The soldiers gestured sharply for Rei to take a seat.
He hesitated for only a second before moving forward, the sound of his footsteps echoing in the quiet lecture hall. Every pair of eyes followed him, some filled with fear while others with curiosity and a few with thinly veiled hostility.
Rei chose an empty seat near the front.
Before he could settle, movement flashed beside him.
The pink haired girl suddenly hopped out of her seat and dropped down next to him, making Rei flinched. He turned, staring at her like she'd just ignored every unspoken rule of personal space.
She didn't seem to notice or care.
With a wide grin, she pulled out a pack of gum from her pocket and popped it open, holding it out towards him.
"What's up, stranger?"
She said cheerfully.
"Want some gum?"
Rei blinked.
"...Uh. Sure."
He took a stick, still unsure what to make of her.
She beamed.
"Name's Hodhijima Ayame. Nice to meetcha!"
Ayame practically radiated energy, her expression bright, completely out of place in a room like this.
Rei couldn't help it.
A small laugh slipped out.
"I'm Mizunagi Rei,"
He said.
"And… what's up with you?"
Ayame titled her head, a playful smirk forming as she studied him.
"Oh, nothing."
She replied lightly.
"Just trying to make a friend."
She glanced around the room, eyes briefly flicking over the tense faces, the rigid postures and the quiet pressure hanging in the air.
"Everyone here's so uptight and boring."
She continued, leaning back.
"You're the first person who didn't look at me like I was a complete weirdo."
Rei bit down on the gum.
"Of course,"
He said simply.
"We're all stuck in some unknown facility together. Freaking out won't help."
Ayame stared at him for a moment.
Then her smile softened.
"...Yeah,"
She said,
"You're right…"
Glancing at him, she lightly whispered.
"And kinda cute."
Around them, the room remained tense.
But for the first time since Rei had arrived, there pressure eased, if only by a fraction.
—
The door slid open with a sharp mechanical hiss.
The room fell silent instantly.
A man stepped inside, dressed in the same black armored suit as the soldiers though his helmet was missing. He was slim, almost deceptively so with long messy black hair tied loosely at the back and sharp brown eyes that missed nothing.
Just his presence alone pressed down on the room.
He stood at the front, scanning the recruits one by one. Fear, tension, arrogance and curiosity, he read it all effortlessly.
Then he sighed, tired and bored.
He cleared his throat.
"Morning, recruits."
His voice was calm, unraised and yet it carried effortlessly through the hall.
"From today onward, you are officially classified as fully registered Somniarchs."
A ripple of unease spread through the room.
"You now belong to the NOX Division,"
He continued.
"A specialized branch under the Aegis Bureau."
He turned slightly, pacing as he spoke.
"Our purpose is simple. We protect, manage, contain, and when necessary, eliminate anomalies."
Some of the students stiffened at that statement.
"In this facility, you'll train. You'll learn control. Discipline. Survival."
A thin smile emerged across his face.
"So congratulations. You're students again."
He stopped.
"Any question?"
Silence.
Then slowly Rei raised his hand.
The instructor's gaze snapped to him immediately.
"Uh… sorry,"
Rei said awkwardly.
"Can you explain what a Somniarch actually is? And… why I got dragged into all this?"
Murmurs passed through the room.
The instructor studied Rei for a moment longer than necessary.
Then his brow lifted slightly.
"Oh,"
He said
"You're the newly awakened one."
Rei felt every eye burn into him.
"The one who spiked at output level 12."
Ayame's eyes widened.
The red haired boy clicked his tongue.
The white haired siblings watched silently.
The instructor turned toward the wall and pressed a panel.
A holographic display ignited, projecting a rotating human figure, brain highlighted, glowing with layered neural pathways.
"A Somniarch,"
He said, pointing at the brain.
"Is what we classify as an evolved human."
The display shifted, dreamlike symbols, abstract shapes, fragments concepts orbiting the figure.
"You manifest concepts drawn directly from the subconscious. Thoughts, emotion, even dreams, obsession given form. Given authority."
He glanced back at the class.
"Reality bends because your mind tells it to."
A heavy pause.
"That's why you're dangerous."
The screen shut off.
The instructor turned back to them.
"My name is Mugen Yoru,"
He said.
"And I'm your commanding instructor."
His eyes hardened.
"Now stand up."
Everyone obeyed.
"It's time for your field test."
Rei's stomach dropped.
Whatever this place was, whatever NOX really meant.
This was only the beginning.
—
The combat hall was massive.
A vast circular chamber of reinforced steel and obsidian alloy, its walls lined with layered barriers and dormant weapon ports. The floor was etched with faint geometric patterns, containment seals woven into the structure itself.
Rei swallowed.
This wasn't a training room.
It was a battlefield designed to feel safe.
The recruits stood in formation, twenty five of them lined up shoulder to shoulder. Soldiers in full black armor patrolled the perimeter, rifles low but hands never far from the trigger.
At the front, Mugen Yoru stood with his arms crossed.
His gaze swept across the line.
"We'll be testing your combat capability,"
He said flatly.
A soldier stepped forward, carrying a metallic case. With a sharp click, it opened revealing sleek black wrist devices, faint lines of light along their surface.
"To monitor you,"
Mugen continued,
"You'll be wearing these."
The soldiers moved down the line, snapping the devices onto each recruit's wrist. The metal sealed itself with a soft click.
Rei flinched as it locked around his arm.
A translucent interface flickered briefly above it before vanishing.
"These monitors track energy output, neural stability, mental strain and manifestation integrity,"
Mugen paused.
"If any of those exceed safe parameters…"
His eyes narrowed.
"...you will be restrained. Or sedated."
He paused.
"Or put down."
The hall went silent.
Ayame swallowed beside Rei, though her grin hadn't fully faded.
The red haired boy cracked his knuckles, excitement burning in his eyes.
At the far end, the white haired siblings didn't react at all.
Mugen turned and gestured toward the center of the hall.
"Each of you will enter individually."
The floor rumbled.
A circular platform sank down, revealing a sealed chamber beneath, its interior shifting reconfiguring like liquid metal.
"You will face a controlled anomaly,"
Mugen said flatly.
"Not to win."
His voice sharpened.
"But to demonstrate control."
He turned back to the line.
"Panic is failure."
"Overexertion is failure."
"Losing yourself to your manifestation…"
His gaze flickered briefly.
"... is failure
Rei's wrist monitor pulsed once.
Mugen stepped aside
"First candidate,"
He said calmly.
"Hoshijima Ayame."
Ayame blinked.
Then her grin widened.
"Ooo,"
Bouncing lightly on her heels.
"Guess I'm up."
She gave Rei a quick glance.
"Watch closely, okay."
Before Rei could respond, the platform activated.
Ayame stepped forward.
The chamber sealed behind her.
And then the test began.