"My name... is Magical Girl Harmonia Lux. Please call me Lux!"

A snort from the back of the room caught my attention as a tall, lean boy with ice-blue hair and matching eyes strutted up to the front of the room, before crossing his arms and flashing me a grin.

"Cmon, everyone here has only been a Knight for less than three weeks. Isn't it a bit presumptuous to call yourself a 'magical girl?' It's almost as bad as calling yourself a hero with no achievements to back it up. What a joke."

There was a faint murmur of agreement and tension in the room, and my eyes widened in shock and mortification.

"Huh!?" I spluttered, suddenly feeling my face flush hot.

"Now, now," Twilight Aster chided the boy with blue hair, "You of all people shouldn't assume what Lux went through that week during the Cataclysm. Her bravery in the face of danger made all the difference. Just because you have reservations about being a Knight doesn't mean you get to be rude and insensitive."

The blue-haired boy's eyes flashed with amusement and arrogance. "Really? How interesting. Tell me about it, then. If you're so proud, what did you accomplish, Harmonia Lux?"

He emphasized my name like it was a punchline, and I glared at him with a furious scowl.

I didn't come here to be picked on by some asshole with a chip on his shoulder. I came here to learn and train, to be a part of something bigger than myself and make a difference in the world.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case for this jerk.

"Tch. Wow, you must be fun at parties," an Africann-American girl and braided black hair with purple highlights mumbled under her breath. She was wearing a hi-tech visor and a jumpsuit that looked almost like a cross between a space suit and a superhero costume.

I caught her eye and raised an eyebrow, but she just shrugged in response.

"Not here to kiss anyone's ass," she mouthed, before turning her attention back to the blue-haired boy. "But everyone here was an Emergency Contract, Mr. Full-of-himself. So if you want to air your grievances, take it up with someone who gives a flying fuck. We're here to listen to Ms. Aster, so maybe save it for another time."

Her voice was low and strong, and she held my gaze for a moment, her dark eyes searching mine as if looking for a common ground.

I just looked down, seething and willing myself not to burst into tears or fly off the handle at the guy.

Why couldn't he leave me alone? What did I ever do to him?

"Don't worry," the blue-haired boy smirked, nodding his head towards me. "I'm just playing around with her. Heck, I'm perfectly aware that I'm second rate compared to the cream of the crop this year. She should know that she's stuck with us too."

The girl next to me looked exasperated, as if she were used to dealing with the likes of him.

"Quit it," Twilight Aster snapped. "Anyone who signed an Emergency Contract and put their lives on the line deserves their right to be here. You should know that, Frostburn."

The boy just shook his head, his bright blue eyes shining with contempt. "Emergency Contract? It's ridiculous," he muttered, "Sure, whatever kept my brother and me alive during the crisis. But she should know we're just a bunch of extras. It's just a fact."

My throat tightened and I clenched my fists ready to fly. Despite my best efforts, sparks of orange-red lightning began to flare up around me, leaving a tense air of static electricity in the room.

Al always told me that my Italian temper would get me into trouble on a big stage someday, but I always managed to keep it under control when it mattered.

But it seemed that day had come.

"You fucking asshole," I growled, approaching him with my fists shaking. "What the hell is your problem?"

But he didn't respond, his head tilted to the side as if he were waiting for me to snap.

There was silence in the room, and suddenly, I felt Twilight Aster grab my elbow. "That's enough, Lux. Let's not fight amongst ourselves."

Frostburn just shrugged, folding his arms and shooting me a grin. "Ah, never mind. Sorry, I did go a bit far there. Still, aren't we all pretty much the same, stuck here with the hinges off... with no idea what to do next? This is insane."

There was a shift in his demeanor, and his eyes flickered with a familiar emotion I'd seen in my mother's eyes a thousand times.

"Not me," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady and calm. "I'm ready for whatever comes. It's why I'm here."

Twilight Aster interjected, her voice raising slightly. "Alright, alright. We're all friends here. Please focus, and let's get back on track. We have a lot to cover, and we don't have much time."

There was a soft murmur of conversation in the room, and I slumped back into the seat at the front with a sigh, my anger dissolving into frustration.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Don't let him get to you," the girl with the braids and purple highlights said softly, leaning towards me. "He's a total jackass and made it clear he doesn't want to be here. You probably showed him what for, though."

I smiled, exhaling slowly and letting my shoulders relax.

There was a ripple of excitement in the room, and I could feel a charge in the air as Twilight Aster settled in at the front of the room.

She had a small whiteboard propped up on a lectern, with a series of graphs and diagrams that I didn't quite understand.

"Here are some key dates and events for your new reality as a Magical Knight. Now, I do understand most of you weren't planning on this. You may have been interested in becoming a Knight at some point in your childhood and were unfortunately passed on by the Guardians. Or, you always had the potential but never demonstrated explicit interest. Whatever your circumstances may be, you are now here with the rest of your peers and cohort in this room as students of Kaleidoscope Academy."

I knew this. I'd always dreamed of becoming a Knight, but unfortunately, I had never been approached.

A black cat — a Guardian of all things had approached me when Al had been bitten by a zombie while making our escape.

I shook my head, trying to push back the memories of that night, and focused on Twilight Aster's words.

"Now, in the original System established by the Guardians, individuals now known as 'Villains' were empowered and rewarded for chasing grandiose ambitions and goals. Simultaneously, Magical Knights were created and incentivized to pursue and deter these Villains from wreaking too much havoc on the world. Why do you think this system was established?"

