Ashen's arms trembled slightly as he lowered himself for the fiftieth push-up, his breathing steady but controlled.
Sweat dotted the floor beneath him, a faint rhythm to his exercise, his muscles flexing against the soft glow of the ceiling lights.
He pushed up again, back straight, eyes fixed forward. His routine was the one thing he could always control.
The Academy never slowed down around him.
Between the simulations, drills, combat theory, and tactical lectures, it demanded the absolute peak of every student's mind and body.
And that was why each student that was selected to become a rider was the best of the best.
But at night, when most of the dorms erupted with chatter or laughter, Ashen preferred silence. His body moved with mechanical precision, every repetition a ritual to ground him.
At last, he exhaled, rolling onto his knees.
The small dorm room was neat, barely personalized—bed sheets tucked tightly, desk spotless except for a datapack stacked with notes, training schedules, and archived battle reports. He stood, grabbing a towel to wipe his face before heading into the adjoining washroom.
Minutes later, he emerged refreshed, now in a fresh Academy uniform—dark, slim, and sharp, the crest of the H-Academy marked over his chest.
The faint hum of the Academy's systems pulsed beneath the floor, the vibration a constant reminder that they lived underwater, a fortress buried at the bottom of the ocean.
Tonight, the corridors outside his room were alive.
The annual meteor shower was only minutes away.
He could hear students rushing, laughing, calling out for friends as they searched for the best viewing platforms. Some of them lived for these moments of wonder.
Every year, a week before the Games, the sky above the planet always bloomed with streams of light—a curtain of fire across the heavens.
Ashen had no intention of going out as he had seen them before. The sight was beautiful, yes, but beauty never made him stronger.
A knock at the door broke his train of thought.
Ashen sighed and walked over, opening it—only for a grinning face to immediately shove itself into view.
"My man Ashen!" Renn practically shouted, slinging a heavy arm around Ashen's shoulder as if they were long-lost brothers.
His grin stretched ear to ear, eyes full of mischief. "You know you are my absolute, one hundred percent, most favorite person in this entire forsaken Academy, right?"
Ashen blinked at him, unimpressed. "…What do you want, Renn?"
Behind him, Lira leaned against the corridor wall, arms folded, her long braid swaying slightly as she shook her head with a smile. "Here we go again."
Jaro, tall and broad, followed with his usual gruff silence. He looked at Renn like a man resigned to suffering.
Renn ignored them both, tightening his grip on Ashen. "What? Can't a man visit his dear, dear friend for once without suspicion? Can't I, in all my radiant generosity, simply want to enjoy your silent, brooding company?"
Ashen raised a brow showing he wasn't buying the bullshit.
"…Okay, fine." Renn dropped the act immediately, scratching the back of his head. "I may… possibly… slightly need your help with a teensy little problem."
Ashen said nothing, but his stare was enough.
Renn groaned. "Oh, don't look at me like that, man! It's not even that big of a deal!"
Jaro stepped forward. "Then just say it."
Renn's grin faltered.
He rubbed his neck, voice lowering. "…I might have lost something...Important."
Ashen tilted his head slightly.
"…An access key," Renn admitted quickly, wincing like he expected Ashen to punch him. "One of the training facility ones. Don't give me that look! It's not like I meant to lose it, okay? I was by the observation deck earlier, showing off some tricks with the drone controls, and—"
"You dropped it," Jaro finished flatly.
"Into the water," Renn muttered, staring at the floor.
Lira pinched the bridge of her nose. "Classic Renn."
"Look, it's not like it's gone forever," Renn said quickly, eyes darting between them. "The thing's coated in alloy, it'll sink slow. I tracked it on my datapack for a bit before the signal fuzzed out. It's just outside the maintenance locks, probably resting on the sea floor by now. Easy grab, in and out."
Ashen folded his arms. "Why not just report it?"
Renn's eyes widened. "Report it? Are you insane? Do you know what Instructor Kieran would do to me? He'd skin me alive! He already thinks I'm unreliable—this would cement it. Please, Ashen. You're the only one crazy enough to help me pull this off without getting us all killed."
"I'm not crazy," Ashen replied already felling a headache incoming.
"Exactly!" Renn jabbed a finger at him as if he'd just won the argument. "That's why I need you. You're smart, steady, dependable. You'll know how to do it clean. If I try to grab it myself, I'll probably drown or get eaten by some freak sea-worm."
Lira crossed her arms. "You do realize this is against every Academy rule we've ever been drilled on."
Renn pressed his palms together, turning to her with wide, pleading eyes. "Lira, please. If you help me out, I'll… I'll… I'll do your data reports for a week."
She raised a brow. "Two weeks."
"One," Renn shot back immediately.
"Three."
"Fine!" Renn groaned, throwing his head back. "Three weeks of my beautiful handwriting on your boring reports."
Ashen exhaled slowly. "You dragged me out here for this?"
"Yes," Renn said, nodding furiously. Then, with his best imitation of puppy-dog eyes, he added, "C'mon, Ashen. Don't leave me hanging. Please."
Ashen's stare lingered, hard and unreadable.
Renn squirmed under it.
Jaro folded his arms and muttered, "Just say no and let him suffer."
After what felt like and eternity for Renn, Ashen finally turned, walking down the corridor. "Where?"
He knew for a fact that refusing will only make the bastard more annoying.
Renn's face lit up.
He scrambled to catch up, nearly tripping over himself. "Yes! Knew you'd come through! Observation deck maintenance lock. Trust me man, this'll be quick. In and out. Nobody will even notice we're gone."
Lira exchanged a look with Jaro as they both shook their head.
"Why do we always let him rope us into this?" Jaro muttered.
"Because Ashen lets him," Lira said quietly, following after them.
The four of them moved through the dim corridors, the Academy alive with laughter and noise around them as hundreds of other students rushed to watch the meteors above.
The halls throbbed with energy, anticipation for the Games in the air. None of the others noticed the four figures slipping into a less traveled passage.
This corridor was different.
Its walls were glass—reinforced, thick, stretching out to reveal the endless dark of the ocean.
All sorts of creatures drifted past, glowing tendrils swirling like ribbons of light in the deep.
Massive shadows moved in the distance, slow and deliberate. The Academy felt like a fragile bubble surrounded by a vast, living sea.
Renn pressed close to the glass as they walked, whispering, "Never gets old, huh?"
Ashen said nothing, eyes scanning the water.
He couldn't help it—the ocean always made him feel small, like humanity was trespassing in a place that didn't belong to them.
At the far end, the corridor curved downward into the maintenance deck.
Few students ever came here; it was off-limits without clearance.
Renn moved quickly, his datapack already pulled out.
The four stopped at a heavy lock door.
Beyond it, only reinforced glass and a narrow path separated them from the open ocean.
"Alright," Renn said, grinning nervously. "Here's the plan. We pop the hatch, slip out, grab the key, and come back. Simple."
Ashen stared at him. "…You don't have a plan."
"…Yet," Renn admitted. "But that's where you come in!"
Jaro groaned, rubbing his temple. "This is going to end badly."
Ashen exhaled, stepping closer to the lock.
He placed his hand on the panel, the cold surface humming beneath his palm.
His reflection stared back at him in the glass.
Outside, something flickered across the deep of the night.
Streaks of glowing light.
The meteor shower had begun, and it filled the air with expected energy.
The water glowed faintly as the heavens above tore open with burning trails of fire.
Streams of brilliance reflected into the ocean, filling it with shifting, shimmering light.
Renn and Lira pressed against the glass, awe written across their faces.