For a few moments, no one could say anything.

  In front of them stood Lucius the Praised, a legend in the making, adorned with robes and jewellery that made his authority, his presence, simply undeniable. He was nerve-racking.

  Behind them stood his cousin, the Phoenix Avatar, Arthur Ren, with a radiance that surpassed anything anyone had ever seen.

  Together, both presences instilled something that Starless had never felt before.

  Inferiority.

  Were they not Synchrites? People with supposed extraordinary abilities?

  ...So why did they feel so insignificant standing next to them?

  More Starless filed out of the building, stopping short at the sight of the two figures standing on opposite sides of the group. Ester could hear their murmurs.

  “Is that..?” one whispered.

  “That hair...and the veil?” another stammered. “It has to be…”

  “Look at the taller one… is he shining?”

  Between Lucius’s indifferent attitude and Arthur’s occasional glances toward the crowd, Markos managed to regain control of the gathering. He stretched a hand out against the wave of noise, then turned his fingers, freezing in a snapping motion. The memory of the horrible noise he had made before caused them all to wince.

  He waited a few seconds before lowering his hand.

  “...Right,” he said with a smile. “I don’t have to remind you how important this event will be for all of you. So please remember the etiquette we’ve taught you.”

  Ester briefly remembered what he meant. The arm placement when standing in the Arcon’s presence. Even the song they were supposed to sing. The instructors had made sure they all knew exactly what they were doing. However. Ester couldn’t fignt the feeling that everything was so rushed.

  “Does anyone have any questions before we go?” Markos asked, staring at the wide eyed children.

  Silence fell over them like a suffocating blanket.

  It seemed impossible for anyone to speak.

  Yet one boy proudly raised his hand.

  “I do, Instructor!” Ezekiel called, his voice brimming with confidence, startling everyone.

  “Oh?” Markos cocked his head.

  Ezekiel turned toward Lucius, his hands clenched into fists.

  “...Can I fight him?”

  Ester turned to him, her eyes wide with disbelief.

  Surely...he was joking?

  No...his face showed no sign of humour. Even when the others broke out into snickers, even when Arthur gave him the most surprised look, he remained composed. There was a look about him, as if his mind had already been made up about something...something personal.

  Saphy and Kris both moved swiftly to apprehend him.

  “Is that bandage too tight on your head?!” Kris hissed, wrestling him. “What’s wrong with you?!”

  “N-nothing?! I just wanted to see how strong he is!” Zeek protested between gasps. “What’s wrong with that?!”

  Saphy clamped a hand over his mouth, causing him to protest even more. She turned to Markos, then Lucius.

  “S-sorry about him...he had a nasty accident, so he isn’t thinking properly!” She tried to laugh, but it came out shrill and short.

  Lucius simply watched.

  The struggle. The noise.

  His face gave nothing away.

  “...Are you strong?” he said quietly.

  Kris, Saphy and Ezekiel all froze, turning toward him. Even the snickers slowly died down.

  “Huh?” Ezekiel blinked.

  “Are you strong?” Lucius repeated, louder this time, and edge of irritation creeping into his voice. “Isn’t that why you’d want to fight me?”

  “...Y-yeah! I’m super strong!” Ezekiel blurted, still pinned beneath Kris and Saphy. “I can show you-”

  “Hahh… no, you aren’t.”

  Lucius’s gaze drifted from Ezekiel to the crowd.

  “None of you are.”

  The words landed hard, reinforcing the thoughts they had shared earlier.

  Winces. Subtle shifts in posture.

  No one could argue with him. Not even Ezekiel. As much as he tried, his bravado flickered like a flame in the wind.

  “...What he means to say,” Markos interjected, shooting him a look, “is that right now, you are all flowers yet to bloom.”

  He gestured toward the group.

  “Each one of you has something that no one else does. A strength, a skill...a weakness. Something truly unique. And that is what will make your bloom beautiful.”

  He paused.

  “What stands between you and that bloom...is yourself.”

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  He gestured toward the quiet Arthur in front of him.

  “Even someone blessed with an extraordinary gift still has to learn how to wield it. And that is why he is here.”

  Arthur looked down at his feet.

