It was the next day, and Hikari could barely keep his eyes open.
His forehead rested against the cool wood of his desk, arms folded beneath it, as Sakamoto-sensei's monotonous voice droned on from the front of the room. The morning sun filtered weakly through the classroom windows, casting soft beams across the rows of half-interested students. To Hikari, the light felt more like a spotlight exposing how unprepared and unrested he was. Every tick of the clock seemed louder than usual, every syllable from the teacher's mouth dragging time like an anchor across his mind.
His eyes burned. His mind wandered through fragments of last night—images of glowing ruins, shifting shadows, and a sky full of unfamiliar stars. Mitsumi had caught him nodding off several times already, her curious glances making it harder for him to relax. He hadn't offered any explanation. He couldn't. Not yet. The weight of what he'd seen, what he now knew, sat like lead behind his eyes.
By the time the lunch bell rang, he didn't even touch his bento. Instead, he laid his head back down and surrendered to the weight pulling at his eyelids. The smells of seaweed, pickled vegetables, and fried chicken floated through the air, but even his favorite foods couldn't rouse him.
Mitsumi hesitated beside him. Her shadow fell across his desk. "Are you okay, Hikari?"
He didn't lift his head. "Just tired. Didn't sleep well."
She didn't push further. Her silence held a note of worry, but she left him be. Her footsteps retreated, and the classroom slowly emptied around him.
That evening, after dinner and a forced nap, Hikari stood at the edge of the portal hidden behind his bedroom closet. The lingering taste of his mother's cooking still clung to his tongue, but his stomach twisted for a different reason. The rice had been fluffy, the miso soup rich—but none of it had grounded him. Not when he knew what awaited.
Master Ryu stood beside him, arms crossed, his usual smirk subdued for once. The faint scent of sandalwood clung to him, blending oddly with the ozone charge emanating from the portal. "Ready for your first night?"
Hikari nodded, though his pulse betrayed his calm expression. "As I'll ever be."
Without another word, Ryu stepped through the portal.
Hikari followed.
The first thing that hit him was the cold. Irregular Academy sat beneath a moonless sky, its gothic spires rising like jagged blades against the endless black. The academy grounds were lit only by ethereal lanterns floating midair, their violet glow illuminating stone paths and looming statues of cloaked figures. The scent of old parchment and wet stone filled the air. The main building, massive and ancient, stretched far beyond what his eyes could grasp, with sections vanishing into the darkened fog like the limbs of some sleeping giant.
Shadows shifted beneath the walls, as if the building itself breathed. Windows blinked with strange lights, and vines that clung to the exterior shimmered faintly with arcane sigils pulsing like veins.
Other students had already begun gathering near the central courtyard, which stood encased by stone arches. Hikari walked beside Ryu, doing his best not to stare. Some students carried strange weapons across their backs; others had familiars—floating or crawling things—that obeyed their every command.
It was strange. None of them looked monstrous or abnormal. In fact, most seemed like regular students—some even younger than him—but the atmosphere said otherwise. Some moved with unnatural grace, others with eerie stillness. Their presence made his skin crawl, as though every glance carried the weight of silent judgment.
A voice echoed across the courtyard, amplified by magic or something far stranger. "All first-time initiates, stand in line. You will be sorted according to your alignment."
A glowing circle appeared at the center of the courtyard. The ground inside shimmered like liquid glass, reflecting constellations not present in the actual sky. The students formed a line. Hikari joined near the back, nerves coiling tighter in his gut. Ryu gave him a small pat on the back before fading into the shadows like smoke on the wind.
One by one, students stepped into the circle. Symbols flared around them, rising like spirals of energy. When they exited, a uniform manifested on their bodies, shimmering into place thread by glowing thread.
Hikari soon realized the colors told a story.
The first student emerged in a robe of gleaming white and gold. Noble class.
Next, someone received green and gray. Commoner class.
Then came black and violet. Irregular class.
Hikari watched the process repeat. Some students seemed proud of their designation. Others looked crushed. One girl even cried when she emerged in green, her face turning red with embarrassment.
A whisper rippled through the crowd. The Nobles were the most powerful, or at least the most privileged. Chosen from elite bloodlines or born with natural affinity for control. The Commoners represented those trained by merit, disciplined and grounded. And the Irregulars? The lowest. The misfits. The unpredictable.
They were often feared, even among the academy.
Finally, Hikari stepped into the circle.
The moment his foot crossed the edge, everything changed.
A rush of wind spiraled around him. Shadows burst from beneath his feet, racing up the walls and consuming the runes around him. The platform glowed black, then pulsed red like a heartbeat echoing through stone.
Gasps echoed from every side.
His uniform materialized in threads of black and violet, coiling around his limbs like living strands. His jacket shimmered with a violet sheen under the light, the academy crest marked in silver on his shoulder—but instead of the usual shape, a unique sigil pulsed beneath it. Unstable. Twisting. Alive.
Whispers spread.
"He broke the sigil. Did you see that?"
"No control. Dangerous."
Hikari stepped down slowly, heart thudding. He felt eyes follow him—some afraid, some intrigued. Most looked at him like he didn't belong. Every step echoed in his mind louder than the last.
A loud voice rang out from the front. An older woman with an angular face and dark robes stood at the center dais, her presence radiating control and command. Her eyes, sharp as obsidian, scanned the crowd.
"Silence. This year's class will be the most difficult to train. I am Headmaster Kaelis. You will address me only when permitted. Your uniform reflects your current standing. Nobles," she gestured, "are to be respected, and expected to lead. Commoners, prove your value. Irregulars, survive."
Her eyes settled briefly on Hikari.
"Dismissed."
The crowd began to disperse, though conversations continued in hushed tones. Groups formed almost instantly—some by color, others by familiarity.
Hikari stood still. His uniform felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. The strange sigil on his chest still pulsed, ever-shifting.
Ryu appeared beside him like a whisper from the dark. "Well... you made a scene."
Hikari glared. "What does this even mean? Why does mine look different from the others?"
"Because you didn't just break the scanner," Ryu said with a grin. "You rejected the system. Your energy twisted it into something else. That sigil... that's a mutation."
Hikari looked down at his emblem. It shimmered like liquid shadow, the edges fluctuating as though resisting definition.
"So what now?" he asked quietly.
"Now," Ryu said, hands behind his head, "you attend classes, try not to get killed, and maybe, just maybe, figure out who you really are."
As students vanished into the dorm wings, Hikari remained beneath the lanterns. The shadows beneath his feet rippled, as if waiting. The air carried a charge, as though the academy itself had taken notice.
And deep in the academy's halls, beyond locked doors and forgotten ruins, something stirred.
Something ancient.
Something aware.