The weight of the S+ rank blazing above her head felt heavier than any assassin's blade. Whispers reaching Nara like a chilled wind as she started to navigated the corridors away from the Ceremonial Spire, the newly Awakened students giving her a wide berth. Her snow-white hair and glacial luminescence marked her, a walking enigma they didn't know how to approach. The fake guards near the door had vanished, melting into the dispersing crowd, but their hate-filled gaze was seared into her memory.
She barely had time to process the icy power humming beneath her skin, the way snow subtly fell t around her before vanishing, or the System's crisp new interface when a sleek, hovering drone different from the one that delivered poison glided silently to her side.
"Miss Silvaine," it intoned in a smooth, authoritative voice devoid of the morning drone's faux concern. "Headmistress Vera requests your immediate presence in the Astral lounge. Please follow."
The system was quiet for once, nara nodded mutely, falling into step behind the drone, her mind racing. Was this the Headmistress's interest in a rare S+ rank? Or something more sinister? Did the prophecy hunters operate within the Academy itself?
The drone led her away from the busy sectors, leading her to a private lift to levels she hadn't known existed. They emerged onto a walkway suspended within a vast, domed space – the Astral lounge. bellow a miniature galaxy swirled, holographic stars casting shifting light. Above, constellations Nara didn't recognize pulsed slowly. The air hummed with contained power,
standing before a complex holographic console that flickered with streams of data, stood Headmistress Vera. She was an imposing figure, tall and elegant, draped in a elegant dress of deep cosmic blue that seemed to absorb the starlight. Her hair was a silver-white, not like Nara's snow, but like spun starlight, pulled back with a few curls framing her face. Her eyes, when they turned to Nara, were a piercing, unnerving black, far deeper than any black she has ever seen They held the weight of galaxies and the sharpness of a scalpel.
"Nara Silvaine," Vera's voice was calm, resonant, filling the space without effort. "S+ Frost Domain (PRIME) A manifestation not seen at Veridia." She gestured towards Nara's hair. "The physical transformation is… striking. How do you feel?"
"Overwhelmed, Headmistress," Nara replied, forcing her voice steady, keeping her new frost Aura tightly leashed. The cold within her felt like a shield now, helping to numb her fear. "And… cautious."
Vera's lips quirked in a ghost of a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Cautious is wise. Especially today." She turned back to the console and tapped a sequence. The swirling galaxy below vanished, replaced by three distinct, massive holographic projections.
Each projection showed a different, breathtaking academy vista:
**Ignis Apex Academy:** Carved into the heart of a perpetually active Molten rivers flowed past reinforced obsidian structures. Students in heat-resistant gear practiced near lava flows. Above a central, glowing caldera, a figure hovered. A young man with skin like obsidian and hair was loced in a intricate style the color like flowing magma. Above his head, blazing in blinding white **RANK: S+. AFFINITY: Flame Domain (PRIME)**. He punched the air, and a gout of red-hot plasma roared skyward.
**Arborea Prime Institute:** Nestled within a colossal, sentient-looking tree whose canopy brushed the Bioluminescent flora illuminated walkways woven through branches wider than city blocks. A young woman stood on a giant leaf platform, vines coiling around her arms like eager serpents. Above her head, shimmering in vibrant white **RANK: S+. AFFINITY: Nature Domain(PRIME)**. She gestured, and a wall of thorns thicker than steel erupted from the bark beside her.
**Aethelgard Spire:** Floating islands connected by shimmering bridges amidst a grimey city backdrop Lightning crackled constantly around A figure stood defiantly crackling energy dancing over his form. Above his head, blazing in stormy white RANK: S+. AFFINITY: Energy Domain(PRIME). he raised a hand, and a bolt of lightning answered his call, striking a distant target with pinpoint accuracy.
Nara starred, the icy dread within her solidifying. *Three others. S+Rank. Prime Elements.* The assassin's words echoed: The Four Keys. It seems she found the other keys mentioned in the prophecy now.
"Ignis Apex. Arborea Prime. Aethelgard Spire," Vera stated, her voice devoid of surprise, only cool assessment. "Each has manifested an S+Rank Prime Affinity within the last twenty-four hours. An unprecedented convergence."
She turned back to Nara, her dark eyes boring into her. "Coincidence is a luxury we cannot afford, Miss Silvaine. The emergence of five Prime S-Ranks simultaneously, across the major academies, during a time of… heightened tensions… demands a unified response." "
Five?", nara questioned
Vera tapped another sequence. The holograms shifted, focusing now on Veridia Academy during the awakening ceremony . Images appeared: Kaelen Thorne a outpour of darkness pouring off him moving with preternatural speed and efficiency, his expression strangely calm focused. Above his head, visible : **RANK: S+. AFFINITY: Shadow Domain (PRIME)** Beside his video, smaller videos played a girl manipulating intricate light constructs A rank a boy whose form seems to disappear A- rank and another with an aura of A+ rank palpable kinetic force
"Veridia possesses not only you, Miss Silvaine, but also Kaelen Thorne, an S+Rank with unique and unrefined potential," Veridia continued. "Alongside several exceptional A talents. The other academies possess immense resources, but lack our… density of high-tier mana and top rank instructors. They recognize the danger that comes from many S ranks awaking at once and have agreed to transfer the S rank students here.
She clasped her hands behind her back. "Therefore, an agreement has been reached. The three newly manifested S Rank Primes from Ignis Apex, Arborea Prime, Aethelgard Spire – will be transferred to Veridia Academy immediately. They, alongside yourself and Kaelen Thorne, will form the core of a new, specialized class."
A holographic emblem materialized between them: a stylized dawn breaking over intersecting elemental sigils. "The 'Dawnbreaker Class'. The A+ students I showed you, along with a select few others from the other academies, will complete the class. You will train together. Be housed together. Learn together." Vera's gaze was unwavering. "Your potential is too vast, and the times too uncertain, for you to remain scattered. You will learn synergy, control, and the responsibilities of your power here, under Veridia's guidance and protection."
Nara felt the floor beneath her feet metaphorically crack. Protection? Or containment? Gathering the Four Keys together sounded less like an educational initiative and more like painting a colossal target on Veridia Academy and their back. The assassins know she was here , she thought, her senses screaming internal alarms. They'll find out about the others. They'll come for us.
"Headmistress," Nara managed, her voice cool but laced with the hint of nervousness . "This class… it feels like making us a singular, irresistible target."
Vera's eyes held hers. "A target, Miss Silvaine, implies something vulnerable. The Dawnbreaker Class, under my watch and with the combined resources of the major academies, will be anything but vulnerable. It will be a fortress. A deterrent. And, if necessary, a weapon." She paused, the starlight glinting in her eyes. "Your transfer counterparts arrive within the hour. Prepare yourself. The Dawnbreaker Class convenes tomorrow."
"Dismissed."
The hovering drone reappeared, ready to escort her out. Nara stood frozen for a moment longer, not from her power, but from sheer, icy shock. The prophecy wasn't looming; it had descended upon Veridia Academy. And the Dawnbreaker Class felt less like a new beginning, and more like the eye of a deadly storm. The **[Primary Objective: SURVIVE]** now seemed impossibly complex as she turned to follow the drone, her snow white hair a stark contrast in the Astral lounges artificial starlight.