our seats before the ceremony starts.”

Aurelius nodded. They walked through the thick crowds, trying not to bump into their shoulders. Thousands of brown plant chairs were placed in neat rows toward the stage. Both of them went toward the back, where Aurelius saw rows of plant chairs that were laid out in the open. Sometimes, he wondered who the architect was who had designed the beautiful school campus. Everything was perfectly picturesque; with nothing out of the ordinary.

He sat down, leaned back, and made himself comfortable. Students filtered in and found their way toward any open chairs that they could find. Loud, excited voices penetrated the air, and groups of different species made their way toward their seats.

Suddenly, the once noisy crowd quickly grew silent, and the sunlight that cast down upon the open field suddenly turned dark as night. Aurelius gasped in surprise. He hadn’t expected the blackout to open on a bright sunny day as today.

Usually, something that was powerful enough to change an entire area was done by high tier magic. This wasn’t something easily done by a low-level magic wielder but from a high-level Daemon or an Angelous with a tremendous amount of power.

One after another, stars that sparkled endlessly like jewels flew through the sky and embedded themselves into the darkness, representing space. Before them was a 3D projection of the universe, reaching every corner of the field, leaving the students to watch in silence.

A transparent but fluctuating energy wave stormed inwards into the center of the field. Something powerful was taking place in front of their eyes. A giant black hole began to suck in the nearby galaxies at a lightning-fast speed. In a flash, everything in the universe distorted as the black hole began to devour and destroy. From its ravenous hunger, the universe became pitch-black.

No sound.

No movement.

No life.

“Let there be light.”

An unknown voice spoke out clear as day. The voice created a dizzying effect that made even the viewers clutch their seats. A single ping of the striking of a piano key could be heard, echoing strongly through the crowd. Aurelius couldn’t help but be drawn by the mystical voice that seemed to sing with heartfelt emotions. Its vibrant, passionate voice continually sang; the sound of piano keys dropped in like a light trickle of rain, amplifying the song.

Aurelius thought he heard the sound of his heartbeat, growing louder and louder, mixing and merging with the drumbeats that played in unison. It was as if he was part of the universe, melding in with the music as one. He was completely enthralled in what he was seeing. Fascinated, he grabbed the edge of his chair, leaning slightly forward.

With a bang, the sound of the piano sparked into a burst of bright, electrical brilliance, creating a silent but deadly big bang. The waves of light brought a rapid change of time. The universe quickly expanded to billions of dust particles that compressed, burned, or froze in a matter of milliseconds. Millions of star particles and gassy substances cluttered together magnetically and began to form new life.

In the center of the void, a special planet called Infinitas Infinitio was being formed at a rapid pace. A small nucleus that formed tightly into a seed pulled in dust particles from far and wide. Like a sapling, it blossomed into a crystal lotus flower, while more and more lily pad petals formed around the flowery planet.

The whispers of the universe continued to sing the glory of its birth, bringing it with it a soul-shaking beauty.

Suddenly, the flowery planet began to open. A puff of seeds bubbled out from the center. It morphed and changed, growing into small flower buds, for there were two entwined together like twins.

The first pair of buds consisted of Void and Dark elements. The Void Bud was a swirl of inky darkness with thin transparent lines that tightly danced and weaved; interwoven with one another. The Dark flower bud, however, burned in a pitch-black flame. When the two buds entered the atmosphere, a massive shock wave was sent outward throughout the whole universe.

Phantom creatures of raven’s darkness burst from the bulbs like magic tricks as they swept on a journey through the universe. Their flight was silent but deadly. They became giant black holes that devoured any nearby planets that strayed too close, silently merging into the void, leaving behind no trace but destruction upon their wake.

Once again, the flower spat out another seed, allowing it to morph into another set of elemental flower buds: Sound and Light. The Sound Bud was a flower bud; its shape a mix between a speaker and a trumpet, while the light bud burst in a blazing glory. Each rotated and shifted together, creating a symphony of an infinity, twirling among each other like putty.

It spat out white doves that changed into hot gassy planets that boiled into hot stars, while the dark ravens exploded and then imploded throughout the universe. The Sound Bud announced its first voice in a booming echo, creating a symphony of music.

Two more pairs of flowery buds appeared right behind.

