In a private suite high above the Nexus Arena, Gigarose lounged across a plush sofa, one leg draped over its arm. Her pink hair seed to shimr with its own light as she examined her perfectly manicured nails with theatrical boredom. Across from her, Commander Albright stood rigid, his military posture betraying his discomfort. Beside him, Mr. and Mrs. Rowe sat stiffly on an adjacent couch, their expressions carefully neutral despite the sweat beading on Mr. Rowe's forehead.
"You humans," Gigarose sighed dramatically, flicking her wrist to materialize a glass of wine from thin air. "So... disappointingly predictable."
"With all due respect," Albright began, his voice tight, "we couldn't have anticipated Eclipse's—"
"Respect?" Gigarose laughed, the sound like crystal bells tinkling. "You don't even understand the concept, little soldier." She took a delicate sip from her glass. "I provided exactly what you asked for: operatives capable of destabilizing the tournant's legitimacy. Yet here we are, with both your pawns thoroughly demolished by a first-year student."
The temperature in the room seed to drop several degrees as she spoke, though no climate controls had been adjusted.
Mrs. Rowe cleared her throat. "Our daughter—"
"Your daughter?" Gigarose's eyes flashed dangerously, pupils montarily elongating to vertical slits before returning to normal so quickly one might question if they'd seen it at all. "Let's be precise, shall we? The creature wearing your daughter's face was exactly what you requested—a perfect mimic with her abilities."
"Which failed spectacularly," Albright muttered.
Gigarose's smile turned predatory. "Are you implying this failure is my responsibility, Commander?"
The air around her rippled subtly, and Mr. Rowe visibly flinched, tugging at his collar as though struggling to breathe.
"N-no," Albright stamred, taking an involuntary step back. "Of course not. It's just that—"
"It's just that your perfect plan to have Purge representatives win the tournant and undermine military academy credibility has collapsed," Gigarose finished for him, examining the wine in her glass before casually dissolving both liquid and container into motes of light. "Leaving you scrambling for excuses rather than solutions."
Mrs. Rowe's hands trembled slightly as she clasped them in her lap. "We're simply concerned about proceeding with Plan B when our primary strategy was compromised so... thoroughly."
"Concerned?" Gigarose's laugh echoed unnaturally in the confined space. "You should be. Your little anti-military crusade ans nothing to . I ca here expecting chaos, bloodshed, entertainnt," She rose from the sofa with liquid grace, her movent too smooth to be entirely human. "Instead, I find myself watching children play at rebellion while genuine power reveals itself elsewhere."
She approached Albright, who visibly struggled not to retreat from her advance. "That boy—Eclipse—is far more interesting than your petty plots." She half smiled as she thought about Noah. Unknown to her cohorts, she knew Eclipse so well.
"That boy," Albright spat, finding courage in his hatred, "is nothing but an anomaly, a fluke that should never have been admitted to my academy."
"Your academy?" Gigarose chuckled. "How charmingly territorial. And yet, this 'fluke' just revealed SSS-ranking abilities that your precious evaluation systems failed to detect." She leaned closer, her breath carrying the scent of sothing ancient and unknowable. "Perhaps your SYSTEMS are as flawed as your judgnt."
Mr. Rowe cleared his throat nervously. "Regardless, we need to proceed with Plan B. The underground facility is prepared, and everything is in position."
Gigarose's expression brightened with genuine interest for the first ti. "Ah yes, your nagerie of monsters. At least that holds so promise of entertainnt."
She raised her hand, palm upward, and the air above it shimred and condensed. Slowly, a strange object materialized—a palm-sized totem carved from what appeared to be obsidian but with an odd, organic quality. Its surface rippled occasionally like liquid, despite being solid to the touch. Beast scales lined its edges, iridescent and impossibly thin, while tiny crystalline structures that resembled teeth ford a grotesque maw at its center.
"Your activation key," she said, dropping it unceremoniously into Mr. Rowe's trembling hands. "As promised. It will override the containnt protocols and release all specins simultaneously."
Mr. Rowe stared at the totem, unsettled by how it seed to pulse against his skin, almost as if breathing. "And the evacuation paths for our operatives?"
"Will function precisely as designed," Gigarose replied, already turning away with waning interest. "Though I wouldn't dawdle if I were you. So of those beasts have... unique properties that your data doesn't fully capture."
"What about Eclipse?" Albright demanded. "He'll interfere."
