Chapter 3: "Rank Zero"
---
[Page 1 – Morning Silence]
Establishing panel. Early morning mist drifts through the academy's forest. The sun hasn't risen fully.
> Narration: The academy stirs with light. But beneath it… shadows move.
> Interior: Yui sits on the edge of the bed in Dormitory Aegis, half-dressed, still bandaged.
> Yui (thinking): "My body's sore. But I'm not broken."
---
[Page 2 – The Pulse Within]
Close-up of Yui's chest. A faint white glow pulses once.
> Yui (thinking): "That light… is still there."
> Flash panel: The arena blast. Students flying. Kael's terrified face.
> Yui (thinking): "What am I?"
---
[Page 3 – Training Begins]
Lucen appears at the doorway, holding two practice blades.
> Lucen: "You're awake. Good. Pick one."
> Yui (confused): "I'm not a fighter—"
> Lucen tosses the sword. Yui catches it awkwardly.
> Lucen: "You are now."
---
[Page 4 – The Rule of Survival]
Panels of them sparring in a courtyard behind Dormitory Aegis. Yui struggles to even grip the sword properly. Lucen strikes him over and over—bruises forming.
> Lucen: "Don't dodge. Endure."
> Yui (panting): "Why… hit me if I can't win…?"
> Lucen: "Because losing is how Rank 0 learns."
---
[Page 5 – Flash of Growth]
Final blow lands. Yui drops, coughing blood. Then, a glow sparks across his arm.
> Narration: Every strike feeds it. Every second he stays standing… it grows.
> Lucen (thinking): "He lasted three seconds longer than yesterday."
---
[Page 6 – The Elite Stir]
Cut to: The inner towers of the academy. Elite Class students gather around magical screens, watching footage of Yui's outburst from the courtyard.
> Elite 1: "He's no one. A janitor."
> Elite 2: "He cracked the ground without casting. That's not 'no one.'"
> Elite 3: "If he awakens again… he's a threat."
---
[Page 7 – Kael's Vengeance]
Kael sits alone in his lavish dorm, fists clenched, breathing heavily.
> Flash panel: Yui's explosion again, frozen in Kael's mind.
> Kael (growling): "You humiliated me. Trash like you… doesn't get to shine."
> He pulls out a sealed crystal. Inside: A summoning sigil.
---
[Page 8 – Hidden History]
Back at Dormitory Aegis. Yui sits with Lucen by candlelight.
> Yui: "Why does this place exist? Why hide me here?"
> Lucen: "This was once a sanctuary. For those who couldn't be ranked. Or chose not to be."
> Yui: "There were others like me?"
> Lucen (quiet): "There were."
---
[Page 9 – Rank Zero Lore]
Lucen draws a symbol in the dust. A circle with a slash through it. The mark of Rank 0.
> Lucen: "The system fears what it can't control. Rank 0 doesn't obey rules. It rewrites them."
> Panel: Glimpse of a shadowy figure from ancient times—destroying a battlefield without casting a single spell.
> Lucen: "That's why they buried it."
---
[Page 10 – Night Thoughts]
Yui lies in bed again. His body aches, but his mind is alive. He holds the wooden sword close.
> Yui (thinking): "They want me to stay weak. But every hit makes me stronger."
> Yui (thinking): "And I'm starting to want them to try again."
---
[Page 11 – Danger Approaches]
Back to Kael. He smashes the crystal on the floor. A dark summoning circle ignites.
> Kael: "Let's see if you're still brave when a Class-2 Spectral Beast rips you apart."
> Shadowy beast begins to form behind him.
---
[Page 12 – Final Panel]
Back in the shadows, Lucen watches the moon again, his eyes narrowed.
> Lucen (thinking): "They'll come for you now, Yui."
> Panel: Yui's sleeping face. The white crack of light across his chest pulses again.
> Narration: He's not ready. But Rank 0 doesn't wait for readiness. It endures.
---
— END OF CHAPTER 3 —