The ride back to the Academy was quiet.
Too quiet.
The hovercraft glided over the city, lights from the towering districts flashing against the windows, but inside—nothing. No chatter. No excitement. Just silence. That kind of silence that only came after something big. Something too real to put into words.
Class Zero sat together, all of them awake, all of them thinking. No one said it out loud, but they felt it. The shift. The world saw them now. And it wasn't going to forget.
When the craft finally landed at the upper platform of the academy, the platform was already packed.
Instructors, admin staff, even a few students from other classes—all waiting. Most of them weren't there to celebrate. They were there to see.
To see the ones who flipped the board.
The moment the doors opened, the welcome hit them like a wave.
Applause. Cameras flashing. Cheers. Some forced. Some genuine. Some a little too loud.