Gigarose's smile was chilling in its serenity. "Then do what humans always do when faced with power they don't understand." She glanced toward the window, where security personnel could be seen escorting Noah away from his friends. "Eliminate it before it eliminates you."
As Mr. Rowe clutched the totem, its scales shifted slightly against his palm, drawing a thin line of blood that disappeared into the object's surface. He didn't notice, but Gigarose's eyes followed the absorption with unmistakable amusent.
"Don't disappoint again," she warned, her voice echoing strangely as her form shimred. "I've existed far too long to waste my ti on failed rebellions."
By the ti they looked up from the totem, she was gone, leaving only the faintest scent of ozone in her wake.
---
Outside the dical wing, Sophie, Kelvin, and Lucas waited anxiously until the door finally opened. Noah erged with Miss Brooks, who placed a hand firmly on his shoulder.
"Rember what we discussed," she said quietly. "Discretion is paramount, especially now."
Noah nodded solemnly. "I understand."
As Miss Brooks departed with a knowing glance at Lucas, Sophie imdiately rushed forward, entwining her fingers with Noah's. "What was that about?"
"Nothing important," Noah replied, his easy smile returning as he squeezed her hand. "Just academy protocol for Reawakenings."
Kelvin bounced on his toes, barely containing his excitent before dramatically raising his arms. A dozen miniature drones deployed from his jacket pockets, creating a formation above their heads as his fingers twitched with subtle commands.
"MAKE WAY!" Kelvin's voice bood through the drones' amplified speakers, causing passersby to jump. "THE GREATEST OF ALL TI IS COMING THROUGH!"
The drones projected a makeshift spotlight effect on Noah, who winced with embarrassnt.
"NOAH ECLIPSE! SSS-RANKED AT EIGHTEEN! THE YOUNGEST IN HISTORY! THE UNDEFEATED CHAMPION OF THE FIRST-YEAR DIVISION!"
"Kelvin," Noah groaned, "you're going to get us thrown out."
"LET THEM TRY!" Kelvin's enthusiasm was undampened. "MY BEST FRIEND JUST MADE HISTORY!"
Lucas stepped forward, clapping Noah firmly on the shoulder. "Guess I'm not the strongest student in the East anymore, huh?"
Noah laughed, shaking his head. "You're still on a completely different level, Lucas. SSS-ranking or not."
It wasn't false modesty—Noah had sparred with Lucas enough tis to understand the vast difference in their practical combat abilities. Lucas might only be S-ranked, but his mastery and experience created a gap that raw power alone couldn't bridge...yet.
"Don't sell yourself short," Lucas replied with a knowing smile. "But we'll settle it in training after all this tournant business is over."
Sophie, still holding Noah's hand, tugged him gently toward the corridor. "The testosterone showdown can wait. The second-year matches start soon, and we should get good seats."
As they turned to leave, four security officers in tactical gear approached, their stern expressions imdiately dampening the mood.
"Noah Eclipse?" the lead officer asked.
"That's ."
"Please co with us. Minister Reign has requested your presence."
Sophie's eyebrows shot up. "My father? Already?" She laughed, nudging Noah playfully. "Looks like Dad's eager for that dinner you promised if you won the finals."
Noah smiled diplomatically, though sothing about the security detail's formation had already triggered his internal alarms.
"We'd be happy to—" Sophie began, stepping forward.
"Just Eclipse," the officer interrupted firmly. "Minister's orders."
Sophie frowned. "What? Why would my father want to see my boyfriend without ?"
"It's fine," Noah reassured her, subtly studying the guards' equipnt. Level 4 beast-core reinforced tactical gear—excessive for a simple escort. "It's probably about the Reawakening. Standard procedure."
"But—"
"I'll et you at the arena before the second-year matches," he promised, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Save a seat."
Reluctantly, Sophie nodded, and the group watched as Noah departed with the security team. As they turned a corner, Kelvin recalled his drones with a flick of his wrist.
"Is it just ," Lucas muttered, "or did sothing feel off about that?"
---
Noah walked silently, ntally mapping their route through the complex. They weren't heading toward the ministerial suites on the upper levels but descending deeper into the arena's substructure. The guards maintained a box formation around him—two ahead, two behind—standard protocol for preventing a subject from reversing direction.
'Definitely not taking to Minister Reign,' Noah thought, scanning for surveillance caras and exit points. 'Classic isolation tactic. Get the target away from witnesses before making a move.'
