Seconds turned to minutes. Initially, everyone gathered round the portal tear, eagerly waiting for something to happen. After a few minutes, interest began to wait. By the tenth minute, only Raven remained, everyone else directing their attention on the fallen obelisk. After another five minutes, the black-haired joined them.

“Everything okay?” Dallion asked.

“This isn’t an exact art,” the other replied. “We’ll know when he succeeds, or fails.”

“How exactly?”

“If he fails, his echo will disappear, making it obvious. If he succeeds, we’ll get a—”

YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE EXIT GUARDIAN

YOU ARE ALLOWED TO PROCEED OUT OF GALATEA’S REALM

A pair of purple rectangles popped up in the air.

“That.” Raven pointed.

“Was about time,” Cheska grumbled. “Leave it to Phoil to nearly mess things up. Let’s go.”

Without waiting for anyone, she went straight to the tear, then stepped through. Dallion hesitated a bit. As far as he knew, there was no such thing as fake rectangles, but there was no reason there couldn’t be. With the magic realm being a realm of exceptions, it was just like the Purple Moon to play one last trick.

You’re overthinking things again, Nil said. Just accept your victory and move on.

I’ve never heard it put like that before, Dallion thought, then followed the rest of his group through.

Reality shifted, though not to the real world. Dallion suddenly found himself in a wide purple room. There was only one thing there, and it was Galatea in his nymph form.

Galatea… Sweat formed on Dallion’s forehead.

“I won’t punish you further,” the Moon said, his words soaked with annoyance. “You’ve done a pretty good job of that yourself. In fact, I’m here to reward you.”

“Me?” Dallion blinked. “I thought that—”

“I didn’t like you?” the Moon finished the question. “I don’t particularly. Some of the rest find you amusing. Felygn things you’ll still find the way, the rest tolerate you. But you did pass the trial.”

“So, this is happening to everyone.” Dallion let out a mental sigh of relief.

“Not quite. They did the minimally necessary to get their stones, and they got just that. The sacrifice will lose a level, of course, but he knew that when he signed up to this plan. I would like to say that it was amusing to watch, but it would be a lie. It was so boring, like watching a paint-by-numbers artist. I was almost hoping they’d try to enter the banished realms. Now, that would have been amusing.” He let out a chuckle that sent shivers down Dallion’s spine.

The Moon leaned back, sitting into a large throne-like chair that appeared. There was no sign of symbols, no indication of spellcrafting, just the vaguest of sensations that magic had been involved.

“Were you happy to see your familiar?” Galatea asked.

Gleam, Dallion thought. “Yes,” he quickly added. “Thank you for allowing it.”

“So, you can be smart and polite when you want to be?” The purple-clad nymph leaned forward. “You’re hoping that I’ll allow you to have her return? Alas, for you, that’s beyond a novice trial. When I designed this, it was for children starting out in magic, and there was a time all this was seen as a childish game. An entry level tutorial to put in your terms. Things have changed a lot since then.”

That was an understatement. Even from the partial memory fragment Dallion had glimpsed within Aether, he remembered the glory of the past age. Back then, nearly everyone had some degree of magic. Those that didn’t have devices that allowed them to; that was the Star’s greatest gift, her greatest temptation and her greatest pride that had led to the collapse of an era.

“You’re still thinking about that?” the aetherbird flashed into existence on the Moon’s shoulder. “If I knew I’d made such a big impression, I wouldn’t have been such a jerk to you. Not that you weren’t one! All that stubbornness and in the end you still did what you refused all that time.”

Instinctively, Dallion took a step back.

“I said I’m here to reward you,” the Moon’s voice hardened. “You could have killed the aetherfish, but you didn’t.”

“Most usually do.” The aetherbird stretched his wings.

Simultaneously, Lux returned to his flame form, perching on Dallion’s shoulder. Even without looking, it was obvious that the species were alike, looking at each other in a combination of admiration and rivalry. In a different reality, Dallion could almost imagine them going out to the equivalent of a pub for drinks and arguments.

“Some even theorize that’s why the creatures were created—easy target practice so that novices could explore their spells.”

“They’re still creatures.” The words felt almost fake. A single act could hardly erase what Dallion had done before.

“Won’t Felygn be happy,” the Moon scoffed. “Since you passed that section of the trial in another way, here’s your personal reward.”

Galatea reached out. A small aetherfish appeared in the palm of his hand, slowly rising in the air.

COMPANION - AETHERFISH

You have gained a Level 1 companion

Intrigued by your behavior, the aetherfish has established a deep connection and will follow you both in the real world and any awakened world. The aetherfish will guard your awakened room or attack any enemy you command in the awakened realm.

Made entirely of magic, the aetherfish has no physical presence, but is capable of casting spells and boosting your magic by a portion, should that become necessary. The complexity of the spells it casts depends on the aetherfish’s level.

A new companion? It seemed like an eternity since Dallion had acquired one. Gleam had been the last back when he was still in Nerosa. Dallion remembered sacrificing part of his personal progression to do that, and had never regretted it since.

