A few hours earlier, after the simulation ended...
While most students lingered in the academy’s simulation wing—chatting, stretching, or comparing bruises, Sera Valcrest walked calmly through the side hallway toward the front gate.
The simulation had ended only fifteen minutes ago.
Ethan and the Moonshade twins had stayed behind to eat and chat. Sera had seen them take the long route toward the cafeteria. That was fine. Expected, even.
But she didn’t feel like staying.
Her steps were quiet, but they didn’t rush. Her bag hung evenly on one shoulder, and her uniform was still neat, not a single wrinkle out of place.
Beside her, i Ren walked with her hands in her pockets, expression unreadable as always.
They didn’t speak until they reached the front of the school.
Outside, the street was calm. Most of the student traffic had faded by now. A few vehicles hovered in slow traffic near the outer gate, and a light breeze tugged at the loose ends of Sera’s skirt.
Four sleek black vehicles hovered silently in the private pickup zone just across the walkway.
Their surface shimred faintly under the evening light, they were not cars or public transport.
These belonged to the Valcrest family.
Or rather, her brother.
Sera approached without hesitation. One of the rear vehicles opened automatically, and a tall woman in a dark suit stepped out.
Her suit had silver trim along the cuffs and a crescent-shaped pin on her collar.
Her presence was sharp. Refined. Dangerous in a quiet way.
She bowed slightly as Sera approached.
"Young Mistress."
Sera gave a soft nod. "Is my brother ho?"
The woman didn’t hesitate. "No, ma’am. He’s currently at the Superpower Association headquarters. A scheduled eting was called earlier this afternoon."
Sera’s shoulders eased slightly.
That made sense.
She exhaled gently, then turned toward the lead vehicle. "Reroute."
The woman raised an eyebrow but didn’t object. "To HQ?"
"Yes."
The woman glanced at i Ren. Her gaze lingered for just a second.
Then she nodded once, understanding.
"Understood."
The back door opened with a soft hiss.
Sera slid in first, settling into the cool leather seat without needing direction. i followed, quieter now, and took the opposite seat.
As the doors shut, the driver tapped the console. The convoy lifted into the air and began its steady arc toward the city’s northern sector.
Inside the car, the silence stretched for a while.
Outside, the lights of the city slowly passed by below.
Sera didn’t look out the window.
She kept her gaze on i.
Then, finally, she spoke.
"So."
i glanced at her. "So?"
"You’re one of HQ’s prodigies. Ranked, trained, and cleared for black missions."
"True."
"Then what are you doing here? At our school? Shadowing a student who isn’t even a threat."
i didn’t answer right away. Her gaze flicked to the tinted glass, watching buildings pass beneath them.
"You’re not wrong," she said. "Ethan doesn’t act like a threat. But that’s why I’m here."
Sera raised an eyebrow. "Explain."
i sat back, her voice casual—but it didn’t feel careless.
"After the Lucas incident... the Association ran projections. The kid didn’t just beat him. He exposed system flaws."
Sera stayed quiet.
"Lucas wasn’t weak," i continued. "Stupid, yes. Arrogant, definitely. But weak? No, I an his strength can be weak, but his superpower is not, and he’s trained in advanced techniques."
Sera nodded slightly. "And yet Ethan broke him without touching him."
"Exactly."
Another pause.
Sera leaned forward a little, her voice lower now. "And what’s your real directive? Observation? Containnt?"
"Observation only," i said. "I’m not here to interfere, just to record anything abnormal."
Sera tilted her head. "And if sothing abnormal happens?"
i t her eyes. "Then I report it. Nothing else. I’m not strong enough to contain Ethan, and HQ knows that."
That answer made Sera pause.
It was honest.
Too honest, maybe.
"Do you think he’s dangerous?" she asked.
i hesitated.
Then shook her head.
"No. Not yet. But he can be. And it’s not just about strength. It’s about... presence."
Sera blinked.
"Presence?"
"You felt it," i said softly. "In the simulation. He doesn’t take the lead. He doesn’t bark orders. But when he moves, you follow. When he speaks, you listen."
Sera’s eyes narrowed faintly. "That’s not a threat. That’s charisma."
"It’s the start of sothing," i said. "It’s how leaders begin. How people like him end up surrounded by power without even asking for it."
Sera didn’t answer.
Because deep down, she agreed.
She’d watched Ethan in class for weeks. Quiet. Calm. Never seeking attention.
But sohow, the air shifted when he stood up. People noticed him, without understanding why.
And it was spreading.
Not just with the twins.
With others, too.
Even i.
Sera watched her carefully now. "So what’s the next step?"
i shrugged. "I stay close. I monitor."
"And if I tell you to back off?"
i tilted her head. "Are you asking as his classmate? Or as the sister of the Association’s President?"
Sera didn’t answer.
i gave a small smile. "I thought so."
The car glided over the edge of the inner city, heading toward the upper tier where the HQ tower stood.
Sera turned to the window now, watching as the massive structure ca into view.
A clean, spiraling tower of white alloy and tinted glass.
No markings.
No logos.
But everyone knew what it was.
The center of global superpower oversight.
The Superpower Association HQ.
The car slowed as it approached the main landing pad.
Below, black-suited operatives moved across the marble tiles—quiet, efficient, heavily ard.
Sera didn’t flinch.
She had been here many tis.
But this ti felt different.
The mont the car touched down, the lead agent outside stepped forward and opened the door.
"Welco, Young Mistress Valcrest."
Sera stepped out without a word.
i followed, quieter now.
The guards didn’t question her presence.
They recognized her face. Her rank.
The two girls walked side by side toward the entry doors.
They slid open with a quiet pulse of light.
Inside, the air was cooler and cleaner. The sll of steel and light disinfectant lingered in the halls.
The receptionist barely looked up.
"Level 7," the woman said automatically. "President Valcrest is still in conference."
Sera nodded once and made her way to the elevator.
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