The atmosphere inside Lionel Academy was electric.
The kind of tension that made the air feel heavier.The kind that made every heartbeat louder.
Today was the day.
The reveal of the Second-Round matchups.
Students from all departments—Hero Class, Auxiliary Cadets, even the special observers—crowded around the massive display board mounted across the main hall. Teachers stood at the edges, arms folded, watching with quiet anticipation.
The preliminaries had ended.
And the students who remained were not beginners anymore.
They were the top guns. The heavyweights. The names the nation was already buzzing about.
(A professor announced beforehand, that one student will be randomly selected for the third round final battle royale to even the numbers.)
Thirteen winners. Twelve match slots.
And the entire school waited to see who they would be facing.
The screen flickered.
A soft hum filled the hall.
Every student leaned forward at once.
Then the names began appearing—one pair at a time.
Match 1 — Rain Lancelot vs Selian Ford
Match 2 — Gray Howitzer vs Felix Cinder
Match 3 — Lira Dawnwell vs Hazen Crowe
Match 4 — Alren Frost vs Naomi Crest
Match 5 — Selene Ward vs Roger Castellan
Students leaned forward.
Some celebrated.
Some groaned.
Some went pale instantly.
And then—
The last match slot flickered.
Everyone stared as the two names solidified on the screen.
ASTRA NOIRE vs RAZE ARCWELL
A gasp tore through the hall.
"NO WAY—""That's impossible!"
"How is Raze supposed to fight Astra!?"
"He had a chance against others… but Astra!?"
"Isn't this just cruel!?"
Those who supported Raze felt their hearts sink instantly.
He had fought so hard. Overcome every disadvantage.
Proved himself against overwhelming odds.
But Astra?
Astra Noire wasn't just a student.
She was a phenomenon.
Even Raze's classmates fell silent.
Roger ran a hand down his face."…Bro's dead. Absolutely dead."
Rain looked heartbroken. "He tried so hard… but Astra…"
Even stoic Gray muttered under his breath,"…Bad luck."
Raze stared at the board calmly, but his eyes were unreadable.
Astra's reaction was the opposite—her expression faltered, clearly shocked.
"I… didn't expect this," she whispered.
The matches were set. The next rounds would begin next week.
Students began gathering their things, still murmuring among themselves.
But just as Astra, Raze and the others turned to leave—
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP—BEEP—BEEP.
Every single screen in Nexara lit up simultaneously.
Classroom monitors. Hallway displays.
Billboards outside the academy.
Holo-pads, Phones, Home screens.
All at once.
A chilling silence fell.
And then—
A single symbol appeared across every device.
A blindfolded man's silhouette.
No name.
No message.
Just the icon.
Every person in the building froze.
Because they all knew what that symbol meant. because there is only one guy with blindfold, famous nowadays.
Someone whispered in terror:
"…It's him."
Another voice followed shakily:
"…The Blind Seer." (that's the name media gave him, but nobody knows anything about him)
And the screen started to glitch.
Astra's eyes narrowed.
Raze's fists tightened.
Everybody in Nexara were watching the screen before them, wondering what was going on.