Morning at the academy didn't feel like morning.
There was no sunrise, no birds, and no warmth. Just artificial lights flickering on in perfect unison, announcing another controlled day. A mechanical voice echoed through the corridors, ordering all first-year assets to report to their assigned basic classes.
I walked in silence.
For the first time since our separation, luck, or something pretending to be it, favored me.
Kazim. Aira. Ren. All in the same class.
We didn't smile. Smiling felt wrong here. But the tension in my chest eased slightly as I took my seat beside them. Familiar faces mattered more than comfort now.
The classroom was wide and reinforced, with walls etched with glowing runes and embedded tech. At the center stood an instructor in a black-and-gray uniform, his presence heavy enough to quiet the room without words.
"Power Classification 101," he began. "If you're here, you've awakened. That doesn't make you strong. It makes you useful."
A holographic display lit up behind him.
Fire. Nature. Tech. Sound. Metal. Light.
Each category flashed with examples of controlled flames, accelerated plant growth, and machines responding to thought.
Aira swallowed hard when Fire appeared.
Ren leaned forward at Nature.
Kazim's eyes sharpened at Tech.
Then the display paused.
"And then," the instructor said, "there are anomalies."
The screen shifted. Black.
No uniform power found. Some wield space. Some touch time. The Black, share no single feature except one.
All previous Blacks died during transportation to the academies.
"Unknown," he continued. "Rare. Unstable. Unpredictable."
I felt eyes turn toward me. I kept my face still. "I recommend those with Black abilities do not use their power until we find a way to keep you alive," the instructor said calmly.
Kazim's hand tightened into a fist.
During the assessment, the truth became unavoidable. Kazim could interface with dormant tech, but only briefly. Aira's fire sparked barely larger than a candle flame. Ren coaxed a thin vine from the floor before collapsing in exhaustion.
Power Level: 4 / 100. Barely awakened. Barely alive.
Before dismissing us, the professor explained the academies' specializations, their distance, and how they were positioned across the country.
Five academies. Five points.
Connected like a pentagon across the map.
That scared me more than the numbers.
I told them the truth as soon as we were alone.
"My sister is alive."
They stopped walking.
"She's in Academy 3," I continued. "I need to see her."
Kazim stared at me. "We saw the lists."
"She wasn't on them," I said. "I'm sure."
Ren hesitated. "Why would they separate siblings?"
Because separation makes control easier, I thought but didn't say.
It was Aira who spoke next, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I heard something."
Rumors moved faster than official reports. Whispers were traded in training yards and mess halls.
"A summoner," she said. "A Clyn."
My blood ran cold.
"A girl who can call creatures from the other side. Not portal beings. Half-controlled. Half-wild."
Kazim looked uneasy. "That's… classified as high-threat."
"They say she lost control once," Aira added. "An entire unit was wiped before they suppressed it."
I already knew the answer.
"She might be in danger," I said.
The word "dangerous" echoed in my head.
Not because of what she could do.
Because of what would happen to her.
Academy 3 specialized in weaponization. Everyone knew that.
The assets sent there weren't trained to survive.
They were trained to obey.
I couldn't breathe properly after that thought settled in.
If the rumors were true, if a Clyn had really appeared inside Academy 3, then she wouldn't be treated as a person. She'd be isolated, studied, and pushed until something broke. Either her control… or her mind.
"How do you know it's her?" Ren asked quietly.
I hesitated.
"I don't," I said. "Not completely."
Kazim frowned. "Then what makes you so sure?"
I reached into my jacket and pulled out something I hadn't shown anyone yet.
A thin, cracked communicator tag. Old. Civilian-grade.
"I found this during intake," I said. "It was slipped into my bag before separation. No name. No return code."
Aira leaned closer. "So how does this connect to your sister?"
I pressed the activation node.
The device flickered weakly, projecting a fragment of corrupted data. Audio. Barely a few seconds long.
Static hissed.
Then a voice.
Soft. Strained.
"...don't let them make me summon again …"
The recording cut.
My hands were shaking.
"That's her," I said. "She used to hum before speaking when she was scared. She still does."
Silence crashed down around us.
Kazim slowly exhaled. "If that message made it here, it means internal leaks exist between academies."
"Or surveillance gaps," Ren added.
Aira looked sick. "Or they want you to hear it."
That thought was worse than the others.
"If they know she's connected to me."
"They'll use her," Kazim finished.
Not as leverage.
As bait.
I clenched my fists. The Black inside me stirred quietly, watching, waiting. I forced it down.
"We don't move blindly," Kazim said, already thinking. "Academy 3 is three hundred
kilometers away. Direct transport is impossible for us."
"But supply routes aren't," Ren said.
"And training rotations," Aira added. "They move instructors, equipment, and sometimes assets."
I looked at them.
Despite our low power levels.
Despite the risk.
They were already with me.
"We gather information first," Kazim said. "Schedules. Routes. Security logic."
"No powers," Aira said firmly, glancing at me.
I nodded. "Not yet."
This wasn't an escape. It was reconnaissance.
And if I was right
My sister wasn't just in danger. She was running out of time