It was chaos in the atrium after that.
Not loud—no one dared shout over the humming energy—but the air itself felt different. Like a stormcloud had drifted in through the skylights, charged and waiting.
Chohee didn't move.
Neither did Luna.
Until Madame Virelle finally cleared her throat and forced the moment to break.
"Han Chohee will undergo private calibration. Until then, she is not to be ranked, partnered, or engaged in Trials. Any attempts to access her LP data will result in lockdown penalties."
Every student's holo-cuff lit up with a soft chime, confirming the directive. Some groaned, others exchanged bewildered looks. This was not how things worked.
No one got blackout status. Not even the system's founders' kids.
Chohee lowered her gaze at last and walked silently toward the Virelle side of the hall. Her shoes made no sound on the floor. It was eerie.
And Luna could feel it: eyes. On her. On Leejun. On the impossible twelve-thousand score, and now this girl—his sister—dropped into the academy like a glitch from a forbidden archive.
"Come on," Leejun said quietly. "Let's get out of the open."
They moved fast, cutting through the thinning crowd.
As they passed the leaderboard screen, Luna caught her own name again—still pulsing red.
#1. Luna Chae & Han Leejun – LP: 12,901
It didn't feel like a triumph anymore.
It felt like a target.
---
Back in the House Astra lounge, Luna barely had time to sink into the plush velvet couch before the questions started flying.
Ren leaned over the backrest, expression somewhere between thrilled and horrified. "Twelve thousand? Girl, what did you two do in that Trial? Merge souls?!"
"It wasn't like that," Luna said quickly. "It just… happened."
Elira, perched on the armrest, gave her a narrow-eyed look. "That kind of surge doesn't just happen. You triggered a SyncFlare. People train their whole lives to even attempt that."
"We didn't plan it," Leejun said.
"But you felt it, didn't you?" Ivy's voice cut in from the hallway. She stepped in slowly, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Luna stood. "Ivy—"
"You burned through the ceiling of the algorithm," Ivy said. "That's not a flare. That's a rewrite."
The room quieted. Ivy stepped closer, stopping just a foot away from Luna.
"Whatever you unlocked," she said softly, "they're not going to let it stand. Virelle's investigating for a reason."
"We didn't cheat," Leejun snapped.
"I know," Ivy said. "But that's not the point."
Luna's heart pounded. "Then what is the point?"
Ivy turned, walking to the glass balcony overlooking the atrium. "That girl. Chohee. She's not just some orphan they pulled out of nowhere. She's a reset."
"A what?" Ren asked.
Ivy looked over her shoulder. "A wildcard. Something's broken in the algorithm. And instead of fixing it, they threw in a ghost."
---
Later that night…
The moon hung low over Amour Academy, its glow caught in the crystalline walls like a second sun.
Luna sat at her desk, holo-display flickering with unread messages. She ignored them all.
Instead, she opened the live LP stream—where students across the academy obsessively tracked rising and falling scores.
But Chohee's profile didn't appear.
It wasn't just hidden.
It didn't exist.
Luna stared at the void space in the registry, unease curling through her.
Then—
A new message appeared. No sender ID.
> Do you want to know who I really am?
Luna's breath caught.
Another ping.
> Meet me. Rooftop. Midnight.
Come alone.
She stared at it, heart racing.
And even though every part of her said don't, her fingers were already moving.
She typed one word.
> Okay.
The academy roof was colder than Luna expected.
A slow wind whispered through the open arches, carrying the scent of night jasmine and ozone. Below, Amour Academy glittered like a dream—spires, gardens, and glowing pathways looping like veins of starlight.
But Luna didn't care about the view.
She was looking for her ghost.
Then—movement.
Chohee stepped out from behind one of the ornate pillars, silhouetted in silver-blue moonlight. No crest. No rank. Just a shadow in perfect control.
"You came," she said softly.
"I had to," Luna replied.
Chohee studied her for a beat. "You weren't scared."
"I was," Luna admitted. "Still am. But you didn't come here to hurt me."
Chohee's mouth quirked, not quite a smile. "How can you tell?"
"Because I've worn that armor," Luna said. "And I know how heavy it is."
Chohee's eyes flickered. "Armor only works when people don't see the cracks."
They stood in silence, tension sharp between them—but not hostile. Curious. Cautious.
Then, Chohee stepped forward. "You changed everything today."
"So did you," Luna said.
"I wasn't supposed to exist in the system," Chohee murmured. "They blacklisted me before I even set foot here. My LP came back null every time. Like I wasn't even compatible with humanity."
"That's impossible," Luna whispered.
Chohee's gaze met hers, fierce. "Is it? Or did they just decide I wasn't worth calculating?"
Luna's throat tightened. "Then why bring you now?"
"They didn't," Chohee said. "I forced it."
Luna blinked. "How?"
But Chohee shook her head. "Not tonight. I'll tell you more soon—but you should know, your score… wasn't just a SyncFlare. You hit something old. Something buried."
Before Luna could respond—
A sound behind them.
Both girls turned fast.
A figure stepped from the shadows, slow, deliberate.
Riven Kai.
His silver eyes shimmered under the moonlight, his dark jacket billowing like a storm cloud as he moved toward them.
Chohee's expression shifted—sharp again, guarded.
"You're not supposed to be here," she said.
"I could say the same for you," Riven replied smoothly.
Luna stepped between them. "Riven—why are you following me?"
"I wasn't," he said, gaze narrowing. "I was following her."
Chohee didn't flinch. "Of course you were. The academy's golden weapon. Always sniffing for a threat."
Riven looked her up and down, slowly. "You are one."
Chohee's lips curled slightly. "Good."
"Enough," Luna cut in. "Why are you really here, Riven?"
For the first time, his confidence cracked.
He looked at her, eyes burning with something raw.
"I don't know," he said. "I just… saw your name on that screen, and I couldn't breathe."
Silence fell.
Chohee turned away, giving them space without comment.
But Luna felt her pulse hammering.
Riven took a step closer. "You were never supposed to get ahead of me, Luna. You were supposed to stay where I could see you. Predict you."
"I'm not yours to predict," she said.
He smiled faintly. "I'm starting to realize that."
A beat passed.
Then he leaned in just slightly.
"But Luna," he said, voice low and crackling, "if they try to tear you down—I'll burn the whole system before I let them."
He turned and vanished back into the shadows.
Luna stood there, shaken.
Beside her, Chohee spoke again, quieter now. "You're not just rewriting the algorithm," she said. "You're breaking the game."
Luna's breath fogged in the night air.
"Then I guess I'll need allies."
Chohee turned to her fully.
"Then you have one."
And just like that—something shifted. A tentative thread spun between them. Not trust, not yet.
But the beginning of it