Prologue

The gates of Arcanis Magna Academy loomed like stone sentinels against the morning sky, their spires piercing the clouds as if to challenge the heavens themselves. Students bustled through the courtyard, laughter and chatter echoing off polished stone, yet one boy moved silently among them, unnoticed, unremarkable.

Lucien Rennehart.

At first glance, he was ordinary—average height, dark hair with faint silver strands, expression calm, almost bored. His uniform was neat, posture casual. To any observer, he was just another new student, harmless, even forgettable. Perfect.

Inside, however, the truth was far more dangerous. He was not merely a student. Hidden beneath that calm facade was a mind far older and sharper than anyone dared imagine, a presence capable of reshaping fate itself—if exposed.

He walked like a shadow, observing, calculating, always measured. One wrong glance, one careless display, and disaster would follow. The academy was no mere school; it was a battlefield in disguise.

A flash of crimson drew his eyes. A girl moved through the crowd, head held high, eyes sharp and calculating. Seraphina Vale. Noticing him for just a moment, she dismissed him internally, but the faintest ripple of curiosity lingered—an instinctive recognition that he was not entirely ordinary.

Lucien inhaled slowly, letting the morning air fill his lungs. The rules were clear. The game had begun.

Hide. Observe. Survive.

Even as he merged with the bustling academy, he felt it: the impossible weight of being seen, of standing out. Hiding forever would not be possible.