The hall fell into a deeper silence than before.
It was no longer the ordinary quiet of students listening because they were expected to. This was the kind of silence born from sharpened anticipation. By now the first-year class had already heard ranks ten through six, and that alone had stirred enough surprise, tension, and speculation to keep every mind in Beacon Hall fully awake.
Now only five names remained.
And almost everyone knew that the atmosphere had changed.
Because these were not just excellent students.
These were the monsters of the year.
