The sky above Kuoh Academy melted into a gentle rose-gold hue. Light spilled through the sprawling arches of the main gate, washing the cobblestone paths in a sleepy warmth. Yesterday's chaos had faded. No more duels. No mana-shattering confrontations. No upperclassmen trying to obliterate first-years with smiles on their faces.
Just the Academy. And it was... massive.
A gentle breeze carried the hum of mana through the air. Crystalline streams flowed through the campus like glowing rivers. Towering lecture halls shimmered with enchanted runes. Floating platforms zipped by, ferrying students from spire to spire. A girl lazily drifted overhead on a wind-imbued board, flipping through a book without even glancing down.
Kiyoshi walked with his hands in his pockets, the dull throb of yesterday's battle already a ghost in his body. Manjiro was beside him, arms thrown behind his head, white hair swaying as he walked like he hadn't a single care in the world. Behind them, Zoltan strolled with measured steps, his gaze sharp beneath the silver sweep of his bangs, red eyes scanning the world with calm, predatory ease.
"So," Manjiro said, glancing sidelong at Kiyoshi, "we almost got erased from existence. Not bad for our first day."
Zoltan clicked his tongue. "You almost got erased. I was just starting to enjoy myself."
Kiyoshi smirked faintly. "Pretty sure I was too busy not getting turned into a crater to enjoy anything."
A voice drifted from a stone arch ahead. "You three walk like the school belongs to you."
Leaning casually against a wall, Rajieru gave them a crooked grin. His coat was half-buttoned, hair tousled like he'd rolled out of bed and forgot which direction gravity worked. "Guess surviving Ardyn earns you some street cred."
Kiyoshi tilted his head. "Did you even sleep?"
Rajieru gestured vaguely at the sky. "Slept in a metaphysical sense. Somewhere between reality and a very weird dream involving a singing cactus."
Zoltan blinked. "What the hell kind of—"
Before he could finish, Celosia appeared quietly beside Rajieru, clutching a small, wrapped box. Her voice was soft.
"I brought snacks. In case anyone's... hungry."
"Bless you," Manjiro said without hesitation, already reaching for a pastry before she could offer.
Kiyoshi gave her a nod of thanks as the group gradually began to gather again—Sanae walking with graceful ease, Haruki carrying a stack of notebooks in one arm, Rin munching on jerky, Asami brushing loose strands from her braid, Reuel leaning against a post with his arms folded, Kotaka trailing behind with his usual silence, and Giyuu, as unreadable as ever, watching everything without saying much at all. It felt natural. Familiar. Like the chaos of yesterday had only solidified something between them. Asami's sharp voice cut through the air.
"Anyone checked the rankings?"
Kiyoshi blinked. "There were rankings?"
Haruki sighed and unrolled a scroll, its parchment glowing with quiet enchantment. "Just posted. Central Spire bulletin."
Everyone leaned in as the names glimmered across the scroll—categorized from S to D, each with a ranking number beside them.
Then silence.
Every. Single. One. Of them.
Kiyoshi. Manjiro. Zoltan. Asami. Reuel. Giyuu. Kotaka. Rin. Haruki. Sanae. Celosia. Rajieru.
D-Rank.
Manjiro let out a bark of laughter. "D? Bro. Kiyoshi literally fought Ardyn to a standstill. That's gotta be worth at least a B. Maybe an A for flair."
"It's not about scores," Celosia murmured, brows drawn tight. "It feels... rigged."
Sanae folded her arms, voice sharp. "Someone made a choice. This wasn't random."
Rajieru chewed thoughtfully on a cracker. "They want us low. Easier to control expectations that way."
Zoltan's voice turned cold. "Then we climb."
Kiyoshi stared at the scroll again, not angry—just thoughtful. Someone with influence had done this. Not just to him, but to all of them. His gaze drifted toward the Central Spire in the distance. Its silhouette rose high into the sky like a spear aimed at the stars. Beneath it, the mana well thrummed faintly. Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes.
"...Where's our dorm?"
──⊱◈◈⊰───⊱◈◈⊰──⊱◈◈⊰──⊱◈◈⊰──
Their assigned housing sat at the very edge of campus, tucked behind a ring of moss-covered trees and half-forgotten statues.
Dormitory D-7.
It wasn't terrible—just... distant. And old. Ivy crawled up the weathered stone walls, and mana lanterns flickered faintly from rusted chains. Inside, the halls were warm and slightly crooked, like the building had a spine of its own. The carpet was faded, the bookshelves half-filled, and someone had definitely left behind a tea kettle still warm from the last use. Each living pod had a shared common room with personal rooms branching off.
Asami threw her bag onto a couch. "Okay. I expected worse."
Manjiro immediately sank into a leather chair. "I live here now. This is my throne."
Kotaka opened his room, looked inside for two seconds, then quietly sat on the floor outside it, arms around his knees, staring at the wall.
Rajieru was already unpacking: candy, scrolls, wind chimes, something that may or may not have been a cursed skull. "This place has soul. Or ghosts. I'm fine with either."
Celosia set her box of snacks on the table and began carefully organizing a small collection of flower-pressed bookmarks.
Haruki was already drawing a map of the dorm layout.
Sanae adjusted her tie in the mirror and muttered something about cleaning duty rotations.
Zoltan simply leaned against a window frame, watching the outside like he expected something to approach from the trees.
Kiyoshi stepped toward one of the larger windows, cracking it open. Fresh air rolled in, carrying distant magic and warm sunlight. The view was surreal. Floating towers. Spells dancing in the sky like sparks. Students shouting, laughing, flying.
And beneath it all, a pressure. Something deeper. Older.
He couldn't name it. Not yet.
──⊱◈◈⊰───⊱◈◈⊰──⊱◈◈⊰──⊱◈◈⊰──
Later that afternoon, they were called once more to the Grand Hall. Mana crystals hovered midair like stars caught in orbit. The glowing crests of various magic disciplines floated above them, each resonating faintly with anyone attuned. The faculty stood tall on the stage. Professor Mira. Professor Enso. Professor Runa. Others Kiyoshi didn't know yet.
And at the center—
Headmaster Kasede.
Her pink hair was pinned into a precise bun. Glasses perched on her nose. She didn't raise her voice. She didn't have to.
"Welcome," she began. "To Kuoh Academy. If you're sitting here, it means you survived."
A beat.
"Barely."
A few students laughed. Nervous. She didn't smile.
"This academy sits on the bones of battlefields. Beneath us lies a sealed mana well—a well that once broke reality in half. And if you're here, it means you've chosen to drink from that well. To draw from it. To survive it."
Her gaze swept the room.
"Your rankings are not your worth. But they are your burden."
A pause.
"If you are in Class D... the world expects little from you. I do not share that opinion."
Her words struck like iron.
"I believe in earned ascension. And I expect you to fight for your place."
She stepped back. Mira took her place.
"Class assignments will be posted in your dorms. Orientation begins tomorrow. Bring your mana focus and your brain."
Professor Runa waved. "Tuning tests next week! Try not to explode."
Rajieru: "She says that like it's happened before."
Giyuu: "It has."
The students began to rise and leave. Kiyoshi watched them—upperclassmen with high collars and smug expressions, students with elemental magic curling off their fingertips, a girl with a glowing snake coiled around her shoulders. Whispers. Stares.
And always, the flicker of something just out of reach. Power. Secrets. Maybe even truth. He glanced at his friends. His allies. The ones they'd tried to bury. They were at the bottom. But it was a long way up. And the climb? That's where it'd start.
──⊱◈◈⊰───⊱◈◈⊰──⊱◈◈⊰──⊱◈◈⊰──