Chapter 1: The Classroom

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 08:54:53 +0000

The classroom smelled of old paper and the faint metallic tang of the radiator hissing in the corner, its heat doing little to cut through the late autumn chill seeping through the single-pane windows. Elias Voss stood at the front of the room, chalk dust clinging to the sleeves of his rolled-up dress shirt, his tie loosened just enough to suggest the day had worn him down. His dark brown eyes scanned the rows of desks, lingering a second too long on the back corner where Lina Mercer sat hunched over her notebook, her blonde hair falling like a curtain around her face.