The boy in the back - Frostburn, as I had learned - raised his hand lazily. "It was originally a way to ensure order and balance," he yawned. "We call them villains today, but that's just a matter of perspective. They were originally known as 'Pioneers' - where Paragons were an esteemed subset of Pioneers."

Twilight Aster nodded. "Yes, as a matter of fact. However, we now classify individuals that harness magic or possess extraordinary powers for nefarious or unlawful purposes as Villains. It is speculated that the Guardians established the Pioneer system in ages past to guide mankind from dark times into the light of civilization. Unfortunately, during the period we refer to as the Middle Ages, humanity was abandoned by the Guardians and were left to their own devices. Left alone, human nature inevitably took over and those who were able to advance as Pioneers under the System became conquerors, kings, and warlords. Although many individuals such as Euclid became prolific Paragons and formed the First Advent Magicians to combat the power-hungry Pioneers, the damage was done and the chaos continued."

She paused, her eyes drifting to the window. "To skip an extensive semester-long topic that will no doubt be covered in your Global History course, the Guardians reappeared during the Early Modern period to establish the Magical Knights and curb the excesses of the Pioneers. Of course, this was much more successful, with the two groups eventually coming to a stable equilibrium. Thus we came to the existing system in place today. Or rather, the system that was."

"The System that was?" the girl with the flower crown asked, tilting her head to the side. "What does that mean?"

"It means that the Guardians have decided to make a change," Twilight Aster smiled. "Now that there's a growing number of magical knights and new recruits, they've decided to try a new approach. As you may have heard, these rifts have continued to open across the world, and we have reason to believe they will only continue to grow in frequency and severity. All ascended Systems, including those of Pioneers, have been reconfigured to reward efforts at resisting the invasion."

A murmur of approval swept through the room as another girl with curly red hair and fair skin stood up. Her uniform was impeccable, with a gleaming green tunic and a plume of feathers in her hat.

"So the time has come," she sighed. "I've been dreaming about this day my whole life. Well, minus the horrifying hellscape the world's been thrown into."

Twilight Aster paused, and frowned. "Yes, unfortunately. That is exactly why we are here. I imagine many of you had a very different conception of Knighthood, but alas, here we are."

I shivered, thinking back to the glowing blue eyes and gnashing teeth of the monsters that had nearly killed us on the night of the Cataclysm. No amount of hero worship or passion could prepare anyone for that.

Twilight Aster continued, her eyes twinkling with concern and compassion. "We are all going to be deployed into these conflicts soon. This is not an announcement, but a fact. The Guardians will not deploy us unprepared. They will equip and outfit you with state-of-the-art tech and gear to defend and protect yourself and your partners. You will all be permitted to form teams — up to a maximum of four, or to operate solo. Your skills and abilities will be taken into account and optimized for your personal growth."

"Shit, no kidding?" I heard a girl with sparkling green hair whisper under her breath. "Getting through two days of hell was enough for one lifetime for me."

"Who the fuck are they to say we have to keep fighting?" Frostburn hissed, his knuckles whitening against his knees. "Aren't we allowed to choose what we want to do?"

Twilight Aster nodded, smiling at Frostburn sympathetically.

"You are correct. The Guardians have historically only rescinded the powers granted under extreme circumstances where a magical knight is judged under a panel of peers and psychiatrists who deem them no longer suitable for duty," Twilight Aster explained. "Unfortunately, due to the severity of the situation we have now faced, the Guardians are forced to implement emergency measures that violate their standard operating procedures."

"How convenient," Frostburn grumbled. "So we're a bunch of sacrificial lambs in that case."

"Not necessarily," the girl next to me piped up. "Something's been bothering me, Miss Aster. The Guardian who contracted me mentioned that she had dozens of targets on her list, but there are less than fifteen of us in this room. What happened to the rest?"

Twilight Aster hesitated, her eyes shifting to the windows of the lecture hall. She sighed, walking over to the window and pulling the curtains apart with her hand.

Outside, a clear sky shone with the sun, and birds chirped happily in the trees. It was as if the world hadn't been devastated only weeks ago.

"There were millions of residents in Kaleidoscope City," Twilight Aster said, her voice dropping to a hush. "All of you were granted a short notice, conditional scholarship here at Kaleidoscope Academy as students after the Cataclysm. There are nearly four thousand students who attend this academy, and that's a drop in the bucket compared to the population of this city before the disaster."

She paused, her lips curling in a grimace. "Everyone in this room is an Emergency Contract. It was an initiative by the Guardians to tap into the latent magical abilities of individuals who either had interest but lacked potential, or potential with no interest. We pushed the powers of the World System to the limit in two days of chaos and pandemonium, and by the end of it all, we had lost over a quarter of all recorded Magical Knights worldwide."

Twilight Aster turned to the girl next to me. "Screen Dream, is it?"

"R-right," the girl nodded, clearly shaken.

"There were nearly five hundred emergency contracts mobilized for action in Kaleidoscope City during the two days of the attack," Twilight Aster said, her voice trembling. "Around two hundred of whom were eligible for admission to Kaleidoscope Academy post-fact."

She paused, and I saw a mist of tears form in her eyes, which she promptly wiped away. "And just over half of the teens of-age to attend the academy. Those who managed to survive, I mean... are currently in this room."