Inside the Office of Chancellor Vael
The soft tick of an antique clock echoed through the vast, dimly lit office. Heavy curtains veiled the windows, casting the room in shadow. The scent of sandalwood lingered in the air, subdued but present. It was like a warning whispered beneath layers of control, a subtle reminder that something ancient and formidable resided here.
Chancellor Seraphina Vael sat behind her ornate obsidian desk, her posture regal and unmoving. Like a monarch carved from stone, every inch of her presence radiated dominion.
She was dressed in a tailored crimson blazer over a black lace blouse, the ensemble exuding poise, command and danger. Her every gesture, every breath carried the silence of a storm waiting to explode. Her mere stillness carried the weight of judgment.
Her amber eyes glowed faintly beneath the chandelier's low light, sharp enough to pierce lies, half truths and even silence.
They didn't just observe
They dissected.
Before her stood the Vice Chancellor of Nexus Academy, Kevin Voss, his arms behind his back, his expression unreadable. Imposing in his stillness. And beside him was Professor Aria Frost, the overseer of Full Drive Combat Simulation for Class 1A.
Professor Aria was the first to speak, though the tremor beneath her words was barely restrained. "The breach occurred seven minutes into the simulation's active phase. Six students were forcibly extracted from the primary loop."
Seraphina didn't blink. Her voice was cold. "Which six?"
"Ryker Case, Lia Ross, Arthur Nightingale, Dean Winchester, Sasha Rose and Lucas Lockhart."
A pause followed and the air felt heavier as if the room itself was holding its breath.
Kevin's icy gaze met Seraphina's across the space but she said nothing. Her silence screamed louder than thunder.
She was waiting.
Aria continued her voice was calm but tight. "All six were rerouted mid sequence. Hijacked. It wasn't a glitch. It was a manual override. And it elevated the simulation's internal risk level from D to S-rank…"
"That's not possible within Academy protocols."
Seraphina's voice cut through the tension like a blade of frozen steel.
"And how did this happen in my Academy?"
Her voice was soft.
Too soft.
Like velvet over a dagger's edge.
Aria stiffened, every muscle in her spine stretched like a wire. "I don't know, Chancellor. The override bypassed internal encryption. It wasn't from our systems. Something or someone external, forced their way inside."
Seraphina's gaze burned hotter. "You are saying the Nexus Academy's barrier was breached?"
"No alarms were triggered," Aria replied quickly, her eyes flashing crimson.
"No evidence of physical intrusion. But the simulation's integrity was compromised. Only those six students were affected. The rest were untouched."
The implications of that detail sank like a stone into a silent pool.
Seraphina rose to her feet.
The room grew colder. The shadows felt deeper.
She stepped from behind her desk, each movement graceful yet dangerous. The air around her shimmered with latent magic, restrained but ever present like a coiled serpent beneath silk.
She walked slowly toward the two of them.
Her voice, when it came, it was cold, stripped of all pretense.
"Someone infiltrated our systems, targeted specific students and escalated the danger level to S-rank. Yet you stand here telling me you don't know how or who did it?"
Aria bowed her head slightly, her red hair spilling over one shoulder. "We are investigating, Chancellor. I have already sealed all simulation servers and pulled every fragment of corrupted code there is…"
"Not good enough."
Seraphina's eyes blazed. The room's temperature seemed to dip several degrees.
Professor Aria flinched. Despite her usual fearlessness, she knew Seraphina wasn't someone one challenged lightly.
She held power that didn't just command.
It subjugated.
But then Kevin's voice cut in. His voice was smooth, like water freezing midstream.
Calm and Cold.
"I believe Professor Aria is withholding full judgment until we have more information."
Seraphina slowly turned to him.
Kevin didn't flinch under her gaze. His posture remained perfect. Unmoving. A pillar of composure in a room thick with dread.
"Continue," she said icily.
"I examined the corrupted sectors myself," Kevin said. "The simulation didn't just spike in danger. It changed. Entire environments and enemy behaviors were rewritten in real time…"
"Not chaotic but purposeful. Designed to test or extract something."
Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "What do you suspect?"
Kevin held her gaze without wavering. "Someone wanted to see what those six were truly capable of. Or awaken something inside them."
There was a long silence after that statement…..
Seraphina crossed her arms. Her blazer shimmered faintly in the light, its crimson hue now more akin to fresh blood. "Why those six?"
Kevin's expression darkened slightly. "It could be a coincidence… but I highly doubt it…"
"They are all highly gifted. Above the expected curve. Especially Ryker and Arthur."
"Those two are the candidates for the New Stars of this generation."
Aria added, her tone steady despite the tension, "Ryker's mana signature spiked to unstable thresholds for unknown reasons during the anomaly…"
"There was another student alongside Ryker whose mana signature spiked. Lucas Lockhart. But we believe his mana signature spiked due to him getting a second awakening."
Kevin gave a short nod. "Both of them exceeded human limits for a brief window."
Seraphina raised an eyebrow, slow and deliberate. "Are you suggesting someone's hunting high potential espers?"
Kevin nodded. "It is possible. Certain demons or rogue factions might want to awaken a specific bloodline… or test how far they have evolved."
Aria's lips parted slightly in surprise.
'Demons?'
If Vice Chancellor Kevin was considering that possibility, this was way more serious than she thought.
This wasn't a error.
It was a message.
And maybe a warning.
Seraphina didn't respond immediately. She returned to her desk, her fingers gently brushing over a sealed crystal orb embedded into the surface. An ancient artifact, a conduit to truths better left buried.
Then, finally, she exhaled.
A single breath, like the calm before a cataclysm.
"I want the entire incident buried," she said. "No whispers. No rumors. Anyone outside this room learns even a fragment of what happened…"
Her voice dropped into something far more terrifying than a threat.
"Deal with them."
Kevin inclined his head. "Understood."
She turned her gaze toward him once more.
"You will oversee the investigation, Kevin. Personally. Trace every digital echo, every fragment of mana, every backdoor pathway. I want names"
"Faces and Intentions."
Aria bowed again, more deeply this time.
"Thank you… Vice Chancellor," she whispered silently in her heart.
Kevin had stepped in. Shielded her. If he hadn't…
If Seraphina had pressed harder…
Her punishment wouldn't have been disciplinary. It would have been deadly.
Seraphina's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"When Ryker, Lucas, Lia, Arthur, Dean and Sasha wake up… notify me at once. I will be speaking with each of them personally."
Her amber eyes shimmered with dangerous curiosity, like they were already dissecting truths yet to be spoken.
Kevin nodded. "Of course."
As he turned to leave, Aria followed, she was silent and pale.
Behind them, Seraphina stared out her window, where the horizon was just beginning to bleed crimson with the approach of dawn.
Her voice came so softly it barely touched the air.
"They are awakening…"
"And with it, the seals of a long forgotten truth were beginning to crack."