Legacy of the First Bell: Arc of Stardust Trials
Across Luminara City, students whisper about one place — the Nova Institute. It’s not just a school; it’s the best academy for Gifted. They call students with gifts ‘Ascendants.’ Some families wait years to even get a notice. Some give up. Our protagonist? Kaede Ibuki. Plain kid, one blue streak in his hair, notebooks stuffed inside one pocket. Kaede’s dream’s simple: find out why his parents vanished years ago — their last record, hidden inside Nova, a clue to a puzzle that never stops biting at his mind. But Nova likes its secrets cold.
Isn’t every academy arc the same? Not here. Nova shimmers in daylight, sure, but it’s old. Gothic. Windows never quite locked. Inside? Hallways filled with silver lights, trees in the courtyards spanning two stories. You hear laughter — or, was that a crow…
Kaede steps through the doors the first morning. He’s not alone. Hinta Murakami waltzes ahead — wavy-haired prodigy, Nova’s chess champ, reading a book as he walks. Nova picked both for the Stardust Trials: daily duels and puzzles, all week. Only five out of six pass. Fail, and you’re left sitting out for a year.
“You seem worried, Ibuki,” Hinta says. Eyes bored, but hinting at secrets. “I told you, just blend in. Don’t poke the upperclassmen.”
Kaede forces a grin. “My old man said, ‘Find out everything. Especially what they tell you not to.'”
That knocks a laugh from Hinta. If only it calmed the nerves.
Day one: a test named Breadcrumbs. Nova’s head — elegant principal Kimura — cuts ribbons with her words. “Follow the lines, let yourself be seen,” she says. Everyone’s thrown into the west gardens with cryptic clues. Sora, shy girl in moss-green, follows Kaede at a safe two meters. Yu Jugen, pride and voice sharp as glass, sneers at everyone slow.
“Stick close, or get cut,” whispers Sora. She clings to Kaede once they hit a passage no map shows. Creaking roots, and there in the mud: a bell pulled half from the ground. His name’s carved under a swirl — how? Does Nova mark you before you even know you exist here?
“Ibuki, ring it. I think that’s the only way out,” Hinta murmurs. The others wait. Kaede presses down, bell ringing crisp across hidden halls and quaking branches. Magic pulls at the skin. You shiver too, reading?
The clue sends them to the orb room. Crystal domes – mirrors show the student’s worst fear for all to see. Kaede sits. Reflection mutters, “You didn’t find them when you could.” Pain tightens his throat.
The orb flashes. And— error. Not just his fear, but his mother’s eyes flicker in the surface — “Run.” It’s not all test. Hinta clamps a hand on his arm, drags him before staff can see. “You saw her, right? You saw her like I saw the wolf… You’re not supposed to.”
Through the halls at dusk, contestants whisper. Rivalry turns to real knives: Yu sabotages Sora in the riddle maze. Security’s slow, upperclass testers step in. One says, “You’ll reach the answer with scars or worse.”
Second night. Kaede slips to Nova’s north tower. Needs answers. Feels chased—slow march of light, like someone’s tailing him. The place pulses with old secrets. He thinks he sees a familiar scarf flash by a stained-glass window — his dad’s maybe?
A message carved behind a loose piece of wood: ‘Find the Owls at Dawn. Don’t trust them at night’. Who are the Owls? Faculty with glowing pins who run late patrols, famous as Nova’s eyes. But why the warning?
‘Maybe you should drop it,’ Hinta urges the next day. ‘You passed the first round. You don’t have to poke them .’
Kaede is too close. More visions hit in round three — flashes of an underground room, old Nova crests with initials matching his parents’ names. This isn’t just a school. Is it a prison, or a last safe place?
By week’s end, all five surviving candidates dread what’s coming. Night before finals, Kaede breaks open a floor panel in an unused classroom. A stream of cold, blue, watchful light pours out. Footsteps behind him — heavy, rushed. He’s caught?
A faculty voice booms, shadow swallowing the door. ‘You’re not meant to find this yet.’ Trial bells sound, and Kaede’s last shot at truth flickers in the gloom.
Could you really leave now? Or would you dive further? Would you risk everything for the missing piece?
Silence.
To be continued.
