The moment Nightveil's broadcast ended, the nation erupted.
Sirens wailed across Nexara.Patrol drones filled the sky.Hero response units were deployed before the echo of his last words had even faded.
Inside the Hero Association Headquarters, the top-ranked heroes burst into the President's office like a hurricane.
But—
There was no intruder.No villain.No trace of Nightveil.
Only the President, lying unconscious on the marble floor.
A medic dropped to his knees instantly.
"He's alive. Pulse steady."
Another hero let out a long, shaken breath.
"He broke into one of the most protected buildings in the country… and didn't kill him."
The realization chilled the room.
Nightveil didn't break in to assassinate.
He broke in to prove a point.
The heroes immediately began tearing apart the office for clues.
"How did he get in!? There are six layers of biometric locks!"
"All cameras in the building were disabled—no feed, no data!"
"Even our encrypted channels were overridden!"
No answers.
Only fear.
An analyst slammed a tablet onto the table.
"He broadcasted to EVERY screen in the nation. Do you understand how impossible that is? Our entire cyber division didn't even detect the intrusion!"
Another officer muttered bitterly:
"And he said he didn't act alone…"
A wave of silence fell.
If Nightveil had help…If he had allies capable of bypassing national defenses…
The implications were terrifying.
The Fray Incident Resurfaces
In a secured meeting room, old files were spread across the table—dusty reports from twenty years ago.
The Fray Incident.
A massacre.A cover-up.A tragedy buried under classified restrictions.
A senior investigator read from the folder:
"Of the five heroes Nightveil killed… only one had direct involvement in the Fray family case."
A younger officer frowned.
"Then… the other four…?"
"Collateral damage," the investigator said quietly.
"Collateral?" the officer echoed, disgusted. "What happened to 'I don't kill unnecessarily'?"
No one responded.
Because no one knew the truth.
Nightveil killed with purpose—but his purpose was hidden beneath a twenty-year-old tragedy the Hero Association tried to erase.
And now the world had noticed.
Faith Begins to Crack
News spread like wildfire.
"How did Nightveil get into headquarters!?"
"Can heroes even protect themselves!?"
"What good are heroes if one villain can walk past their security!?"
The public's trust wavered.
Heroes, once symbols of hope, were suddenly being questioned—criticized—feared.
A hero councilwoman slammed her fist on her desk.
"This is catastrophic. People won't trust us again after this."
And she was right.
Lionel Academy in Chaos
Back at the academy, students stared at screens that kept replaying Nightveil's broadcast on loop.
A hush fell over the halls.
Then—announcements blasted through every speaker.
"All students are to return home immediately.The academy will close for several days.The Dawnforge Tournament is suspended."
Teachers ushered confused students toward the exits.Parents arrived early, worried and frantic.Security bots doubled their patrol routes.
The Hero Class was no exception.
Gray sighed heavily.Roger paced back and forth.Rain sat quietly, hugging her schoolbag.
"Do you think the tournament will be cancelled?" Rain asked softly.
"No idea," Roger muttered. "But after that broadcast? Everything is messed up."
Astra remained silent, expression unreadable.
Because she felt it too—the shift in the world's balance.
This wasn't a typical villain attack.
This was a statement from someone beyond the system's control.
Behind Closed Doors
In the staff council room, Principal Leonel convened an emergency meeting.
The instructors spoke in heated tones.
"Continuing the tournament now would be reckless."
"The students have trained for months—we can't cancel everything because of one villain!"
"The public won't accept it. Not after what happened today."
"What if Nightveil appears again?"
Leonel finally raised a hand.
"If we continue rashly, we endanger every student here. If we cancel outright, we inflict permanent damage to the academy's reputation."
He exhaled.
"For now… we pause. Until we understand what Nightveil's broadcast truly meant."
No one disagreed.
Because deep down, they all felt it—
This was only the beginning.
At the Arcwell Estate
Meanwhile, Raze Arcwell sat on the living room floor, Lily perched happily in his lap.
To her, the world outside meant little.
She didn't understand broadcasts.She didn't understand villains.She didn't understand fear.
She only understood her brother was home.
"Raze! Look!" Lily chirped, placing a toy crown on his head."You're the king now!"
Raze chuckled despite the tension in his chest.
"Then as king, I order you not to tickle me again."
Lily immediately tickled him.
"TRAITOR!" Raze cried, collapsing into laughter.
Luna entered the room holding snacks, raising an eyebrow.
"So while the whole country panics… you two are having a coronation?"
Raze shrugged.
"She doesn't know what's happening."
Luna sat beside them, placing a gentle hand on Lily's head.
"…Maybe that's for the best."
For a moment, the chaos of the world felt distant—muted—almost unreal.
Raze leaned back, eyes drifting toward the window where distant sirens still echoed through the city.
The tournament might be cancelled.
Nightveil might be watching.
The world was shifting into something dangerous.
But at that moment—Lily giggled, Luna complained about snacks, and the Arcwell home remained warm.
Raze closed his eyes briefly.
Whatever storms were coming…
He would face them when they arrived.
**********************
The Hero Association Headquarters was unusually silent.
No chatter.No footsteps.No confident laughter from elite heroes.
