I survived my first class, somehow. Mostly because I sat in the back and avoided eye contact. Lilith's lecture was on demonic history, but I barely heard a word. Too distracted by how every girl in the room looked like she could bench-press Cerberus and model for demon fashion magazines.
After class, Lilith handed me a black leather-bound book.
"A gift," she said. "This is your Codex. It will grow with you—if you survive long enough."
I flipped it open. Blank pages… until glowing runes scrawled themselves across the surface, reacting to my touch.
Codex Registered: Kazuki Ren. Title: Unranked. Class: Human. Skill Tree: Unknown.
Yeah, real comforting.
Then the door slammed open.
She walked in like royalty—the girl from the admission ceremony. Blue hair cascading like silk, perfect posture, frost in her eyes.
"Seraphina Glacielle," Lilith said. "Student Council President. Top of the Academy."
Seraphina looked at me like I was a mud stain on her spellbook.
"So this is the anomaly?" she said. "It reeks of prophecy."
"I'm right here," I muttered.
Seraphina's gaze pierced me like an icicle. "You're unranked. Weak. Stay out of my way."
Then she left, as quickly as she'd appeared.
"Well," Lilith chuckled. "That went well."
---
Later that night, I tried decoding the Codex in the library when a girl in black lace appeared out of nowhere, sitting upside-down from the ceiling.
"You're not supposed to be here," she said.
"Neither are you."
She dropped beside me. Pale skin, amethyst eyes. Gothic. Ethereal. Dangerous.
"Name's Valmira. I like forbidden books. You?"
I didn't know what to say.
She held out a finger and poked my forehead. "You've got the mark. The Sigil of the Architect."
The what now?
She smiled, far too innocently. "Looks like things are going to get interesting."