The instructors on the stage suddenly stepped aside.

All of them.

Moving in perfect sync like they were clearing a path for something.

Or someone.

The air twisted.

Space folded.

And then, Belle appeared out of thin damn air.

She landed on the stage without a sound.

Graceful.

Effortless.

Deadly.

Like gravity itself bent politely to let her through.

She wore a black uniform today. Not just any uniform, it was a uniform I had specifically ordered for her, because why not?. It was regal, sharply cut, and highlighted every one of her features.

Gold accents caught the light like tiny suns. A black coat hung off her shoulders, drifting with the wind like it was alive. Her signature blindfold hid her eyes, but somehow made her look even more terrifying.

She stood there like a goddess of war. Or the commander of an imperial army. Or a sovereign deciding who lived and who didn't. Maybe all in one.

And I… couldn't help staring.

How?

How did she do this?

How did she change so completely?

This woman looked nothing like the Belle I'd held last night. Nothing like the girl who fell asleep on my lap. Nothing like the warm, sleepy, soft person whose hand had ended up inside my shirt.

In her place stood an entirely different being. Power wrapped in silk. War wrapped in beauty.

Deadly.

Commanding.

Absolute.

She opened her mouth.

And her voice rolled over the crowd like a thunderclap.

She didn't even waste a single second.

She lifted her chin.

And spoke.

"I'm not giving you a grand speech."

Her voice hit the field like a blade.

Clean, precise, and completely emotionless.

"I'm not going to tell you that the Hollowveil Forest is safe."

"I'm not going to downplay what waits inside."

"I'm not going to pretend you're prepared just because you passed your entrance exams."

"I'm not going to praise your talent or congratulate you for getting this far."

"I'm not going to coddle you with comforting lies, I'm not going to tell you that teamwork will magically save you."

"I'm not going to hide the truth from any of you."

She took a breath.

Barely noticeable.

Then delivered the killing line:

"Almost a quarter of you will die in that forest."

A ripple went through the crowd.

Shock.

Fear.

Disbelief.

Belle didn't even blink.

"If you don't want that risk," she continued, "leave."

"If you know you can't handle real danger, leave."

"If you came here expecting safety, leave."

"If survival frightens you more than failure, leave."

"The academy was not built to protect fragile 'geniuses.'"

Her tone dropped.

And somehow became even colder.

"It was built to shape soldiers."

"It was built to forge war heroes."

"It was built for the strong and for those who are willing to do everything to become strong."

A thick, almost tangible silence blanketed the field.

Belle waited.

She didn't move.

Didn't shift.

Didn't breathe wrong.

Just stood there, letting the pressure she emitted crush the weak-willed.

And then...

Three people stepped forward.

Out of a thousand.

They peeled away from the crowd, shoulders trembling, slipping through the sea of students like little boats drifting out of formation.

Belle's face didn't change.

Not really.

But I saw it.

That tiny shift.

That small, flickering spark of disappointment.

She hadn't wanted anyone to leave.

Not because she needed them.

But because she believed they could've been more.

---

After a few seconds, she tilted her head. As if giving the rest of us one last chance to run.

Nobody moved.

No one else stepped away.

Belle turned her attention back to the thousand of us still standing there.

Her voice cut the silence again.

Calm.

Flat.

Unshaken.

"Very well. Let us continue."

Belle lifted her hand slightly.

It looked like a simple gesture, something humans do every day without even noticing, but it didn't feel like it.

It felt more like a cue for the world to listen.

"The rules," she said.

Everything went still.

"There are none, but beware," she continued, "There are hundreds of thousands of monsters inside Hollowveil ranging from F-rank… to C-rank."

That was all it took.

Whispers exploded everywhere.

"What C-rank?!"

"That's impossible, this is a first-year test!"

"They said difficult, not suicidal!"

"No way, no way, no way."

"Is this a mistake?"

"A hundred thousand monsters, that would be too much even for third years."

"Why would they-why would..."

Even I felt my stomach twist.

Just a little.

I hadn't expected that.

And I even had insider info, Belle had told me this yesterday:

Don't take it lightly.

Yeah.

Guess this was what she meant.

I sighed. Because of course it was.

I should've seen it coming.

Belle, being subtle wasn't really her thing but apparently, my brain had been on vacation when she warned me.

The noise grew louder.

Fear building.

Panic spreading.

Students trembling at the idea of seeing even one C-rank monster, let alone… hundreds.

