I couldn’t sleep even after making it back to the castle.
My thoughts were plagued by Thalia — and how thoroughly she’d cornered me.
She played a move I did not see coming.
She blindsided me.
And the worst part was that it was my own fault.
I should’ve thought of it.
I should’ve planned for it.
I should’ve anticipated she wasn’t going to play by the rules.
But I didn’t.
And now… I was stuck.
For the first time in six months — the first time since awakening the memories of my past life — I couldn’t see a path to victory. Not even a narrow, reckless one.
There were no shortcuts I could think of.
No clever deals to propose to anyone.
No sneaky tricks left up my sleeve.
Every scenario I ran in my head ended the same way — with me, checkmated by my twin sister.
This mock war setup was a blatant trap I couldn’t talk or fight my way out of.
…But giving up had never been in my nature.
If anything, I’d always thrived when the odds were stacked against me. That’s when I started having fun. That’s when I truly felt alive.
The thrill of conquest wasn’t in the win — it was in the struggle.
And I was going to make sure they struggled.
…Eventually, I mean. That part was still to come.
Right now, there was a banquet to attend.
Since the Night Sanctuary was always dark and situated inside a different dimension, the time here didn’t follow the same rules as the mundane world.
In some regions of the Spirit Realm, entire days could pass in the span of a few minutes.
Or a single hour could stretch on endlessly.
Some zones were locked in stasis, frozen in a single heartbeat. Others looped themselves endlessly, with no end or beginning.
Thankfully, the Night Sanctuary wasn’t that unstable.
The time difference between this place and the mundane world was only a few seconds — barely noticeable, but just strange enough to remind you that you weren’t home.
To make up for the absence of sunlight and a natural day cycle, the locals here followed an artificial rhythm of time.
Their version of the day went like this:
False-dawn. False-noon. Dusk. Evening. True-night.
Then repeat on a twenty-four-hour cycle, give or take a few seconds.
Right now, it was True-night.
And all the Cadets had been summoned to the palace’s dining hall.
Now, the dining hall of this gothic Night Castle looked exactly like what you’d expect.
It looked like the kind of place where a dark god might host a tea party.
Silver chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling like frozen lightning, casting a cold, crystalline light over tables that were longer than most boats.
Everything here shimmered — the plates, the cutlery, even the napkins, which were embroidered so artfully that they felt more like trophies than something you’d dare wipe your face with.
Tall obsidian windows lined the walls, revealing nothing but an endless, starless night outside.
It took over half an hour for everyone to arrive and settle in.
By the time we were seated, the tables were already decorated with exotic dishes — seven kinds of meat, steaming bread, mouth-watering stews, and seafood that… still looked like it might try to crawl off the plate.
Yeah. I wasn’t even going to look at the seafood.
Before the banquet officially began, Selene Valkryn rose from her seat at the head of the hall.
She swept her gaze across the room, and the chatter died instantly as everyone fell silent.
Then, in a voice that was equal parts serene and dramatic, she said, “Cadet Samael Theosbane. Step forward.”
Every eye in the dining hall turned to me.
I rose without hesitation and walked to the far end of the room, standing calmly by her right — exuding nothing but noble arrogance. Because why not?
“You have ascended to B-rank,” Selene declared, giving me a look of approval. “You’ve crossed the threshold between ordinary and extraordinary. This is not a mere advancement — it is a rebirth. From this day forward, your path is no longer the one you once walked.”
Wow. Dramatic much?
There was a pause.
Then a ripple of hushed murmurs spread through the crowd like they were discussing a royal scandal.
Everyone looked like they were caught somewhere between shock, envy, confusion, denial, and the onset of a mild existential crisis.
I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel amazing.
I almost smiled.
Almost.
I might’ve actually enjoyed it more if it had just been me standing there in the spotlight.
But of course—
“Cadet Michael Godswill,” Selene said. “Step forward.”
He had to be here as well.
The protagonist. The chosen one. Destiny’s favorite golden retriever.
Yes, as it turns out, Michael had also broken through to B-rank around the same time I had.
And just like that, the spotlight was split in two.
Michael strode up and took his place on Selene’s left, practically beaming with joy.
“You have also ascended to B-rank. Congratulations,” she told him.
And the room… exploded!
Exploded, I tell you!
People started full-on cheering, applauding, and whistling like he’d just cured death or brought someone’s grandma back from the grave.
Someone screamed, “We love you, Michael!” from the back. Unclear if it was a boy or a girl.
Someone else threw rose petals at him.
Rose petals!
Meanwhile, when I was called?
Silence.
Not the cool, dramatic kind of silence either.
Just… awkward.
I swear I heard a fork clatter to the ground and no one picked it up. A few people coughed. I might’ve even heard crickets in the background!
Crickets!
…Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. A little.
Maybe the reactions weren’t that extreme.
But they felt extreme.
It felt like Michael got ten times the support I did.
Which, honestly, wasn’t very shocking.
Because while I’d been skipping classes and collecting enemies, Michael had been building friendships, saving kittens or something, helping our batchmates, and doing class activities.
He had the kind of charisma that drew people in.
So yeah, he was more liked than me.
…To be fair, everyone was more liked than me.
A vein twitched on my forehead, but I stayed calm.
I stood there smiling like a saint while dying inside like a martyr.
Because here’s the thing — for an Awakened, reaching B-rank isn’t just about getting a power boost.
It’s the moment when your Essence can finally be felt. Touched. Controlled.
It’s the real beginning of your Awakened life — the point where everything changes. How you move. How you fight. How you live.
It’s basically your second birthday.
And apparently, no one wanted to come to mine.
Selene raised her hand, and the crowd settled down again like obedient schoolchildren.
“Both of you will still participate in tomorrow’s exam,” she said, then turned to the rest of the Cadets. “Some of you may think this is… unfair. But that’s how it works in the real world. Some are born stronger. Some grow faster. And sometimes, the test isn’t fair — because the world isn’t.”
Translation: suck it up.
She gestured for us to return to our seats.
Michael looked thrilled. So much so that he was practically bouncing.
Of course he was. It was so easy to please that simpleton.
I, on the other hand, was not bouncing.
You see, I never cared about popularity.
But after Thalia weaponized my isolation earlier today, and now Michael’s ascension being celebrated more than mine…
My mood was in the gutter.
…Maybe I’d take out my frustration on someone in tomorrow’s exam.