The mission board towered over the academy courtyard, its crystal surface flickering as assignments appeared one after another. Teams gathered beneath it, eyes burning with anticipation.
Gold stars gleamed beside elite names.
At the very bottom—
Iron Resolve.
Kael stood with his team as their assignment finalized.
> Mission Rank: Low-Tier
Objective: Subdue rogue Aether beasts near the outer ruins
Penalty for Failure: +2 Black Stars
Taren swallowed hard. "Two… more?"
Mira clicked her tongue. "That's brutal."
Lyra said nothing, her arms folded tightly. Her Aether flickered faintly, betraying her unease.
Captain Aldren stepped forward. "This isn't a test," he said calmly. "Out there, mistakes cost lives. Remember that."
With that, they departed.
---
The Outer Ruins
The ruins lay beyond the academy's safety barrier, broken stone swallowed by creeping vines and mist. The air felt wrong—heavy, distorted, saturated with unstable Aether.
Kael's senses sharpened.
"Something's off," he said quietly.
Lyra glanced at him. "You can feel that?"
"No," Kael replied. "I can see it."
Cracked walls. Disturbed ground. Too quiet.
They advanced carefully.
Then—
A roar shattered the silence.
Three Aether Beasts burst from the mist, bodies twisted with corrupted energy. One lunged straight for Taren.
"Taren!" Kael shouted.
Stone rose—but too slow.
Kael moved.
He tackled Taren aside, claws grazing his shoulder as pain ripped through him. Blood hit the ground.
"Kael!" Mira cried.
Lyra's Aether surged violently.
"No—control it!" Kael shouted through clenched teeth.
Lyra froze.
For a heartbeat, everything teetered on the edge of disaster.
Then she inhaled.
Focused.
Compressed her Aether inward instead of forcing it out.
A narrow beam of condensed energy fired—clean, precise—slamming into the beast's core.
It fell.
Silence followed.
Two beasts remained.
"Formation!" Kael yelled. "Mira—circle! Taren—defensive wall!"
They moved.
Not perfectly.
But together.
Kael baited one beast, using speed and terrain, drawing it into Taren's stone trap. Mira struck from behind, collapsing its spine.
The final beast lunged—
Lyra stepped forward.
Controlled.
Steady.
She released her Aether in layers, binding the creature instead of overpowering it.
Kael leapt.
With all his strength, he drove his blade into its core.
The beast dissolved.
---
Aftermath
Kael collapsed to one knee, blood soaking his sleeve.
They had won.
Barely.
Back at the academy, the results updated.
Iron Resolve:
Black Stars – 6
One black star faded.
Just one.
But it mattered.
Taren stared at the board. "We… reduced it."
Mira smiled tiredly. "So it is possible."
Lyra looked at Kael.
"You trusted me," she said quietly.
Kael nodded. "Because you can do it."
Her heart skipped.
High above, Captain Aldren watched, expression unreadable.
Across the courtyard, Crimson Talon celebrated another gold star.
Rion Valeris glanced toward Iron Resolve.
And for the first time—
He frowned.
Iron Resolve returned battered, exhausted, but standing.
The weakest team had survived its first mission.
And the stars had begun to change.