They said the world had peace, but peace is only silence before a scream. The once proud chamber of the Hero Society now lay in utter ruin. Cracks ran like veins across the marble floor, walls scorched and crumbling. Smoke still drifted from shattered light fixtures above, and the great emblem of unity that once hung on the wall now lay broken in half, smudged with ash and blood.Blood was everywhere, smeared on desks. Splattered across the cracked tiles. Pooling beneath motionless bodies draped in tattered cloaks of former prestige.The room was silent. Unnaturally so. No alarms, no shouts, just the eerie hum of flickering lights and the metallic scent of death.A lone recorder blinked red in the corner, still active, still recording. A gloved hand twitched. Kairo's eyes fluttered open as he pushed himself up slowly, coughing blood. His uniform was torn, face cut and aura faint but he was still alive but barely. His eyes widened as he took in the devastation. "What… happened?" His voice was hoarse. He remembered the singing, the voice, the feeling, no the command to kneel and then darkness.He staggered to his feet. "How could this."At that moment other heroes who were sent as backup arrived at the scene to see only the after myth of a one sided battle."Kairo!" they shouted as they ran to give him assistance. "What happened?""It's true." Kairo said barely able to talk. "Jackson Crow… is alive." One of the backup crew interrupted as if he did not want what Kairo said to be true. "What are you talking about Jackson isn't supposed to exist anymore." Another spoke up again. "Jackson is alive? So that's why I've been hearing about the group called The Choir.""The Choir?" Kairo asked "Yes there said to be followers of Jackson, but regardless I'm still surprised that you fought him."Kairo replied voice low. "We didn't fight he just walked in singing a nursery rhyme and we all dropped," he stopped for a brief moment. "As we are now will never be able to stop him, so we have no other choice but to recruit more members." Meanwhile back at Blessing's school the lunchroom buzzed with chatter and clinking trays, but Blessing sat alone by the window, picking at his food, eyes distant. The sun cast soft shadows across the table, his half eaten meal going cold. "It seems I can only use telepathy for combat unlike the first days I got this power" Blessing thought to himself until a voice interrupted. "So you're him?" Blessing turned to see a boy leaned casually against the doorway, arms crossed posture relaxed but watchful, like someone who had seen too much to bother pretending. "The one chosen by the wind." It was Kaito Kurozawa, his sharp stormy eyes scanned the room with quiet precision, partially hidden beneath the shadow of his curled fingers resting just below his face. He had short, tightly coiled hair and a deep scar trailing across his neck. A single turquoise earring glinted faintly against his skin, contrasting with the matte black turtleneck he wore like armor. Around his neck hung a pendant in the shape of an anvil. His expression was unreadable, cool, confident, and detached enough to be unsettling.Blessing blinked as he saw him. "Who… are you?"The boy smirked and turned to leave. "Someone you'll never read." He paused at the door. "See you at trials… Chiaki." On the other hand in a unknown place Jackson sat cross legged on the floor surrounded by old dolls and broken gear. "I was hoping to have a little fun but they are all so boring."He picked up a doll. "But her water ability those flames maybe she's different, after all fire and water don't usually mix." He giggled, childlike as he lifted the doll in the air. "This one's almost ready." Meanwhile the streetlights flickered weakly as Blessing and Esther walked side by side, their footsteps echoing faintly against cracked pavement and graffiti tagged walls.Esther glanced around, hugging her arms. "This place creeps me out, why did we even come this way?"Blessing's eyes were alert, scanning every alley and rooftop. "I felt… like we were being followed."Before Esther could respond, a figure suddenly dropped from above, landing hard inside the shadows. Another masked individual stepped out from the alley's shadows, silent and fast.Blessing's eyes narrowed as the masked man lunged forward, fast and precise. He sidestepped just in time, the man's blade grazing past his shoulder. Wind surged around Blessing's arm, sharpening his movement as he countered with a swift palm strike to the ribs.The masked man grunted, but didn't falter. He spun low, sweeping Blessing's legs but Blessing leapt, flipping back to create space but the man was relentless.Blessing blocked a punch then retaliated with a rising kick that caught the attacker across the jaw, staggering him. The wind around Blessing intensified as he weaved and struck, controlled fury in every move.Finally with a feint to the left and a burst of wind from his palm, Blessing forced the man off balance, and managed a clean blow that sent the attacker crashing into a pile of trash cans. The mask cracked and fell away, revealing a bloodied face grinning through pain. "Heh… impressive," the man laughed.But before they could react further, a second presence emerged from the shadows. A woman in her twenties stepped into the dim light. Her presence was confident or at least she tried to make it seem that way. A crescent moon badge on her left shoulder. Her boots clanked with each step, too heavy for someone trying to walk in a quiet style.She had long blonde hair, her eyes were a vibrant violet often squinting when she tried to look serious. More often than not, her expression landed somewhere between mysterious agent and awkward big sis trying too hard to be cool."Not bad," she said with a cocky smirk, then tripped over a few seconds later. "I totally meant to do that." Blessing looked at her. "Who are you?" Blessing asked but she just laughed awkwardly loud. "My name is Elan Hinata I'm a member of hero society I was sent here to see if you are able to handle the pressure. And I must say you did a… well you didn't do too badly."The masked man interrupted. "Miss Hinata will it kill you to give the kid a little credit I mean he was able to hit me even though he hasn't fully trained yet."She responded in a low tone. "Well hitting you isn't what we call a challenge now is it."Esther then interrupted the two and asked. "What is hero society and why did you attack us."Elan responded in a loud tone. "Huh! Let's clear out the confusion kid, for starters I didn't attack your brother he did if I had attacked your brother he would've been dead right now and secondly he attacked him because we as hero society wanted to see his base strength.Blessing felt uneasy and narrowed his eyes "Wait you're telling me that was a test." "Wow your pretty bright kid. Yah it was a test and since you passed were inviting you to hero society." Elan said. Blessing froze the information was too much to process at one time. "What!"She added on. "Don't get exited just yet kid you haven't crossed the bridge just yet you can say this was only entrance exam the real trials begin now."Blessing then had a flash back of the boy he met at school that day.Esther asked trying to clear out her confusion "What trials, what are you going to do with my brother?""Not us, Them" Elan said with a smirk on her face but Esther and Blessing looked at her with puzzled by her words."What? You think you're the only one who got tested well sorry kid but you're not, there more some almost killed both the proctors and the ones observing the test that alone tells you how strong the other candidates are." Elan said opening up a wrapped lollipop."That or maybe the proctors were just week." Blessing said as Elan turned around and started to walk away. "Maybe but I highly doubt what happened to them will happen to me though."As she walked away she tripped and fell flat on her face. "Miss are you ok?"Elan quickly stood up. "Y…Yes I'm ok I just wanted to see how good you guys are. You should have caught me but unfortunately I overestimated your abilities how disappointing." She muttered with an unstable voice as blood dripped from her nose."I don't know that fall seemed pretty genuine to be test." The masked man saidElan got flustered "Of cause it did unlike you I'm a pure prodigy when it comes to acting."The masked man tapped his forehead, "Sorry for doubting your methods."Elan widened her eyes as if she remembered something "That reminds me Esther… you're prohibited from entering the trials.Meanwhile in Kaito's room Dumbbells were on the floor heavy breathing as Kaito's body sweated more and more with each pushup he did."The best," He panted loudly "Or nothing at all."Kaito then had flash back when he was younger as he trained with a person older than him. And just as that thought drifted across his mind, he sighed. "Were are you…Kanji?"
