“Okay, Nad, I’m going to the library. See you.”

  Gonad flopped back on his bed. “Again? You just ate two rhino burgers. At least let your stomach rest.”

  WINI gave a small smile, fingers brushing his pendant as if confirming it was still on his neck. “My stomach is fine. My head needs the library more.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Don’t come back with it overfilled,” Gonad muttered. “I’ll start sorting things for the trip. Awakening’s not far now, you know.”

  WINI nodded and stepped out.

  The corridor was quieter than usual, most students either resting or huddled in small groups, buzzing about corrupted beasts, council registries, and the kinds of innate skills they might awaken. Snatches of conversation floated past him, but none stuck in his thoughts.

  He took the familiar route to the School of Infinite’s library—left at the wall mural of the four stars, past the training hall, up the narrow staircase most students ignored. The great doors loomed ahead, carved with constellations and old cultivation sigils. Inside, the world fell into hush.

  Shelves spiraled upward, stacked with everything from basic manuals to dense research journals almost no one touched. WINI’s feet followed the route he had walked a hundred times, a path that looked random to others but drew him step by step toward the deeper sections.

  No voices whispered in his mind today. Ever since talking with his mother, the faint murmurs had gone completely silent. The quiet felt unfamiliar, but lighter.

  So this is how it feels when my head isn’t crowded, he thought. Maybe Awakening really will finish the rest.

  He slid a volume from the shelf—an old record on anomalies observed near the Impact Zone—and started to read.

  As he studied, footsteps echoed lightly down the aisle behind him, stopping a short distance away. Another book slid from a neighboring shelf.

  WINI didn’t turn immediately. The library had many seekers today. But as he flipped a page, a familiar voice spoke from the other side.

  “So… you come here even after three full days of teachings,” Aarna said softly. “Do the classes still feel incomplete to you too?”

  The letters on the page blurred for an instant.

  WINI closed the book halfway, eyes narrowing—not in irritation, but in the focused way he used for strange phenomena and difficult questions. Looks like today, the library isn’t going to let me stay invisible.

  “I was reading about the place we’re visiting tomorrow,” he said.

  “Oh, you mean the Impact Zone?” Aarna replied. “The place where people say some kind of asteroid fell and almost destroyed the Blue Star?”

  “Yes. Do you know anything about it?”

  “Well, I do know some details,” she said. “If you want, I can tell you.”

  “Yes. I was looking for the same thing.”

  They moved to a nearby table. Aarna explained what she knew: how the Impact Zone lay not far from Origin Cliff; how ancient records said a fragment from beyond the known stars had crashed there; how the land around it warped aura and light; and how the council had locked the core of the zone with a strange mechanism students simply called the wheel in a cage.

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  WINI listened quietly, occasionally asking about dates, distances, or which parts were confirmed and which were rumor. When she finished, he closed his book and stood.

  “Thanks for explaining,” he said.

  “You’re welcome.” Aarna gave a small nod, then turned back to her own reading.

  WINI left the library and returned to the room.

  Gonad glanced up. “So, did you finish filling up your head? What did you even go to study for? Everything was already explained in class, right?”

  WINI sighed. “Honestly, does your brain never remember important things? Did you really forget about tomorrow’s visit to the Impact Zone?”

  “Ah… I completely forgot about that,” Gonad admitted. “But you went to the library just to read about it? You already knew a lot about that zone.”

  “I went to see if there was anything new,” WINI said. In truth, he had simply wanted to spend time there, hoping to find something interesting related to space records—and when he ran into Aarna, it suddenly felt… fun to listen to her.

  “Aha. Well, if you say so.”

  “I’m going to sleep. Good night.”

  “Sure. Good night.”

  The next morning, both WINI and Gonad woke on time and dressed for the trip.

  Gonad took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists. “WINI, let’s go. We can do this…”

  WINI stared at him. “Seriously? What are you doing? Awakening is tomorrow, not today. Let’s go. Don’t start heating up your head already.”

  “I know. But it’s still a little exciting and scary, okay? I was just calming my mind.”

  “Sure, if you say so.”

  They made their way to the academy plaza where all students had been called to gather. Once everyone arrived, a new figure stepped onto the raised platform—a young man with an almost “emo” look and an easy, crooked smile.

  “Okay, everyone,” he called out. “My name is Valdorion Celewars, and I’ll be guiding you to the Impact Zone through the portal. Enter the portal room in groups of five. After you step in, don’t panic—you won’t feel anything when you arrive. Except maybe a little vomiting, hahaha.”

  Gonad squinted. “Who is this guy? Why do I feel like I’ve seen this kind of laugh somewhere?”

  “Who else could it be?” WINI replied calmly. “Your dear positive and overconfident classmate.”

  “Ha, right. He said his last name is Celewars, huh? That matches the laugh. The guy in our class is called… Grad… Grand… something—Grandelion Celewars. Are they from the same family? Related? Oh ho… that’s going to be a headache.”

  Around them, students were murmuring. Some admired Valdorion openly; he was one of the known figures who had graduated from the School of Infinite three years ago and made a name for himself. Some students grumbled that it was a waste of time. Others followed along without any strong opinion. Almost everyone was interested in the tour, but with Awakening tomorrow, their focus was split.

  WINI, Aarna, Aashna, and a few others, however, were clearly excited.

  Groups of five began forming quickly. Before WINI and Gonad could even decide who to ask, everyone else had already vanished into the portal room.

  Only five figures remained in the plaza: WINI, Gonad, Aarna, Laxsi, and Aashna.

  They exchanged brief glances, then walked into the portal room together without a word. Light flared—and then the world shifted.

  A moment later, they stood on rough stone. The journey felt like a blink; most students staggered as the world steadied, some collapsing to their knees. Several began vomiting at the edge of the platform.

  For some reason, WINI felt nothing—no dizziness, no nausea. Just an odd pressure in the air, as if the surroundings were slightly out of tune.

  By the time everyone gathered themselves, it was already afternoon. The Impact Zone lay in the distance, surrounded by layered barriers and watchtowers. No one was allowed near the core.

  From afar, WINI could still see it clearly: a vast scar in the earth, and above it, suspended within a colossal lattice of metal and sigils, a massive wheel-like structure turning slowly, as if floating inside a cage.

  So this is the zone… and that thing is the Void Wheel, he thought. No one really knows why such a massive wheel hangs above the Impact Zone.

  After observing from the viewing platform for some time, the group was guided to a museum nearby. There, they saw recordings, models, and relics connected to the ancient fall that had carved the Zone.

  Questions burned in WINI’s mind, but there was no time to dig deeper today.

  Once the tour ended, they were led back through the portal, returned to the academy, and given the rest of the day to rest.

  Tomorrow was the Awakening ceremony.

  Everyone went back to their rooms carrying different mixtures of fear, excitement, and quiet resolve—each heart beating a little faster as Origin Cliff drew near.