The massive screen continued to glow at the front of the hall, casting a stark light over the assembled guilds.
Seven words. Seven classifications.
BREACH. DOMAIN. TRIAL. SOVEREIGN. RELIC. CORRUPTION. ABYSS.
Murmurs spread quietly through the room. Director Cross allowed the noise to settle before continuing. "As you can see, the system recognizes seven classifications." His gaze swept the room. "But based on the raid reports submitted earlier today... only four have been encountered so far."
The display shifted.
Footage from Aurora's raid appeared first: concrete streets, collapsed warehouses, and Mandible Crawlers tearing through the ground. BREACH. Cross spoke calmly. "Continuous monster emergence until the core entity was destroyed."
Another screen activated beside it, showing the refinery complex with storm clouds swirling violently and lightning crashing between steel towers. The Stormforged Sentinel descended through the arcs. DOMAIN. Cross continued. "Environmental manipulation linked to the core entity."
A third screen appeared, showing mutated creatures twisting unnaturally across broken terrain—limbs splitting, bone reforming. CORRUPTION. "Biological instability."
Then the fourth recording: the underground subway tunnels, steel doors sliding open one chamber at a time, with enemy groups waiting behind reinforced barriers. TRIAL. "Sequential encounters leading toward the core."
Cross folded his hands behind his back. "These four classifications are the only types confirmed through direct raid experience. Which leaves three categories still unobserved."
The display highlighted them: SOVEREIGN. RELIC. ABYSS.
Silence spread across the hall. Elara Voss tilted her head slightly. "So Breach gates flood monsters."
Ronan Calder spoke calmly from where Iron Bastion stood. "And Domain gates let the boss control the battlefield."
Helena Vireaux nodded once. "That matches our experience."
Mira leaned slightly toward Garrick. "Corruption gates are the nightmare fuel ones."
"Accurate," he grunted.
Lucien tilted his head. "And Trial gates are the dungeon crawls."
Across the hall, Darius Kade crossed his arms. "So four known. And three mysteries." He pointed lazily upward. "Sovereign. Relic. Then the last one. Abyss."
The word hung in the air like a weight.
Nox Caelis watched the screen, calm and unmoving. But the word echoed somewhere deeper. Abyss. For the briefest moment, a memory surfaced: a sky split open like shattered glass, black fissures tearing across the world, and cities swallowed whole. Something vast moved beyond the fractures—something that had no shape humanity could understand. The last gate. The one that ended everything.
Nox blinked once. The memory vanished. His expression didn't change, but two people noticed.
Across the hall, Elias Verdan had been watching the screen, but his gaze shifted toward Nox. Just briefly, as if measuring something. Near the front, Cassian Verity's eyes also moved. Quiet and observant, the appraiser watched Nox for a moment longer than anyone else before looking back at the screen.
Across the Aurora line, Lucien noticed both of them—Elias and Cassian, both looking at the same person.
Lucien leaned slightly closer, his voice low. "You planning to share something with the class?"
Nox didn't look at him. "Not yet."
Lucien studied him for a second, then leaned back. "Cryptic."
"That's his brand," Mira whispered from the other side.
Director Cross continued speaking at the front. "These classifications will determine how future raids are organized. Understanding gate behavior will be essential for survival."
Cassian stepped forward slightly, his calm voice carrying through the hall. "We are still observing patterns." His gaze moved briefly across the gathered awakened. "Each gate type behaves differently." He looked toward the classification list, specifically the final three. "But the system has not yet revealed the full structure. We will learn."
The room fell quiet again. Darius Kade smiled faintly. "Hope one of those shows up soon."
Ronan Calder answered calmly. "Careful what you wish for."
Behind them, Nox continued watching the screen, completely calm, as if the final word on the display meant nothing at all. But Elias Verdan was still watching him—and this time, Cassian noticed that too.