Chapter Text
THE SETTING:
So, this story takes place in an alternate universe— kinda like the canon world, but also really not.
The main hub is this academy called "The Sovereign Peace Academy", and it's built on neutral ground. Why neutral? Because that's where the legendary Elias died, and he's a HUGE deal— he's the only person in all of history who ever had a time-related Ancient Power.
The Academy was created to keep the peace, so it welcomes both nobles and commoners from every kingdom and empire out there. No discrimination, no politics— just students trying to get an education (and establish connection).
ACADEMY SECTORS:
Students are divided into 4 sectors, determined by their innate affinity:
• Mana / Dark Mana
• Aura of the Swordsman
• Holy Powers
• Normal People (non-powered individuals)
In extremely rare cases, a student may possess an Ancient Power. But it's so uncommon that the Academy no longer maintains dedicated facilities for them.
UNIFORM COLORS BY AFFINITY:
• White → Mana users
• Black → Dark Mana users
• Blue → Aura users
• Purple → Holy Power wielders
• Gold → Normal students
• Red → Ancient Power users (if you ever see one, consider yourself lucky)
ACADEMY RULES:
• No using your status to boss people around, no power abuse, no bullying. Seriously, treason isn't even a thing here because hierarchy is that irrelevant.
• Powers may only be used during class or in genuine emergencies. Unauthorized use outside of these contexts triggers an alert via the ring provided to every student upon enrollment.
• Attendance needs to be at least 80%, or you're out.
• All students undergo a Sorting Ceremony, which reveals their affinity and determines their sector assignment. The academy uses some artifact which tells them what type of power(s) a student have.
• Monthly exams are mandatory unless you're literally dying. These exams rank you within your sector, so there's always a little friendly (or not-so-friendly) competition.
• Duels are permitted, but the loser must fulfill one demand made by the winner— provided the Academy deems the demand just.
• Beyond food and dormitory fees, ALL expenses (including clothing, snacks and study materials) must be covered using credits earned through monthly exams. Real currency is not accepted within the Academy. So it's possible for a commoner to be richer than a noble inside the academy.
• First-year students receive an initial credit allocation based on their entrance exam performance.
• Any student who breaks rules more than three times or fails three consecutive exams will be expelled.
KEY NOTES ON POWER SYSTEMS:
• Aura users are the most common. You'll see them everywhere.
• Ancient Power users are very Very VERY rare. Like, blink-and-you'll-miss-them rare.
• Time-related Ancient Powers are the RAREST of all. Only Elias, that legend from thousands of years ago, ever had it.
• Mana, Dark Mana, and Aura are hereditary traits, passed down through bloodlines.
• Holy Powers are bestowed by the Gods.
• But Ancient Powers? Nobody knows where they come from. They aren't genetic neither divinely granted. You can't train for them, you can't pass them down, and having one is already insane— having multiple is basically unheard of.
• Ancient Power users require no formal training and cannot amplify their abilities through practice, so they are grouped with Normal students for academic purposes.
• If a student has more than one affinity, it's up to them in which sector they wants to join.
ABOUT ORIGINAL CALE:
What can I say, even though Cale isn't acting trashy in this universe, people still call him trash. Why? Because he does whatever he wants, says whatever he thinks and absolutely doesn't care about anything other than his family.
• He likes someone? He'll shower them with affection, right out in the open.
• He hates someone? He'll insult them to their face without a single thought about consequences.
• Thinks you're beautiful? Get ready for so much praise you'll wanna crawl into a hole and disappear.
• Thinks you're ugly? Honestly, you might as well start digging your own grave now to save yourself the embarrassment.
Our sweet boy is still kind, and he's not shy about showing it. But he's also a total brat who enjoys acting like one. However, despite acting like an open book, he isn't completely fine with expressing himself.
He'll save your life, pull you back from the brink of death, and then just casually go, "Ugh, I just didn't wanna lose my appetite looking at your disgusting blood." And you'd think, okay, classic tsundere, he's just shy about caring. But NOPE. The very next second, he'll openly admit, "I was so worried about you!" with a straight face. Like— EXCUSE ME?! Make it make sense!!!
• He's a tsundere. But also a deredere. At the same time. Somehow.
• One moment he's acting like everything is boring and beneath him. The next, he's bouncing off the walls like a hyperactive puppy.
• He can be the most elegant, refined person you've ever laid eyes on. And then two seconds later, he's the most classless little brat you've ever met.
• He's the maturest person in the room... until he suddenly isn't, and starts acting like a five-year-old throwing a tantrum.
To everyone else, he's this confusing, frustrating mess of a person. But in reality? He's just an 18-year-old kid who acts like a grumpy old man that lives for ragebaiting people.
He has zero interest in sacrificing his comfort for anyone or anything. Like, if someone bullies his step-family? He'll just straight up kill them instead of playing along with some role he doesn't wanna be in.
Don't get it twisted— he still LOVES his family in this universe too. But unlike canon, he also loves himself now. He just wants to live his life on his own terms. (I just want him to be free of all those masks and finally let himself be happy.)