The announcement fell across the classroom like a stone into still water.
Every noble straightened instantly. Even Theron, who usually maintained a relaxed posture, sat with rigid attention. The commoners shifted nervously, uncertain how to react to such a presence.
Cel's hands tightened on his desk.
'Esrin.'
The woman who'd nearly killed him. Who'd dragged him from the Ashlands to the Reckoning. Who wielded power that could reshape battlefields with casual thought.
The door opened.
She entered with the same quiet authority Cel remembered. She wore the Chosen Legion's dress uniform, ash-white hair pulled back in a practical style. Ruby eyes swept the classroom once - comprehensive, assessing - before settling into neutral observation.
Every student seemed to hold their breath.
Instructor Saren bowed - deeper than required. "Lady Esrin. The students are honored by your presence."
Esrin's gaze tracked across the tiered rows. When it passed over Cel, there was no flicker of recognition. No acknowledgment. Just the same clinical assessment she gave every other student.
Good. He'd worried she might somehow reveal their connection.
"I'll leave them in your care," Saren said, already moving toward the exit.
The door closed with soft finality.
Silence pressed heavy across the classroom. Forty students watching the Hallowed with varying degrees of awe and terror.
Esrin walked to the podium with unhurried steps. She didn't consult notes. Didn't adjust her uniform. Simply stood there, perfectly composed, and spoke.
"There are two purposes for my visit. First - to answer some of your questions. About being a Chosen. About the Chosen Legion. About what waits beyond these walls."
Her tone carried no warmth. No encouragement. Just statement of fact.
"Second - this evening, the Academy is hosting a formal ball. To test your etiquette in a practical environment."
Murmurs erupted. A ball? The commoners looked nervous. The nobles appeared intrigued.
"Ask your questions," Esrin said.
Silence held for several heartbeats. Finally, a few hesitant hands rose among the back rows.
A commoner girl stood, voice trembling. "Lady Esrin, if it pleases you... what's the Chosen Legion like? How does it differ from serving a Great Clan?"
"The Legion accepts all Chosen regardless of patron deity or birth." Her answer came without hesitation. "Advancement depends solely on capability. No bloodlines. No affiliations. Just competence."
She met the girl's gaze directly.
"If you're weak, you'll be assigned simple tasks. If you're strong, you'll face greater threats. The Legion doesn't waste talent, but it doesn't shelter incompetence either."
The girl sat down, clearly satisfied.
Another hand rose immediately. A boy near the back stood nervously. "Lady Esrin, our final examination is near - a patrol mission. Do you have any advice for us?"
Esrin's expression didn't soften, but something shifted in her tone. Practicality, perhaps. Or the closest thing to concern she would show.
"Don't be heroes. The examination tests judgment as much as strength. Know when to fight and when to retreat. Overconfidence kills more Chosen than any creature." She paused. "And never split your group unless absolutely necessary. You're students, not veterans. Act accordingly."
The boy nodded, sitting down with a sobered expression. Another voice called out from the middle rows.
"Do you see the royals often? What about the princess?"
Something that might have been amusement flickered across Esrin's features. "Occasionally. When duty requires it."
"What about the Emperor?" The voice carried genuine interest. "Or the Empress?"
"Less frequently." Esrin's tone suggested the topic held no particular interest to her. "Next question."
Another hand - a girl near the middle rows, barely able to meet her eyes.
"Lady Esrin... are you the strongest person in the Empire?"
The question hung in the air. Several nobles shifted, as if the directness bordered on improper.
Esrin's expression didn't change, but Cel noticed the slight pause. The way her jaw tightened almost imperceptibly before she spoke.
"Yes."
The answer came flat. Final.
But Cel understood why she'd hesitated.
'She may be the strongest in the Empire. But within the Reckoning, she's only second.'
Veyron held the rank of the First Reckoning. The hooded figure whose presence commanded even Esrin's respect. Whose power Cel couldn't begin to estimate.
But she couldn't reveal that. Couldn't acknowledge the organization's existence.
So she simply claimed the title everyone expected her to hold.
"How does someone become Hallowed?" The same commoner girl asked, voice still trembling slightly. "If... if that's permitted to ask, my lady."
Interest rippled through the classroom.
Esrin's expression shifted slightly - not quite approval, but acknowledgment that this was the right question to ask.
"There are four steps. First - being marked and chosen by a deity. You've all completed that."
She lifted two finger.
"Second - master your Divine Essence completely. Prove to your deity that choosing you was worthwhile. Show them you've mastered their gift."
Cel's jaw tightened.
'What about me then?'
