The Academy stood like a fortress at the edge of the capital.
Tenmei Academy of Abilities.
It was not built for kindness.
It was built by the Tenmei Council, the nation's ruling body, after the first waves of awakened children appeared a century ago. Fear had followed that awakening — children tearing cities apart with fire, storms, and lightning. The Council forged the Academy to contain, train, and weaponize the gifted.
Its walls were white stone lined with steel veins, each hallway alive with scanning sigils and silent cameras. Dorms stretched like towers, classrooms wide as lecture halls, arenas as vast as stadiums.
Students called it a school.
The government called it an armory.
---
Class 1-S marched behind Miazaka Sayuri across the training grounds. The morning air shimmered against the transparent dome overhead, shielding the field from the outside world.
"This," Sayuri said, her voice carrying sharp, "is where you will learn. You are not here to play. You are here to master yourselves before your power devours you. Our first training will be simple."
She raised her hand. The dome shifted. The flat ground twisted into a rocky field scattered with boulders.
"A mock battle. Teams of four. Survive. Win."
The class tensed. Sparks of excitement and nerves spread through the air.
---
Teams were quickly drawn.
Renka found himself grouped with:
Mizuki Aoi (Fire, S-Class),
Hanabira Yui (Healing Light, A-Class),
Kurogane Ryo (Metal Manipulation, A-Class).
"Looks like we're counting on you, Aoi," Ryo muttered, flexing his arms into iron sheen.
"I'll handle the offense. You guard Yui," Aoi answered coolly.
Renka just grinned, stuffing chocolate into his mouth before they began.
"Don't worry. I'll boost you all up."
On the surface, he was clumsy, harmless, cheerful.
No one noticed the black hunger at his core.
---
The mock battle began.
Across the field, Kanzaki Toma's lightning surged, Okita Ren's gravity cracked stone, Shinonome Rei's ice sharpened to spears. The opposing team was brutal.
"Go!" Aoi's fire roared forward, a storm of crimson flame. Ryo followed, fists of iron clashing against ice. Yui's healing light shimmered at their back.
Renka stood behind them, hands raised, pretending to radiate his supposed boosting aura. His mask was flawless. Cheerful, supportive, harmless.
But inside, Eternal Darkness stirred.
A crystal heart pulsed in his palm — invisible to all. He had reached into Ryo as they charged, stolen a fragment of his anger, sealed it into black glass. Ryo never noticed, only swung harder, lighter, freer.
Renka crushed the crystal in secret. The rage dissolved into the void, feeding him. A flicker of black shadow danced across his eyes before vanishing.
No one saw.
---
The battle raged, fire against lightning, steel against ice. Aoi burned through every assault, her voice cutting orders with sharp precision.
Sayuri watched from the sideline, unreadable.
When it ended, Aoi's flames smothered the last of the opposition. The field dissolved back to flat ground.
"Victory, Team Aoi," Sayuri announced. "Good coordination. But don't rely on raw strength alone."
The class erupted into chatter, laughing, arguing. Aoi wiped her brow, satisfied. Ryo flexed again, proud. Yui smiled shyly at Renka.
Renka only laughed, stuffing more chocolate into his mouth, eyes cheerful.
No one knew he had stolen a piece of Ryo's soul.
No one knew the Eternal Darkness had taken its first taste.