Night descended over Himwarry Magic Academy like a velvet curtain studded with stars. The moon hung high, regal and bright, bathing the entire sprawling campus in a gentle, ethereal glow. Most of the academy lay quiet; dormitory windows glowed faintly, lanterns along the stone walkways flickered with soft golden flames, and an occasional owl swept silently over rooftops. The air was cool, carrying with it the faint scent of night-blooming flowers that adorned the many gardens dotting the academy grounds.
Yet despite the hour, one part of the campus stirred with secret life.
Far from their warm beds, the students of Technomancy 1 moved with hushed urgency through the sleeping academy. Clad in work cloaks and simple uniforms, they darted across courtyards, down echoing halls, and through storerooms dimly lit by handheld crystal lanterns. Their voices, when they spoke at all, were whispers carried off quickly by the breeze.
Aether walked among them, expression focused, his eyes scanning a parchment list. Here was the beginning, he thought—the true start of their first real project, and it would demand everything from them. Even now, well past midnight, the young technomancers combed through supply rooms and hidden workshop closets, gathering gears, metal rods, mana conduits, calibrated springs, and sensitive mana circuit glass. All of this would become the heart of the mechanisms the Dean had tasked them to create.
They were out here at such a late hour for good reason. The Dean and Headmaster, both fully aware of what tonight's covert operation entailed, had granted permission. But only under the strictest secrecy. Even the Headmaster, who had at first been reluctant to entrust so large a task to mere first-years, had ultimately conceded—partly swayed by the Dean's insistence, partly intrigued by Aether's growing reputation. And though he agreed, it was clear he wanted to see precisely how far this young non-mage's brilliance could stretch.
Still, it was risky. Should the wrong ears hear about tonight's gathering or the true nature of their assignment, complications would surely follow. Thus the need for absolute discretion.
Meanwhile, in the teacher's dormitory on the opposite side of campus, a very different sort of conversation was taking place.
"What? Really? Are you serious, Aether?" Akabane Teach's eyes widened, her loose evening robe swishing about her ankles as she stood half-startled in her modest chamber.
"Yes," Aether replied, standing just inside the threshold of her door, hands tucked behind him in a polite if slightly awkward manner. He'd come directly from the storerooms to speak with her, determined to bring her fully into the fold. Calmly, he recounted the entire chain of events—the Dean's private summons, the staggering request she'd placed upon them, and the intricate project now resting squarely on Technomancy 1's young shoulders.
As he spoke, Akabane Teach listened with rapt attention, her face shifting from surprise to wonder to something else—a warm, proud smile. When he finished, she pointed to herself with an almost comical gesture. "So let me get this straight—you want me to join in? To help oversee all this with the students?"
"Exactly." Aether's voice was earnest, and he dipped his head slightly. "Since there's a mountain of work ahead and time is painfully short, we'll need every steady hand we can get. Besides… you're our classroom teacher. We can't—no, we shouldn't—move forward on something this important without your knowledge or your advice."
At that, her eyes softened, cheeks flushing just faintly. It might have been shameless flattery on Aether's part, but there was truth there too, and she recognized it. Laughing lightly, she placed her hand on her hip and declared, "Ohh, I'll join, of course. I'd never miss it."
Aether exhaled a small sigh of relief and gave a satisfied nod. One more pillar secured. Then, almost as if remembering himself, he added, "By the way, about compensation—"
She waved him off at once, a bright grin lighting her features. "Forget about compensation. I don't need any of that. I just want to see our class's first project come alive—and work right alongside them… and you, naturally."
It surprised Aether how genuinely happy she seemed, practically glowing. He found himself grinning back. If anything, his classmates would be thrilled knowing Akabane Teach would soon be among them, guiding them directly.
"We're gathering all the necessary materials tonight," he informed her, tapping his parchment list again. "Tomorrow morning, we'll officially begin, and we'll probably run right through until evening."
"Hm…" Teach's expression brightened, only to wilt slightly. "Oh dear. Tomorrow I have paperwork and a few meetings I can't delay… so I'll only be able to join from the day after. Is that alright?"
"That's perfectly fine." Aether laughed softly. "I think I can manage them for one day."
She raised an eyebrow, lips quirking mischievously. "Manage them? They're not monkeys, you know."
"Hehe… sure, sure."
By the time Aether departed her dormitory, the moon had begun its slow drift down the sky. Back among the Technomancy 1 students, all the final tools and components were laid out in neat crates and bundles. Lamps cast warm circles of light over eager faces, their eyes bright with anticipation and no small measure of pride.
