Enochia and Nephara paused at the massive doors, hands hovering over the handles. Faint voices filtered through the thick oak, muffled but clear enough to catch snippets of conversation. Enochia's grin faltered from what she heard.
"And just like that, I promise you, you'll earn a mountain of cash," the voice said. "Just give the idea to Enochia and that blue extra, and make it presentable, since you know them better."
"AN EX—???"
Enochia pressed a finger across Nephara's mouth, shushing her before she could react. Nephara's eyes widened, and she whispered around the digit, "An extra???"
Another voice was that of Damian, and this one she was deeply familiar with. "I'll... think about it. But please, it's literally the first class of the first day Damian. Calm your horses a bit." Oh, she was also familiar with this one. It was Damaris, her other best friend
Enochia felt a pang in her chest, imagining Damaris's composure cracking. A second later, a third voice boomed through the door, male and obnoxiously heroic, like a bad anime dub. "Yo, step off, dude! No way a babe like her should deal with this crap on her first day!"
Nephara stifled a snort, but Enochia's jaw clenched. That had to be some white knight wannabe, charging in with zero context. Damian's voice returned, but a bit more annoyed. "Just stay a bit after class, Damaris, so we can talk about it more. Purely professional, of course."
Enochia could practically feel Damaris deflate through the door. But the unknown voice wasn't done. "Now that the threat's gone, how about you give me your number, beautiful? A guy like me could keep you safe from creeps like him."
That was it. With a quick breath Enochia kicked the doors open. What she saw inside… was deeply upsetting to her. There were around a dozen of people sitting all throughout the room, but she didn't focus on any of them, since only two were currently up. One was a brown haired boy with really green eyes. He also had a bit of a longer hair, a white uniform with the same badge for class alpha, and ironically, a white cape.
He was kneeling in front of her friend, styling his hair so that he looked as good as possible.
Before anyone could process that Enochia had entered, her arm swung forward.
[Chains of Nebuchadnezzar]
Light erupted from her palm in a wave and chains burst forth, winding around him. In the span of a heartbeat, he was bound from ankles to shoulders, wrapped so thoroughly it looked as if he was a death row convict.
The brown haired boy stared down at the chains before simply muttering: "…Huh?"
He never had a chance to add anything else.
Enochia's hand tightened and the chains reacted instantly. He shot into the air like he'd been launched from a cannon, arcing backward with a weightless, ungraceful trajectory that sent him crashing into a desk behind him.
And then he landed, miraculously on an empty seat. His eyes widened as he inhaled sharply, ready to unleash yet another line that would scar the room forever, but Enochia had already sealed his mouth as well, so she was able to save everyone's eardrums.
"Sit," Enochia said, her voice steady. She placed one hand on her hip and surveyed the classroom with cool, unimpressed eyes. "And, for the love of the actual Ten Commandments, shut up."
Damaris, with her long purple hair flowing down her back, bright red eyes, and a form-fitting black dress rushed forward and threw her arms around Enochia in a tight hug. "Chia!" she whimpered. "Why did you have to leave me alone with these psychos for so long? I was dying in there!"
Whispers erupted instantly. A few students snorted into their sleeves, while one unfortunate boy in the back dared to whisper, "Wait… her nickname is Chia seed??"
Enochia's expression soured a bit, a flicker of annoyance crossing her face. "You too...." She flicked Damaris's forehead lightly, pulling back from the hug with a sigh. "You know damn well I hate that!"
Damaris pouted, her lower lip jutting out dramatically, but then she broke into a small smile and let out a light laugh. "My hero, Chia!"
Nephara stepped into the room soon after. She popped a piece of gum into her mouth, surveyed what was happening, folded her arms and let out a whistle. "Daaamn, Shame you had to chain him. Dude was funny as all hells."
Just as Nephara finished, something unexpected slipped into Enochias ear, something that came from below, or rather, from under the teacher's desk.
"You're quite a bit late. Take your seat already… Chia seed." The unknown voice said that final part with great difficulty, the sound of half-suppressed laughter caught between his teeth.
Enochia's smile held steady, perfectly beautiful and perfectly unbothered on the surface. Inside, she was mentally peeling that man's skin like an apple. Because she knew her brothers voice, even if it was so greatly muffled.
Without a word, she grabbed Nephara by the wrist, dragging her across the classroom with enough force to nearly unhinge her arm. She shoved her best friend down into the seat beside Damaris, then took the desk directly in front of them. Nephara blinked rapidly, hair still bouncing from the whiplash, while Damaris immediately leaned forward with clasped hands.
As Enochia settled into her seat, a familiar voice cut through the murmurs from a nearby desk. "Hello, Enochia. Hope you had an amazing day today!"
She turned her head slightly, locking eyes with the boy she knew all too well. His blond hair was slicked back neatly, his uniform tailored to perfection with a red cape draped over one shoulder, and a gleaming golden watch on his wrist.
"Yo," Enochia replied flatly, then turned away, ignoring Damian Steel completely. He might have had a reaction, but she really didn't care for it.
She folded her arms on the desk, leaning forward like an eager audience member. "I've heard rumors he does his entrances dramatically… but I've never actually seen one," she muttered. "I did help him put the mechanism together last year, though. Wonder how it looks in action now… or if the idiot tinkered with it and made it worse."
As she spoke, the boy sitting directly in front of her slowly turned around in his chair. He really looked like an average guy with brown hair, but what truly stood out were the enormous brown aviator sunglasses perched on his face.
Well, those and the tiny brown bird sitting on his head.
