Aetheric Chronicles: Reborn As An Extra

The Valerian Hall exploded.

Not with fire or thunder, but with something far more profound. A pillar of pure white light erupted from the building's heart, shooting skyward with such intensity that it turned night into day. For a brief moment, the medieval architecture of the prestigious city stood outlined against this brilliant backdrop, its towers and spires casting impossible shadows in multiple directions.

Then came the darkness.

It wasn't just an absence of light – it was something alive, something hungry. It coiled around the white pillar like a serpent, two primal forces locked in a desperate embrace. The collision point between light and dark pulsed with colors that hurt to look at, tearing at the fabric of reality itself.

The abominations that had surrounded the hall reacted instantly. The nearest ones simply... ceased to exist, their corrupted forms unraveling like smoke in a strong wind where the white light touched them. The creatures further out tried to flee, their inhuman shrieks cutting through the air, but the expanding dome of light showed no mercy. Each touch of its radiance reduced them to nothing, not even leaving ash behind.

The ground trembled. Cracks spread outward from the hall's foundation like spider webs in black marble. The building itself began to collapse inward, as if being devoured by some unseen force at its center. The air grew thick with power – not the familiar weight of aether, but something older, something that didn't belong in this world.

Then came the sound.

Not an explosion, but its opposite – a sudden, complete absence of sound that pulled at the ears and pressed against the mind.

In that deafening silence, reality bent.

Where the hall once stood, space itself seemed to tear. A fissure appeared in the air, neither light nor dark but something in between. At its edges, fragments of what might have been a portal flickered and died, but this was different – more primal, more dangerous.

Within its depths, two figures were briefly visible: one wreathed in corrupted darkness, the other blazing with impossible light. For a heartbeat, they hung suspended in that between-space, their forms already beginning to blur and fade.

Then they were gone, swallowed by whatever lay beyond that tear in reality. The fissure sealed itself with a sound like breaking glass played backwards, leaving nothing but empty air where it had been.

The protective dome of light flickered once, twice, and shattered.

Bodies fell.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

They dropped like abandoned marionettes into the massive crater that had replaced Valerian Hall. The white light that had protected them dissipated like morning mist, revealing their unconscious forms: The beatiful girl with silver hair spread like a halo around her head.

A young man still gripping a blood-stained sword. A tamer whose hands occasionally sparked with failing magic. The one they called the 'main character,' his confident facade finally broken. And others, all scattered across the scorched earth like fallen stars.

The crater itself was perfectly circular, its walls smooth as glass. No debris remained of the once-proud hall, no fragments of stone or wood or metal. Nothing remained to suggest that one of the continent's most prestigious places had stood here just moments before. Only the crater, its recent occupants, and a silence so complete it seemed to swallow all hope of sound.

In the distance, sounds of victory also began to wail, their song somehow thin and meaningless against the weight of what had just occurred. Emergency lights flickered to life, casting weak red and blue shadows that couldn't hope to match the radiance that had just faded from the world.

And in the crater's center, barely visible against the scorched ground, not far from the silver-haired girl, a small hedgehog-like creature lay curled in a tight ball, its quills dim and lifeless.

The world held its breath.

Waiting.

____ ___ _

Celestial Arcane Academy.

Grand Magus Colosseum stood solemn under the morning sun. Every seat was filled – students, staff, dignitaries from Eldoria City, and those who had fought to defend their home. The usual buzz of excitement that filled this arena was replaced by a heavy silence, the kind that comes after storms too great to comprehend.

At the center of the arena, a lone figure stepped forward. The announcer's voice carried clearly through the enchanted air, measured and dignified despite the weight of the words he had to deliver.

"Eight days ago, our city was attacked by large waves of monsters."

The words hung in the air, simple yet devastating in their truth. The announcer paused, allowing the reality of that statement to settle over the gathered crowd.

"We managed to defend the city and everyone thanks to brave heroes - students, volunteer Awakeners, Guards, and so on."

"However..."

"What followed was the darkest week in Eldoria's recent history. The Abomination Army and Weremonkey army, led by the weremonkey king Sezar, launched an assault that threatened to destroy everything we hold dear. Our walls were breached. Our streets became battlegrounds. Our people faced horrors that no one should ever have to witness."

Another pause. In the crowd, faces turned downward, remembering.

"But Eldoria did not fall."

His voice strengthened.

"Six days ago, through the combined efforts of our defenders and two unexpected allies – the legendary Yor Fawger and General Theron, who fought despite their injuries – the tide turned. Though Sezar himself managed to escape, his army was decimated. Our city stood strong."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the mention of Yor Fawger and General Theron. Many turned to glance at where the two heroes sat, Theron's bandages still visible, Yor's face characteristically unreadable.

"Three days ago, more hope returned. Our Principal and the main forces of the Celestial Arcane Academy returned victorious from their mission, having defeated the enemy that threatened not just our city, but our entire continent."

The announcer's voice softened slightly.

"But these victories... they came at a price..."

He stopped, emotion finally cracking through his professional demeanor. In that moment of silence, every eye turned to the massive emptiness visible in the distance, where Valerian Hall once stood proud.