The week after the Trial of Control passed like a haze.
Classes resumed, but something had shifted. The instructors whispered when Xander walked by.
Cameras lingered longer on him during sparring sessions.
Even the dorm hallway lights seemed to hum in his presence.
Morning Routine
The Academy woke at 0600 sharp.
Sirens blared once. Doors unlocked automatically.
Students had ten minutes to get dressed, ten more to reach Formation Grounds.
Renn, ever punctual, was already tightening his gauntlets when Xander rolled out of bed.
"Up, Valois. The Hero Department doesn't wait for sleepy prodigies."
Mira threw a pillow. "Says the guy who dreams about being ranked First Division before breakfast."
Taro glanced up from his datapad. "Ranking's updated today. You two might care."
The Ranking System wasn't just for prestige—it determined privileges, food rations, dorm space, even government placement after graduation.
Heroes in Tier S were practically royalty.
Those who fell to Tier D often disappeared.
Ranking Board — Central Plaza
A holographic tower pulsed above the plaza, listing the top cadets:
Elara Venn — Wind / Crystal
Lucen Ardryn — Flame / Sound
Iris Caelith — Light / Glass
…
Mira Han — Water
Renn Koras — Earth / Metal
—
Xander Valois — Dual Resonance: Water / Lightning
The number felt like a bruise.
He'd passed the trial, yet still ranked near the bottom.
Renn shrugged. "You're new. Rankings reset every quarter. You'll climb."
Mira frowned. "Unless the board's rigged."
Taro tapped the side of the hologram. "It's run by the Hero Council's AI. And the AI never lies."
Xander watched the board flicker for a moment—then stutter.
For half a second, his name jumped to #7, then vanished, resetting back to 98.
Mira blinked. "Did you see—"
The tower rebooted. All traces of the glitch were gone.
Class: Weapon Integration
Instructor Serin paced before a rack of swords and hybrid arms.
"Heroes are not just wielders of power," she said. "We are its regulators. Your sword is your boundary."
Each student selected a weapon compatible with their elemental flow.
Renn grabbed a blunt earth-forged claymore.
Mira took a fluid glass rapier.
Xander reached for a medium-length blade—a surgebreaker, forged to conduct and disperse elemental energy.
Serin's gaze lingered. "You're choosing a risky model."
"It's the only one that won't melt when I use both elements."
"True," she said quietly, "but it might melt you."
Training began. Sparks, splashes, smoke.
The clang of metal mixed with bursts of power.
Xander moved with growing precision—fluid like water, sudden like lightning—but each swing left his arm tingling, his pulse unsteady.
The surgebreaker glowed faint blue, the circuits inside alive.
At the end of class, Serin dismissed the others and pulled him aside.
"Valois, the Board added you to an internal watch list. Don't provoke it. Don't draw attention. And if your resonance spikes again—come to me first."
He frowned. "Why are they watching me?"
Her expression softened. "Because they fear what they don't control."
Evening — Dorm Sector 4B
Rain tapped against the glass.
Mira was studying combat theory. Renn polished his armor.
Xander sat near the window, eyes unfocused.
The screen on the wall flickered—then displayed a single sentence:
"You're not alone."
He froze. "Mira, did you—"
The screen went blank. Static hummed in the walls.
Renn frowned. "You good, man?"
"Yeah. Must've been interference."
But later that night, when the dorm went dark, the whisper returned—this time not from a screen, but from the ceiling vent.
"Xander Valois. Do you want to know why your ranking never changes?"
He sat upright. The lights stayed off. The voice was mechanical, distant, yet somehow human.
He reached for his datapad—no signal. Every network channel blocked.
The voice continued, steady and cold.
"Because the system you're trying to serve has already decided your value."
"And soon, it will test if you're willing to obey."
Then silence.
Only the faint hum of electricity in the air—echoing in time with his heartbeat.
The Next Morning
Xander barely slept.
As the alarm blared, he stared at the ceiling, replaying the words in his head.
The system is watching me.
Or something inside it is.
He dressed, grabbed his surgebreaker, and glanced at his reflection—eyes faintly glowing blue and gold under the light.
I wanted to be a hero, he thought. Not a weapon.