Crestfall Assassin Academy did not celebrate anniversaries.
Time was measured by rank and scars.
Twelve years later, after the fire.
Kian was only seventeen years old, and he didn't know how to use his power, and he was still in the lowest rank of his class.
He woke up and sat up slowly on his bed, looked at his hand, and saw his bracelet glowing faintly.
They called him unstable.
A voice boomed through the hidden speakers of the room, ordering everyone to the trial ground. Then he stood up and stepped out of his room into the hall. He looked around, seeing the students in the hall moving in groups. No one spoke or laughed, only moving with purpose.
They all moved to the trial ground in groups. Some students started gossiping that he was seventeen, still at the bottom of the class, and still not assigned a rank. Some said that after all these years, what had he been doing? One of them said they would see it today, and they looked at the person who said it.
It was the boy with silver hair named Ashren. A voice shouted at them to keep quiet; it was Instructor Virel.
She said that today all of them would take the ranking test and shouted that they should do their best in this test, because it would decide whether they would become a weapon or a liability.
And she added, "Especially you."
Instructor Virel started to call their names to the arena one by one.
One by one, the students entered the shifting platform.
Kian watched them carefully.
Some of them moved with speed, blades flashing and bodies blurring. Others relied on strange abilities: shadows stretching unnaturally, symbols igniting in the air, bullets curving mid-flight.
Each test ended the same way.
A target neutralized.
Or students unconscious or worse and dragged out.
"Kian," Instructor Virel called him out.
The arena seemed to grow quiet.
Kian moved forward into the arena.
The moment his foot touched the platform, the air around him changed.
Heat rippled outward from the arena, subtle but noticeable. Kian's bracelet pulsed faintly once, steady.
"Target type: manifested construct," Virel announced. "Threat level adjusted."
Adjusted.
The student with silver hair said that didn't sound good and chuckled slightly.
The ground ahead of Kian split open.
Something climbed out of it.
It resembled a human only vaguely, its form flickering with heat, limbs elongated, face smooth and blank. Its body radiated unstable energy, enough to distort the air around it.
Kian felt it immediately.
Pressure pressed against Kian's chest, not hostile, but hungry.
The construct tilted its head toward Kian.
Then it lunged at Kian.
Kian moved away on instinct.
He ducked and rolled as a clawed limb shattered the stone where he had stood. Heat surged up his spine, uncontrolled, but he forced it down.
Don't ignite.
He sprinted, heart pounding, his boots scraping against the shifting stone. The construct followed Kian relentlessly, adapting, its movement sharpening with each second that passed.
Kian grabbed a short blade from the rack as he ran.
The blade felt wrong in his hands and cold.
The construct cornered Kian against the wall.
No room left for Kian to run.
It struck at him. Kian instinctively raised his blade to block it, and the metal glowed red hot from his grip.
The construct moved back with a screeching sound.
Kian stared at the blade in shock. He hadn't tried to heat it.
The flame responded on its own.
"Control it," a voice snapped above the platform. Instructor Virel.
The construct surged at Kian.
This time, Kian didn't run. He moved forward.
The heat energy inside Kian shifted, not exploding, not spilling outward, but condensing. Kian was focused.
The blade didn't burst into flame, but burned silently.
Kian slashed it.
The construct split apart, its form burning into ashes and fading into light.
Silence fell.
The platform locked into place.
Kian stood still, breathing hard, the blade cooling rapidly in his hand.
"Test rank pending," Instructor Virel said slowly.
Whispers erupted through the stands.
"He didn't manifest."
"He altered the weapon."
"That wasn't ignition, that was authority."
Kian didn't fully understand the word.
He only felt tired from the fight.
As he exited the platform, someone blocked his path.
The silver-haired boy.
Up close, his presence was oppressive, sharp like static before lightning. His eyes burned with restrained irritation.
"So you are the fire child," the boy said with a forced smile. Kian nodded.
"I am Ashren Vale," the boy continued, "ranked seventh in our class."
He leaned closer, saying, "You don't belong here."
Kian met his gaze, surprised by his own calm. "Then why am I here?" he said. "I have been here for twelve years, trying to prove myself until today, and you are saying I don't belong here."
Kian moved past him, using his shoulder to shove him aside.
Ashren smiled thinly, frustrated.
"Because mistakes happen," he said. "Crestfall Academy enjoys correcting them."
He turned and walked away. Kian looked back as he left.
Instructor Virel watched both boys carefully from above.
Later that day, the rankings were posted.
Kian found his name at the bottom of the list.
RANK: UNASSIGNED
Below it, a symbol burned faintly into the stone.
A warning marker.
A voice called out to Kian. Instructor Virel remarked, "You did good today. You didn't waste all twelve years you've been here, and you didn't become a liability to us." Then she walked away.
Later that night, Kian lay in his room.
The academy hummed around him, training movements and distant screams muffled by reinforced walls.
His hand rested against his chest.
The heat was still there.
Waiting.
Later that night, somewhere deep beneath Crestfall Assassin Academy, a sealed archive unlocked again after twelve years of Kian staying in the academy.
Status Updated
Subject: Kian
Age: 17
Control: Absolute
Threat Level: Unknown
A final note blinked on the screen.
The fire didn't resist him.
It recognizes him.
And somewhere within Kian's chest, the flame stirred.