Noon was still scorching.
Golden Hour. The sun was right overhead, the Tether's shadow vanished, blinding white light reflecting from Valdor's concrete, Aurum's glass, and Aethelgard's marble.
The Colosseum was like a giant furnace.
The smell of teenage sweat, ozone from leaking circuits, and something deeper, heavier, began to be detected.
Ambient Mana rising.
Thousands of students, thousands of pulsating Cores simultaneously, making the air feel thick like hot syrup.
I had just finished speaking.
And now I knew I had just burned a bridge I hadn't even crossed yet.
The gravity lift took me back to the highest balcony.
The energy door opened.
The air here was colder, but not because of the wind.
There was another pressure.
The Mana of the four people in front of me collided with each other, creating an invisible vortex that made my hairs stand on end.
My Core, in my solar plexus, pulsed softly, like a second heart that had just woken up and was immediately scared.
They were already waiting.
Not sitting.
Standing.
Four predators in the same cage.
Titus stepped forward first, his metal footsteps echoing on the floor.
"Golden chains?"
A heavy voice, like a slowly swung hammer.
Vianna cut in before I could open my mouth.
"4 percent, Wynter. My shares. Ten minutes."
Silas, almost simultaneously, his soft voice piercing bone.
"The children of the Sanctum are crying now."
Kael, cold, one sentence.
"Article 12. Three votes are enough."
Four sides.
No room to breathe.
My back almost touched the energy fence.
The air felt heavier, as if an invisible hand was pressing on my chest.
Why did I say that? Did I deliberately seek death? Or is this a remnant of the old Wynter, who was still brave before amnesia erased his courage? Or do I really hate these chains so much that my tongue moved on its own? Whatever it is, it's too late now.
They'll tear me apart here if I stay silent.
I took a deep breath, my chest felt tight.
My Core pulsed harder.
Something inside me, very cold, started moving.
"Golden chains," I repeated, my voice almost trembling.
"Not iron.
Not debt.
Not prayer.
Gold.
You use it yourselves. Proudly.
And the Sovereign laughs seeing you shine while crawling."
Silence for one second.
Enough for me to realize my hands were trembling.
Then I touched the pendant.
[[GLOBAL PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM -- AUTHORITY CONFIRMED]]
A mechanical voice in my ear.
Hands trembling.
Heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst.
I spoke.
"The official welcome ceremony for the new academic year is declared concluded.
All Iron Bastion students return to the Northern sector.
All Gilded Spire students return to the Eastern sector.
All Sanctum of Grace students return to the Southern sector.
Arbiter's Enclave oversees the repatriation process.
Time given: forty minutes.
This is an order from the Grand Praetor."
The voice echoed throughout the Colosseum.
All giant ad panels went dark immediately.
Replaced by the silver trinity wheel logo and my face, real-time.
The ranking board on the northern wall updated instantly:
WYNTER ASH -- GRAND PRAETOR
APPROVAL RATING: 28 % ↓↓↓
Down below, tens of thousands of students froze.
Then moved orderly, like puppets whose strings were forcibly pulled.
Some Valdor first-years still stood dazed, forgetting their rows, eyes fixed on my face on the giant screen.
On this balcony,
Titus clenched his fist until the metal creaked.
Vianna closed her hologram roughly.
Silas smiled, but his eyes were empty.
Kael nodded once.
I stared at them.
My breath was ragged.
My face pale.
But I didn't back down.
"Tomorrow we'll talk."
I turned around.
The energy door opened automatically.
I stepped into the lift.
As the doors closed,
I saw my reflection in the glass wall.
Red eyes glowing.
Faint blue lines creeping on my neck.
And my breath, even in broad daylight, emitted a thin frost.
Smart-ID vibrated.
[WEAVER: Good.
You've just postponed the war... for one day.
Tomorrow morning, this city will wake up with your new name on everyone's lips.
Don't forget your ice.]
The lift descended.
Down there, the Colosseum slowly emptied.
Students returned to their respective academies,
like rivers forced to flow into different channels.
I closed my eyes.
Hands still trembling.
This isn't me being cold. Something inside me is starting to wake up.