The car took an exit ramp, descending towards the coastal highway. The ocean appeared, vast and gray-green in the morning light. And there, growing larger by the second, was the Atoll.

Emi pressed her face to the window. "Holy..."

Natalia leaned forward despite herself. "That's insane."

I just stared.

The photos didn't do it justice. The Spire dominated the skyline like a black monolith, easily a thousand feet of obsidian glass reflecting the clouds. Around it, the biodomes of The Gauntlet formed a massive ring, each one a different environment visible through their transparent surfaces. And at the peak, carved into the volcanic caldera itself, The Crucible sat like a crown.

This wasn't a school. It was a statement. A monument to power.

"Beautiful," I murmured.

"Terrifying," Emi corrected.

"Same thing."

The ferry terminal appeared. A massive structure built into the coastline. Ships of various sizes lined the docks, from luxury cruisers for the elite families to basic transport ferries for the masses. Our car pulled up to a VIP boarding area.

We stepped out into the salt air and controlled chaos. Families saying tearful goodbyes. Prospects checking their passes obsessively. Staff members in VHC uniforms directing traffic.

I grabbed my bag. Natalia and Emi flanked me automatically.

A well-dressed woman with a clipboard approached us immediately. "Satori Nakano?"

"That's me."

"VIP boarding for recommended prospects. Please follow me."

She led us past the massive general boarding area where thousands of prospects waited in serpentine lines. The envious stares followed us like searchlights. I heard the whispers.

"That's him."

"The Stray Dog."

"He rejected Argent for Onyx. Is he insane?"

"Did you see Natalia Kuzmina choose Onyx too? What the hell is happening?"

Emi kept her head down, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. Natalia walked like she owned the dock. I stayed somewhere in between, acknowledging the looks with slight nods but not encouraging further interaction.

We boarded a sleek, smaller ferry. About fifty prospects total. All high-ranking. All watching me.

I spotted familiar faces from the trial. Jacob Williams sat in a corner, hunched over his datapad, looking like he wanted to dissolve into the wall. Skylar lounged across three seats like a cat, her indigo-pink hair deliberately messy. Raphael leaned against a railing, glaring at nothing. And there, sitting alone with perfect posture, was Soomin. Her pink hair was pulled back, revealing the delicate lines of her face. She looked at me, those shy blue eyes meeting mine for a heartbeat before darting away.

My future court. Assembled.

We found seats in the middle section. Emi immediately pulled out her phone to take pictures of the interior. Natalia pulled out a book, though I noticed she wasn't actually reading it. Just using it as a prop to look occupied.

I checked my System status.

[Active Quests: The Scumbag Sovereign (1/3 Pillars), Know Thy Enemy (0% Progress), The Siren's Discord (Pending)]

The ferry's engines rumbled to life. The dock began to slide away.

No turning back now.

"Hey." Emi's voice was soft. She'd stopped taking pictures. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you really choose Onyx?"

Natalia's eyes flicked up from her fake reading.

"Because I'm tired of playing by rules written by people who were born on third base and think they hit a triple." I gestured towards the other ferry, visible through the window, packed with desperate prospects. "Look at them. Most of them have to work twice as hard for half the recognition. The system is rigged against them from birth."

"But you're not a Zero anymore," Emi pointed out. "You have a C-Rank Aspect with A-Rank potential. You could have joined any guild."

"Could have. But joining Argent or Cobalt or any of them means accepting their rules. Their version of power." I leaned forward. "The Onyx Hounds are rejects. Misfits. Problem cases. People the system has already written off."

"And you want to prove the system wrong."

"I want to burn the system down and build something better from the ashes."

Emi blinked. "That's... really intense."

"You asked."

She bit her lip. Thinking. Then, quietly: "I like it. The honesty. Most people would have given me some noble hero speech about standing up for the underdog."

"I'm not noble," I said flatly. "Don't ever confuse me for that."

A voice crackled over the intercom. "All prospects, prepare for landing. Welcome to New Vein Academy. May fortune favor the bold."

The deck shifted as we approached the dock. Through the windows, I could see the reception area. More staff in crisp uniforms. Digital signs directing prospects to their respective guild residences. Everything was clean, organized, and completely artificial.

This was the cage. Gilded and beautiful and designed to break you.

Emi stood, adjusting her backpack. "Okay. Deep breath. We can do this."

"We?" Natalia raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. We're all Onyx now, right? We stick together."

"She's not wrong," I said, standing. "Pack mentality. That's our advantage."

The ferry docked with a gentle bump. Doors opened. The rush began.

We filed out with the others, joining the stream of black uniforms flowing towards the academy proper. The air smelled different here. Salt and stone and something metallic I couldn't place. Magic, maybe. Or blood.

Hard to tell.

Staff members stood at intervals, holding signs. One read "ARGENT SENTINELS - NORTH PATH." Another, "SCARLET PHANTOMS - EAST GROUNDS."

And there, almost hidden in the shadow of a massive pine tree, a hand-written sign on what looked like cardboard: "ONYX HOUNDS - WEST TRAIL."

"That's us," I said.

"Professional," Natalia muttered.

We took the path indicated. It split off from the main thoroughfare, winding through untended forest. The sounds of the other prospects faded. Soon, it was just our footsteps on packed earth and the wind through the trees.

"This feels like the setup to a horror movie," Emi said nervously.

"Or the beginning of an adventure," I countered.

"Those are the same thing from different perspectives."

Fair point.

The path curved. And there it stood.

Onyx House.

It was magnificent in its own way. A sprawling Japanese mansion that looked like it had been transplanted from another era entirely. Dark wood beams, traditional sloped roof with tiles the color of dried blood, paper screens visible through some of the windows. The yard was overgrown but not destroyed. Wild. Untamed.

A fortress for wolves.

Emi stared. "It's... huge."

"It's falling apart," Natalia corrected.

"It's perfect," I said.

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