The notice appeared before noon.
HARMONIC EVALUATION, MANDATORY FOR SECOND DIVISION — ALL CADETS PRESENT AT THE CHAPEL.
No explanation, just bold letters on the notice board.
Wanuy stared at the notice for a long moment. "That's out of the blue.."
Flint read it once, then again. "They're calling it an evaluation instead of an inspection."
"Same thing" Sierra muttered. "Just sounds formal and institutionalised."
Arata said nothing. He understood what that was for. it had happened.
Lyra passed him in the corridor shortly after, her expression neutral, her pace unchanged. She did not look at him. But as she drew level, her voice reached him it was low and controlled.
"Remember what I said." Then she was gone.
Later, in the Harmonic Labs, Lyra stood before a wall of resonance charts. Her tone was calm, her eyes calculating. A professor at heart.
"The Flame leaves scars" she said, voice echoing across the sterile chamber. "The stronger the bond, the deeper the mark."
She touched a rune and the wall lit up with flowing lines of colour there was one waveform corresponding to a cadet's blood signature.
Some were smooth and rhythmic. Others jagged.
"This" she said, pointing to the stable curve, "is Cadet Nebula's. It's harmonic perfection.
This…" she gestured to a sharp, frantic waveform "…was Cadet Flora."
Lyra changed the projection before anyone could breathe too loudly. "And this.." she said finally, highlighting a violently shifting pattern. "Cadet Arata. He does not even try to resonate with the Fame's rhythm."
The graph bent and convulsed like a living thing. Arata said nothing. Inside, that same pulse had haunted him since the tunnels flickered once, like a whisper catching its breath.
At that point, someone came in the Lab. It was a priest, "Wanuy is called for Harmonic Evaluation y the command of the Tribunal."
Wanuy blinked once. "Now?"
The priest nodded. "Immediately."
Lyra's hand paused over the console. Just for a fraction of a second, long enough for Arata to notice.
Wanuy looked between them, confusion flickering across his face. "Is something wrong?"
"No" Arata and Lyra said at once.
Wanuy straightened his uniform and forced a smile. "Guess I'll see you after, then."
Arata met his eyes.
Wanuy hesitated. "You're staring like I'm being marched to an execution."Wanuy laughed once, short and awkward, then followed the priest out of the lab.
...
Wanuy wasn't taken to a chamber. It was an open space outside of academy gates, in the valley. It was a small room carved out of stone.
He was not restrained, neither contained. There were no guards present. Only a shallow ring etched into the floor and a low stone bench at its centre.
"Sit" the priest said.
The door sealed behind him with a sound too soft to be final. Moments passed , eyes adjusted to the dim light of veins. The light wasn't bright, but it was clear.
Figures emerged along the outer wall, five this time. Robes dark, masks smooth and reflective, each surface catching Wanuy's own image and bending it slightly out of shape.
A voice spoke from the left. "State your name."
"Wanuy" he said. "Second Division cadet."
"Do you consent to evaluation?"
Wanuy hesitated. "Yes."
"Good" the voice replied.
A thin crystal rod descended from the ceiling, stopping just above his sternum. It hummed softly, matching his pulse.
"Breathe."
Wanuy did. The hum steadied matching his heartbeat.
Another voice spoke. "Tell us what you felt during the chapel demonstration."
Wanuy frowned. "Felt?"
"Yes."
"I—nothing unusual. Awe, I suppose."
The rod hummed louder.
"Clarify." the priest in front of him instructed.
"Just fascination with what nebula was able to do.." He swallowed. "It was intense."
The rod dipped closer.
"Who were you seated beside?"one of the five hooded men asked.
"Arata."
The name echoed faintly, refracted by the chamber. "What do you think he felt...?"
Wanuy stiffened. "I don't know."
The hum in the rod wavered. "Guess.."
"I won't" Wanuy said quietly.
There was silence in the room. the five hooded men were evaluating Wanuy's responses.
Another voice spoke, closer now. "When Cadet Nebula harmonised the space, the rhythm of those within it aligned. When one does not align, the rhythm surrounding him or her adjusts. Did you feel that adjustment?"
Wanuy's throat tightened.
"Yes," he admitted. "It felt… empty. Like a note missing from an otherwise perfect beat."
The rod vibrated sharply. Wanuy's breathing quickened.
"Absence of a note..." another voice said "Absence is not possible, it is always ignorance"
The rod brushed his chest.
"Do you doubt the Flame?"
"No" Wanuy said quickly. "I...I trust it."
"Trust" the voice replied, "is passive. Faith is active."
After a moment of silence, after which the priest sat in front of Wanuy said softly "That will be all."
Wanuy exhaled sharply, shoulders sagging.
"You are misaligned" the voice said.
"What does that mean?" Wanuy asked.
"It means you have heard a deviation and remembered it."
The words chilled him.
"Reaffirmation will correct this" the voice continued. "Your schedule has been adjusted."
The light dimmed. The figures dissolved.
The door opened o reveal sunlight. Wanuy got up, hands still trembling from stress.
...
Meanwhile at the lab, time passed differently.
Minutes stretched. The lab's hum became unbearable. Every flicker of light felt like scrutiny.
Arata's palm tingled beneath the bandages it was not pain, not heat, just awareness. The doors finally opened. Wanuy stepped back into the chamber.
His face was pale. Not shaken but controlled... it was too controlled.
"What happened there?" Arata asked Wanuy as he came and st next to him.
"They kept asking questions" Wanuy continued. "Not about the chapel. About feelings. About doubt. About whether I'd noticed anything… off."
"They said I was misaligned" Wanuy finished. "Just slightly. Scheduled me for reaffirmation rites tomorrow."
Arata felt something cold settle in his gut.
Reaffirmation wasn't supposed to be punishment. It was correction.
Lyra closed the projection with a sharp gesture. "You're dismissed for the day, Wanuy."
Wanuy nodded, already turning away. "Yeah. Sure."