The bird also had sunglasses. Matching ones…
The boy cleared his throat shyly. "Um… sorry to bother you. But are you… Enochia Adams? As in… THE Enochia Adams?"
Enochia stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. "No shit, Sherlock. What made you think that?"
His cheeks flushed a light pink. "O-oh! Uh, right. Haha. That makes sense…" He pushed his glasses up even though they couldn't go any higher. "Well, it's nice to meet you! I'm Ben Bob, just call me Benny. All my friends do."
"Ben Bob…" Enochia tilted her head up, tapping her chin. Then realization flickered across her expression. "Ohhhh yeah! You're that ex-president's kid. Cool! Awesome to meetcha." She offered him a bright smile.
Benny immediately blushed deeper. Even the little bird sitting proudly between his curls somehow managed to blush as well, tiny feathers puffing out adorably.
Enochia blinked at the creature. "Besides the obvious question of why the hell you're both wearing those glasses indoors, can I also ask why the hell you brought your cat into school?"
Benny opened his mouth, starting confidently, "Well, I thought the glasses looked great on him—wait, did you just call him a ca—"
He never got to finish as instantly, the entire room was swallowed in darkness. The blackout lasted only a moment, then four razor-thin beams of blue light sliced through the darkness, twisting outward from the classroom corners.
They refracted across walls and desks, turning Ethan's chains into a glittering disco ball and sending Benny's tiny bird into a panicked wing-flap frenzy. Enochia leaned back, eyes narrowing with an impressed hum. 'Here he comes.'
The beams spiraled inward toward the teacher's desk. The floor trembled, panels splitting as machinery clicked below. A platform shot upward, scattering dust, then sealed shut seamlessly. Atop it stood a man in a sleek midnight-blue and gold suit, hardlight plates pulsing with star-blue edges. His helmet was angular, visor gleaming like a golden horizon, with star-shaped flares where eyes should be. He wore a suit that looked less like standard attire and more like the Academy had secretly collaborated with a high-budget tokusatsu studio.
He clasped his hands behind his back, glancing across the room. "Good morning, Class Alpha! Allow me to introduce myself." he said.
"Before any of you pass out from the sheer pressure of anticipation, know this: you, the fortunate few seated before me, will be guided, challenged, judged, and, assuming you survive my curriculum, proudly represented by the Academy's chosen Head Instructor for the Golden Generation!"
"The Tenth Apostle," he declared, planting a fist confidently to his hip as a flare of blue light sparked behind him, "Thaddeus Adams."
A wave of applause rolled through the classroom many of which were polite, some enthusiastic, and one person clapping with the deranged intensity of someone who had just seen God descend. Damian, unsurprisingly, was the latter; and he whispered in a reverent, breathless tone, "He's perfect…"
"Now that we've all properly awakened," he said, "Let's begin with what matters. You are a special generation, born under circumstances that none before you have faced. As such, your education will follow a special model. I will walk you through it."
The platform beneath him sank smoothly back into the floor, lowering him until he stepped casually onto the ground. Without missing a beat, he reached to the side and grabbed a slim holographic marker.
He turned, and the massive blue board behind him lit up as soon as he touched the pen to its surface. A white line followed his movements, burning across the board in glowing strokes as the blackout curtains around the room slowly retracted. Sunlight filtered back in through the tall windows, the darkness dissolving until only a faint, dramatic dimness remained, just enough to make the glowing board look even cooler.
Four large symbols appeared on the surface: Α — Β — Γ — D.
He set the marker down briefly and turned toward the class. "Now then, let's test the waters. Can anyone tell me what these represent in our Academy's structure?"
A hand shot up, and the pink-haired girl with twin tails straightened in her seat as Thaddeus gestured toward her. "Yes, Miss Seraphina?"
Enochia blinked at the name. 'Ahhh, so that's the donor's kid.'
Seraphina cleared her throat. "Those are the four tiers of classes, sir."
Thaddeus nodded. "Good. Good. But that's not what I asked."
Her posture stiffened. A beat passed. Her twin tails twitched in embarrassment. "R-right… sorry. They represent… Well, not to sound arrogant, but they represent ranking. The level and privilege each classroom receives based on the strength of its students."
A sharp laugh burst from Thaddeus. "Arrogant? That's the correct answer, young lady! Better to state uncomfortable truths than sugarcoat them into nonsense."
He tapped the board with his pen, each symbol flickering brightly.
"Currently, there are forty-eight first-year students. They are divided into four classrooms, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, each led by a different head teacher. In theory, the curriculum should be identical."
He paused. "In practice? It very much is not."
"This," he said, gesturing toward the class, "Is Class Alpha. The top twelve. The elite of your generation. The highest-ranked first-years with the greatest potential."
Several students puffed up. Damian threw his hair back as though someone had praised him personally. Even the brown boy attempted to nod proudly but only managed to jangle his chains.
Enochia simply exhaled through her nose. 'Sure. Strongest twelve. Definitely. Nothing to do with most kids here having parents who own entire cities.'
She rested her chin on her hand, her eyes deadpan. 'I bet that Klara chick would beat quite a few of these guys into the ground. That ability she used was interesting…'
Thaddeus lifted his hand again, tapping the board twice with the back of his knuckle, and the glowing Greek letters flickered, stuttered, then vanished entirely. In their place, a new set of symbols and text cascaded down. The board stabilized, lines sharpening, and the class collectively leaned forward as names and numbers materialized in bright, authoritative white.
The official rankings, a list no one had seen yet… Well, not publicly, at least.