***
## **Chapter 4: Marked and Masked**
***
### **Scene 1: Whispers in the Shadows**
The day after the trial rankings, the campus buzzed with whispers. Murmurs of power surges, strange sightings, and mysterious figures in the crowd lingered in the air. Nova Core Academy's hallways were unusually tense, as if the entire school knew something was stirring beneath the surface.
Luke stood alone outside his dorm, glancing over the Skyrail track above. The city shimmered beyond the horizon. He had been trying to keep calm, but the tension gnawed at his instincts.
Boy appeared, smirking with a wrapped-up sandwich in his hand.
"Yo! Luke! You still flexing that 'S-rank' badge like you're the main character?"
Luke cracked a grin.
"Bro, *I am* the main character."
Wah and Giant followed close behind. Giant adjusted his glasses while Wah twirled a keychain made from a magnet chip.
"Alright, alright," Wah grinned. "So, now that we've officially ranked, we gotta start using the Echo Ruins more seriously. That base is our secret weapon."
Giant nodded.
"There's something… ancient down there. I've been scanning the energy—it's connected to Linzite in some way."
Luke narrowed his eyes.
"Keep it quiet. If anyone finds out, we're finished."
***
### **Scene 2: Echo Ruins — Awakening Clues**
Deep underground in the hidden Echo Ruins, the four boys trained harder than ever. Luke's sword technique began to fuse with raw Linzite energy. Wah practiced manipulating multiple metals at once. Boy ran drills on his wind-speed slashes. Giant levitated two stone pillars while decoding glyphs etched into the wall.
A strange symbol glowed on one of the relics—an emblem resembling a twisted *N*, black with a flicker of violet.
"What is this?" Giant asked, tracing the glowing symbol with his hand. "It's not academy-made."
Luke stepped back.
"It's a warning."
***
### **Scene 3: Meanwhile... In the Shadows of Astilia**
Across town, in a building masked as an abandoned arcade, figures met in secret.
A man sat in a leather chair, face veiled by shadows. He tapped his cane slowly.
"How are our young shadows adjusting?" he asked, voice like cold steel.
A teen with white hair and red eyes stood beside him.
"They've blended in perfectly. No suspicions yet."
**Mr. Xavier Lock** smiled faintly.
"Perfect. Soon, they'll divide the core."
The **Nexus** had arrived.
Unbeknownst to the four friends, three new transfer students were admitted into Nova Core Academy the next day. Friendly. Smart. Charming.
And completely fake.
***
### **Scene 4: Dorm Tension — Minnie's Warning**
That evening, Minnie showed up outside the boys' dorm, panicked.
"Something's wrong," she whispered. "One of the new students… I—I think she was following me."
Boy frowned.
"You sure you're not being paranoid?"
Luke placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We believe you."
But it was too late.
On her way back to her dorm, Minnie was ambushed. When the boys found her, she was unconscious, a strange glowing mark on her neck.
Giant gasped.
"This symbol... it's the same one from the Echo Ruins."
Luke clenched his fists.
"They just made it personal."
***
### **Scene 5: Marked and Masked**
Minnie was safe, but something was off. The mark pulsed with faint energy—one that seemed to cancel out her ability to use her Linzite gift temporarily.
"I'm going to find out who did this," Luke said, voice low.
The next day, the new transfer students were introduced. One of them locked eyes with Luke and smiled.
The war had begun, and the battlefield was disguised as classrooms and courtyards.
***
### **To be continued…**
**Next Chapter: "False Friends and Broken Codes"**