They approached an elevator at the end of a maintenance corridor, and Noah felt his muscles tensing instinctively. The lead guard swiped a security card, and the doors slid open with a soft chi.
Once inside, Noah positioned himself in the rear corner, maximizing his view of all four guards. As the elevator began to descend, he watched the floor indicator blink past levels he hadn't known existed beneath the arena which would be strange to say since he'd been to the very sublevels where the old train station was but then they'd take a kelvin made route that dodged all of these clearance processes the guards were using.
A subtle movent caught his eye—one guard slowly reaching for his ravager blaster, disengaging the safety with practiced fingers.
Noah sighed, almost bored. "Weren't you guys paying attention earlier?" he asked conversationally. "I'm the kid that just Reawakened as SSS-ranked."
In a fluid motion that belied his relaxed deanor, he grabbed the nearest guard's blaster and ramd it into another guard's shoulder joint, forcing the weapon to discharge. The ravager energy bolt tore through tactical armor, and the man howled in pain as his arm went limp.
The third guard lunged with a stun baton, but Noah simply caught his wrist, his fingers glowing with a purplish-black energy.
"Entropy Touch," he murmured, almost apologetically.
The guard scread as decay spread from Noah's fingertips, rapidly corroding both the stun baton and the tactical glove protecting his hand. He dropped to his knees, clutching his deteriorating hand as it crumbled to dust.
The fourth guard managed to fire his blaster, but Noah simply raised his palm, the energy bolt seeming to disappear into his hand.
[Void Absorption activated]
"Thanks for the top-up," Noah quipped, before extending his finger like a child mimicking a gun. "Void Bullet."
A concentrated sphere of dark energy the sa shape as a fifty caliber bullet ford from his fingertip, striking the guard in the center of his chest. The man flew backward, slamming into the elevator wall with enough force to dent the tal paneling while his chest plate corroded in real ti.
The first guard, now recovering from his surprise, reached for a secondary weapon, but Noah simply shook his head.
"Don't."
Sothing in his tone—the absolute certainty behind it—caused the man to freeze. Noah casually adjusted his uniform, which had beco slightly disheveled during the brief skirmish.
"Now, who sent you? Purge? The Rowes? Albright?"
Before the guard could answer, the elevator doors slid open, revealing a sight that made Noah montarily forget the question.
The corridor before him stretched seemingly endlessly, its sterile white walls incongruous with the machinery visible through observation windows on either side. The elevator control panel had gone dark, its buttons unresponsive to Noah's testing press.
[System Alert: Multiple beast signatures detected]
[Category 1 through 4 beasts approaching]
Noah watched as panels in the corridor walls began to slide open, revealing containnt cells. From within, glowing eyes and shadowed forms began to erge—claws scraping against tal, scales rasping against concrete, low growls echoing through the space.
At the far end of the corridor, perhaps three hundred ters away, another elevator stood like a distant promise—its indicator light glowing green.
[System Notification: Quest Available]
[Survive the Gauntlet: Reach the far elevator while eliminating at least 50 beasts]
[Reward: Mystery Box]
[Accept? Y/N]
Noah's lips curved into a small smile as he ntally selected 'Y'. He could have used domain link to teleport directly to Sophie's or any one of the boy's location—his connection to them would make finding any of them simply trivial—but curiosity and the promised reward kept him grounded.
'What's Minister Reign—or whoever's actually behind this—trying to accomplish?' he wondered, counting the erging beasts. 'And why go to such elaborate lengths?'
Approximately eighty creatures now filled the corridor, ranging from wolf-like Category 1 beasts with razor spines to a massive Category 4 behemoth that resembled a cross between a gorilla and a crocodile, its armored hide gleaming under the harsh fluorescent lights.
[System Notification: Quest "Survive the Gauntlet" has begun]
[Ti Limit: 20 minutes]
[Beasts Eliminated: 0/50]
Noah extended his right hand, palm open, fingers spread. Darkness gathered between them, condensing and solidifying until it ford the hilt of a blade. As he closed his fingers around it, the darkness extended and took shape—a blade of deepest black that seed to absorb the very light around it, its edges trimd with a purple glow that pulsed like a heartbeat.
The Eclipse Blade materialized fully in his grip, its familiar weight reassuring in his hand.
"It has been too long old friend," Noah murmured, settling into a combat stance as the first wave of beasts charged toward him while he flexed his fingers around the hilt of his trusty blade. "Let's see what you've got."
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