Ecilipsia

Lightning split the night sky above Blackwick City, revealing the towering silhouette of Blackthorn Boarding Academy.

For a brief second, the academy looked less like a school...

...and more like a fortress built to challenge fate itself. People across the world spoke its name with equal parts admiration and fear. Because Blackthorn wasn't an ordinary academy. It was where the strongest were forged....and the weakest disappeared.

Here, survival came before graduation. Every examination could become a battlefield. Every mission could become a funeral. Strength alone meant nothing. Only those who possessed power, intelligence, strategy, and unwavering determination earned the right to stand at the top.

The academy accepted only students with exceptional abilities, intelligence, combat potential, or extraordinary talent. Here, survival often came before graduation. Examinations could become battlefields. Training missions could become funerals. And failure...

could cost far more than a grade. But Blackthorn had another rule.

One that every student learned soon after arriving. Never underestimate the five.

The five great teams. The five factions that had shaped Blackthorn for generations.

They weren't merely school teams. They were the five pillars of the academy. Each possessed its own philosophy. Its own hierarchy.

Its own way of thinking. And most importantly...its own kind of strength.

Cyrus - The Sun's Fury Energetic, fast, and powerful students who thrived on strength and raw combat.

Elysia - The Gentle Shield Kind, protective, soldier‑like students who fought not only for themselves but for others.

Lunaria - The Wild Cards Playful, teasing, yet dangerously intelligent - the most unpredictable and talented minds.

Seleric - Calm After Thunder Silent, disciplined, and fast. Students who struck with precision after waiting for the perfect moment.

And then...

There was Thorn. The most feared. The rarest. The team where perfection wasn't admired...

It was expected. Every student dreamed of joining Thorn. Very few ever did.

At Thorn...

failure was almost unforgivable.

Every student dreamed of entering Thorn. Few survived the requirements. Fewer remained.

Because Thorn didn't simply choose the strongest. It searched for something much rarer.

Potential.

The kind that could change the balance of Blackthorn itself.

Together...the five teams controlled almost every aspect of academy life.

Competitions.

Rankings.

Training grounds.

Missions.

Student councils. Even the unofficial hierarchy of the academy.

They competed constantly.

They challenged one another.

They hated losing.

But they also understood something.

Without the five...

Blackthorn would collapse.

Cyrus was its fire.

Elysia was its shield.

Lunaria was its unpredictability.

Seleric was its precision.

And Thorn...was its blade.

Five teams. Five philosophies. Five different kinds of strength.

Yet beneath all of them...something had begun to change.

The academy rewarded victories with rankings and points.

Lose a battle...Lose your place. Lose too many...And Blackthorn would forget your name.

For the past few weeks...strange rumors had been spreading throughout Blackthorn.

At first...they were nothing more than whispers.

A second-year student had disappeared after evening training.

Then another.

A third-year student supposedly never returned from a mission beyond the eastern grounds.

The academy provided explanations.

Transfers.

Accidents.

Medical leave.

Personal reasons.

But the explanations never seemed to satisfy anyone.

Because students were beginning to notice something.

The missing students...were never seen again. Their rooms remained empty. Their names disappeared from certain ranking boards. Their belongings were quietly removed.

And whenever someone asked the teachers what had happened...

the answer was always the same. "Don't involve yourself." That only made the rumors worse. Some claimed the students had failed a secret examination. Others whispered that Blackthorn had a hidden training ground beneath the academy.

Some believed the missing students had discovered something they weren't supposed to know. And the darkest rumor...

was almost never spoken aloud. They said...Blackthorn itself was choosing who disappeared. Of course...most students laughed whenever they heard it. Ghost stories. Conspiracy theories. Fear spreading through teenagers. Nothing more. At least...

that's what they told themselves. Then...three nights ago... another student disappeared. No witness. No struggle. No warning.

His room was found locked from the inside. His uniform was still hanging beside his bed. His shoes were still beneath the desk.

But the student himself...was gone After that night...the rumors stopped being funny. Tonight...the academy was unusually quiet.

Lightning flashed again beyond the windows. Thunder rolled across the mountains.

Students gathered in the corridors, speaking in low voices. "...Did you hear?"

"About the missing student?"

"They said he was from Seleric."

"No. I heard he was from Lunaria."

"Then why was his room locked?"

"I don't know."

"Stop talking about it."

"Why?"

"Because someone might hear you." The conversation immediately died. A few students glanced over their shoulders. Nobody was there. Still...they lowered their voices.

Because everyone had begun to notice the same thing.

Teachers were watching them more carefully.

Security around the academy had increased.

And the five team captains had been called to a private meeting.

No one knew why.

Outside, thunder shook the city once again.

Inside the academy, whispers spread through every hallway.

A new trial had been announced.

No one knew its purpose.

No one knew its destination.

But everyone felt the same unsettling truth...

This time, the academy wasn't testing who was the strongest.

It was choosing who would survive.

At the very top of Blackthorn's ranking board...

one name remained untouched.

#1 LUEN CASSIAN

The academy's strongest captain.

A student known for intelligence, strategy, combat ability...and an almost unnerving calmness.

He stood alone near one of the academy's highest windows.

Rain slid down the glass beside him.

Below...hundreds of students continued whispering.

Luen listened silently.

His emerald eyes remained fixed on the dark campus.

He had heard the rumors.

The missing students.

The strange changes inside the academy.

Something wasn't right.

He could feel it.

And for reasons he couldn't explain...

tonight felt different. As if Blackthorn wasn't preparing for another examination. As if...someone was preparing for them. Luen slowly turned away from the window. His expression remained calm. But his eyes had hardened. Because somewhere deep inside Blackthorn...something had already begun moving. Something the students couldn't see. Something the teachers refused to explain. And tomorrow...the academy would send them straight toward it. They just didn't know yet...