Moonlit Vows Of Vengeance-Chapter 60: Losing Powers

Students clustered in groups, all in various shades of high-quality robes, laughter and excited chatter filling the air like an electric storm.

None of them noticed me at first. I stood awkwardly at the edge, not sure where I was supposed to go until Valeen gave me a slight push forward and then strode off without explanation. I caught glimpses of the other recruiters dispersing too—some joining the teachers on the upper balconies, others vanishing through illusionary walls.

A loud chime echoed through the space, and a woman in flowing robes that trailed sparks stood at the podium near the front.

"Welcome to the Resonance Trials," she said, voice amplified by unseen magic. "Today, you will each be tested for the depth and type of your essence. These results will place you within the appropriate arcane, alchemical, and martial paths."

I didn’t move. I felt like I was shrinking under the weight of a hundred expectations I hadn’t asked for. The boy with a braid of silver hair glanced at me, then whispered something to a girl beside him. They both laughed.

I looked away.

One by one, names were called. Students walked to the central dais where a large obsidian structure hummed with layered energy. It looked like a hybrid between a crystal harp and a monolith. Runes floated above it in gentle spirals.

"The Resonance Gauge," someone behind me whispered. "It reads what kind of magic is inside you and how strong."

When my name was finally called—Athena—the hall quieted. I stepped forward slowly, trying to breathe.

"Why bother?" someone muttered as I passed.

I ignored it.

The woman at the podium nodded once. "Place both hands on the gauge."

I did.

For a second, nothing happened again. Then, a low hum thrummed through the air. Lines of light sparked to life, tracing their way through the device. I braced for something—anything. I knew I had power. Deep, wild, dangerous power that had once shattered shadows.

But nothing else happened.

The light dimmed. The Gauge let out a flat, metallic tone.

Confused murmurs rippled through the crowd. Someone chuckled. The woman near the podium raised an eyebrow.

"No measurable affinity," she said.

"What?" I whispered.

"No immediate essence detected. You are... null."

That word hit like a slap.

"Wait—no. That’s not right. Try again." I reached for the Gauge, but she raised a hand and snapped her fingers.

The light shut off. The device turned dark again.

"The Gauge does not lie," she said crisply. "Next."

I turned to see the students staring at me. With pity.

And mockery.

"She’s a null?"

"How’d she get in?"

"Did the recruiters go blind this year?"

I walked away stiffly, swallowing hard. The girl beside me smirked as she brushed past. "I guess some of us were just meant to sweep floors."

I kept walking, heart pounding. Why didn’t it work? I had used uncontrollable powers just days ago, and earlier, I’d clearly been measured. I knew there was power inside me.

So what is happening now?

The next phase of the test involved elemental attunement. Students stood before shimmering pools of air, water, flame, and stone, drawing from the energy to shape it.

I stepped up when called, tried to draw flame and the fire went out.

Tried water—and it turned to mist.

Tried stone—and the rock beneath my hand crumbled.

By the time I reached the air pillar, I knew what would happen. Still, I raised my hand and whispered the invocation I’d overheard others use.

Nothing.

I turned to see a row of judges scribbling notes.

Another wave of laughter from behind me.

I really couldn’t feel the power anymore. It was like someone had shut a door inside me and thrown away the key.

I was so confused.

After the third round—sigil reading—I was given a scroll I couldn’t even unlock. The judge sighed and waved me away. "Perhaps you’ll be placed in remedial runes."

I didn’t argue.

I sat near the edge of the hall, arms folded tight, biting my tongue to keep from losing control. My muscles still ached from the escape, my mind haunted by the dream of the silver-haired woman with my face screaming Die die die as she tried to tear out my throat.

And now I am failing.

The worst part wasn’t the embarrassment.

It was the fear.

What if this world was draining me?

What if being here, in this realm built on magic and gods and ancient hierarchies, was stripping away the one thing I had left?

My wolf.

My power.

My identity.

A girl with pale horns and luminous eyes sat beside me. "You’re not from here," she said after a moment.

I stiffened.

"I mean—not from anywhere near here. I can feel it. Your blood is wrong."

I didn’t respond.

She tilted her head. "They’ll mock you now. But the ones who laugh loudest usually scream the hardest when the real tests begin."

I met her gaze. "You think this is just the beginning?"

"Oh, definitely." She smiled faintly. "Half the people in this room won’t last the year."

That should’ve made me feel better. It didn’t.

Not when I still couldn’t feel my power.

I clenched my fists.

One way or another, I’d find out what was blocking me.

The next test involved unravelling another basic sigil puzzle. Everyone received a scroll. All you had to do was channel a drop of energy into it to unlock the pattern.

I stared at the blank parchment in my hands. Whispered a word. Tried to call anything up.

Nothing.

The scroll stayed closed. The examiner gave me a glance of polite disdain and moved on.

"Remedial," she said to someone beside her.

I sat down at the edge of the testing circle, ears burning. My chest felt like it was being crushed by something invisible. I couldn’t even tell if it was fury or shame anymore. Maybe both.

Has it all been some kind of fluke?

"Rough first day?"