Only tension so sharp it felt like the air itself might tear.
Inside the heavily reinforced conference chamber, the recovered President sat at the head of the table, still pale from the trauma of Nightveil's intrusion.
Around him—the top-ranked heroes of Vornis.
Titanheart (Atlas Valor),Thunderfall,Aetherion,Nightshade,Sunbreaker,Silverthorn.
All the legends the nation relied on.
And for the first time in decades…
every one of them looked uneasy.
The Crisis Meeting Begins
The President cleared his throat.
"We begin with the obvious—Nightveil is not acting alone. His words confirmed it."
Titanheart's expression hardened.
"His invasion of headquarters was not something a single individual could pull off."
Aetherion tapped the table, brows furrowed.
"No traces. No footprints. Not even a microscopic anomaly. It's like he appeared inside the room from thin air."
Thunderfall scowled.
"Don't exaggerate. No one can teleport inside this building."
"Then explain how he entered," Silverthorn shot back.
Silence.
No one could.
The President leaned forward.
"What concerns me more is this: Nightveil killed five heroes last month. Only one of them was tied to the Fray incident twenty years ago."
Nightshade's voice was cold.
"So the other four were… unrelated."
"Collateral damage," Thunderfall muttered darkly.
Titanheart clenched his fist.
"He claims he doesn't kill unnecessarily. This proves he lied."
But the President shook his head.
"Or… it proves we don't understand his motives."
Everyone stiffened.
"What do you mean?" Aetherion asked.
The President's gaze sharpened.
"He killed those heroes a month ago… and then vanished. No activity. No attacks. No messages. Nothing."
A heavy pause.
"Then just when the public begins to relax, just when people start forgetting… he appears inside our headquarters and broadcasts to the entire nation."
Titanheart's jaw tightened.
"He wants us afraid."
"He wants attention," Nightshade said quietly.
"No," the President corrected.
"He wants us to remember him.And he wants us to know… he is watching."
A chill passed through the room.
"What Is He Planning?"
The heroes exchanged dark glances.
"If he's after revenge for the Fray incident," Thunderfall said, "those involved are in serious danger."
"But he made no move against them," Aetherion replied. "Not yet."
Titanheart folded his arms.
"Which means he's planning something bigger."
A hush fell.
Fear settled deeper.
Nightveil… Fray…whatever his true name was—
he was no ordinary villain.
And he was not done.
Not by a long shot.
The President looked at the gathered legends and spoke gravely:
"We must prepare for the possibility that Nightveil's next move will threaten the nation itself."
The meeting continued…
but unease lingered like a shadow no light could chase away.
Astra Above the Clouds
Far from the suffocating tension of the Hero HQ—a blonde girl flew lazily over Nexara's glittering skyline.
Wind brushed through Astra Noire's radiant yellow hair as she drifted aimlessly.
She was bored.
Utterly, painfully bored.
"…Ugh. I can't just sit at home doing nothing."
She flipped upside down mid-air, staring at the city below.
"Schools closed, offices closed, even the tournament is on break…"
Her golden eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"They won't cancel it. Doing that would make heroes look terrified. Public trust would collapse entirely."
She sighed.
"But I need answers. Who is Nightveil? Why did he call himself Fray?"
Her mind churned.
If she could understand the Fray name—maybe she could understand the man behind the blindfold.
"But who would know about something that old…?"
Then she froze.
"…Wait."
Who had a massive information network?Who had access to global data streams?Who came from a family that practically owned half the nation's tech infrastructure?
She smiled.
"Raze would know."
And then an even better thought:
"If I go to the Arcwell estate… Lily will be there too."
Her smile grew to a grin.
"Alright. Decision made."
A Visit to the Arcwell Estate
FWOOOSH—!
Astra swooped through the sky toward the wealthiest mansion in Nexara.
The Arcwell estate gleamed like a fortress of silver and blue.
She slowed down—just barely—before stopping in mid-air above the front walkway.
Landing gently, she walked toward the massive front doors and pressed the doorbell.
DING—DONG.
She waited.
Seconds passed.
Then—
The door swung open.
And Luna Arcwell stood there.
Arms crossed.Eyebrow raised.Aura of passive-aggressiveness radiating like a small sun.
"Oh look," Luna said slowly.
"Isn't this wonderful."
Astra blinked.
"…Huh?"
Luna placed one dramatic hand on her hip.
"My precious Lily's beloved big sister has arrived at our doorstep."
Astra blinked again.
"…Big sister?"
Luna leaned forward with a wicked grin.
"Please, come in. I'm sure my little sister Lily will be thrilled to see you."
Astra panicked.
"H-Hold on, Luna, it's not like that—!"
Luna raised an eyebrow higher.
"Oh? So you really didn't adopt her?"
Astra opened her mouth—then closed it.
She really couldn't deny that part.
"…I like her. A lot."
Luna's smile twitched.
"Of course you do."
A beat passed.
Then Luna stepped aside.
"Fine. Get in. Before Lily sees you through the window and breaks one."
Astra quickly walked in, face red, heart pounding.
Because this was not just a visit…
This was the beginning of something much bigger.
And she didn't even know it yet.