The training hall hummed with quiet energy. Its wide, reinforced floor gleamed under the overhead lights, still scarred from their previous mock battles. Normally, Solarius's presence filled the space — a sun of authority that kept them all in line. But this morning, the golden hero was nowhere to be seen, only the instructors were present.
The twenty cadets milled about, exchanging glances.
"Where is he?" Haruto demanded, sparks twitching between his fingertips. "He's never late."
Ayaka gave him a cool look. "And shouting won't make him appear faster. Maybe we should start warm-ups."
"Warm-ups?" Renji snorted, hands behind his head. "What's the point? Without Solarius, we're just kids flailing around."
"That's what you always do," Kaede muttered, tightening her gloves.
The bickering rippled outward until Emi clapped her hands sharply. "Enough! We can't just stand around. Let's… organize ourselves."
Her voice wavered slightly, but as class rep, all eyes turned to her. She swallowed hard, then tried to channel the firmness she'd practiced.
"Alright. We'll split into pairs and run light drills. Shadow work, endurance, nothing dangerous."
"Pfft," Haruto muttered, but Ayaka nudged him into silence.
Akihiro watched calmly from the back, golden aura faintly shimmering. Beside him, Yuna crouched, tracing strange flower patterns on the floor with her fingertip, humming to herself. Her presence made more than a few cadets uncomfortable, but no one dared interrupt.
Slowly, they began stretching, jogging, sparring in light bouts. For a moment, the hall carried the sound of effort, of laughter, of strained but growing teamwork.
Then — it changed.
A faint vibration rolled through the floor, like a pulse. The cadets froze mid-motion.
"What… was that?" Aoi whispered, her mist curling around her nervously.
Another tremor followed, heavier, rippling across the hall's polished surface. Lights flickered overhead.
And then, in the dead center of the training site, space itself began to twist.
It started as a shimmer, like heat waves on asphalt. Then it thickened, darkened, spiraling inward until a ragged circle of distorted reality yawned open. The air howled, pulling at their hair and uniforms.
A portal.
The cadets stumbled back, shielding their eyes.
"Is… is this part of training?" Rina stammered, glass shards trembling around her hands.
"No," Akihiro said quietly, eyes narrowing. His radiant aura flared instinctively, pushing against the warped air. "This isn't Academy-made."
The portal grew wider, black edges writhing like oil. Something stirred beyond it — shapes, shadows, whispers.
Yuna tilted her head, still crouched, her pale smile widening just slightly. "Oh… it's opening."
The hall fell silent, every heartbeat loud, every breath sharp. None of them were ready for what was about to come through.