**Aurora High looked like a palace built to raise monsters.**
Marble stairs. Gold-trimmed windows. Hallways so wide you could drive a car through them. And a student body so polished, you could swear they were born under stage lights, not stars.
Sera velasquez stood at the back of the morning crowd, her black hoodie pulled up, face half-hidden behind her oversized backpack. Her name wasn't on any of the welcome banners, and her face wasn't in anyone's memory.
Good.
She watched as the **crimson lockers** — those shining red compartments lined with the names of Aurora's royalty — stood untouched, revered, almost holy. Students bowed to them without realizing they were bowing. That's what power does. It trains you to kneel.
From across the courtyard, a loud cheer erupted.
**THE AEGIS CIRCLE** had arrived.
Four boys, dressed like they'd stepped out of a high-end fashion magazine, walked in slow-motion perfection. Students parted like waves. Girls fixed their ties. Boys straightened their backs. Teachers looked the other way.
Sera kept her eyes low but sharp.
She already knew their names:
* **kairo De Lèon** – the untouchable leader. Legacy of the De León dynasty. Controlled everything. Even time, some said.
* **Theo Argente** – the smirking flirt with the golden voice and dirty hands.
* **Miles Chen** – top of the class, bottom of your trust.
* **Jax Rivera** – too quiet, too fast, and rumored to fight in underground rings.
Sera looked away, unimpressed.
Let them wear their crowns. She wasn't here to shine.
She passed rows of Grey Lockers and stopped at the last hallway.
**Black Locker 104**.
That was hers.
Faded paint. Dented corners. No nameplate. No power.
She touched the cold metal and whispered, *"Perfect."*
A girl beside her stared. "You're new?"
Sera nodded. "Yeah. Section E."
The girl's face softened with sympathy. "Good luck surviving."
Sera smirked under her hood. "I'm not here to survive."
She clicked open her locker, slid in a notebook, and added under her breath:
" I am here to watch them burn "