The common room hummed softly, the faint glow of enchanted lamps tracing the curves of the walls. Annaya settled onto a low bench, pulling her pendant between her fingers, while Vesper lingered near the hearth, staring into the fire that seemed to shift with her thoughts. Kaelen dropped onto a chair, letting the faint pulse of music in the rug sync with his heartbeat, and Lyra traced her fingers along a shelf that whispered in response. Dorian leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, eyes scanning everything and nothing at once, while Chinue's steady presence radiated a quiet calm. Seraphine, perched near a window, watched them all with the faintest arch of an eyebrow, her gaze sharp, unreadable. Words were sparse, a tentative laughter here, a small question there, yet beneath the surface, currents of curiosity, pain, and cautious hope threaded between them, seven strangers, each bruised by their past, beginning to recognise the fragile weight of shared existence.
Annaya folded her hands on her knees. "So… is everyone else still trying to figure out what exactly just happened ?"
Kaelen gave a dry laugh. "You mean the part where a school breathes and walls hum like speakers? Yeah, still processing."
Lyra looked at the stained glass above the fire. "It feels like a dream that doesn't end when you wake up."
Dorian muttered, "Or a trap you can't walk out of."
Seraphine, who'd been silent by the mantelpiece, finally spoke, her voice steady, almost too calm. "It's neither. You've entered a place that doesn't belong to the world you knew. Obscura isn't built to trap or to comfort. It reveals something so deep inside you already got all along, that's why itchhose yo. u
Vesper frowned. "Reveals what, exactly?"
She met his gaze, eyes like winter light. "Whatever you've been chiding evenm from yourself."
The fire hissed softly, and no one spoke for a moment. Even Kaelen's usual smirk faltered.
Annaya exhaled. "You sound like you've done this before."
"I was born into it," Seraphine said simply. "But even for me… the Academy changes its reflection every year."
Her words hung in the air, part warning, part confession. The silence that followed wasn't uneasy anymore. It was charged, heavy with a strange sense of belonging they couldn't name yet.
"So if it's just part of us, then we'll find it he. I think that's what you mean. Before we go ahead, I think introductions are in order. I am Vesper Ash, an orphan from England," said Vesper.
Annaya tucked a loose strand behind her ear and smiled softly. Annaya Frost, from Lahore, Pakistan. Just someone who believed the world was bigger than the walls around her. I guess I came here to see if that's true."
Kaelen leaned back in his chair, a tired grin playing on his lips. "Kaelen Dray. Seoul, South Korea. Used to be an idol until I wasn't. Life dropped the curtain too soon, so maybe this is my encore."
Lyra's gaze lingered on the glowing runes in the fireplace. "Lyra Solen. Milan, Italy. My family loves appearances, not people. I used to dream of disappearing… and I think Obscura heard me."
Chinue's deep voice filled the silence, low and deliberate. "Chinue Kael, Lagos, Nigeria. I remember stories others forget. Maybe that's why I'm here to remember what the world chose to forget."
Dorian shifted, his tone quiet but edged. "Dorian Vale. South Dakota, USA. I've seen too much fear to think it's an enemy anymore. It's just… a language I understand."
All eyes turned to Seraphine last. She didn't move, didn't need to. The firelight caught her white-gold hair, casting it in muted gold. "Seraphine Noir. Paris, France. My family served the Society and had a long history. You'll learn soon enough, truth isn't light or dark, so are we ."
The clock chimed once slow, deliberate. For a heartbeat, no one spoke. The seven of them sat there, stitched together by accident, prophecy, or something older. Whatever it was, Obscura had already chosen. Everyone left common room one by one .Just like that they become the part of the legacy they own.