Infinite: Academy Vol.2

The gleaming chrome arches of the Infinite Academy pierced the cerulean sky, a monument to human ambition. Ten thousand new recruits, barely more than children, funnelled through massive energy gates, their faces a mixture of awe and trepidation. Kaidance Vega, a slip of a girl with eyes the colour of aged bronze, clutched her datapad, its cool surface a small comfort against the hum of the crowd. The air, crisp and sterile, carried the distant thrum of engines and the sharp, metallic tang of advanced alloys.

“This is it, then,” a voice, surprisingly close, startled her. Kaidance turned, finding a young man with a mop of unruly dark hair and a grin that seemed perpetually on the verge of mischief. Danny Sythe, his name tag read. His uniform, still pristine, looked almost too large for his wiry frame.

Kaidance nodded, a tight, almost imperceptible movement. “The big show.”

“Big doesn’t even begin to cover it. Ten thousand of us, they said. Only a fraction make it through.” Danny’s eyes scanned the towering structures, a flicker of something beyond excitement in their depths. “Think we stand a chance?”

A second figure, taller and broader, with neatly combed blond hair and an air of quiet efficiency, stepped into their periphery. Zelden Operah Jr. His gaze, calm and assessing, swept over them both before settling on the academy’s central spire. “Chance is a variable. Preparation is a constant.” His voice, deep and resonant, cut through the general murmur of the crowd.

Danny whistled softly. “Well, aren’t you just a walking textbook. Danny Sythe, by the way. And you are…?” He gestured vaguely at Zelden.