They were Gravity and Neutral Elemental Buds, which lazily spread out their power through the universe, bringing with them a set of laws. One was transparent and had a slight grayish color, while the other drew in clusters of space rocks that formed around it. None of the tightly spinning rocks that rotated around the Gravity Bud ever escaped. The two flower buds radiated with precision; the stars followed its example, pulling in with the other nearby space clusters.

The next pair was the Fire and Electricity elemental buds. The blazing fire bud flourished in the dark space, ejecting firebirds in every flare, while electric snakes erratically coiled around the electric bud, buzzing with life.

Giant electric serpents darted outward to the nearest cluster of gas toward another, causing sparks to form as it converged together. For the snake had dived in deeply into the cores of the lifeless stars, breathing it life as a steady heartbeat of life. Rolling thunder echoed as electric storms littered various planets; making the planets inhospitable.

The firebirds blazed across the universe and settled down into any source of hot molten core that the snake had left behind, bringing with them a life of their own. Volcanoes erupted in some planets as if they welcomed the existence of new elements, as landmasses were continuously created and destroyed; reshaping the terrain.

Among the planets were groups that converged and collided with one another; devouring each other to gain mass. Electric sparks blazed forth, firing flames outward, and sucking in large chunks of rocks until they swelled in size. Eventually, some of the planets became twice as large, leaving behind only a small moon that revolved around the planet, while others only remained as chunks of debris, careening outward into space itself.

The fourth group of elemental buds were frozen blue ice and interchanging Water Elemental Buds. Millions of koi fish made out of water sprung forth from the Water Elemental Bud and swam through space. Not even a second later, they all crackled and became stiff as they quickly froze into giant boulders of ice. They became stray asteroids that traveled mindlessly through the universe.

As the blocks of ice traveled through space, they arrived upon different planets, and they crashed into the fiery, volcanic worlds. For those that did, their ice melted quickly as they entered into the stratosphere, until eventually they became rain. Some iced fish were too large, and they became trapped in the gravitational pull, becoming moons.

Following the koi fish were the Wind and Cloud Elemental Buds. A woosh of wind, swirling into a tornado, became a light blue bud, while the second was composed of a large fluffy gray thunderstorm cloud that intermingled into a variety of shapes. Since the entrance of the new buds, certain planets around the universe started to form thick milky gray clouds, covering their surface.

Rolling thunder echoed across the planets’ surfaces as heavy rain pelted down onto rocky terrain. Water levels started to rise over millions of years as if time had sped up; eventually, one planet in particular formed growing oceans with large landmasses protruding out of the water.

The Earth and Wood Elemental Buds materialized next, forming into their own respective shapes. A shifting green core formed into an exotic foliage that wrapped itself tightly into knots; even a soft white bubble gently formed around it, keeping it alive in space.

On the other hand, the Wood Elemental Bud was brown with the thick twisted knots of a tree trunk. After both of the buds’ entrances into the universe, green grass, wildflowers, trees, and a variety of plants sprung forth from the desolate land of water and land. The clouds parted way as the sky cleared up, allowing the sunlight to enter through.

Finally, the last Elemental Buds—the buds of the Spirit and Soul—were brought forth. These were not like any other Elemental Buds. Together, they swirled around each into geometric patterns of purple and violet. Their energy split into a swirl of lines, shooting out toward the other buds; tying them together.

A pulse of purple light erupted outward as the mysterious aura of a horse spirit thundered across the universe, galloping in an excited frenzy, and bringing life along with it. Animals that had never before inhabited the fertile ground crawled out from the ocean floor, growing, coexisting, and even preying upon each other as they evolved over time.

With the appearance of all sixteen Elemental Buds, the frenzied universe’s activities started to calm down. Instead, the buds floated around the central flower in a geometric pattern. Each one of them began to fluctuate as their power synchronized. A blast of energy lines shot out from each bud, connecting to one another into an intricate barrier of a Metatron’s cube like a giant puzzle piece. And with each passing second, the buds moved with methodical clicks and snaps, creating new and old patterns.

With a final quiver of its activity, a bright electric pulse was sent outward, until finally, the energy came back full circle. It changed into a dark electrical pulse that shot directly into the world of Infinitas Infinitio, signaling the end of the scene.

A powerful surge of energy washed over the crowd; revitalizing the students. Everyone was speechless.