Chapter 7: Reflection

Nara

Sleep, when it finally came, was a shallow pool Nara dipped into rather than drowned in. Images flickered across her closed eyelids, the screech of brakes, the assassin's empty dead eyes, the blinding light of the Awakening sigil. She woke with a gasp, the unfamiliar chill of her own skin a stark reminder that she wasn't in her body anymore. She sat up and looked at the window which showed Veridia Academy bathed in soft morning light, gardens glowed softly, a breathtaking beautiful start to a dreaded morning.

A soft chime sounded at her door. Not a drone this time, but a discreet notification panel glowing beside it. "Dawnbreaker Attire: Delivered."

Nara padded across the cool floor, her Aura she was still learning to control leaving faint, vanishing snow flakes in her wake. A sleek, dark grey compartment was built into the wall beside the door. Inside, folded with crisp precision, lay her new uniform.

Gone was the standard Veridia first-year grey. This was different. Sleek, clearly high-quality fabric that felt cool and sturdy under her fingertips. The ensemble consisted of, A short, black pleated skirt, A crisp, white button-up blouse with a slender ribbon of pure black silk meant to be tied neatly beneath the blouse, Knee-high boots of black material that felt sturdy and And most striking thing she noticed was a crest. Not the standard Veridia emblem, but a new one – a stylized dawn breaking over intersecting elemental sigils encircled by a ring of Embroidered directly beneath it, shimmering with subtle silver thread, were the characters:

"D B" "S+ " 

The Dawnbreaker Class. Emblazoned for all to see.

Nara carried the uniform into the spacious ensuite bathroom. it was luxurious, with surfaces of frosted glass and pale stone. A large, full-length mirror dominated one wall. She hadn't truly looked at herself since the Awakening, not without terror or grief clouding the view.

She laid the uniform aside and stood before the mirror.

The transformation was absolute. Her skin was no longer just pale; it was like moonlight captured in alabaster, flawless and cool to the touch. Her hair was a shock – a cascade of pure, snow-white that fell past her shoulders, stark and beautiful against her glacial complexion. Her violet eyes, always striking, now held an inner frost, a core of icy light that made them seem to glow faintly in the dimmer light of the bathroom. Her features, already sculpted, appeared sharper, more ethereal, as if carved from ice by a master artisan. The minor imperfections Hara Lee might have fretted over were gone, replaced by an almost unnerving, frozen perfection. 

"This is me now", she thought, the words echoing in the quiet room. Nara Silvaine. The grief for Hara Lee was still a hollow ache, but it was now replaced by a strange sense of… ownership. This body, this power, this terrifying beauty – it wasn't borrowed. It was hers. She traced a finger along her collarbone, feeling the subtle chill radiating from within.

She dressed slowly, methodically. The blouse felt crisp, the silk ribbon cool and smooth against her throat. The blouse hugged her torso, The black skirt swished with a soft sound. The boots molded perfectly to her feet. Finally, she pinned the Dawnbreaker crest with its blazing **S+** over her heart. The figure in the mirror was no longer a terrified imposter or a grieving office worker. She looked like what she was, a newly Awakened of legendary rank, a member of an elite class.

A spark of curiosity, fierce and new, cut through the residual anxiety. My power she held out her hand, palm up.

**[GLACIAL SHAPING]** the System whispered in her mind, more an instinct than words.

She focused. Not on force, but on the feel of the air, the latent moisture within it. She imagined it gathering, coalescing, cooling. A faint mist formed above her palm, swirling lazily. Then, with a soft

hiss, delicate snowflakes began to materialize, spinning in a miniature vortex before settling into a perfect, intricate snowflake the size of her palm, hovering just above her skin. It was cold, beautiful, and utterly under her control. She willed it, and the snowflake elongated, sharpening into a tiny, needle-like shard of ice. A flick of her wrist sent it zipping across the room to thunk harmlessly into the frosted glass shower door, leaving a tiny star-shaped fracture before dissipating. 

A small smile touched her lips. 

She focused inward on the **[FROST AURA]**. She consciously pulled it back, reining in the chill. The faint frost patterns that had been tracing the sink basin vanished. The air warmed noticeably. Then, she let it expand slightly. A visible wave of cold radiated outwards, frosting the mirror in front of her in intricate, patterns, making her breath dramatically visible . She controlled its intensity, making the frost bloom and recede like her icy breath.

 She released the skills, letting her senses return to normal. The frost on the mirror began to melt.

She looked back at her reflection the Dawnbreaker crest shining over her heart, the S+ rank blazing silently above her head. The beauty was still shocking, still felt unnatural, but it was also her now, The icy power humming beneath her skin was no longer alien; it was her strength.

A single tear, cold as a diamond, traced a path down her cheek before freezing solid halfway, a tiny, perfect bead of ice that fell silently to the floor. She didn't wipe it away.

Survival wasn't enough anymore. The Dawnbreaker Class was soon. The other Keys were arriving.

Nara Silvaine touched the Dawnbreaker crest on her chest, her old reflection meeting her new gaze with resolve. It was time to step out of her past reflection and into the new one. She had power now. It was time to learn how to wield it.

**"Master Your Power,"** the System objective pulsed.

She intended to do just that.