Chapter One - THE SMILE THAT LIES
The morning air shimmered with the scent of burnt asphalt and perfume. Shinsei Academy stood like a jewel in the heart of Reigahara City — white towers, glass halls, and banners that fluttered with the golden emblem of the royal clans.
Students poured in from sleek black cars and silver bikes, uniforms sharp, eyes full of pride.
And among them, walking as if the world itself bowed beneath her heels, was Myra-Chin Kurogane.
Her hair fell in waves of silver-black, her lips glossed to perfection. The whispers followed her — half admiration, half envy.
> “That’s her, the Kurogane heiress.”
“Didn’t her father just buy another company?”
“She’s scary, though. Beautiful, but… scary.”
Myra heard them all and smiled. It was the kind of smile that didn’t reach her eyes — the kind her mother taught her to wear. “A lady,” her mother always said, “does not show weakness, even when her heart is burning.”
She adjusted her blazer, the Kurogane crest glinting on her chest. Another day of pretending. Another day of keeping her enemies close and her friends even closer.
As she entered Class 3-A, her gaze fell on a girl seated by the window — Azuka-Lin.
The morning light touched Azuka’s hair, making it glow faintly blue-black. Her eyes — silver with a ring of violet — flickered with something unnatural. She was quiet, always distant, the kind of person Myra couldn’t read. That made her dangerous.
Their eyes met for a second.
For reasons Myra couldn’t explain, her chest tightened.
“Morning, Myra-Chin!” squealed Reina, one of her “friends.”
Myra’s lips curled. “Morning, Reina. You’re late again. Trying to make an entrance?”
Reina giggled nervously. Everyone knew Myra’s words carried a blade.
Class began, but Myra’s focus drifted. The teacher’s voice was a distant hum. Her eyes returned to Azuka-Lin. There was something off today — a faint pulse in the air around her, like static before lightning.
Then, it happened.
A sharp c***k tore through the classroom. The glass windows trembled. A wave of invisible pressure slammed into everyone — desks rattled, papers flew, and students screamed.
Azuka’s pen snapped in half. Her hand glowed faintly — veins pulsing with a silver light.
“Azuka!” the teacher gasped. “What are you—”
The lights exploded.
Darkness swallowed the room. For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then, slowly, the emergency lights flickered on — blood-red.
Azuka stood in the center of the chaos, her breath heavy, eyes glowing with that inhuman light. Myra’s heart pounded.
She’d seen this before — not here, but years ago. In the hidden chambers of the Kurogane estate, where whispers spoke of “Awakening experiments.”
KNIJITSU.
The word struck her mind like thunder.
As guards stormed the room, Azuka’s power faded. She collapsed, trembling. Myra was the first to move — crossing the shattered glass and kneeling beside her.
“Don’t touch me,” Azuka whispered, voice raw.
Myra hesitated, then smirked faintly. “Too late. You already caught my attention.”
That night, rumors spread like wildfire.
Some said Azuka was a freak. Others claimed she was chosen.
Myra listened to it all, standing by her bedroom window overlooking Reigahara’s skyline.
The moonlight painted her in silver, and she whispered to herself, “KNIJITSU... so it’s real after all.”
Behind her, the door opened. Her father’s shadow filled the room.
“You saw it too, didn’t you?” his deep voice rumbled. “The girl’s blood isn’t human. The Council will want her silenced.”
Myra turned slowly, eyes cold. “Then I’ll handle it.”
Her father smiled — proud, yet wary. “Just remember, daughter… power without control destroys its master.”
When he left, Myra’s hand clenched the glass pendant around her neck — the heirloom of her clan. Inside it, faint red light pulsed, like a heartbeat.
Down in the city, Azuka-Lin lay awake in her dorm, staring at her trembling hands. Her dreams had always warned her this day would come — the day the seal on her blood would break.
But she hadn’t expected her to be watching.
For the first time, she felt a new fear — and a strange pull toward the girl who smiled like a predator.
The night whispered through the window, carrying the words that would one day shape them both:
> “Two souls born under blood and shadow… only one will awaken as the true heir of KNIJITSU.”
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