"This is it," Aether murmured, standing before them as dawn threatened on the horizon. "Tomorrow, we begin in earnest."
When morning came, it did so with a golden blaze across the campus towers. Birds sang, the scent of dew lay heavy in the courtyards, and within one busy classroom, a storm of preparation was underway.
Desks were pushed back to create wide worktables. Small portable forges and mana welders hummed in corners. Toolkits lay open, bolts and wires arranged like precious gems across the wooden surfaces. Students bustled to and fro, sleeves rolled, hair tied back, spirits lifted by the grand ambition of it all.
Aether distributed copies of his meticulously detailed blueprints, each sheet crammed with tiny runic annotations, sleek structural diagrams, and practical side notes.
"Woah… I've never seen a blueprint this intricate before," one student breathed, eyes wide.
"It's even more amazing knowing we're the ones who'll actually build them," another added, nearly bouncing where she stood.
Pride, excitement, a spark of healthy fear—it all mingled in the air like an electric current. But Aether only smiled in a way that was distinctly unsettling.
"Be happy while you can," he intoned, voice dropping to a sly murmur. "Because once we start… I'll show you all hell, hehe."
Nearby, Morgan had been rummaging through a toolkit but froze at once. "Aether… why are you smiling like that? It's creepy."
"Me? Hahaha—it's nothing," Aether blurted, face quickly smoothing into an innocent grin. Then under his breath he muttered, "Crap, that was close."
By mid-morning, the project roared to life.
Aether took the lead, standing near a large demonstration table with a few prototype components spread out before him. As students gathered close, he walked them through each portion of the blueprint, explaining not just the how but the why—why certain stabilizers had to be reinforced with dual-etched runes, why a triple-coil resonance would be more efficient here, how to avoid common calibration pitfalls that could make the entire mechanism explode spectacularly (a prospect which earned a few nervous laughs).
Questions flew fast, some simple, others surprisingly sharp. Patiently, Aether answered each one, using small gestures or quick chalk sketches on the board to clarify points.
It took time, but slowly clarity dawned across the students' faces. They split naturally into trios, each group tackling separate assemblies. Sparks of mana-welding filled the room, the occasional clink of dropped tools rang out, and voices layered over one another—some calling out measurements, others offering encouragement.
At first, progress was swift. Months of foundational classes and hands-on lab sessions had prepared them for the raw fundamentals: shaping frames, slotting conduits, linking initial mana lines. It almost seemed easy.
Almost.
Then inevitably, the more delicate complexities struck. Intricate circuit lattices refused to align. Resonance cores stuttered instead of humming cleanly. Stabilizers gave erratic readings. One by one, groups slowed, brow furrowed, frustration mounting.
Aether, watching it all unfold, only smiled faintly to himself. "There it comes…"
He moved from table to table like a general on the battlefield—correcting a student's grip on a mana etcher, pointing out a hairline misalignment in a crystal lattice that could doom the entire array. Sometimes he simply watched, letting them struggle a moment longer, forcing them to engage every scrap of their own reasoning before stepping in.
Hours passed. Lunch was taken together right there in the workshop—sandwiches hastily unwrapped, laughter mixing with exhausted sighs. Bits of metal and crystal dust clung to their sleeves like war medals. Then it was back to work, renewed by food and shared camaraderie.
Even without Akabane Teach present yet, the classroom was alive with purpose. Here, under flickering lamps and amidst the smell of warm steel and arcane flux, they weren't just students anymore. They were creators, pioneers on the cusp of mastering something that would impress even the visiting monarchs soon to arrive for the Familiar Choosing.
When the sun finally began to lower again, washing the windows in molten orange, Aether stood back to survey the room. Though sweat beaded on many foreheads and a few tempers had flared during tense recalibrations, they were ahead of schedule. The mechanisms were taking shape, strange and beautiful, like skeletal beasts dreaming themselves alive.
Tomorrow, Akabane Teach would join them, her knowledge and keen eye certain to sharpen their edge even further. For now, though, Aether was quietly proud—of them, of himself, of what they were all becoming together.
He glanced over at Morgan, who was struggling to slot a mana regulator without dropping the tiny screws.
"Hmph. As long as I'm here," Aether thought, a wry grin breaking across his face, "there's nothing we can't figure out."
And for the first time in a long while, even he dared to feel just a little hopeful.