Days passed by quickly, and eventually, all the tests had been done and the projects had been presented. The clock was nearing midnight which meant that the Zodiacs first training would soon take place.

Aiven and Feíx didn't even bother trying to fall asleep that night. There wasn't any point in doing so, really. The majority of the night had been spent with the others in the comonroom and mindless talking, but different from the two the others did want to try to get some sleep. Which forced them to continue the conversation in their dorm.

But at last came the soft knocking on their dorm, indicating that it was time to head to the office.

"Zam told me that they will be waiting for us there" Derin announced and shut off her pod, clipping the sides together before stuffing it in her back pocket. The others nodded in response. Derin then moved her hand in front of the door which caused it to slide to the side. She took a small step outside and looked around to see if anyone were in the corridors, just to be sure. When she didn't see any, she simply waved for the rest that it was okay to go.

They quietly walked through the building, using their pods and the moonlight to guide them through the darkness. The soft sound of their shoes hitting the floor echoed through the empty hallway and was soon accompanied by the loud creaking as they opened the door that lead out of the building. Asárax was what many called a perfect balance of the modern technology and the millennials old architecture. It didn't really feel like it belonged in Bellgin, Luminos capital, with its architecture.

The late summer night was cold and the only light present being the starlit sky gathering around the full moon. In the forest the creatures were quietly sleeping. Not all though, as the giant endrias peacefully wandered throughout the woods, their pale fur occasionally showing through the trees.

Livíne sighed happily as she took in the night. "Beautiful" she breathed out.

"Ay Live! Are you coming?!" the blonde was startled by the sudden call and brought back to reality to notice that she had stopped walking. The rest of the group was already at the main road, the one that lead to the academy.

"Yes, I am- Wait, Live?" Livíne raised her eyebrow at Feíx, the one who's called out, as she catches up with them.

"Yeah, it's a nickname" he explained with a smile.

"Well, yes but, why?"

"It sounds nice. Or do you prefer Livy? Vinnie? Nea-" "Live is fine!" Livíne cut him off before he could get any further with the nicknaming brainstorm, and all caught up with the rest they continued their walk to the office.

It was a lot warmer inside, and all the more quieter, a complete contrast from the day when hundreds of students were running around. The group wandered through the echoing hallways until they could see the faint light from the screens and flashlights from the others pods. As their footsteps came closer, the others turned their heads and waved at them.

"Well, midnight is here so how about we get this over with" Feíx suggested with a smile.

"There's a problem with that" Raión said. He was leaning against the wall, hands in the pockets of his dress pants. "The door's fucking locked" Aiven furrowed his eyebrows. Why would it be locked if they were told to be there? Raión locked his amber orange eyes on Aiven, a fanged grin on his face.

"So, 'leader', what do we do now?" he asked. Aiven scolded. "I don't know" "But isn't a leader supposed to know what to do?" the two boys glared at each other, rage and mischief.

"I've hardly done this for like, a couple of days!" Aiven snarled and the other snickered, finding amusement in the others irritation.

"But we're fire signs, born leaders" Raión pointed out. "Then why don't you come up with something!" Aiven snapped. Raión pushed himself of the wall and raised his hands in defense, still keeping his smug grin.

"We're in a big group now so, you're in charge"

"Guys, come on, this is fucking ridiculous" Cassíe groaned and aimed her pods flashlight directly into their eyes, making them both flinch and squeeze their eyes shut.

"I'm sorry but were we talking to you?" Raión glared at the shorter girl. Her eyes immediately turned into mare cracks on her face, cracks hiding the dangerous depth that was her coming death glare. Noting the turn in emotion of the girl, Zam stepped in.

"There is no use in arguing about this, let's just come up with a solution together and get this over with" he said.

"Whatever" Raión huffed, a grin still plastered on his face. Aiven rolled his eyes and he and Cassíe took notes to avoid any sort of conversation or eye contact with the other fire sign that night, or ever. Zam sighed and turned his gaze to the others, careful not to look at anyone directly in the eyes as he was aware his eyes weren't the most pleasant to be pierced by. "So, any ideas on how to get in?" he asked.

