The exam hall was too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet — the suffocating kind. The kind that presses against your eardrums until even the ticking wall clock sounds like a hammer. Rows of students hunched over their papers, shoulders tight, pens scratching in perfect unison. Like prisoners completing their assigned work shift.
I stared at my sheet.
"What is mana tunnel theory?"
A stupidly easy question. Something even Rin — the boy whose body I wore — should've knocked out in a minute.
But my vision kept bending at the edges, like everything was sliding in and out of focus. My hands trembled. I could feel each heartbeat scraping up my throat.
I knew the answer.
I just… couldn't write it.
Then I felt it — the rupture.
A faint hum, like the thin snap of static right behind my skull.
And then, perfectly formed, perfectly pronounced, the words slid in:
We are the shadow, sharp and still—
By Bandwidth bound, we act with will.
My fingers twitched. My breath stuttered.
Someone was messing with me.
I lifted my eyes a fraction, scanning the hall. No visible mana residue. No shimmer. No fluctuation in the air.
For a mental transmission to leave no trace…
That meant it came from someone very, very strong.
Someone who hated Rin.
Someone like—
My gaze drifted toward the door. The room blurred in waves until it snagged on him.
A man stood there. Broad shoulders, coiled muscle packed under a fading shirt. Arms folded like a statue that had decided to grow skin. His eyes swept the room with slow, predatory patience.
Then his gaze caught mine.
A smile touched his mouth — quick, almost gentle — and then vanished behind a hard frown.
My stomach fell straight through my shoes.
I dropped my face back to the exam sheet. Pushed my glasses up with a shaking finger.
"It was him," I whispered. "Saint Rufus."
Heat rose in my chest, crawling up my spine. The urge hit me like a slap — to flip the table, tear the exam in half, scream, do something violent and stupid and loud.
Instead I bit my lip and counted to ten, slow and even. Controlled. Because control was the only weapon I had left.
Next question.
"Abilities of the First Imperial Heroes?"
I forced mana to circulate through my body — fast, very fast — the way you'd force cold water through heated pipes. Anything to reduce the effects of a mental intruder.
Pen on paper. Breathe. Write.
I drew the first stroke—
And the whisper returned, deeper now, uncoiling inside me:
### *We are the shadow, sharp and still—
By Bandwidth bound, we act with will.*
My heartbeat stumbled. I dug my nails into my thigh.
Then—
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]
Protocol Detected: Adaptive Enhancement Framework v1.0
User identity: Confirmed.
Before activation can proceed…
Acknowledge system.
Accept system?
`> YES`
`> NO`
A system?
Really?
Before I could react—
"Hey. You."
The world snapped.
Rufus's shadow settled across my desk like a curtain being drawn.
I froze. Pen hovering mid-word.
And the memories — his memories — flooded into me.
"Shit."
"Stop writing," he said, smiling like the punchline had already landed.
My fingers dropped the pen without me even deciding. The clatter echoed.
"What's the problem, good sir?" I asked, smiling like an idiot, because that's what you do when a predator is sniffing your spine. You smile. You make yourself small.
He didn't answer. Just grabbed my collar and yanked me up. The chair screeched across the floor, a long metallic cry. The room turned as one — curious, bored, already dismissing me when they realized it was only the "trouble kid."
Rufus's search was brisk. Professional at first.
Then his fingers went somewhere no search should go.
Not accidental. Not incidental.
A squeeze. Hard enough to leave meaning behind it.
A mark that didn't need bruises to exist.
I swallowed the bile. I stood still. That was the only resistance I had.
He straightened me, smoothed my shirt like he was a kind uncle, and walked away. I caught his smirk — slow, deliberate, unashamed.
The room's silence returned. Pens scratched again. As if nothing had happened.
My blood roared so loud it drowned everything.
And then—
The doors opened.
Not swung. Not pushed.
Opened.
Bola entered like the air itself had paused to announce her. Her silver-warded robe shimmered, runes twitching like startled animals. Beside her walked a gigantic female Waiter in a plated war-suit — more fortress than human.
Bola smiled, all teeth and performance. A smile so fake it almost shone.
I recognized it instantly. The zygomatic major tightened — cheeks raised.
But the orbicularis oculi?
Dead. Cold. Not a crinkle of sincerity.
A practiced politician's smile.
I should know. I used to wear one too.
"Pens up," she said, serene.
_We are the shadow…_
I ignored it.
…sharp and still—_
I kept writing.
By Bandwidth—
I finished my sentence.
"Pens up!" Rufus barked, trying to outshine her.
A violet shimmer washed over every desk.
The parchments ignited — violet fire, runes consuming ink and paper and even ash until nothing remained but a metallic smell.
Bola walked among us. Calm. Unforced. Collected.
But I didn't watch her.
I watched Rufus.
His name had been added to my kill list.
Right under _Empire_.
She spoke: "If you entered newly and do not yet know your Sage Path, come forward."
The line formed. The orb glowed. Each person placed a hand. Azure for Energetic. Crimson for Elemental. Silver for Arcane. Amber for Physical.
My turn came last.
Someone snickered. "Be quick, you dolt!"
I stretched my hand out—
Warmth shot up my arm.
A blade of pain followed. My vision shattered like broken glass.
A transparent panel slammed into view:
[ INITIALIZING… ]
[ DIALOGUE INTERFACE SYNC COMPLETE ]
Great Sensory Device Detected.
Restrict mana pool? Warning: Affinity to Sage Path may be altered.
I pushed my glasses up, more out of instinct than composure.
Restrict mana? Why?
Who benefits?
Why show me this _now_?
But my hand pressed down anyway. Curiosity beat fear.
The crystal glowed.
A weak, flickering pink.
"Sage Path: Emotion," Bola announced flatly.
Emotion.
Of all things.
Whispers erupted.
"So dim?"
"Barely lit."
Tch. Accuracy from children with half a brain.
But shame still crawled across my skin, cold and sharp. Brightness mattered. Everyone knew it.
I pulled my hand away.
Then—
A hand seized my wrist and slammed it back.
It was Mama and I hadn't even realised when she entered in.
Her smile was soft. Her grip was steel. Priests bowed. The room bent around her.
I froze.
The orb roared to life. Blazing rose. Hotter, brighter, brighter still — a sunrise exploding in my face.
A warning flickered:
**Strong External Interference Detected.**
**Limiting Presence.**
But Mama smiled, radiant.
"The device is faulty," she said smoothly. "Replace it."
Her voice was law. Priests scrambled.
She stepped back, pleased. Her presence lingered like perfume and threat.
"Carry on," she said.
And the hall obeyed.
My palm still burned.
She hadn't saved me.
She'd corrected her investment.
Then the bells rang.
Chaos outside. Blood-stained blades. Older kids gathering weapons. War cries muffled by the thick windows.
Inside, Rufus stepped forward, smirk glued to his face.
My watch buzzed.
Soft at first — then rhythmic.
And the voice returned:
### *In storm of thought and blaze of soul,
By iron will we seize control.
Through joy or grief, through wrath or fear,
No rogue shall rise while Watchers near.*
I pressed the metal face with two fingers. Tick. Tick. Tick.
Rufus cleared his throat.
"I know you all think awakening makes you strong…"
His voice faded behind the pounding in my skull.
I didn't how to feel about anything anymore but this coudn't be a system. The way it was assulating my mind..... But then if it was. Something that people said coudln't be built was possible and it had chosen me.
I looked at the watch.