Then...

A soundless pressure detonated from Belle.

A black tide.

Not metaphorical.

Literal.

Dark energy roared outward like a storm front tearing across the ground.

Everything stopped.

Breaths hitched.

Voices died.

Bodies froze.

It wasn't just fear or dread.

It wasn't intimidation.

It was something a lot more primal, something that made your breath turn cold, and your spine tingle.

It was death.

Pure.

Undiluted.

The essence of death.

Students gasped and staggered as the aura washed over them.

I felt it too, but not like them.

It didn't crush me.

Didn't choke me.

Didn't freeze my blood or suffocate my lungs.

To me…

It felt like home.

Warm.

Familiar.

Almost comforting.

Of course it was. Death and I had gotten quite cozy over the course of my lifetime.

Belle stood above the students like some mythic judge, blindfold fluttering, coat snapping behind her, golden accents glowing against the darkness rolling off her.

She looked like a grim reaper dipped in sunlight.

And with the voice of someone stating a simple fact, she said:

"Shut up. I'm still talking."

Silence.

Real silence.

Like the world itself held its breath.

I was so shocked at her bluntness that I didn't even feel her aura retreating until it was almost gone.

And the moment its weight vanished, dozens of students collapsed to their knees.

Some coughing.

Some choking.

Some were shaking uncontrollably with the wide-eyed terror of people who had just seen their life flash before their eyes.

I turned my head back toward Belle.

She stood exactly where she had been before.

Perfect posture.

Expression unreadable.

Except...

There was a smirk on her lips.

Barely there.

Barely visible.

But it was there.

She'd enjoyed that.

Of course, she had.

I couldn't blame her. If I had that kind of presence, I'd probably abuse it too.

And then another thought hit me.

That aura...

That terrifying wave of pure annihilation that nearly wiped out the composure of a thousand people wasn't even close to her full strength.

Not even a fraction of a percent.

And yet it immobilized them like insects caught under a boulder.

Yeah.

The gap between ranks wasn't just a gap.

It was a bottomless canyon.

One I needed to cross if I wanted to break that curse for her.

If I wanted to stand beside her and help her fulfill her nearly impossible goal.

Belle let the silence linger just long enough for the trembling to settle into everyone's bones.Then she straightened, lifted her chin slightly, and said:

"Good luck."

A beat.

"You'll need it."

Most of the students barely heard her.

They were too busy trying to remember how lungs worked after being crushed under her aura. Even the instructors at the edges looked like they'd swallowed something bitter.

As for me...

I felt something tug at the edge of my awareness.

A familiar pull.

Cold.

Weightless.

Like someone wrapping smoke around my limbs.

I looked down.

A black fog, thin, mist-like, but somehow alive, was curling around my legs, coiling up my torso, drifting over my arms. It clung to me the same way it always did before you suddenly find yourself somewhere else. Belle's signature. The kind of control only a handful of freaks could pull off.

Yep.

It was time.

I glanced to my left.

Annalise was still somehow on her feet.

Barely.

Her shoulders were shaking, her breath coming in rapid, uneven gasps. Her eyes looked like she'd just run a marathon while holding her breath underwater. She was doing that thing where she pretended she was fine even though she was about two seconds from face-planting.

Respectable.

Stupid.

But respectable.

Beside her, Nora looked… perfectly fine.

Of course she did.

Her white hair wasn't even ruffled.

She stood with that calm, almost bored expression, hands crossed behind her back, like Belle's aura had been nothing more than a breeze. If anything, she seemed annoyed that the display of Belle's power was over.

What a fangirl.

And then there was Kent.

Kent… was clutching his own neck.

Not in pain.

Not in fear.

But like he was… trying to strangle himself?

For a moment, I wondered if he was attempting to test whether he could choke himself faster than fear could. Then I remembered that was just Kent.

There was no deeper meaning.

I sighed heavily and decided not to look at him again.

Looking at him too long could damage brain cells.

The fog reached my throat.

My vision dimmed.

The stage.

The platform.

The crowd.

Belle's unreadable smile.

All of it dissolved into a black void swallowing me whole.

No sound.

No feeling.

Just darkness.

And then...

A/N: Hello people, my book has been doing terribly these days, so I want you to know that your support helps a lot, even if it's just a single comment, a power stone or golden ticket, whatever it is, it helps, so please do drop stuff like that, and as always...enjoy

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