[4:00 AM – The Crucible Atrium Announcement]
A low hum echoed across the dark dorms.
Then a voice—mechanical, ancient, far too awake for 4 a.m.
“Attention, Vault-Tier Initiates. Assemble at the Crucible Atrium by 05:00.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNa5IPPs0d0
Division Selection is mandatory.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jpOuKrmgE
Breakfast will be served only upon completion.”
The message repeated twice, then went silent.
Groans, curses, and one particularly dramatic scream from Dev:
“This has to be illegal. I demand sleep rights.”
In Dorm 17, chaos brewed like coffee without sugar.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0VxH2PmQO
Raiden was already up, lacing his boots with military precision.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSzKh50UglM
Avni groaned, dragging herself upright. “If the voice says ‘breakfast’ one more time, I’m gonna commit treason.”381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46DGZsf6Wp
Luce sat on the windowsill, sipping water like champagne. “Please do. I’d pay to watch.”
Veer rubbed his eyes. “Why do I feel like I’m in an army camp that forgot it’s also a university?”
Ishaan walked past shirtless, still brushing his teeth. “Because you are, bro. Only here the professors might stab you.”
Sayaka stood by the door, perfectly dressed. “Four minutes late already. Move.”
Erik, tying his hair back, raised an eyebrow. “What are you, the time police?”
She smirked. “No. Just better.”
[5:00 AM – Crucible Atrium]
The Crucible Atrium wasn’t a hall. It was a coliseum.
Tiers of black marble stairs. Vaulted ceilings lined with silver veins. The sigil of COMA burned into the floor.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jtYeyU4LR
Hundreds of students filled the room, bleary-eyed, tense, hungry.
A single figure stood on the platform above.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkri7CG46g
A Council proctor. Faceless mask. Voice like gravel.
“You’ve survived the purge. Congratulations.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNKdFt8eI2
Now comes the real test.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0AJp1nIDnn
Choose your Division.”
He gestured behind him. Three glowing paths unfurled:
FORCE — crimson lights, marked by weapons and fire.
SHADOW — obsidian black, silent, pulsing with mist.
ORDER — pale gold, sharp, geometric and clean.
“You will train in one Division for the next four months.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Y9p5c93GE
This is not a game.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZ00W3umQW
Each Division breaks something different in you.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3O9xhKLJN
Choose wisely… or don’t. It won’t save you.”
A pause.
“Only then... will breakfast be served.”
The entire hall groaned.
Avni muttered, “This man has a death wish.”
Luce: “No, no. I respect the drama.”
Veer cracked his knuckles. “Let’s get it over with.”
Dev blinked at the paths. “So… what if I want to join all three and become sexy, smart, and scary?”
Saira deadpanned, “Then you die, but stylishly.”
Erik clapped Dev’s shoulder. “Which is, to be fair, your best-case scenario.”
[Division Chambers – 5:15 AM]
They were split into individual chambers — sleek rooms with mirrored walls and biometric locks.
Each initiate stood alone.
Each faced a single screen with a single question:
“Choose. FORCE. SHADOW. ORDER.”
Raiden’s fingers hovered.
He pressed SHADOW.
One by one… so did Avni, Luce, Lev, Sayaka, Erik, Veer, Dev, Saira, and Ishaan.
It wasn’t planned.
But somehow… all ten of them made the same choice.
[6:00 AM – The Shadow Hall / Dining Pavilion]
Out of 200 Vault initiates:
95 chose Force.
48 chose Order.
Only 57 chose Shadow.
The cafeteria was sleek, dark, and built into an old observatory. A digital sign flickered:
“SHADOW — BREAKFAST: 12 MINUTES. BE FAST. BE QUIET.”
Sayaka sat at the edge, slicing her eggs with surgical precision.
Avni sipped black coffee. “So… we all chose death, huh?”
Luce slid in next to her. “Technically, we chose to be the thing in the dark that causes death.”
Lev grabbed a seat across from them. “Honestly? I respect us. Force is muscle. Order is rules. But Shadow? That’s the art of staying alive.”
Veer looked around. “So… what happens to the others?”
Ishaan: “I give Force two weeks before someone loses a limb.”
Saira: “Order will crack under pressure. Half of them already look like they haven’t eaten a vegetable in years.”
Dev: “And we… the edgy chosen few… will survive. Sexy and paranoid.”
The group laughed—until a tray slammed nearby.
A tall, broad-shouldered guy sneered down at Erik. Red Division. Force.
Troy Maddox.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWbXBjSUtA
A bruiser from New Boston. Ego bigger than his fists.
“You bumped into me earlier,” Troy growled. “Apologize.”
Erik didn’t look up. “You okay? Want me to kiss it better?”
Troy shoved him.
Chairs screeched back. Luce and Avni both stood. Raiden’s jaw tightened.
Erik rose slowly. Calm. Cold. “Last warning, friend.”
Troy threw a punch.
Erik ducked, twisted, elbowed his ribs, and slammed him to the floor in one fluid motion.
Gasps.
More Force kids rose, circling.
One shouted, “Bet he fights like that because his whole family’s dead!”
Dead silence.
Lev stood up.
His face — ice.
The kid added, “Oops. Too soon?”
Then another jab: “What about you, Moretti? Your grandpa raised you to kiss knives or twist them?”
Luce's smile vanished. He stepped forward—
But Raiden was faster.
He grabbed the speaker by the collar, slammed him into a pillar, and whispered, “Say their names again. I dare you.”
Sayaka’s voice sliced through the chaos: “Enough.”
Everyone froze.
She walked over, stared the Force kids down, then looked at Luce and Lev.
“They’re provoking you. That’s their first test. Fail it, and you give them power.”
Erik adjusted his sleeves.
Luce sighed. “I really wanted to punch someone today.”
Avni: “Maybe wait until lunch. It'll be more dramatic.”
Veer: “We live in a soap opera.”
Dev: “With knives.”
Saira: “And no off switch.”
Ishaan: “Welcome to Valgrave.”
[Umbra HQ – COMA Observation Chamber]
Elda Kurogane watched the footage in silence.
Hildegard Falk sipped tea beside her. “They all chose Shadow. Predictable.”
Elda nodded. “Let them think it was their choice.”
Hildegard smirked. “Fifty will be eliminated by the end of the year. Not expelled. Eliminated.”
Elda: “And the rest?”
A flicker of pride. Or was it fear?
ns216.73.216.33da2“Only 150 will remain.381Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9lOEmSyEy
Among them... monsters. Or martyrs.”
and then Add to home screen.