Classroom C-145 was quieter than before.
Not because discipline had improved but because only those who could still stand were present.
The air felt heavy, like the room itself hadn't fully forgiven what happened earlier.
Rei sat near the center, shoulders slumped. Ayame sat beside him a little too close.
She leaned over, poking his arm again.
"Hey… Rei,"
She whispered, voice trembling but curious.
"What was that back there? Your ability. That wasn't normal, right?"
Rei didn't answer.
Not because he didn't want to but because he didn't know either.
Across the room, Enma clicked his tongue, arms crossed, irritation written plainly on his face.
Who is this guy…?
He thought.
No control, no explanation and yet…
At the back of the classroom, the Shirayuki siblings watched in silence.
Setsuna broke it first, leaning slightly toward her brother.
"...That pressure,"
She murmured.
"I couldn't breathe. I felt like my thoughts were sinking."
Tōma exhaled slowly, eyes narrowed.
"He didn't just affect the demon,"
He said.
"He affected us."
A pause.
"...He's going to be a problem."
The door slid shut with a mechanical hiss and every student stiffened.
Mugen cleared his throat.
Silence fell instantly.
A holographic screen flickered to life behind him, glowing pale blue. Text scrolled downward as he spoke.
"Your official Somniarch classifications have been finalized, based on manifestation, output and control."
The screen stabilized.
---
SOMNIARCH TIERS
Tier I: Echo-Class
Barely awakened
Tier II: Lucid-Class
Aware dreamers
Tier III: Architect-Class
Builders of reality
Tier IV: Sovereign-Class
Reality enforcers
Tier V: Paragon-Class
World-scale entities
Tier VI: Apex-Class
Extinction-level
---
Names began to appear.
Out of 26 students:
● 15 were classified as Tier I: Echo-Class
● 7 were assigned Tier II: Lucid-Class
● 4 earned Tier III: Architect-Class
Whispered rippled through the room with pride, disappointment and relief.
Rei's eyes scanned the list.
Once.
Twice.
His name wasn't there. A tight knot formed in his chest.
Mugen's gaze shifted, locking directly onto him.
"Mizunagi Rei."
The room went still.
"We have insufficient data to assign you a tier."
Murmurs erupted instantly.
Ayame froze.
Enma's eyes widened instantly.
The Shirayuki siblings exchanged a glance.
Mugen continued, voice cold and precise.
"Your recorded output briefly reached Sovereign-Class levels. Peaking at output level 12."
Gasps
"But your control fidelity is critically unstable,"
He added.
"Which makes you…"
Dangerous.
He didn't need to say it.
"You'll remain unranked until further testing and continuous monitoring are complete."
The screen shifted.
Every name glowed neatly with a Tier.
Expect one.
REI MIZUNAGI - STATUS: UNASSIGNED
Rei swallowed.
Ayame slowly pulled her hand back, eyes wide not in fear alone but awe.
Mugen turned away.
"This concludes today's evaluation,"
He said.
"Class dismissed."
As chairs scraped and students stood, Rei remained seated.
As students stood, Rei remained seated.
Some glanced at him with curiosity, others with fear.
And somewhere deep inside his mind, a faint voice whispered, amused.
Unranked… how fitting.
The lights dimmed, and Rei wondered not for the first time. If being outside the system was more dangerous than being at the top of it.
Mugen raised a hand, stopping the class just as the last students reached the door.
"Oh, one more thing."
The holographic screen shifted again.
"Each ond of you has been issued a specialized smart watch,"
He said.
"Functionally similar to a cell phone, but integrated with Somniarch monitoring systems."
Several wrists lit up as the devices activated automatically.
"Credits have already been assigned to you as registered students,"
Mugen continued.
"You may spend them as you see fit. Additional credits will be allocated monthly, based on performance, control improvement and compliance."
He paused.
"Your watches also contain a GPS-enabled map of the entire base. You're free to move with campus facilities."
His eyes hardened.
"Pay attention to curfew. Negligence will be punished."
That was enough.
Students filed out in clusters, some excited, shaken and whispering nonstop.
Rei remained seated.
He stared at the faint glow of his watch, then stood and walked towards the front.
"Uh… Sir."
Mugen stopped, turning slowly.
Rei hesitated, his fists clenched.
