CHAPTER 45: TRAINING

The training hall remained silent as Lucian sat alone, half-lidded eyes shadowed under drifting bangs. The cold hum of the vents pressed faintly against his ears while the distant sounds of students in neighbouring halls echoed like muffled ripples.

Then the side door slid open again with a quiet hiss.

"Come," Athena’s calm voice drifted in.

Lucian rose slowly, dusting invisible debris from his black coat before slipping his hands into his pockets. He walked with silent steps, each one tapping lightly against the polished floor until he reached the doorway.

Athena was already walking down the dim corridor beyond, her black uniform coat drifting behind her like a trailing shadow. Without a word, Lucian followed.

They walked together in silence through the empty instructor wing, their footsteps echoing softly off the stone walls lined with glowing mana sconces. Outside, early sun filtered through tall windows, lighting the mist into drifting gold ribbons.

Athena didn’t speak until they reached her private office.

She stepped inside, gesturing for him to enter. The heavy oak door clicked shut behind them with a low finality.

The room was lit only by a single blue crystal lamp on her wide blackwood desk. Faint data screens flickered above it, each filled with combat footage, mana analysis, and performance logs. Her black coat whispered softly as she sat down, folding her arms lightly on the desk’s surface. Her sharp violet eyes flickered up to him.

Lucian stood in the center of the room, silent and unblinking. The dim blue light framed his shadow against the polished obsidian floor, his bangs drifting across his half-lidded eyes.

For a long moment, Athena simply watched him. Studied him.

His posture. His breathing. The faint tightness in his shoulder. The new quiet density in his aura. Something about him felt different. Sharper. Calmer.

She exhaled softly, letting the silence settle before speaking.

"You advanced again last night."

It wasn’t a question.

Lucian’s gaze didn’t shift. He just stood there, hands in his pockets, his eyes half-lidded under drifting black hair.

Athena’s eyes narrowed faintly. "Rank D Level 3," she said quietly. "And something else... new."

Her violet gaze flickered across his calm expression, searching for any reaction. There was none.

She leaned back slightly in her chair, her braid drifting over her shoulder as her eyes sharpened.

"Lucian," she said softly, her voice dropping into a quiet stillness that made the mana sconces flicker in the silence, "do you know what Zenith Week truly is?"

He didn’t answer. But his eyes flickered faintly, the shadowed black irises glinting in the dim light.

Athena inhaled softly, tapping her tablet screen. A blue projection flickered to life beside her, showing old footage. Dozens of students in black combat robes knelt across a bloodstained arena, battered and trembling. Towering instructors in white robes stood above them, scanning each one calmly.

"Zenith Week," Athena said softly, her voice calm and cold as a drifting blade, "is where the Academy’s hidden partners place their bets."

Lucian’s gaze narrowed faintly, half-lidded eyes sharpening by a fraction. The flickering screen projected silent names beside each kneeling student – Hunter Guilds, Artifact Houses, Rogue Families, Corporate Syndicates.

"They watch," Athena continued, her voice so quiet it barely carried beyond the blue-lit desk, "and they choose. Who to support. Who to buy. Who to erase."

The footage flickered again, showing students dueling each other in full combat gear, mana blades clashing, lightning tearing through stone walls. The next flick showed a different scene – five students lying motionless in a bloodstained training hall, silent instructors standing over them with calm indifference.

Lucian didn’t flinch. His breathing remained slow. Quiet. His shadow didn’t shift across the polished floor.

Athena lowered her eyes, flicking off the projection. The blue glow vanished, leaving only the quiet hum of the mana sconce between them.

"Class Zero will be a threat to many... an opportunity to others," she whispered. "Especially you."

She raised her gaze, locking onto his half-lidded eyes with quiet steel.

"Lucian... your ability isn’t something the world ignores. Space-Time Manipulation..."

Her voice softened faintly.

"...That is a power entire nations would kill to possess. Or to erase."

Silence.

For a moment, neither spoke. The cold air pressed around them like silent stone.

Then Athena leaned forward slightly, her eyes narrowing into a cold blade’s edge.

"I will ask you something," she said softly, her voice so quiet only he could hear it, "and I want you to answer honestly."

Lucian’s shadow flickered faintly as the mana sconce pulsed with blue light. His half-lidded eyes sharpened, drifting bangs shifting as he tilted his head ever so slightly.

But before she could continue—

A faint chime echoed from her desk. She glanced down, eyes narrowing as a red symbol pulsed across her tablet screen.

[EMERGENCY BRIEFING: ALL INSTRUCTORS – STRATEGY CHAMBER BETA IMMEDIATE ASSEMBLY]

Her jaw tightened.

She exhaled softly, dismissing the notification before rising from her chair. For a moment, she stood across from him in silence, her violet eyes searching his empty half-lidded gaze.

Then she turned away, her black braid drifting across her back as she moved toward the door.

"Return to your dorm," she said quietly, her voice returning to its cold steel calm. "Class Zero will begin pre-Zenith preparations tomorrow."

Lucian didn’t move. He remained standing in the silent office as the door slid open, flooding the dim room with pale corridor light. Athena paused in the doorway, glancing back at him once.

Her eyes flickered with something faint and unreadable before she turned away, the door hissing shut behind her.

The room fell silent.

Lucian closed his eyes, his bangs drifting across his shadowed expression as the faint blue mana sconce flickered against his pale skin. His bloodstained hand twitched lightly at his side before he slipped it back into his pocket.

For a long moment, he stood there alone, listening to the hum of the warded walls and the quiet ringing echo of Athena’s unfinished words in his mind.

Then he turned, walking out into the corridor with silent steps.

—

That afternoon, Class Zero assembled again in Training Hall Zero. The projection panels were replaced with tactical boards flickering with dungeon maps, creature schematics, and raid formations.

Silas sat cross-legged, scratching his chin with a faint grin. Evelyn sat beside Reia, her red eyes narrowed as she flicked through rune formation notes. Reia didn’t speak, her circuits flickering bright gold as she scanned strategy data at rapid speed. Vyn stood near the window, silent as always, her pale grey eyes flicking over the drifting mist outside before returning to the boards.

Lucian sat at the back, elbows resting lightly on his knees, half-lidded eyes unfocused as the hum of the mana vents pressed softly against his ears.

The room buzzed with quiet tension. They all felt it. The coming storm.

f.(r)eewe/bnov\ll.com

Silas cracked his knuckles, grinning wide.

"Zenith Week, huh..." he muttered, his deep voice rumbling across the polished floor. "Let’s show them what monsters really look like."

Reia flicked her golden gaze to him without a word, before returning to her data streams. Evelyn shivered faintly, her flickering lightning orb pulsing brighter in her trembling hands. Vyn remained silent, her grey eyes drifting briefly to Lucian.

He didn’t move.

He just sat there, his shadow stretching long across the polished black stone, drifting bangs shadowing his half-lidded eyes as the quiet hum of the vents pressed against his calm, empty breathing.

And in that silent hall, as the class prepared in quiet anticipation—

Athena’s unfinished question rang faintly in his chest like a silent bell,

A question that would remain unanswered,

Until the world was ready to hear it.