The question screamed through his mind. He had no Divine Essence pool. Nothing to expand. Nothing to grow.
How was he supposed to evolve when the fundamental requirement didn't exist?
"In accordance," Esrin continued, "your deity will expand your Divine Essence pool beyond its birth limits. As you all know, the pool you're born with cannot naturally grow. This expansion is an gift. Recognition that you've earned more."
She raised a third finger.
"Third - achieve a World Creation."
Murmurs rippled through the students. Several looked confused. Others showed recognition.
"This requires not just mastery but understanding. You must comprehend the fundamental nature of your Divine Essence. Its truth."
Her expression remained neutral, but her voice carried weight.
"It is the most difficult step. Every Chosen's essence is fundamentally unique. There are no instruction manuals. No proven methods. No shortcuts."
She paused, letting that sink in.
"Most Chosen never achieve it."
A fourth finger joined the others.
"Fourth - raise your affinity with one paragon to the maximum. To reach perfect resonance with your deity's nature. To become one with their will."
She lowered her hand.
"Only a handful in history have reached this level."
"Could you show us your abilities?" A reckless boy called out. "Like your World?"
Several students still looked confused.
Lior leaned toward Cel, whispering. "What's a World?"
Before Cel could answer, Esrin spoke.
"A World is the manifestation of your Divine Essence's true nature. An expression of power so complete it creates its own reality." Her tone carried the weight of someone explaining a fundamental truth. "It's not something to show off."
Her ruby eyes swept the classroom.
"Besides - if I manifested my World here, the pressure alone would tear most of you apart."
The classroom went very still.
Several students paled. The excitement drained away, replaced by uncomfortable awareness of the gap between them and the woman standing at the podium.
Another hand rose.
A commoner boy Cel didn't know well. His voice came uncertain. "Lady Esrin, why were you announced without a family name? If you're a noble."
The question was innocent. Curious.
But every noble in the front rows went rigid. Glaring at the boy who'd asked such an impertinent question.
Cel watched their faces, noticing something else.
Only Percival Tempest reacted differently.
His emerald eyes narrowed not at the commoner who'd asked.
At Esrin.
His gaze locked onto her with an intensity that bordered on hostile.
'Did something happen between them?'
Cel filed the observation away as Esrin answered.
"I forsook it."
The answer was cold. Final. Brooking no further questions on the subject.
The commoner who'd asked paled, clearly realizing he'd touched something sensitive.
But Esrin's attention had already moved on.
"Any other questions?"
More hands. More inquiries about the Legion, about missions, about what life looked like beyond the Academy walls.
Esrin answered each with the same clinical precision.
Finally, she glanced toward the window. "That's sufficient. Prepare yourselves for this evening. The ball begins at sunset."
She walked toward the exit without ceremony.
Her boots clicked against stone - steady, unhurried. Every student tracked her movement, watching the Hallowed leave with the same presence she'd arrived with.
The door closed.
Breath rushed back into the room like a tide returning.
"Did you see her eyes?"
"The way she moved—"
"A Hallowed! An actual Hallowed!"
Even the nobles couldn't fully contain their awe. They'd seen powerful Chosen regularly. But a Hallowed was something else entirely.
Cel sat quietly, processing.
His mind churned through everything Esrin had said. The four steps. The requirements. The impossibilities stacked against him.
'How the hell am I supposed to become stronger?'
The question burned without answer.
Instructor Saren returned, calling for attention and dismissing them to prepare for the evening. Students rose in clusters, still buzzing with energy.
But Cel barely heard her, staring at the empty podium where the Empire's greatest defender had stood.
And wondering if he'd ever reach even a fraction of that strength.
His thoughts were interrupted by Lior's elbow nudging his ribs.
"Can you believe we'll actually get to see a real ball?" Lior's voice carried nervous excitement.
Cel glanced at him. "You know you have to dance, right?"
Lior's excitement evaporated instantly. "Oh no. I forgot about that. I'm—I'm going to make a fool of myself."
"All of us are," Cel said.
The truth settled between them. The commoners had learned basic steps in a few months. The nobles had been training since childhood.
Tonight would make that gap painfully visible.
But as the students filed toward their dormitories to prepare, Cel found himself thinking about something else entirely.
Esrin would be there. Teaching. Demonstrating proper form and grace.
And despite everything - despite nearly killing him, despite the cold brutality she'd shown - he couldn't deny one simple truth.
She was the most elegant woman in the Empire.
The ideal every noble daughter aspired to become.
Tonight, he'd see that grace in its proper context.
He was… curious to see.