IMPERIAL ACADEMY

"No! Not again. I must wake up. This isn't real! I must wake up! " Alex yelled as fire and smoke filled the air, consuming everything in its path. It was the same nightmare that always plagued his sleep. The world was ablaze, its foundations reduced to smoldering embers, as if the very fabric of reality was unraveling in a maelstrom of fire and destruction. "Why can't I wake up?" Alex voiced out as the dream prolonged. He staggered to his feet and coughed as the smoke filled his lungs. From where he stood, he could hear the screams of children that were caught in the flames. His world was gone, and the magnificent city of Oak that once stood at the cradle of civilization was reduced to dust. "Come to me!" A haunting voice suddenly called out to Alex from the flames. Alex looked around but he saw no one else. He was alone, but who was speaking to him? "Come to me!" The voice called out again, but the voice was louder than before, drowning the cries and the surrounding screams. "No! Stop! This isn't real. This isn't real! " Alex muttered and covered his ears with his palms. The smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils. Although he held on tight, he could still hear the screams, the shattering of glass and the explosions far away. "You can't run from your destiny!" The same haunting voice said to Alex again. "You are fated to burn the world with your fire, to cause the annihilation of the entire cosmos. You shall bring the Great Armageddon. Come to me! " The voice screamed at Alex, who fell to his knees. Alex sobbed as the words replayed in his mind. There was no way any of it was true. He was a nobody. He had no significance. Alex refused to open his eyes. He wanted to shut it all out. It was too much for him. Suddenly, the world around him became silent. The scorching heat that had warmed Alex's skin was gone. Alex slowly opened his eyes and saw that the flames and the destruction were gone. He shuddered as he stood on his feet, looking around while trying to make sense of this mystery. "Alex," a calm, male voice called out to him from behind. Alex slowly turned around and saw a figure standing before him. The figure stood shrouded in an aura of mystery, draped in a dark, billowy cloak that seemed to swallow the light around it. Intricate, silver thread designs danced across the cloak's hem and shoulders, depicting ancient symbols that shimmered like moonlight whispers. The figure's face remained obscured, hidden beneath a hood that cast a deep, impenetrable shadow. As the cloak rustled softly in the breeze, the symbols seemed to shift, casting an otherworldly spell that commanded attention and inspired unease. "Who are you?" Alex dared to ask. " I am The Dark Knight. Bringer of the Great Armageddon. " the figure said and slowly raised his head as two eyes shining yellow gazed at Alex from within the hood of darkness. Then the figure slowly dropped the hood, and when Alex saw its face, he staggered back. "I am you. Alex!" The figure snapped at Alex and hurled at him, letting out a ghostly scream as it tried to pounce on Alex. Alex quickly shielded his face with his hands, but just before the figure could get to him, Alex felt a strong hand tap his shoulder. "Oi! It's time to wake up, lad. Madam Kira wants everything properly prepared for the young master's departure for the Imperial Academy today. Get up!" The head servant's touch had woken Alex from his nightmare. He shuddered as he cleaned the sweat off his brows. Every night since he turned sixteen, the same nightmare came to him. Alex didn't know what it meant. But that was also why he wanted to attend the Imperial Academy. The other reason was to become a knight and change his status forever. Upon successful graduation, students of the Imperial Academy are ordained knights, and they are responsible for maintaining world peace by acting as diplomats. And they earn thousands of gold! But the academy was open to children of elites alone. The fees were extremely expensive, and those born of the lower class like Alex could never dream of attending it, not even if they were part of the one percent of the world's population that got magical abilities when they turned sixteen. "You could have followed the young master to the academy today, Alex, if you had taken the entrance exam. I heard the topper scored one hundred percent! He must be a genius to get such a score! And he won himself a scholarship for coming out first place." Another servant said to Alex while he quickly dragged himself out of bed. Alex nodded. But what no one else knew was that the topper was Alex himself! Alex also had a rare gift; the ability to copy any spell he encounters. Not just that, he was an academic genius and everyone knew, including Madam Kira. Madam Kira wanted her son, Kevin, to be the topper, even though Kevin had previously failed the exam three times already. So, she forced Alex to take the exam on Kevin's behalf after casting a powerful cloaking spell on Alex to make him look like Kevin. But Alex had other plans. At the examination venue, Alex used a spell he learned in the past to duplicate the answer sheet, and then used another spell to clone himself. The examination didn't have any registration, because no one thought a lower-class person could ever dare to take it. It was a crime and the penalty was death! Alex wrote both exams and when the results came out, Alex was at top of the list and Kevin was in second place. Madam Kira was furious that Kevin came out in second place. However, Madam Kira didn't know Alex's surname, so she never assumed that the Alex on the list was her servant. No one did. "Alex! Get me my bloody box! The ride is here!" Kevin called out and Alex rushed downstairs. He quickly grabbed Kevin's box from his room and took the gigantic leather bag down the staircase. However, he tripped and fell as the box was too heavy. "Stupid boy! You can never do anything right!" Madam Kira said to Alex as she walked up to him and slapped him. Kevin stood there with a grin on his face, and the driver who was supposed to take him to the Imperial Academy watched with disgust on his face. "Here, sir. This is my son. Kevin Hale. He was second place in the entrance exam with ninety-nine percent. You must treat him with respect in that school. He will be a great knight someday," Madam Kira said to the driver with a proud smile on her face. The driver nodded and checked a magical tab in his hand glowing with a faint blue light. "I am supposed to pick up two candidates from this house today, ma'am," the driver said to Madam Kira and her smile faded instantly. She exchanged glances with her son. "Two candidates? What do you mean by that? There was only one candidate from this house and that is my son," she said to the driver. "That's not true, ma'am. Alex Kane, the topper in the examination, is from this household. My log confirms that. And that person is… him," the driver said and pointed to Alex. Madam Kira gasped as anger flashed in her eyes. Alex wouldn't dare.