With dishonest comfort, Meredith gently tucked her beloved 8-year-old daughter, Yuna, into bed. She swept the thin strands of Yuna’s brunette hair off her face and emitted a forced smile.
Her voice quavered and she pressed her lips together to calm her pounding heart. “Yuna, don’t ever leave the house until I return. Be a good girl. Don’t think of yourself as helpless and be confident. I will always love you, sweetie.”
Meredith’s eyes leaked with miniscule tears and it was difficult for her to keep a smile on her face. She planted a sweet kiss on Yuna’s small forehead and left her alone in the dimly lit bedroom—the moon casting a pale light through a crack in the curtains. Once the door closed lightly, little Yuna—encircled by the shadows of her room—could not help but feel confused by the water welling in her mother’s eyes.
Dawn broke and a speck of sunlight sneaked through the ajar curtains and shined upon Yuna’s face. She writhed from the brightness and her eyes opened slowly—her brown irises reflected the radiance of the morning sun. She awakened to the stillness of her own bedroom. The sound of heavy footsteps were heard outside her door. Believing it to be her mother’s return, she grinned widely whilst hopping off her bed ecstatically. Steadily, she cracked the door open and poked half a head out to survey the gloomy hallway, but her eyes widened in alarm from a disturbing scene. Ducking her head back inside her room hastily, Yuna eventually understood that she would never see her precious family again. It became clear to her the true meaning behind her mother’s tears the night before as silent tears seeped from her own eyes. The fate of Yuna remained unknown.
Eight winters later, Tenebrillum Academy opened its doors for the new semester. Rayors and non-Rayors—all Lumerons—donned their winter uniforms to brave the cold and they rushed together to beat the school bell. Situated in the central city of Tenebrillum, the academy was the largest and only institution dedicated to educating Rayors in the entire world. Despite its predominance of non-Rayors students, it had always been a place for young Rayors to thrive. The academy was segregated into two extensive storeys—Rayors on the top floor and non-Rayors below. The powers of Rayors were assessed before admission by the principal who possessed the ability to detect their powers and the authority to determine their classes. Rayor classes were ranked from weakest to strongest—Class S being the strongest. On the other hand, non-Rayors were randomised into ten different classes based on their ages and without any pre-examination. The academy also provided dormitories and training arenas for Rayor students exclusively.
Welcome to Tenebrillum Academy.
For non-Rayor students, the typical school day began at Tenebrillum Academy. In one class—in the middle of their history lesson—the students silently sat at their respective desks with their history textbooks opened. The teacher stood at the front of the classroom—gripping a textbook in one hand as she read aloud.
“It all began with the existence of two Gods, Lumen and Caligo. They controlled the world together…”
The teacher’s gaze shifted from her textbook to a student seated at the back corner by the window—dozed off soundlessly and using their book as a pillow on the desk.
The teacher raised her voice to gain the sleeping student’s attention. “Yoora Lee.”
Yoora’s face—tucked in her arms—was concealed by tresses of her blonde wavy hair. Napping soundly, she did not budge at all from the public call-out. The rest of the class watched—all bemused by her indifference. The teacher—growing increasingly frustrated— grabbed a wooden ruler and stomped to Yoora’s desk. She smacked the ruler on her desk vigorously to rouse her. Yoora groggily lifted her head and yawned—covering her agape mouth with her hand. Her sleeves were rolled up just below her elbows and her necktie hung loose by her collar.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“I see you’ve been paying a lot of attention in my class,” the teacher sarcastically remarked.
Yoora glanced at her with her vibrant blue eyes, but she did not bother responding to her obviously irritated tone.
“You doze off one more time in my class, you’re getting detention during recess,” the teacher warned sternly.
She returned to her lesson and picked up from where she left off. Unable to endure the monotony of her teacher’s voice, Yoora quickly lost concentration once again and stared out the window. She observed the grassy school field where Rayor students were openly playing with their powers—her expression neutral. Glancing down at her history textbook set on the wrong page, she rested her cheek on it once more.
“YOORA!” her teacher shouted in anger.
“Oh yeah, I forgot…” Yoora muttered shamelessly.
“That’s detention for you!”
She rolled her eyes and groaned with complete annoyance.
Losing her valuable break time, Yoora was tasked in cleaning Class S’ training arena as punishment for her discourteous manner in class. She scanned the area where worn-out targets were pinned on the wall, practice dummies stashed at a corner and a punching bag dangling from the ceiling in another corner. Below her was a sizeable painted white circle at the centre of the arena—a platform for Rayors to practice battle against each other. As she half-heartedly swept the dusty floor, Yoora heard hushed voices approaching the entrance. She swiftly hid behind a pillar and peeked her head out discreetly to spot two male students. One appeared ordinary with dark umber hair slicked back and light hazel eyes. The other was more striking with fiery red hair that covered his forehead, pale skin and dark blue eyes that exuded a cold demeanour. Yoora also noticed a female student with mint-coloured hair and a green left eye—her right eye concealed by an eyepatch. A brown Pomeranian dog waltzed in from behind.
Yoora was immediately bewildered. “What the heck? Why is there a dog at school?”
The two male students positioned themselves within the white circle of the arena—preparing to engage in a battle.
“Let’s go, Kai!” the female cheered for the red-haired boy.
The other boy seemed slightly jealous of the individual cheer.
“Let’s go, bro!” the dog exclaimed energetically.
Yoora astonishment grew. “Did that dog just talk?!”
“No way!” an unknown voice expressed excitingly.
Yoora peered at the entrance of the training arena where a random female student was in awe. She had a short bob and her eyes sparkled from witnessing the captivating duel between the two boys. The brown-haired boy arched his back and his skin morphed into orange fur. He unleashed his shapeshifting power and transformed into a tiger—releasing a mighty roar that echoed throughout the arena. He lunged at Kai—the red head—and swung his sharp claws at him, but Kai skilfully dodged and unveiled his own power by transforming into a lion. He bellowed back powerfully at the tiger who rapidly spun back around to face Kai. The tiger pounced at the lion and sunk his claws onto his broad back. Kai retaliated by biting the tiger’s front leg with his sharp fangs. The tiger growled in response and shoved him away. The wildcats huffed and puffed and returned to human. They approached each other and shook hands with a smile that reflected their close friendship. Kai’s gaze briefly shifted in Yoora’s direction and she hurriedly hid her peeking head behind the pillar. His focus returned to his classmate—seemingly unaware of her presence. Class S made their departure—striding past and ignoring the female student who remained entranced by their battle.
“I can’t believe I just saw that…” the girl muttered in amazement.
Yoora ceased hiding and sauntered to the girl by the entrance. “Who were they?”
Her question startled the girl. “You don’t know Class S?!”
The bell pealed for the end of recess before Yoora could respond.
“I’ll tell you in class, Yoora!” the girl mentioned as she scurried off to class.
Yoora watched her vanish in the distance and wondered how she knew her name. She turned her attention back to the training arena only to find it in worse disarray than prior to Class S’ presence. “You gotta be kidding me.”