The academy grounds had never felt so still.

It was a peculiar sort of quiet, one that settled not because there was nothing happening, but because too much was. From every dormitory, every training wing, every courtyard, students emerged with their gear in hand. Boots struck polished stone. Cloaks brushed against satchels packed with potions, sealed scrolls, and sharpened steel. The morning sky stretched wide and pale above, still carrying the last traces of dawn.

Arios stepped out of the Class D dorm building, coat fastened, sword at his hip. Lucy walked at his left, Liza at his right. The three had spoken little during the early hours; sleep had come in fragments and restless intervals.

"Airships are already visible from the east wall," Lucy said quietly, adjusting the strap across her shoulder.

Liza nodded. "Three of them. Reinforced hulls, mana propellers, armored undercarriage. They're expecting trouble."

Arios did not doubt that. Blackthorn Isle was not the kind of destination one approached casually. Whatever it held—storms, beasts, or mysteries—the academy was preparing to send its students into it without hesitation.

They reached the Grand Promenade, a central avenue leading to the elevated launch platforms. Students converged from multiple directions, forming a slow-moving current of voices and steps. Uniforms of all classes were present. Class A's silver-trimmed coats. Class B's green. Class C's deep bronze. And Class D, crimson embroidered with black.

Some walked with confidence. Some with forced bravado. Others with pale tension clinging to their expressions.

Arios kept his pace measured as they approached the first checkpoint. A contingent of academy guards inspected equipment, confirming identities through crystal registers. When it was their turn, the guard in charge glanced at the ledger, then at Arios.

"Arios Pureheart, Lucy Valecrest, Liza Aerenthal," he called.

A flicker of recognition crossed a few nearby students' faces. Their reputation, once a quiet rumor, now carried weight after recent events.

"Cleared," the guard announced, gesturing them forward.

They passed through and reached the wide stone stairway rising to the sky-docks. Wind brushed across their faces, carrying the deep low hum of arcane engines. When they reached the top, the sight awaiting them was vast and unmistakably real.

Three airships hung near the platform, suspended by arrays of runes and flickering propellant wings. Their metallic frames gleamed in the early light, banners of the academy trailing beneath the bow. The central one—larger and sharper in design—was intended for the highest-ranked examinees.

Their class was assigned to the second vessel, the Azure Gale.

Arios paused to observe the others boarding. Rivalries that had simmered quietly throughout the year now surfaced in narrowed stares and tight postures.

At the foot of the boarding ramp stood an old instructor, Master Harn, a man built like carved stone and carrying a spear as tall as he was.

"Listen well," he addressed all within reach, voice firm. "No disputes, no combat, no spellcasting until you reach the island. Anyone who violates transport conduct will be bound and removed from the exam."

His eyes swept the crowd. Several students who moments ago looked ready to provoke a staredown now seemed expertly interested in their boots.

Lucy leaned slightly toward Arios. "Good. Less noise before we land."

Liza exhaled slowly, as if stabilizing something within herself.

They ascended the ramp and stepped onto the smooth wooden deck. Enchanted steel rails lined the edges, and heavy stabilization chains rattled softly. Students gathered in small groups, forming invisible boundaries around their units.

Arios, Lucy, and Liza moved toward an unoccupied section near the starboard side. Below lay the academy, its towers rising like the spires of an ancient fortress touched by a golden morning glow.

Lucy rested her arms against the railing. "Hard to believe that when we return, everything will be different."

Liza didn't argue. "If we return."

Arios glanced at her, not in reprimand, but in acknowledgment of truth.

In the center of the deck, an amplified voice rose.

"This is Captain Elwyn of the Azure Gale. Final boarding procedures are complete. We will depart in three minutes."

Ropes were drawn in, sails tightened, runes shifted to a brighter pulse. The hum of the mana engines deepened.

Arios studied the horizon. The sea stretched far beyond the academy's cliffs, a vast expanse of shifting blue. Somewhere, hidden from sight, lay Blackthorn Isle.

Lucy finally broke the silence. "When we get there, we stay together. No matter what storm or creature we encounter."

Liza nodded once. "Naturally."

Arios answered last. "Agreed. We move as one."

A low metallic chime echoed. The deck shivered subtly.

The airship began to rise.

Cheers and nervous gasps scattered across the students, but Arios remained quiet. Wind rushed around them, whipping cloaks and hair, lifting the academy shrinking beneath them. Higher and higher they ascended, until the buildings became shapes, the people dots, the training grounds nothing more than pale marks on a map.

The Azure Gale rotated, turning toward open sky and the distant waters.

The journey had begun.

A bell rang again, signaling that they had fully departed.

Lucy's voice, soft but steady, carried between them.

"No turning back now."

Arios closed his eyes briefly. Liza tightened her grip on the railing.

Their fate, the exam, and the secrets of the island awaited—out beyond the last safe shore.

*****

The Azure Gale settled into steady flight, its hull cutting through high streams of wind that glittered faintly with suspended mana. The sky widened around them, pale blue shifting into deeper gradients as the sun continued its ascent. Below, the ocean formed a mirror, faint ripples trailing behind the shadows of the three airships.

