The gate lood like the mouth of so great, patient beast — wide, gilded, yawning open in welco.
Students funneled through it in neat rows, shoulder-to-shoulder. So grinned like lottery winners. Others held their breath like they'd walked into church. Security drones flitted overhead, scanning every face, every ID band, every shift in posture.
Rook Vale walked in the middle of them. Not leading, not lagging. Not special.
But his eyes were watching everything.
The Academy stretched out beyond the gate in gleaming arcs and towers, floating bridges linking glass platforms suspended by humming grav-cores. Digital banners fluttered mid-air above the central plaza — welco ssages, power rankings, promotional footage of smiling heroes in slow-motion combat.
A hologram spun overhead: Zodiac 13 — Earth's Greatest Defenders.
Their crests shimred in a rotating ring. Leo's crest at the top.
Rook didn't look up.
His gaze stayed level. Steady.
He wore the standard cadet uniform — dark gray jacket, red collar, ID cuff glowing faintly at his wrist. His hair was slightly overgrown, intentionally unstyled. Not sloppy, but not polished either. Approachable. Average. Forgettable.
Just the way he wanted it.
A pair of students flanked him on either side in the crowd — one was taller, buzzed hair and square jaw, already barking about how he'd place first in the combat trials. The other, a girl with violet eye mods, fild everything with her wristcam, narrating like she had a livestream going.
No one noticed him.
Until a voice called out from behind.
"Nice jacket. Makes you look like you care."
Rook turned, blinking once.
A lean boy with a ss of black curls and cybernetic goggles jogged up beside him. The goggles shifted every few seconds, lenses rotating and recalibrating.
"Nico Kaan," the boy said, offering a fist. "Tech-track. Dormmate. Hacker of school firewalls. Occasional saboteur."
Rook paused, then bumped knuckles.
"Rook."
Nico tilted his head. "Rook what?"
"That's it."
A beat of silence.
Nico shrugged. "Alright, edge-lord. Mysterious. I respect it."
They walked side by side through the intake plaza.
"First ti in Capital District?" Nico asked, waving to the high towers overhead.
"Yeah."
"It's disgusting," he added cheerfully. "All this polished chro and propaganda. Can't believe they clean the streets with plasma vacs while kids in Zone 9 eat moss off roofs."
Rook didn't answer.
Nico glanced sideways at him. "You're the quiet type, huh?"
"Not always."
"Liar."
The intake briefing took place in Orbital Hall, a massive do suspended over the central platform. Inside, the students sat in curved rows while a projection wall lit up with tilines, hero laws, power classifications.
Rook watched. Listened. Let his eyes drift occasionally, tracking which students shifted during the ethics lecture, which ones whispered nas of famous heroes like prayers, which ones took notes on which Zodiac fought which villain last year.
He morized faces. Voices. Power hints.
A girl two rows down tapped her fingers nervously during the power tier list lecture. Electricity sparked off her knuckles — uncontrolled. Probably mid-D rank. Insecure.
Another near the left aisle kept turning his head like he was trying to look tough. Nervous shoulders. Overcompensating.
One caught his attention for a different reason.
A girl sitting perfectly straight, not flinching, not fidgeting — eyes clear, focused. She wore the uniform like it belonged to her, not the other way around. Her hair was dark auburn, braided into a loose coil. There was a faint scar under her chin, just barely visible.
She wasn't smiling.
Rook watched her for five seconds too long.
Then turned back to the screen.
Her na would co later.
No need to learn it now.
After the orientation, students were led through the Hall of Crests — a corridor lined with murals and digital panels showing every major ranked hero, from past legends to current Zodiac icons.
Their faces glead from the screens.
Poses. Quotes. Stats.
"Liberty is a choice we fight to protect."
"Strength is nothing without sacrifice."
"Hope must be earned."
Rook walked past them all.
Each step was smooth. Relaxed.
His expression calm.
But inside, sothing twisted.
He knew these faces. Not from posters. Not from news feeds.
He knew them from behind visors.
From the crack in the closet door.
From the mont the plasma shot cracked through his father's skull.
One mural made his steps slow, just slightly.
Leo – Captain Virex
"Leader. Shield of Earth. First to rise. Last to fall."
The smile in the image was perfect.
Teeth white. Eyes bright. Shoulder squared.
Rook blinked once. Moved on.
The dorm assignnts ca next — digital chis in every wristband.
Room 103, Sector 4.
Rook walked the curved hallway with Nico trailing behind, already pulling tools out of his backpack to hack the room temperature settings.
When they stepped inside, Nico whistled.
Two bunks. Two desks. Neutral walls. Reinforced windows. A compact power core in the corner that humd like a sleeping dragon.
"Nice. Private washroom too. You rich or sothing?" Nico asked.
Rook dropped his bag on the lower bunk and sat.
"No."
"Just lucky, huh?"
A faint smile. "You could say that."
Nico grinned and pulled open a drawer. "I'm gonna load the sim network later. You wanna test your combat track latency tonight?"
"Maybe."
"Cool. You don't talk much, do you?"
"No."
"Cool."
That night, while Nico slept — goggles off, snoring with his mouth open — Rook sat by the window, staring at the Hero Tower in the distance.
The structure rose like a blade, its surface alive with pulsing light.
Each floor held departnts. Surveillance wings. Mission hubs.
Zodiac headquarters.
He stared for a long ti.
Didn't move.
Didn't blink.
His wristband buzzed softly.
An announcent flickered onto the screen.
Top 10 Entry Trial Rankings Released – See Your Placent Now
Rook tapped the alert.
His na appeared third.
He smiled.
A quiet, empty smile that never touched his eyes.
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