Primordial Heir: Nine Stars

The tram glided through the grandiose gates of the academy, its silent movement a stark contrast to the towering spires and ancient stone walls that rose around them. The academy city fell away, replaced by the meticulously maintained grounds of the world’s most prestigious institution. Students in uniforms walked along paths, some glancing at the passing tram with casual curiosity.

Inside, the three cadets sat in comfortable silence. Or rather, two of them sat in comfortable silence while the third studied.

Elreth’s amber eyes fixed on Nero. She looked at him the way she might study a puzzle, tracing the lines of his profile, the set of his shoulders, the subtle energy that radiated from him. Something was different. Something had changed.

Khione noticed the stare. One elegant eyebrow rose slightly, a silent question.

Elreth caught the look and waved a hand dismissively. ”Calm down. I just felt like he had become stronger than before. That’s all.”

She turned back to Nero, her gaze narrowing. The more she looked, the more she sensed it—a solidity, a depth, a presence that hadn’t been there before. It was like looking at a lake and suddenly realizing it was an ocean.

Then the realization hit her.

Her eyes widened. Her mouth opened slightly. The hypothesis that formed in her mind was unbelievable, impossible, absurd. And yet, as she studied him, as she reached out with her senses, she couldn’t find the usual markers. Normally, she could gauge someone’s level roughly—not precisely, but enough to know where they stood. Knights radiated their strength in subtle ways, and those with experience could read those signals.

With Nero, she read nothing. Just a wall of impenetrable presence.

”Don’t tell me,” she breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. ”Don’t tell me you’ve reached the Purple realm? Because if you haven’t, I should be able to see through you. I should be able to gauge your level roughly. But I can’t. I can’t sense anything.”

Nero looked at her for a long moment. Then he simply shrugged his shoulders.

That one small gesture was all the confirmation she needed.

Elreth’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. Her jaw dropped. For a long, frozen moment, she simply stared at him, her mind refusing to process what her senses were telling her.

”You...” She swallowed hard. ”You’re a monster. How can you progress so fast? It’s been at best 2 months since enrollment. Days since we left, and you’ve jumped an entire realm? Are you even human?”

Her voice trembled slightly at the end. It wasn’t fear—not exactly. It was something deeper. The feeling of standing before an abyss, of realizing that the person next to you was operating on a level you couldn’t comprehend. Compared to him, there was no comparison. The gap between them had gone from a canyon to an ocean, and she was standing on the shore, watching him sail toward horizons she couldn’t see.

She bit her lip, hard enough that a thin line of blood appeared. The pain grounded her, kept her from spiraling into the overwhelming realization of her own inadequacy.

Khione watched her for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded. A small gesture, barely perceptible. But in that nod was a world of understanding: I know. I’ve been there. I know how you feel.

For a brief, fleeting moment, the Ice Queen and the Fire Princess were on the same page. United by the impossible reality of the man beside them.

Nero looked at the two of them, at their shared expression of overwhelmed disbelief, and shook his head slowly. A small, amused smile tugged at his lips.

If only they knew, he thought. If only she knew about the third law. If they knew about the vision. About the thing in my inner world. About any of it. Well, not that I’m planning on sharing it with her.

The tram slowed, gliding into the academy station with a soft hiss of brakes. The doors opened, letting in the cool, clean air of the academy grounds.

They disembarked together, falling into step as they walked toward the main administrative building. The mission was complete. The report needed to be filed. The formalities of academy life awaited.

As they walked, a messenger in academy robes approached them, bowing respectfully.

”Cadets Nero, Khione, and Elreth. The vice principal requests the presence of Cadets Khione and Elreth in her office immediately for a detailed debriefing.” She paused, glancing at Nero. ”And the headmaster requests Cadet Nero in his office. Separately.”

The three exchanged glances. Separate debriefings. That was unusual. But then, nothing about this mission had been usual.

Khione squeezed Nero’s hand once, briefly, then released it. Elreth gave him a small nod. Then the two women turned and followed the messenger toward the vice principal’s wing.

Nero watched them go for a moment, then turned and walked in the opposite direction. Toward the headmaster’s office. Toward the second meeting with the most powerful man in the academy.

His steps were steady, measured. The corridors of the academy stretched before him, familiar and yet somehow different. He was different. Stronger. More aware of the currents of power that flowed through these ancient halls.

He reached the familiar door, the one guarded by runes and wards that would reduce a normal person to ash. He knocked once.

”Enter.”

The voice was calm, deep, expectant.

Nero pushed open the door and stepped inside. The headmaster sat behind his massive desk, his long white hair catching the light from the window behind him. Those piercing eyes, the eyes of the Knight of Gravitation, fixed on Nero with an intensity that would have made most people tremble.

Nero met his gaze without flinching. The fear was still there, somewhere deep. But it was buried now beneath layers of new strength and hard-won confidence.

The headmaster studied him for a long, silent moment. Then, slowly, a small smile crossed his ancient features.

”Close the door, Nero,” he said quietly. ”We have much to discuss.”

The door clicked shut behind him. The second meeting had begun. He was filled with tension whenever he met this man, he was one of the zodiacs, on of the strongest after all, his presence was and would be always overwhelming until he reached the same realm.