The academy's underground weapon facility was colder than usual — not in temperature, but in weight.
Dozens of elite weapons lined the blackened racks: sheathed blades, polymer bows, spell-threaded rifles, reinforced gauntlets, and relic-class armaments sealed behind encoded glass. Everything had a tag, a rating, a warning. Nothing here was for show.
For most cadets, this was the first time stepping into a place that felt like war.
Kael Navarro moved with silent intent. His eyes weren't just scanning — they were measuring. Feeling.
He passed the polearms without pause. Skipped over heavy hammers. Landed first at the section of precision bows. One by one, he tested their draw, release feedback, and frame tension — not settling, just sensing.
Then the swords.
Then the daggers.
He wasn't hoarding weapons. He was listening to them — selecting those that spoke back.
Julienne Arc watched from the corner, arms crossed beside a panel of engineering cores. "You ever get the feeling he's choosing tools for a ritual, not a mission?"
Cyrhelle Elsinora stood next to her, adjusting her fingerless gloves. "He's precise. That's rare."
"He's something," Julienne muttered. "But yeah. Precise."
Across the room, Elise Fontaine returned an academy bow with an unimpressed scoff. "Balance is uneven. No grip memory. Sloppy manufacturing."
David Ruiz, mid-way through comparing two curved shields, raised a brow. "You can tell that from one draw?"
Elise didn't answer. She just selected her own bow — custom, matte white with thread-locks — and walked off.
Meanwhile, Enzo Rhavoz examined a tactical visor, syncing it to his Desyre signature. "Charlotte's still upstairs?"
"Vin said she was reviewing past Rift simulations," Levi said, dragging a gravity pack to his bench. "Because, y'know, some of us over-prepare."
Min-ji popped her head over the console. "Says the guy who tripped the smart-rack alarm five times already."
"That wasn't me," Levi grinned. "That was the echo of my training spirit."
"You don't have a spirit," Julienne said flatly.
"I'm building one," Levi replied. "Name pending."
Cyrhelle smiled as she passed Kael by the dagger rack. "Still not done?"
Kael held one dagger to the light. The edge glinted — elegant, balanced, meant for control.
"Each weapon's different," he said. "Even if it's the same type."
"You talk to your blades?"
"I listen."
She tilted her head, then scanned the weapon racks. "Strange… I haven't seen any whips in this place."
Kael's eyes didn't flinch. "You won't."
Cyrhelle blinked. "Why not?"
"Whips aren't standard gear. Rarely requested. They require too much technique and not enough power — at least that's what most think."
"So… yours?"
Kael nodded once. "Custom. I brought it from outside. It's not academy-issued."
"Figures," Cyrhelle said softly. "You used it like it was part of your arm."
"I've had it longer than most of these have had their swords."
Their eyes met for a second, then Kael turned, selecting a slim sheath for his blade and sliding the twin daggers into opposite thigh holsters.
Enzo approached from behind. "That whip's not coming out for tomorrow?"
Kael shook his head. "That weapon's for something else."
David finished adjusting his armor plate. "Simulation's tomorrow. Deployment's in two days. And somehow I feel underprepared and over-equipped at the same time."
Min-ji, perched on top of a panel, stretched with a yawn. "We're only simulating an Instance Rift. It's not like they're throwing us into an Outbreak… I hope."
"Not yet," Elise said quietly. "But they're testing how close we get."
Levi finished struggling into his harness. "Can they test how close I get to passing out from all this gear?"
"You'll pass out from running your mouth before anything else," Julienne replied.
A faint laugh rippled between them.
But tension lingered — a quiet note beneath the jokes, the noise of metal clasps, and the flickering diagnostic panels. It wasn't fear. It was weight. Everyone here knew the difference between simulation and reality.
Kael walked to a quiet corner, sheathed and strapped.
Bow on his back.
Sword on his side.
Twin daggers at his thighs.
No whip visible — not today.
Cyrhelle glanced at him once more, as if about to ask something deeper. But the words never left her lips.
Instead, Julienne looked up at the digital clock.
"Tomorrow, 6 am. Group simulation with senior Ascenders."
"Don't be late," Elise said without turning.
Levi saluted half-heartedly. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Kael didn't say a word. He just glanced at the door — not in fear, not in hesitation.
In readiness.