"Emiliana Raven. Pleased to meet you all... I hope we can be friends."
"Benedict Devon."
"Damien Callisto."
"My name is Finn Winterfell. The pleasure is all yours," a young man said, a sickening grin plastered across his face.
Throughout the introductions, Benjamin's eyes swept across the classroom. He was cataloging faces. Some were people of importance; others were mere cannon fodder. A few... were agents of the coming Cataclysm.
"I need two people," he muttered, his eyes devoid of life.
[Two people? What for?] a voice echoed in his mind.
Make no mistake—this was neither a System nor the product of a fractured psyche. It was a spirit. A caged, vengeful entity he had become host to in preparation for the First Cataclysm.
He was far too weak as he was.
The illegitimate child of the Morningstars.
One cursed by mana itself.
He was destined to die a horrific death. As he stood then, the possibility of surviving the first of the calamities was as likely as the moon morphing into the sun.
It was impossible.
Hence, this solution.
After being expelled by his family under accusations of wielding magic forbidden by the Morningstar bloodline, the young man had wandered into exile. He had made his way to Ilu Petilia. Deep within that forsaken city, he found exactly what the novel had mentioned in Volume 5, Chapter 10:
The vengeful spirit of the Void Dragon.
The last of its kind, betrayed by humanity—a dragon with nothing but a thirst for retribution. However, he hadn't found a living spirit. What he found was the soul residue of the beast.
They had struck a pact.
Benjamin's part: the moment he found HER, the dragon would take over what was left of his body.
The Dragon's part: the Curse of Ignia. Those strange, white eyes he now bore.
"Lucas Morningstar," a young man announced. He had deep red hair and ruby eyes that seemed to glow.
"What?! I heard a Morningstar would be here, but I didn't think it would be the Flame-Born!"
"Can you not be so loud?"
"What? Don't you know who this is?! Fuck, no wonder I couldn't make it into Class A. With all these monsters around, how can anyone see my talent?"
"I know! And I said shut the hell up!"
[You haven't said a word.]
"...The First Calamity is a year from now. I have to be ready," Benjamin whispered.
[So, you need pawns.]
"What good are pawns? I need special pieces," he muttered.
His eyes drifted back to the front row where an anxious girl sat. Within those white orbs, his pupils began to swell and deform—interconnecting lines formed a hexagonal shape, swirling within the white abyss of his eyes.
[You do know the price that comes with those eyes, I presume?]
"I don't need to live forever."
[Live forever? How much time do you think you wasted forming that pact? How much time do you think you originally had left to live?]
".... It doesn't matter," he said, blinking.
The shapes retracted.
"All that matters is finding her."
[HER, huh... I presume you no longer even remember her name at this point. This obsession... it transcends every form of insanity I've had the pleasure of witnessing.]
Benjamin remained silent.
"Auston," a young man said with a smile so bright Benjamin saw right through it with a single glance. "Pleased to meet you all! I hope we become best buddies!"
"Oh, shut up, commoner," a voice followed, only to be silenced by the professor.
"Not another word, Ander."
"Tch."
[You seem to know that lad.]
"Huh?" Benjamin tilted his head slightly.
[Who is he?]
Benjamin looked at the boy for a long moment. For some reason, the young man looked back. Their eyes met. Benjamin closed his eyes first.
"An enemy."
[Already? It is only your first day.]
"It's not the kind of enemy you're thinking of. He will simply stand in my way at some point."
[I see. A child of destiny.]
"One of them. But also a herald of the Calamities."
[Which of them?] the voice asked.
Benjamin looked up at the ceiling.
"You don't want to know."
He leaned back and closed his eyes for a brief rest. Before he knew it, the exhaustion took over, and he dozed off.
...
..
.
"Up... Wak... UP!.... WAKE UP!"
"Haah!"
With a sharp gasp, he shot upright. A young man with green hair and emerald eyes stood over him, dressed in the same uniform.
"You're up, Sleeping Beauty."
"Huh?" He frowned, but reality quickly fell into place.
"If you would please, young man," a voice called out.
He looked over the student's shoulder to find the professor watching him with those same bland, amber eyes. Benjamin stood up and looked ahead, letting out a slow breath.
"Amael... Amael Morningstar."
A chilling, exceedingly disturbing silence followed.
"As in... the exiled Morningstar?" someone whispered in shock.
"Oh my god. The Amael?"
"Sit down," the professor said, adjusting his glasses.
Amael sat calmly, ignoring the ripples of reaction spreading through the room.
"Next."
Far to the left of where Amael sat, another student stood.
"Sheila Kingscrown."
The room gasped again. For the first time since the introductions began, Amael actually reacted. His gaze sharpened.
'This isn't the Third Calamity...' Amael thought. 'What is she doing here?'