  This struck Ester for some reason. This boy who looked as though heaven itself had blessed him since birth, like hardship had never once touched him, stood there awkwardly.

  It irked her terribly.

  The holier someone appeared, the more darkness they hid.

  It made her want to throw up.

  “The difference between you and them,” Markos continued, his eye sweeping across the crowd, “and even me… is what you do with your potential.”

  He gestured at Lucius.

  “Lucius of Leria was blind and deaf by the age of nine and now, he’s revered as someone special. Why?”

  “Because he played the hand he was given. Arthur...”

  Markos paused, glancing at Arthur who suddenly looked melancholy. “...What i’m trying to say is.”

  He looked back at the group.

  “What will you do with yours?”

  Instructor Markos was incredible. Charismatic in a way that made you feel both called out and lifted up at the same time.

  Ester found herself wondering, quietly, what he had to overcome to speak like that.

  Just who was the One eyed King?

  She made a mental note to find out more about him.

  He looked back at Ezekiel and sighed.

  “You can challenge him after the Banquet...that is if he accepts.”

  Ezekiel’s eyes lit up immediately.

  Lucius scoffed, muttering something about how foolish something was, when suddenly he froze.

  His head turned toward the entrance of the Starless building.

  Arthur did the same half a second later, something unreadable crossing his face.

  “Heh.”

  Lucius smiled slowly, fascinated.

  “Creepy…”

  Geire staggered out.

  His wild white hair was matted against his skull, greasy and strange, like pale legs splayed across a sunken face.

  He wore a suit that was completely black. It looked too large. Too...wrong on him.

  It hung awkwardly on his thin frame in a way that was hard to pinpoint.

  He shuffled forward with his eyes fixed on the ground. He glanced up, then down again, then up once more, startled to find so many hushed eyes staring at him.

  “Geire,” Markos said warmly. “You look sharp!”

  Geire’s manic eyes swept across the crowd. He gave a slow nod, fumbling with his arms as he tried to disappear toward the back of the group.

  Saphy and Ester watched him with visible unease.

  Arthur watched him with something quieter and harder to name.

  Something close to disgust.

  Lucius simply unfolded his arms slowly, leaning back slightly as he observed.

  “What’s he doing?” Saphy muttered to Ester as she watched Lucius.

  “He sees something in him.” A warped voice answered, causing them all to jump.

  Se’raf stood beside Ester as if appearing out of nowhere.

  “Stars…” Ester muttered in shaky annoyance. “Don’t do that!”

  “Why?”

  “...Because..!”

  Ester sighed heavily.

  She had wanted to talk to Se’raf more, but their personality made it impossible. It was like trying to hold grains of sand in your palm.

  Their expression almost never changed, and the mask they always wore added another layer of intimidation.

  How long Se’raf had been standing beside her?

  “Se’raf, right?” Saphy said brightly. “I remember you were on Ester’s team during yesterday’s morning exercise...It’s nice to meet you!”

  Se’raf just looked at her with emotionless eyes.

  There was no hostility in them.

  Yet it felt as if they were dissecting her, studying what kind of person she was.

  Even Saphy faltered.

  Ester apologised on Se’raf’s behalf.

  “So...what did you mean by that?” Ester asked. “What does he see in him?”

  Se’raf glanced at her.

  “By now you should know that Geire is not normal, right?”

  Ezekiel snorted whilst Saphy grimaced. Ester nodded grimly.

  She remembered what Saphy had told her after helping him during the exercises. The way he had acted when Saphy left him. How he had been willing to kill Ester simply because she stood close to her.

  She had not forgiven it.

  Nor forgotten.

  But there was nothing she could do.

  He was a psychopath with extraordinary abilities.

  A disaster waiting to happen.

  “Even though Synchrites tend to have their own mental troubles…” Kris muttered, “Geire seems to unstable. I wonder if there’s any correlation…”

  It was then Ester noticed that Kris and Se’raf wore similar outfits.

  Saphy and Ezekiel noticed it too. Their silent demeanours. Their similar heights.

  They even shared similar mannerisms.

  They exchanged a quiet laugh when they both realised it.

  “...Why would they allow him into the HoS?” Ester whispered. “If he’s so dangerous?”

  Se’raf turned toward her.