"Well, I do have a spare key" came the sudden voice of Etamin. The group turned their heads to see the professor coming down the hall towards them, Nashira shortly after. They both wore their uniforms in the formal manner that was expected from both professors and students at Asárax, unlike the group who didn't bother with most of the uniforms like the ties or the blazers. Well, not Livíne, she was dressed as if she was attending a class as usual. Both Nashira and Etamin also seemed to have some sort of glowing aura around them, softly illuminating the dark hallway.

Etamin walked passed the group and unlocked the door, holding it open and motioning for the group to enter.

"Wait, I'm confused" Terrie said. "Were we supposed to meet you inside the office, or was that just something you said when really you meant for us to wait outside?"

"Well, we planned for you to wait for me and professor Tenebris inside, but someone had been a bit touchy with the antique handwritten Stellas so" Etamin said eyeing the students with a smile as they walked in. Yune stopped in his tracks as several glances were shot in his directions, the deep turquoise tendrils attached to either side of his occipital bone perked up, a common reflect to him being startled or taken off guard. Some of the others giggled and he waved his hand for them to relax as he with a slight scrunched up face moved to sit.

"No need to sit down" Etamin informed "Training will take place in the arena" he was standing next to the gold framed mirror, one hand placed to push it to the side. As Etamin did so, the familiar passage meet the students, the light far within its depth seemingly taunting them as memories from their last visit flooded their minds.

"Etamin will go first and I'll last, understood?" Nashira said and glanced over the group as they nodded, somewhat lazily. They all entered, Etamin first, then the group, and lastly Nashira. The mirror closed behind them, and the expected darkness wrapped around them, or, they expected darkness to wrap around them. Soft shades of grey and lilac lit up the way. Livíne turned her head to see if she could find the sudden light source, and she did. Both lights were emitting from the professors, lilac from Etamin and grey from Nashira. Livíne raised a pale eyebrow, slowing down to get closer to Nashira.

"Ms.Tenebris?" she asked and received a hum in response. "Why are you and, Etamin, glowing?" Nashiras lips curled up in a small smile as she looked at the girl. "Well, stars tend to 'glow' in darkness" she simply said, not really answering Livínes question.

"Stars? Wait, are you saying that-" "Yes, Celestial deities exist. Wasn't becoming Virgo a clear enough clue?" Livíne fell silent, thoughts running wild in her head. Not, only was the Zodiacs real, but every Celestial? Stars, Nebulas, Constellation spirits, everything. Out of all the things the young vitanesse girl had been told, the existence of celestial deities was never thought to be real.

The group eventually got down to the 'underground office', and the teens wound up just standing near the walls. Awaiting for the professors to give them any kind of instructions. Etamin was the first to do anything, removing the white glove that dressed his left hand and held it up towards the center of the room with his eyes closed. Soon, the small birthmarks on his hand began to glow, reaching out to each other with lines of lilac light. The already dim lighting of the room darkened bringing more attention to Etamin. Eyes full of awe, surprise and dread, all belonging to the teens, stared at him. All had heard the stories, none had seen it. Celestial magic. The beating heart of Vanea.

Suddenly, Etamin opened his eyes, eyes glowing with the intense light. An invisible force shook the ground and the lilac light of Etamin pulsed through the walls, lighting up symbols and runes none could've seen if not for his light. The light then swiftly moved from it's rune form into the vault of a hidden door. Once the vault was complete, Etamin let his hand fall and the light from him disappeared. Now it was Nashiras turn to remove a glove, but she did not put on the light show. Instead she let her hand fall onto a non-existing door handle, turned it and pulled open the door.

Both her and Etamin put their gloves back on, Nashira glancing behind her back at the teens. "Follow me" she instructed. The teens did as they were told and let Nashira guide them through the unknown darkness the door held behind it. However, it didn't remain dark for very long, as with each step Nashira and Etamin took runes and lines swirling endlessly alighted, making the whole walk feel like nothing the teens had ever felt or experienced.

They didn't walk for long until Nashira stopped to once again remove her glove and open a new door, only difference being that she removed both her gloves and pushed open two doors. She walked in, the group following after.

