I was used to being bullied, from the first day I stepped my feet into the grounds of Aegis academy. It was all my fault, I should have known better than to help out the school’s existing outcast. The rule was simple: help a reject, become one.In his defense, Lian Soren tried all he could to warn me. But what was I supposed to do with the boy bleeding out by my feet? I damned us both.Keeping us both alive became a battle. Lian was picked on for his unassuming looks that made for the perfect human to target, while I was targeted for the opposite, I stood out a little too much; with my silver hair and strange blue eyes, I was a magnet for trouble.The world was already screwed up anyway. With the constant opening of rifts all over nations, the world powers are now actively working with the hunters (humans with abilities, or more appropriately, Ae) to battle the monsters and nightmarish creatures that crawled out of said rifts.Aegis Academy is also a means to an end, a school where ki

I have been stuck in isolation since I emerged from the tunnel Rift and fainted where I stood. The school authorities claimed I was under supervision. Apparently, exposure to a Rift for too long was life-threatening for a low-ranked hunter like me.I have been alone with only the apathetic voice in my head for company.I didn’t mourn.I don’t deserve to, not until I’ve done right by Lian.So I listened to the scientists and doctors speak. I watched them. It wasn’t until the third day that I realized I could see the different levels of their aura.The lowest I’d seen glowed a muted orange, a step above my yellow. Breaking out was impossible, so I just listened.They said a lot of things I didn’t care to answer. They informed me Lian had been sent home for burial. I could only nod. Maybe my lack of emotion startled them, because soon after, I was sent for another round of psychological evaluations.They wanted to know if the Rift had messed with my head. Maybe it had.Maybe it hadn’t.E

The Preliminary Ascension is in three days, I thought as I stared at the mass email on my phone sent by the school. We always dreaded the ascension trials, because we were usually the stones for others to climb on.The Ascension includes a series of terrible and often bloody trials where each division from A to F are tested for retention. It is usually brutal because lower classes try to use the opportunity to ascend, while the higher divisions would do anything to stay in power.Removing the wet towel hanging around my neck, I sat down on my bed and activated the system. Its robotic voice is now a source of strange comfort to me.“What are the chances of me surviving the preliminaries in my present condition?” I asked as I got up to pull warm clothes over my body. Due to the level of ice in my veins, it has become necessary to stay as warm as I could at all times.[In your present state, defeat is a guarantee]I gave a wry scoff at the sordid truth. I guess it was best to stay away f

People are ridiculous. We survived the preliminary and now the school can’t stop talking. I scrolled through the chat forums. Rumors. Gossip. Wild theories. Astounding.Information is power, and that was the only reason I checked. Somebody grabbed my arm and forced me to a stop, I turned to see Jin and Lara breathing hard as they waved at me to give them a moment.“What on earth do you think you are doing?” Lara gasped and I frowned, wondering what she was talking about now.“You can’t be here!” Jin gestured wildly at the deserted hallway, I turned to look at him in confusion.“It is empty.” I muttered impatiently, ignoring the tension that crawled up my neck and tugged my arm from his grip. Lara palmed her forehead.“Exactly! The student council always passes through here after evaluation briefings. Do you have a death wish?” She hissed frantically, and Jin was going to add something when the door ahead opened up, and the council stepped in, all six of them.They were majestic to loo

Recovery, they called it. I called it humiliation.A few steps from the field was all it took for me to collapse like a weakling. Apparently, my body was in a more terrible shape than I thought. Pathetic.The infirmary smelled of antiseptic and artificial lavender, someone’s idea of “comfort.” The ceiling tiles had been scrubbed so clean they reflected my face, pale and thinner than I remembered. My system was quiet, dormant. The silence should’ve felt peaceful. It didn’t. I only felt a deep sense of irritation.I’d been awake for five minutes when Division F burst in like an invading army.“Careful, he’s still weak. So no talking, alright?!” Kira announced, balancing a tray of soup that was 90% steam.My eyes twitched.Ren followed with a stack of books and a grin that didn’t belong in a sickroom. Behind them came Jin and Lara dragging a small holo-screen between them, wires trailing like entrails.My absolutely disgusted expression tightened as more people barged in, and a pink hair