Chapter 8.The Concord

The cold air hit Ethan the moment he stepped inside the towering gates of the Concord. The fortress stretched before him like something torn from another world — a place not built but forged. Vast towers rose from deep craters, their walls laced with glowing sigils. Lightning danced across the distant cliffs like veins in a wounded sky.

Above, the clouds churned in unnatural spirals. It felt like the world here held its breath.

His escort, a silent figure in obsidian armor, didn't say a word. They walked through a long hallway that pulsed faintly with arcane energy. As they passed through a security archway, the doors hissed open to reveal a chamber filled with flickering mirrors. A black uniform was folded neatly on a metallic pedestal.

"Change," the escort said, then turned and walked out.

Ethan stepped toward the mirror.

The moment he caught his reflection, he froze.

His chest had changed ...lean muscle lined his torso in a way that hadn't been there before. His shoulders were slightly broader. His posture was more upright, natural, effortless.

He leaned in.

His eyes… once brown, now shimmered with a deep, golden-hazel glow , not constant, but flickering like something lived behind them. His jawline was sharper, cheekbones more pronounced. The face in the mirror looked familiar, but... refined, evolved.

He raised his hand slowly, staring at the faint blue energy trailing behind his fingers.

"what… in the hell?" he whispered.

The uniform clung to him as if tailored to his new form. Sleek, reinforced fabric with navy trims and a small sigil etched on the chest. He exhaled and turned toward the door.

---

After a short walk through glass corridors suspended above hollowed stone caverns, Ethan was brought to a sterile medbay. A pair of technicians stood behind floating consoles.

"Radiation and Rift assessment," one of them muttered. "Step onto the glyph."

He obeyed.

Rings of light rotated around him, emitting soft hums. Scans passed over his skin like waves of static. Something in the readings made one of the technicians squint, but neither said a word to him.

"Cleared. Barely," one whispered to the other.

---

The walk to his dorm was quiet. At last, the escort stopped in front of a door labeled C-47.

"Your room. Your roommate's expecting you."

The door slid open.

The room was spartan ,two beds, two trunks, a single desk. And sitting on one of the bunks was a guy around his age. He had silver hair swept back into a neat undercut, storm-gray eyes, and a smirk that made him look like he already knew too much.

"Well damn," he said, rising smoothly. "You must be breacher 369."

Ethan blinked. " what?"

The guy chuckled and pointed at Ethan's eyes. "Hazel flames. Subtle. I'm Raiden. Been stuck here a year. You?"

"…Just got pulled in," Ethan said quietly.

Raiden gave him a nod of sympathy. "Rift catch, huh? Welcome to the cage."

---

Raiden offered to show him around. The Concord was nothing short of overwhelming.

They crossed narrow bridges overlooking training pits, saw Breachers sparring with weapons infused in glowing elemental fields, some meditating under gravity shifts, others sprinting through obstacle fields while instructors barked commands.

Some Breachers were laughing in groups. Others stared at the walls like they weren't really there. A few looked downright broken.

"How many are here?" Ethan asked.

"In this branch? Few hundred. But they only keep the… promising ones," Raiden replied. "Most of the weak get filtered out during training."

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Filtered out?"

Raiden didn't elaborate.

They passed a garden lit by a glowing mana lamp shaped like a tree. Several Breachers sat under it reading or eating quietly. Above them, drones moved through the air on silent flight paths.

"It's not all drills and nightmares," Raiden said. "We've got decent food, shared libraries, occasional downtime. Just don't break the rules."

A deep chime rang through the facility.

Raiden's face changed. "Assembly. Move fast or Caelis will skin you alive."

---

The Assembly Hall was cavernous like a cathedral carved into stone.

Hundreds of Breachers sat in ringed rows, all facing a single platform where a tall, regal woman stood. Her platinum hair was bound into a precise coil, and her robes shimmered with layered runes that glowed like branding irons.

"Warden Caelis," Raiden whispered. "Head of this circus."

She stepped forward. The room fell silent.

"You are not prisoners," she said coldly. "But do not mistake yourselves for citizens either. You are anomalies. Rift-born. Breachers. And you will learn what that means."

She listed the rules:

No leaving the grounds without clearance. No mana use beyond assigned sectors. —No contact with the cities outside. No tampering with Concord infrastructure.

"Violators," she concluded, "will be sanctioned. Expulsion is mercy and only to those of this world. Disintegration is law for breachers."

She paused.

Then moved on.

No mention of fighting. None.

Ethan leaned toward Raiden. "They just skipped combat?"

Raiden chuckled low. "They didn't forget. They want us dangerous. They're just waiting to see who breaks first."

Ethan sat back, unease crawling up his spine.

This was not an ordinary school.

This was practically a military facility for the gifted.

And he had just been thrown into the mix of it all.