“There, it’s done.” Dalatea leaned back. “You can return to your boring existence.”

“Wait!” Dallion shouted. “What about Gleam? How can I get her back?”

Before he could finish the question, he was in the real world, standing between the pillars on the tower’s roof. From everyone’s expression, it was obvious that from their point of view, not even an instant had passed since the start of the trial. All of a sudden, though, Dallion saw their faces brighten up.

“Wonderful to see you succeed.” Enroy was the first to speak. Relief was emanating from him to such a degree that Dallion felt as if there was a whistle blowing in his ears. “Not that there was much doubt.” That was an obvious lie, although well hidden.

“Thank you, mage.” Raven nodded, holding the Moonstone above his head for everyone to see. It was a childish thing to do, but one appreciated based on the polite clapping it received.

You could have said it was a combined effort, Dallion thought.

Why would he? Nil asked, surprised. He’s the son of a noble. From his point of view, the rest of you are just tools that helped him achieve what he deserved. And you have to admit, he has a point.

The people who put the echoes in his realm were the ones running the show.

Ah, but why did they choose his realm to put their echoes in? Trust me on this, they are hired help like everyone else, just a bit more high-class than what you’re usually used to. Even mages have people to answer to.

If this were the Icepicker guild, the success would be celebrated with a large feast. After everything they had been through, the group could well use one. Dallion, in particular, felt his stomach gurgle with hunger. Unfortunately, all that followed were a few half-felt words of congratulation, after which the mages went back to their carriages and flew off. Less than a minute later, the novices were rushed back into their version of a carriage, starting the flight back to the Learning Hall.

The trip was remarkably quiet, though not for entirely different reasons. An unusual energy seemed to be emanating from all of them—minuscule magic threads spreading from the Moonstones into them. Back on Earth, that would be considered the prelude to a horror movie. Here, it was an awe-inspiring honor. The only person who didn’t feel it was Dallion. Since his magic was already “divine” in nature, there was nothing that the stone could add more. It just remained there, containing more energy than one could imagine.

So, this is your world? The aetherfish asked from beside Ruby. The shardfly didn’t seem to be overly bothered, but stepped slightly away nonetheless. So different.

You’ll get a chance to explore it later. Right now, just stay hidden.

“What are you going to do with your stones?” Dallion asked in an attempt to prevent everyone else from noticing his new companion. The familiar remained nameless, causing the word Gem to pop up in Dallion’s mind.

Gem? the creature asked. I like it.

Dallion already regretted his choice, but it was too late.

“They’ll be useful,” Raven replied vaguely. “What are your plans?”

“I don’t know. Use it to remove my novice seal?”

“That’s not how it works,” Phoil smirked. He looked quite happy for someone who’d just lost a magic level.

“Maybe that’s what I’ll use it for,” Dallion snapped back.

“Oh, yeah? Be an idiot and waste it on nonsense!”

“Phoil,” Raven said in a warning tone. “It’s his tone. He could do what he wants with it. Even give it to someone else if that’s what he wants.”

That quickly made the large boy shut up. Looking away, he took out what was left of the shimmering cards and started shuffling them.

“One thing I suggest that you do is keep it somewhere safe.” The black-haired turned to Dallion. “The entire Academy has heard of what you’ve done by now. By evening, the empire will know and tomorrow the whole world.”

“I have something in mind, thanks. Was fun going through this. Thanks for choosing me.”

“Yes, it was.” A faint smile appeared on Raven’s face, then quickly disappeared. “It also means that our alliance is over. Tomorrow we’re back to being rivals.”

“Right. That doesn’t mean we can’t talk to each other.”

The silence suggested that might not be the case. Even so, Dallion felt a spark of longing coming from all of them, even Phoil. At first, he was rather surprised by the fact, but then he remembered; despite all their training and echoes, they remained children, and at that age relationships were quick to form and hard to forget. More than likely, this was the first time they’d been allowed anywhere without direct supervision. It was inevitable they got close, even to those they were with. Of all the novices at the Academy, this group probably contained the most skilled in one form or another. Cheska was no doubt going to become the rising star, and depending on the strength of her character she in a few years she’d be quite insufferable. Raven would probably leave the Academy the first chance he got. As for the rest, Dallion had no doubt they would become mages soon enough.

Nil, do you think this would be a good place for Di?

An irregular fury mage? Dear boy, she’ll be practically worshiped. Of course, that means her secret would be out. You’ve experienced the consequences of that firsthand.

Yeah…

With backing, she’ll do well. Whether she appreciates it, that’s a different matter entirely.

“Are you all hungry?”

Everyone stared at Dallion as if he had spontaneously transformed into a toad.

“Seriously, it’s been a rough trial and I could do with a feast. Given what we accomplished, I think we’d be allowed some slack for the rest of the day. What do you say we have a final get-together in the dining hall one last time? Just like old times.”

It sounded funny, but for a child, a few months seemed like an eternity.

“What do you think?” Dallion looked raven in the eye.

“One last meal together,” the black-haired said slowly. “Sounds nice. I’d like that.”