Morning bells echoed through Astraeon Academy.
Deep. Heavy. Important.
Students moved fast through the halls—uniforms clean, posture straight, voices low.
Ranks mattered here.
Status mattered here.
And everyone knew exactly where everyone stood
Trey groaned, dragging himself out of bed.
Hair messy. Shirt halfway on.
"…Man, they couldn't give us one more day?"
Roach was already up—barely.
"…If I die today, tell them I tried."
Trey blinked.
"…You not even dressed."
Roach looked down.
"…That explains a lot."
Trey laughed.
"…Yeah, bro, go put some pants on before you get expelled."
Across the room—
Lucien was already ready.
Perfect posture.
Perfect uniform.
"…You two are embarrassing."
Trey pointed at him.
"…You woke up like that, didn't you?"
Lucien didn't answer.
Smoke stood by the window.
Watching the academy grounds.
"…You're all loud," he muttered.
Trey smirked.
"…You're all boring."
Roach laughed.
"…Yeah, I'm with Trey on that."
Mia stood ready.
Uniform flawless.
Hair perfect.
Across the room—
Momo and Koko were still in bed.
"…We're not going."
"…We already passed."
Mia stared at them.
"…You're ranked third and fourth."
"…Exactly."
Mia exhaled slowly.
"…Unbelievable."
But as she turned to leave—
She paused.
"…Trey…"
A brief thought.
Then she walked out.
The hall was massive.
Floating zodiac symbols glowed overhead.
Students stood in rows—grouped by rank.
Top ranks in front.
Lower ranks in the back.
And Aries?
At the very edge.
Trey looked around.
"…Yeah, they got us in the corner like we contagious."
Roach snorted.
"…We might be."
A teacher walked past them.
Paused.
Looked Trey up and down.
"…Try not to embarrass the academy."
Trey smiled.
"…No promises, but I'll make it entertaining."
Roach covered his mouth, laughing.
Instructor: Professor Valen (Virgo)
The room was clean. Organized. Perfect.
"…Combat is precision."
He wrote symbols in the air.
"…Power without control is failure."
His eyes landed on Trey.
"…Some of you are examples of that failure."
A few students laughed quietly.
Trey raised his hand.
"…Quick question."
Valen didn't respond.
Trey kept going anyway.
"…If I win fights, am I still a failure or like… a successful mistake?"
The room went silent.
Roach choked trying not to laugh.
Valen's expression tightened.
"…You rely on chaos."
Trey nodded.
"…Yeah. It works though."
More laughter.
Valen turned away sharply.
"…We'll see how long that lasts."
Pair up."
Students moved quickly.
Trey stood still.
No one stepped forward.
Silence.
"…Damn," Trey said.
"…I thought I was popular."
Roach walked over.
"…I got you."
Trey blinked.
"…You sure? I might accidentally cook you."
Roach grinned.
"…I'll risk it."
Instead of sparring each other—
They were assigned reinforced dummies.
"Begin."
Roach charged first.
🌿
His stone gauntlet smashed forward—
Cracking the dummy.
"…YEAH—okay that felt good."
Trey stepped up beside him.
"…Alright, let me not show off too much…"
🔥
Fire ignited in his hand.
Clean.
Controlled.
He flicked it forward—
A sharp burst—
The dummy's upper half exploded clean off.
Silence.
Roach blinked.
"…You said NOT show off??"
Trey shrugged.
"…That was like 30%."
Roach stared.
"…I hate you."
Trey grinned.
"…You love me."
Across the room—
Mia watched.
Carefully.
Trey wasn't wild.
He wasn't reckless.
He was—
Controlled.
And joking.
Like nothing bothered him.
"…He's strange…" she thought.
But her eyes didn't leave him.
Instructor: Professor Kaelis (Libra)
"…Balance determines survival."
He glanced at Trey.
"…Some of you disrupt that balance."
Trey leaned back.
"…Man, y'all got a group chat about me or something?"
Roach laughed out loud.
"…Nah for real, they teaming up."
Kaelis ignored them.
"…Disruption leads to elimination."
Trey smirked.
"…Good thing I'm hard to get rid of."
Instructor: Headmaster Orion
The room went completely silent.
"…Control your power."
"…Or it will control you."
His gaze locked onto Trey.
"…Step forward."
Trey walked up slowly.
"…Man, I'm getting tired of being the example."
Roach whispered behind him—
"…You doing great though."
Trey grinned slightly.
He raised his hand.
🔥
Flame ignited.
Perfect.
Still.
Controlled.
No shaking.
No chaos.
The room went quiet.
Valen frowned slightly.
"…Hmph."
Trey smiled.
"…Yeah, I know. I look good doing it."
Roach laughed.
"…He really do."
Orion stepped closer.
"…Expand it."
Trey nodded.
"…Say less."
🔥🔥
The flame grew—
Then shaped—
A rotating ring.
Smooth.
Clean.
Lucien narrowed his eyes.
"…That's precise…"
Trey glanced at him.
"…Don't sound so shocked."
For a split second—
One flame flickered.
Black.
Gone.
Trey felt it.
But kept smiling.
"…We not doing that today."
Orion turned away.
"…You have control."
A pause.
"…But something is wrong."
Silence.
Trey scratched his head.
"…Wrong like dangerous or wrong like I need tutoring?"
No answer.
Orion walked away.
"…You'll learn."
Trey sighed.
"…That's never a good sentence."
Students left the halls.
Whispers followed Trey again—
"…He's not weak…"
"…Why is he Aries…?"
Trey walked beside Roach.
"…So we best friends now or what?"
Roach grinned.
"…Yeah. You stuck with me."
Trey nodded.
"…That's unfortunate for both of us."
They both laughed.
Across the hall—
Mia watched them.
Quiet.
Thinking.
"…He doesn't act like the others…"
She turned away.
But her interest stayed.
Night fell.
Deep in the shadows of the academy—
A cloaked figure slipped through unseen paths.
Silent.
Watching.
"…The forbidden one…"
A blade formed in their hand.
"…I've found you."
They vanished into the darkness.