The immediate rush of departure slowly thinned. Conversations resumed in low and scattered tones. Some students unrolled maps of the island—rough sketches compiled from half-reliable sources. Others simply stood in silence, eyes fixed on distant waves that promised either glory or ruin.

Arios remained at the railing, posture still, gaze fixed ahead.

He did not speak for some time.

Lucy eventually turned toward him. "You're thinking about the exam."

It wasn't a question, only fact stated aloud.

"Yes," Arios replied. "And how it won't follow the academy's usual structure."

Liza's voice joined, measured and precise. "Because of three things: a private island, restricted communications, and the presence of a competing faction."

He looked at her, holding her gaze. "You expect interference?"

"I would be surprised if there wasn't any." Her tone held no dramatics. "We've already seen the academy's boundaries pushed. A dungeon tampered with—now a location outside regulated territory?"

Lucy folded her arms. "Then we prepare for what the academy refuses to spell out."

Wind curled past them. A flock of white seabirds swept beneath the airship, their calls lost in engine hum.

It was Lucy who spoke next, quieter this time.

"Before the dungeon arc, I might not have imagined we'd come this far—all three of us still standing here."

Liza exhaled slowly. "There was a time I thought Class D would collapse before midyear."

Arios said nothing, though a brief flicker of memory crossed his expression. Suspensions. Accusations. Factions shifting. Pokner's return into their orbit after her name had been cleared. The strange trust that began forming between people who once shared only wariness.

The world had not changed, not truly.

But they had.

A single approach of footsteps cut through Arios' thoughts. Someone was walking toward them—not hostile, but not aimless either.

Regulus Highcrest.

He paused a few paces from Arios, posture tall, gold-trimmed Class A uniform pristine as ever. His expression held neither disdain nor forced civility. Merely cool, evaluating intent.

Lucy and Liza shifted subtly, not stepping back, but aligning themselves beside Arios without a word.

Regulus acknowledged the motion, then spoke.

"I don't intend to start anything here." A brief pause. "The exam will have rules. Even if you… inconvenience me, I have no desire to be thrown off this airship before we land."

Liza's response was dry. "A surprising show of wisdom."

He didn't rise to the provocation, eyes remaining fixed on Arios.

"When we reach the island, our scores will determine the outcome of this entire academic year. I won't underestimate you again."

Arios met his gaze, steady and unflinching. "Then we understand each other."

Silence stretched—not hostile, but edged with unresolved history. Then Regulus inclined his head once and turned away, returning to his faction.

Lucy let out a slow breath. "He's different."

Liza nodded slightly. "Recognition changes people. Even if they don't admit it."

Arios simply looked forward once more, eyes narrowing at something on the horizon.

A patch of fog—unnatural, hanging in a perfect shape that did not shift with the wind.

Lucy saw it seconds later. "That shouldn't be there."

The intercom crackled.

"All examinees, brace and secure your footing. Mana turbulence ahead. Engineering teams report minor deviations in atmospheric flow."

Students responded immediately, gripping rails or steadying themselves.

Liza's tone dropped. "A test?"

"Or a warning," Arios answered.

The Azure Gale entered the fog, light dimming as thick gray surrounded the ship. The world outside turned muted, outlines swallowed by haze. Even sound felt absorbed, leaving only the internal vibration of engines as a guide.

For a moment, there was nothing.

Then—

A sound like distant thunder rippled beneath them.

Lucy tightened her grip. "That came from below."

Liza's eyes sharpened. "The sea."

Arios did not blink. "Something is moving."

But before any further speculation could form, the fog abruptly broke, and sunlight returned, almost blinding after the smothering gray.

Gasps and shouts scattered across the deck.

Because now, finally visible in the far distance, was the shape of an island rising out of the sea like a fortress carved from ancient stone.

Jagged cliffs. Dense forests. Peaks hidden beneath permanent storm clouds.

Blackthorn Isle.

No maps had captured it entirely, and now that it stood before them, no drawing or rumor had done it justice.

Lucy spoke first.

"So that is where the academy sends those it wishes to shape."

Liza finished the thought. "Or to break."

Arios remained still, watching the island grow larger with every passing second.

Not a single part of him underestimated what awaited them there.

He spoke quietly, almost to himself.

"Then we enter ready."

The Azure Gale descended lower, sails adjusting, engines shifting into controlled landing patterns. Students gathered their belongings, checked weapons, re-tied boots, secured scrolls, locked clasps on armor. Some whispered last-minute strategies. Others whispered prayers.

The intercom sounded once more.

"Final approach. The examination begins the moment you touch land."

Lucy looked at Arios and Liza, expression firm.

"This time, we make it through together."

Liza answered, voice calm and certain. "Together."

Arios placed a steadying hand against the railing one final time as the airship prepared to dock.

"Yes," he said. "Together."

Blackthorn Isle waited.

And whatever storm the island held—

They would meet it as one.

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