Aboard the Nova Sanctum – Two Months Later
(Subjective Time Passed: Two Years)
Lucian sat quietly in the Sanctum Nova’s command center, leaning back on the curved obsidian chair that seemed to mold around his posture. The lighting was low, with soft blue pulses running along the walls like a living heartbeat. In front of him, a translucent hexagonal interface shimmered with streams of data.
A voice echoed through the air—calm, masculine, confident.
"False signal dropped, Commander. No traces left. They’re watching. Just as you planned."
Lucian nodded once, slow and silent.
"Appreciated. Shall I prep the next distraction?"
"Not yet," Lucian muttered as he stood up, brushing his fingers along the console. "Let them stew for now."
He turned, the curved glass doors sliding open without a sound as he stepped out into the central corridor of the ship.
The air inside the Sanctum Nova was always clean. Not sterile, not artificial—clean. Alive. Like the ship itself breathed and adjusted with its occupants. Walls shifted slightly, reacting to his movement, lights adjusting to his steps.
Lucian passed by floating data orbs, dormant drones hanging like bats from magnetic veins in the ceiling, and walls that rippled with runes glowing softly. At the far end of the corridor was a set of twin gates—the entrance to the Holographic Projection and Training Simulation Deck.
Inside, the floor had become a floating platform suspended above a shifting elemental battlefield—fire on one side, glacial winds on the other, and fractured stone in between. Terrain changed every few minutes. The training sim never repeated.
Vyn was balancing mid-air on a spiral of wind, eyes closed, swords dancing around her on their own as she focused.
Reia stood in the middle of the storm, covered in glowing circuits as she controlled over a dozen spell circles in perfect sync. Her eyes tracked everything, calculating outcomes before they even played out.
Silas was laughing while punching through a stone behemoth the sim had thrown at him—his reinforced coat gone, upper body bare and glowing with new energy cores pulsing across his arms.
Evelyn—calm and deadly—stood atop a glacier, weaving threads of raw mana between her fingers, each one slicing through whatever approached her.
They’d been here for two months.
Time dilation inside the Sanctum’s core chamber made every hour outside stretch into weeks. They’d trained like maniacs. Broken down and rebuilt themselves. Again and again.
They were no longer students.
Lucian watched for a bit, leaning on the rail, arms crossed. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Then Silas turned and shouted.
"Oi, boss man’s back from his cave!"
Evelyn stopped her spell with a flick. The glacier cracked behind her.
Reia dropped her circuits and jogged up the slope to meet him. "Took you long enough," she said, brushing sweat from her cheek.
Lucian nodded. "You all look good."
"We are good," Silas said, stretching with a crack of his back. "I’m this close to punching time itself."
"Don’t tempt him," Vyn said softly, walking over with her swords now sheathed behind her back.
Reia exhaled and sat down on a shifting block of floating terrain. "So what now? We’re basically gods. We can’t exactly call ourselves Class Zero forever."
Silas flopped beside her. "Yeah, that name’s cursed now anyway. Can’t believe the board still hasn’t owned up to dumping us."
"Let them rot," Evelyn said, sitting beside them. "They’ll see us eventually. Just not like we were."
Reia glanced at him. "You’re not gonna name us, are you?"
Lucian shrugged. "You’re the one who likes naming stuff."
"True," she smirked. "Okay, let’s see..."
Silas raised a hand. "Punch Squad."
"No," Evelyn said flatly.
"What about Nova Force?" Vyn offered.
Reia wrinkled her nose. "Too spacey."
Evelyn thought for a second. "Shadowflare?"
Lucian raised an eyebrow. "We’re not a boyband."
Reia clicked her tongue and leaned forward. "Alright. Listen. This ship—Sanctum Nova—it’s literally the reason we’re alive, right?"
"So," Reia continued, "we’re not Class Zero anymore."
"We’re Sanctum Zero."
Vyn nodded first. "It fits."
Silas grinned. "I like it."
Evelyn looked around, then gave a small nod. "Approved."
Lucian looked at each of them. His eyes flicked to the console floating beside him.
He typed something in silently. The ship’s main AI echoed in.
"Squad Name Registered: Sanctum Zero. Welcome."
Lights across the chamber flickered once, acknowledging the name.
Lucian gave a small smile. "Then it’s official."
Reia clapped once. "Hell yeah."
Silas leaned back and yawned. "Can we eat now?"
"Go," Lucian said. "Frank’s already prepped the mess. Steak sim’s on."
Everyone started moving out, chattering as they walked. Vyn paused briefly beside Lucian.
"You’re hiding something," she said quietly.
She didn’t press. Just smiled and walked off.
Lucian turned and exited through a different corridor—one not marked.
Only he could access it.
He walked for a while. The corridor twisted, bent dimensions, until he entered what looked like a quiet, floating space within the core of the ship.
Dark sky stretched above. Stars that weren’t stars blinked. The air shimmered with mana. Gravity didn’t behave here. Things floated as they pleased.
Lucian moved toward a floating pedestal at the center.
Upon it rested the egg.
Black. Cracked with glowing golden lines. Ancient-looking. Bigger than it was two months ago. Something thumped softly inside it now—like a slow heartbeat.
Lucian sat in front of it, knees bent, elbows on thighs.
ITEM: PRIMORDIAL DRAKE EGG (Bound)
It pulsed once as if acknowledging him.
He stared at it, then opened his hand.
Mana gathered slowly in his palm.
Just enough to wake it up.
And the egg... responded.
The character illustration is out, you can check it out in the novel page and vote for your favorite character. Thank you.