Raden stood in line, his palms slick with sweat, heart hammering in his chest. He could hear the sound of each breath—too loud, too fast—as he watched Madam Ambreach move through the room, her eyes glinting with the cold authority only a mage could wield.
She was the one who decided their fate. A flick of her wand, a word whispered under her breath, and everything would change. For better or worse.
"Step forward, Raden Sora."
It felt like the room held its breath. Every eye turned toward him. Jay shot him a quick, nervous grin from the back of the line. Raden gave a tight nod in return, though his stomach twisted in knots.
The floorboards creaked beneath his boots as he moved to stand in front of Madam Ambreach. She was tall, her sharp features carved by years of command, her dark robes flowing around her like a shadow.
"Hold out your hand," she ordered, her voice as cold as the wind.
Raden hesitated for only a second before extending his right palm. His heart pounded louder now, as if his very blood was trying to escape his skin.
Madam Ambreach's wand flicked through the air, a thin stream of light crackling from its tip. It hovered just above his palm, waiting for a response.
Nothing.
Raden's breath caught in his throat. The magic should've surged. It should've flooded his veins, should've spilled out, but there was nothing. Not even a spark. His blood felt... empty. Hollow.
She waved the wand again, more forcefully this time. "Nothing."
Her eyes narrowed, disappointment flashing across her face. She moved in a slow circle around him, her presence suffocating. "Raden Sora, born of the gutter. Yet no trace of magic? How curious."
The room was silent, the weight of her words pressing down on Raden. He could feel the heat of the other kids' stares, their pity, their judgment. They all knew what came next.
"You are magicless." Madam Ambreach's voice held no surprise, just a cold finality. "There's no place for you here."
Raden's chest tightened. Magicless. A word that carried more weight than just the absence of power. It meant he was nothing. It meant he was condemned to the very life he had fought to escape. A lifetime of labor in the factories or worse, bound to the Red Rabbits.
He lowered his head, the sting of failure sharper than any whip. He could feel Jay's eyes on him from the back of the room. Could hear the nervous breath he was holding.
The test wasn't just about what you had, it was about who you were. And in that moment, Raden realized that he had nothing. Not even a chance.
Madam Ambreach flicked her wand again, dismissing him with the same coldness as before. "Next."
Raden's heart sank, and he stepped back into the line, head down, hands trembling. He didn't dare look up, didn't dare meet the eyes of the others who had watched him fail. Jay was next, though. He had magic. He had to.
"Jay Racker," Madam Ambreach called, her voice now tinged with something like anticipation. She already knew what she would find. The others did too.
Jay took a deep breath and stepped forward, his grin a little too wide, his hands twitching at his sides. But this time, Raden noticed something:, the air in the room seemed to shift. It thickened, crackling with an almost electric charge.
Jay held out his hand, but when Madam Ambreach raised her wand this time, something unexpected happened. The magic overflowed.
It wasn't a single spark or pulse of energy; it was a torrent-a flood. A wild storm of power, rippling outward from Jay's fingertips, cascading through the room in bright, crackling waves of white-hot light.
Raden's mouth went dry. His eyes burned from the intensity of it. It felt like the entire room was being pulled toward Jay, like the walls themselves were bending under the weight of his magic.
Madam Ambreach's eyes widened, a rare flicker of surprise crossing her usually stoic face. Her wand hummed with energy, struggling to contain Jay's raw power.
"You—" she began, her voice tense. "You are overflowing, Jay Racker. This is… unheard of."
Jay's grin grew even wider as the power raged around him, uncontrolled, crackling through the room like a wild beast. He laughed—a sharp, exhilarated sound—as he reveled in the magic pulsing through him.
For a moment, Raden couldn't even comprehend what was happening. He had been empty. A hollow shell. And Jay—Jay was bursting with more magic than anyone should ever have. It was as if the very fabric of the empire was bowing to him.
But Madam Ambreach wasn't finished. She raised her wand higher, murmuring a sharp incantation under her breath. The wild surge of power around Jay began to calm, the torrent of light slowly ebbing back into his body, as if it was being forced into submission.
"You're dangerous," Madam Ambreach said, her voice softer now, but still sharp. "You'll need special training. A mage like you will be placed among the Imperial Legions. They'll want you. But you'll have to learn control. Otherwise, you'll burn everything to the ground."
Jay's chest rose and fell rapidly, his hands still tingling with excess magic. He didn't seem fazed at all, still grinning like an idiot.
"Yeah, yeah, I can handle it," he said, his voice full of youthful arrogance. "Sovereign, remember?"
Raden stood there, still reeling from the contrast between them. The difference was staggering—Jay was everything he wasn't. But at the same time, Jay was part of a system that would use him, break him, and throw him away when he was no longer useful.
And Raden? Raden was nothing.
"Next," Madam Ambreach called, dismissing Jay as she turned her eyes toward the remaining kids in line.
Raden lingered in the back, his heart heavy. The test was over, but the consequences were only just beginning.