Two days passed quietly.
Ji-hyeon returned to his usual routine — tending the herbs, delivering medicine, helping his mother, and occasionally sparring with Seojin. Though the boy's progress was slow, he showed tenacity. Every strike was a little sharper, every stance more balanced.
For Ji-hyeon, it was a small, welcome distraction from the burden inside him.
But change never waits forever.
---
It began with a sound — distant hooves pounding against the dirt road leading to the village. An uncommon rhythm in their quiet world.
Villagers gathered, murmuring in confusion. No merchant caravans were scheduled. No travelers had passed through in weeks.
And then… the horses appeared.
Three riders, clad in dark blue robes bearing a silver crest shaped like an open eye — the symbol of Aetherion Academy, the legendary institute where only the most gifted were invited to study.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Ji-hyeon stepped back, instincts sharpening.
They're early.
Too early.
The lead rider, a woman with sharp eyes and a long silver braid, dismounted. Her gaze swept across the villagers, then landed squarely on Ji-hyeon.
"You," she said. Her voice was calm, but firm. "Ji-hyeon, son of Nari. We've come for you."
Silence fell.
The boy said nothing.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
He hadn't applied. No one from the village had. The academy did not take in peasants — not unless something extraordinary had been sensed.
Had he been too careless?
Had the altar… awakened something visible?
His mother stepped forward in alarm, but Ji-hyeon raised a hand, gently stopping her.
"I haven't agreed to anything," he said.
The silver-haired woman gave the faintest of smirks. "You will."
And with that, she turned her back.
"You have three days. Prepare yourself."