  Ester could’ve sworn she felt them smiling behind the mask.

  They held up one finger.

  “One, potential,” they said. “Like Markos said, the HoS values potential above everything else. It makes them look better.”

  A second finger rose.

  “Two, someone may have though it funny.”

  Se’raf paused.

  “Sound familiar?”

  Ester’s heart sank.

  Her cheeks flushed as she felt the others staring at her, though she didn’t dare meet their eyes.

  Se’raf waited a moment, the same amused expression lingering in their posture, as if enjoying Ester’s discomfort.

  Only when Markos clapped his hands did Se’raf finally turn away.

  “...Right!” Markos said. “If we don’t get going now, we’ll be late.”

  He smiled.

  “Luckily, we will be entering the Banquet in groups.”

  His eye flickered toward Lucius, who was no staring up at the night sky like a statue.

  “...Regardless of exploits or status,” Markos continued, “you are all still Starless, the lowest rank of Synchrite.”

  “Remember that.”

  Lucius continued staring upward as if he hadn’t heard.

  Arthur, however, seemed to understand Markos’s intention. He nodded quietly.

  Markos turned and began descending the stone steps.

  The Starless followed.

  Arthur bowed politely to Markos before jogging toward Lucius who still wasn’t moving.

  Disappointed murmurs echoed from the crowd.

  It seemed that many many people wanted to approach Arthur.

  But with Lucius beside him, no one dared.

  Ester watched as they trudged along, trying to understand their dynamic when she felt Saphy’s arm grab hers.

  “He’s coming.”She whispered.

  By the time Ester had whipped her head in the direction Saphy was looking, Geire had noticed them. No, he noticed Saphy.

  He drifted toward her as he saw how stunning she looked. His once hollow eyes, now expressing something different. Longing. He tried reaching out to her.

  Kris stepped slightly in front of them, startling Geire as he looked up. Another nuisance.

  “Eyes front.” Ezekiel muttered.

  Geire turned toward him, surprise flickering through his hollow gaze.

  It was as if he had just discovered another obstacle. Another nuisance.

  “You didn’t hear me?” Ezekiel said, irritation creeping into his voice.

  His eyes seemed to glow ever so slightly.

  And a faint rumble echoed somewhere above causing the other Starless to react.

  “Eyes. Front.”

  Geire froze for a moment, clearly taken aback.

  He was used to people being wary of him.

  Not the other way around.

  “Everything okay over there?” Markos called.

  He glanced once more at Saphy, then clenched his jaw and turned away, following the rest of the Starless.

  “Woah…” Saphy mouthed.

  They turned toward Ezekiel, who looked irritated, wincing as he touched his temple.

  “Thank you,” Ester said quietly.

  He nodded absent-mindedly.

  “What was that?” Kris asked him.

  Ezekiel paused, gathering his thoughts.

  “...I’ve decided I want to become strong.”

  He stared at his palm.

  “Strong enough that Lin Hua will never regret saving me… Strong enough…” His voice faltered. “Strong enough that she’ll look at me.”

  He lifted his head.

  “What would I look like being scared of a scrawny kid with issues? I’m aiming higher.”

  He glanced behind them, then did a double take.

  “What the hell..?”

  They all turned.

  Se’raf was standing with Lucius and Arthur.

  The three of them seemed to be sharing a laugh.

  Lucius even placed a hand on Se’raf’s arm.

  “Se’raf knows them..?” Saphy whispered in awe.

  Another layer of mystery settled over them.

  Se’raf knew about Ester.

  They were on friendly terms with the Lerian Heroes.

  Just who were they?

  Ester desperately wanted to find out.

  “Should we… wait for them?” Ester asked.

  They all exchanged glances.

  “Nah,” Ezekiel said, placing his hands behind his head as he walked.

  “What makes you think they’d want to talk to us?”

  He had a point.

  Lucius had already declared none of them worthy.

  Arthur was impossibly radiant.

  And Se’raf was… Se’raf.

  Trying to join them would only lead to embarrassment.

  Kris followed Ezekiel first.

  Then Saphy, shrugging helplessly at Ester.

  Ester gave one glance back, at the three of them seemingly unmoved before following Saphy as they caught up with the others.