The crack in the pillar spread like lightning trapped in stone.
Thin lines shot upward, branching across the surface before stopping just below the top.
No explosion.
No collapse.
Just silence.
The kind that comes right before people start blaming someone.
William slowly lifted both hands.
"…I didn't touch it."
Kai pointed immediately.
"You definitely did something."
"I was standing."
"You were standing suspiciously."
"That is not a crime."
"In this building? It might be."
Mara ignored both of them and stepped closer to the damaged pillar. She ran two fingers over the crack, then looked back at William.
"Again."
William blinked.
"…Again?"
"Do what you did."
"I have no idea what I did."
"Unfortunate."
"That sounds like your problem."
"It became yours when you arrived."
Kai whispered to Jonah, "I respect her commitment to being unpleasant."
Jonah's expression didn't change.
"She's efficient."
"You two need hobbies," Kai muttered.
William looked at his hand.
The glow was gone.
Normal skin again.
No answers.
He flexed his fingers once.
Nothing.
Mara folded her arms.
"Focus."
"On what?"
"The feeling before it happened."
"That narrows it down to panic."
"Try harder."
William let out a breath.
The room watched him.
Even Kai had gone quiet.
That alone was disturbing.
He closed his eyes.
Thought back.
The pressure.
The hum.
The sense that something inside him had leaned forward.
He reached for that feeling again—
and the air shifted.
The nearest pillar vibrated softly.
Kai jumped.
"Nope."
William's eyes snapped open.
"I felt that."
"So did the wall," Kai said.
Mara's gaze sharpened.
"Interesting."
"You keep saying that like it's good news."
"It depends who survives."
"That is a terrible sentence."
The doors behind them opened.
Three people entered wearing dark coats marked with silver lines near the shoulders.
Not teachers.
Not guards.
Something heavier.
They moved like people who expected space to clear for them.
It did.
Kai leaned toward William.
"Why do dangerous people always dress dramatically?"
"To save time," William said.
The woman at the front stopped beside Mara.
"Report."
Mara gestured to the pillar.
"Unstable response. Reactive pulse. No formal control."
The woman's eyes settled on William.
Cold. Measuring.
"How old?"
William frowned.
"I'm standing right here."
"No one asked for commentary."
Kai gasped quietly.
"Oh, she's worse than Mara."
William glanced sideways.
"Please stop ranking them."
The woman continued staring.
"He triggered stone resonance on first contact?"
"Yes," Mara said.
"Without training?"
"Yes."
The woman looked mildly annoyed by that fact.
William found that strangely satisfying.
She stepped closer.
"Name."
"William."
"Full name."
"Depends who's asking."
Her expression didn't move.
Kai whispered, "I support this decision."
Mara pinched the bridge of her nose.
The woman spoke again.
"Full name."
William gave it.
She nodded once.
"Any prior manifestations?"
"Last night," Mara answered.
William looked at her.
"You were going to let me speak at any point?"
"No."
"That tracks."
The woman turned and addressed the others.
"Move him to provisional Class One."
Kai nearly choked.
"There are classes already? We skipped too many steps."
William frowned.
"Why?"
"Because power without control is either valuable or dangerous."
"That's not reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Kai threw both hands up.
"They all talk like this!"
Jonah spoke for the first time in several minutes.
"What about us?"
The room paused slightly.
The woman studied Jonah, then Kai.
"Standard assessment."
Kai pointed to himself.
"By standard, do you mean safe?"
"No."
"Then choose another word."
Mara finally spoke.
"Kai and Jonah to Class One-B pending review."
Kai looked relieved.
"I don't know what that means, but it sounds less cursed."
William glanced at Jonah.
Jonah looked calm.
Too calm.
Again.
They were escorted upstairs through corridors wider than the last set.
Students passed in groups, some openly staring now.
News traveled fast here.
One boy nudged his friend and nodded toward William's wristband.
A girl near the staircase whispered, "That's him."
William sighed.
"I hate that sentence more every time."
Kai walked beside him.
"Enjoy it."
"I won't."
"People only whisper when you're interesting."
"Or dangerous."
"That is also interesting."
They stopped in front of two double doors marked with black symbols.
Mara faced them.
"One-A."
She pointed to the left corridor.
"One-B."
Then to the right.
Kai looked between them.
"…So this is where emotional damage begins."
"You'll adapt," Mara said.
"No one has ever said that kindly."
William looked at Kai.
"Try not to get expelled in one hour."
"You say that like I need an hour."
Jonah picked up his bag.
"See you later."
Then he and Kai headed toward the right corridor with another staff member.
Kai called back over his shoulder.
"If they test me physically, I'm lying down!"
No one responded.
William almost smiled.
Then Mara opened the doors to One-A.
The classroom was large enough to be a lecture hall.
Rows of desks curved downward toward a central floor space instead of a teacher's podium.
More arena than classroom.
Around twenty students were already inside.
Conversation died the second he entered.
That was dramatic.
And annoying.
Mara walked to the center.
"New transfer. William."
She said nothing else.
Then she left.
William stared after her.
"…That can't be the full introduction."
The doors shut behind him.
Great.
He turned back to the room.
Everyone was still looking.
One girl near the front had silver hair tied high and an expression that suggested boredom was a personal insult.
A broad-shouldered boy near the middle cracked his knuckles slowly.
Another student was asleep with his head on the desk.
At least one normal person.
William adjusted his bag strap.
"…Good morning?"
No response.
The silver-haired girl raised one hand.
"You broke a resonance pillar?"
"That depends how expensive it was."
A few students smirked.
Progress.
The broad-shouldered boy stood.
"If you're in One-A, prove it."
William sighed immediately.
"There it is."
The boy stepped into the open floor space.
"Fight me."
William dropped his bag beside an empty desk.
"It is too early for this."
"It's noon," said another student.
"Then it's too noon for this."
A small laugh came from the back row.
Better progress.
The boy cracked his neck.
"Scared?"
"No," William said. "Tired."
"Same thing."
"It really isn't."
The silver-haired girl leaned back in her seat.
"This might be entertaining."
William looked around the room.
No teacher.
No intervention.
No one stopping this.
He exhaled slowly.
"…This school has terrible policies."
The big boy rushed him.
Fast.
Too fast for someone that size.
William moved on instinct—
and the world tilted for half a second.
The boy's fist passed through empty air where William had been.
Gasps around the room.
William now stood two steps to the side, equally surprised.
"…Okay," he said quietly.
"That again."
The room became very interested.