"What about my sister?"
He asked.
"Who's going to take care of her?"
The room felt cold.
Mugen studied him for a moment before answering.
"Your sister has already been informed,"
He said flatly.
"She will be protected and continuously watched by agents."
Rei's breath caught.
"She will receive a monthly allowance, with all daily living expenses covered,"
Mugen added.
"These orders come directly from Captain Tsukishiro Aoyuki and Second Lieutenant Mirai Aoyama."
Rei blinked.
"They don't do this lightly,"
Mugen said.
"If they're willing to invest in your family… then they see potential in you."
Or danger.
Rei thought.
He bowed slightly.
"...Thank you, sir."
---
That evening, the campus lights glowed softly as Rei crossed into the male dormitory sector.
He stopped in front of a door, lifting his wrist.
ROOM: R-025
"So this is my room…"
He muttered.
The door slid open.
Inside, the space felt surprisingly comfortable like a university dorm wrapped in military order. Grey and white walls, clean lines and an open layout. A single bed with a nightstand, desk in the corner with a mounted PC and lamp, a wall wardrobe and a compact walk in bathroom with a shower, toilet and sink.
Rei stepped inside slowly.
"...This actually looks like a real dorm room."
A knock echoed behind him.
He turned.
Standing there was Tōma.
"Hey,"
Tōma said casually.
"Looks like we're neighbors. I'm in R-023. I was right behind you when we entered."
Rei scratched the back of his head.
"Uh… yeah. Tōma, right? Nice to meet you."
"Likewise."
There was a brief, awkward silence.
Tōma glanced down the hallway.
"Wanna catch dinner in the cafeteria? Served at 19:30. Going early makes us feel like old people."
Rei let out a small, nervous laugh.
"Sure. Let's go."
---
The cafeteria was massive.
Rows of long tables stretched across the hall, packed with students, hundreds of them. Voices overlapped in a constant hum and the air filled with the scent of the cooked food and recycled air.
Tōma scanned the room, eyebrows lifting.
"Looks like there's more than just first-year Somniarchs here."
Rei nodded, eyes moving from uniform to uniform.
"Yeah… there's a lot of us."
"Go grab a table,"
Tōma said.
"I'll get our dinner."
Rei nodded and stepped forward, unaware of the eyes that briefly followed him.
Some curious and some wary.
And somewhere, far above the campus.
Systems quietly recalibrated.
Because the unranked had officially entered the system.
---
In a quiet office deep within the upper administrative sector, a woman sat alone.
Black hair fell neatly past her shoulders, framing sharp red eyes that glowed faintly in the dim light. She wore black light armor sleek and angular, with a long trench coat draped over it.
A holographic screen hovered above her desk.
On it, Rei's evaluation footage played on loop.
Again and again.
She watched the moment his eyes shifted purple, then blue. The subtle change in posture, the shift in presence, the way his personality fractured and reformed mid-manifestation.
Her lips curled upward.
"...How interesting."
She replayed the sequence where the chamber distorted and invisible pressure crushed down on everything inside.
"No dream recharge,"
She murmured.
"Concept shift while awake… and that output."
A low laugh escaped her.
"This kid really is something."
She reached forward and pressed a single button.
The door slid open.
Captain Tsukishiro Aoyuki stepped inside, posture straight, and eyes sharp.
"Reporting for duty, ma'am."
The woman didn't look away from the screen.
"Monitor him,"
She said calmly.
"Train him."
She paused.
"By any means necessary, he must belong to our unit."
Aoyuki's eyes narrowed slightly as she followed her gaze to Rei's frozen image.
"You're found a diamond this time,"
She continued.
"He reminds me of the Somniarchs from twenty years ago."
Aoyuki inhaled slowly.
"Yes, ma'am."
Then, carefully spoke.
"...If I may ask… are you suggesting he could be a Sin?"
The woman finally turned, red eyes gleaming.
"I'm not sure,"
She said, smiling.
"But I know he's different."
She tapped the screen, pulling up raw data.
"His out reached Sovereign-Class after only his second activation,"
She said.
"No newly awakened Somniarch should be capable of that."
She stared at Rei's face again, quiet.
"I want him,"
She said softly.
Her smile sharpened.
"By any means necessary."