What they all saw once they stepped over the threshold was beyond anything their imaginations could've ever thought of. The room was huge, ceiling being held up by twelve pillars each embraced by silk fabric that bundled up at the floor. The ceiling above the space encircled by the pillars was a dome of glass, giving everyone a clear view of the night sky. The tall windows each held stained glass, arranged into a starry night sky. A massive staircase led up to more rooms to explore as well as framed a large door. There wasn't much in the room furniture wise, other than a large table with a build in pod placed in the middle of the room.

"And where the fuck are we now?" Cassíe breathed out in frustration, blowing some lonely strands of hair from her eyes.

"This, Zodiacs, is the temple of constellations. Home to the Stars, and one part of Vaneas heart" Etamin explained with a smile. "It also happens to be your 'secret home', if you will"

"Uh, this is pretty massive" Feíx pointed out, eyeing every last inch of the one room. "Won't it be like, pretty impossible for anyone to not see it?" Nahira hummed in response. "It would be, if anyone ever came to Tessin"

"Wait, Tessin? We're on the other side of the coast?" Adriam questioned. Etamin nodded. "We passed a time gate, thousands of miles in just a few minutes. The only way to enter the temple" he explained. "But we'll give you a tour another time, Nashira?" the pale woman nodded and used her hand to show the group that it was time to once again follow after.

"All of this walking is going to kill me" Aiven groaned. "Then it's you and Ina" Feíx nudged his roommates shoulder and nodded to Derin. She was trying her hardest to not only stay awake but also to walk in a straight line. Aiven snorted.

After walking through the temple for a couple of minutes, the group came to what seemed to be a mix between a hallway and a foyer of some kind with a massive door at the end. The walls were lined with marble statues that reached to the ceiling, each dressed in warrior-like uniforms and each from a different planet of Vanea. By the base of each statue was a silver tag, giving a name to the person the statue was resembling. Yune tried to get a glimpse of the tags, but only managed to take one in fully.

Saphíne Fern ; Gemini

With the snap of the professors fingers, the door slowly opened. The room behind was, once again, enormous and it didn't appear to have a roof to cover it, guessing from the small breeze that'd hit them. And probably by the fact that there was only a cage like dome above them.

"Welcome Zodiacs" Etamin said, a smile upon his face. "To the Arena"

"This, is where you'll be training, both in combat and magic" Nashira added and walked past the teens. "So get in a circle, in order of course, and we'll begin" she nodded towards the middle of the room, where a map of constellations, similar to the one in the 'underground' office, was painted onto the floor. The group casted hesitant glances around, recalling what happened the previous time they came in contact with a map. But they went to stand in their positions regardless, having mild trouble finding their symbol on the map.

Nashira and Etamin stood by patiently whilst they got their positions correct, though Nashira did were a resting face of annoyance. Once everyone was in their right place, Etamin straightened the blazer of his uniform and cleared his throat. "As Zodiacs, you all possess one of the four forms of celestial magic, Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. Tonight, you'll learn how to summon it" he explained. "It's not going to be easy the first times, but with time this will be just as easy as breathing"

"Hands in front of, and as far away from you as you can" Nashira instructed and waved her hand for the teens to follow. They did, stretching as far as they could having to idea what was going to happen.

The clicking sound of her high heels hitting the floor bounced around in the arena as Nashira bean to circulate the teens.

"Now, you're going to picture a map, like the one you're standing by, flowing from your hands. This is your light, in physical form and with it you'll be able to control and create your form of celestial magic. So, imagine the map and think of everything that connects to your magic. Begin"

The arena fell silent as the teens locked their eyes of the space between their hands, trying their hardest not to make eye contact with the people before them.

Zam bit his bottom lip, furrowing his eyebrows as he focused everything he had to picture the map before him. Trying to see the runes and the symbol of his sign, whilst also thinking of everything that connected to air. His head was a giant storm of words and pictures, to say the least. Then something tingled in his fingertips, and shortly after a small spark of light illuminated in front of his hands, just for a mere second. The tingling feeling was still there. The corner of Zams lips curled into a half grin, he was getting somewhere.