SSS Awakening: Starting With Infinite Soul Copy

His words sent a wave of silence through the hall.

"Did you not..."

The green-haired man tried to say, but he was silenced when he saw a raised hand at the corner of his gaze.

Both third years had also raised their hands.

What followed was the rest of the 2nd year, with everyone raising their hands, including the so-called coward of the group, who raised his right hand shakily.

This left only him, brows quivering repeatedly.

"Really, Grunt?"

The female member amongst them asked, and after groaning into the air, he also raised his hand.

"That’s a lot better."

Vice Amora said.

"Remember, the interchange lasts only for 3 months. After that, you’ll be brought back here."

She said, and in the next moment, the space behind her cracked and the massive blue door reappeared.

"Now, we leave for Aether Beyonder Academy."

____

A sleek-looking jet quietly pierced through the clouds, moving incredibly fast with large rings of air constantly phasing out around it.

Purple energy trailed behind it, the only imprint it left behind, and quickly it phased into a world substantially different.

The clouds in here were full crimson, and within it, black lightning flashed, releasing thunderous noises.

_____

Within the jet,

"We’ve reached the Aether Beyonder Territory."

The AI voice echoed through the pilot room where both Vice Amora and Mimura stood.

The world before them sprawled into an endless mountainous battlefield, like a graveyard of bones.

Wherever their eyes fell, massive, beastly remains lay scattered, but that was hardly what mattered.

"There they are..."

Vice Mimura said, pointing, and immediately, the jet tilted down from the sky, spinning effortlessly to dodge some stray lightning, before it came to hover a few meters away from the bottom of an unbroken mountain.

Before that unbroken mountain, there stood one person whose entire features were impossible to see due to the black robes donned.

The jet stopped oozing with energy, and quietly, a stairway came out from the underbelly.

Coming out a moment after were the 7 students led forward by Vice Mimura.

She walked towards the man who, without a word, dipped his hands into his robes, bringing out a black card, and passed it to her.

After a brief glance at the card, she pulled out a mini scanner, letting a green light pass over it.

Three seconds later, the scanner’s light changed from green to red.

In that moment,

VROOOOOM!

The air shook once, and White felt his body struggling to remain on the ground.

A powerful wave of air slammed into him, almost blowing him off his feet, but he remained on his feet, dragging backward.

His motion stopped when a hand reached out from behind him, grasping his shoulder and keeping him to the ground.

It was one of the third years.

"Thank you,"

He said to him before turning back to look at what was happening.

There, hanging in the grasp of Vice Mimura was the black-robed figure whose coat had fallen, revealing his face.

He was a man with very inch of his face tattooed in black ink.

He was grinning.

"Skull or neck."

Vice Mimura said, her second hand slowly reaching behind her, shaped like a blade.

"Actually, none. Aether Beyonder just wanted to know if the reputable All-Know scan of the Xtremecyber academy really works."

The man said, and in the next moment, the space rippled slightly, and a card appeared.

It was crimson red in color.

"That’s the real card. You can scan it."

He spoke.

VROOOOM!

The air parted once more, and before White could blink, he found the man 20 meters away, skidding to a stop while Vice Mimura had the scanner in her hands, scanning the crimson card once more.

It lit up green as usual, but instead of red, it shifted to purple.

"See,"

The man said, and Vice Mimura threw the purple card to him.

"The Vice Principal asked me to deliver a message."

She said to him as the man caught the purple card.

"If any of them dies, Aether Beyonder can forget about its student returning."

"Good thing we at Aether Beyonders don’t care about our students’ lives then, huh?"

The man said, cackling as Vice Mimura turned back and walked away.

"Hey, pass back the first card."

The man called from behind, but then,

CRAAACK!

The sound of cracking echoed out through the area as Vice Mimura raised her hands and crushed the black card into dust in her palms.

Then she released it, sending its ashes drifting back to him.

"Tsk, damn Cyber. That was the entrance card!"

The man shouted, his tattooed eyes flaring a pitch-black color.

"You can come take revenge for it if you want."

Vice Mimura said, pausing to give him a side glance.

At first, the man was angry enough to make a move, but then he paused and looked up at the jet.

In that moment, his angered expression turned to a smile.

"Vice Amora Mimura?"

"You must be the angry one, Mimura. Then, I’ll save myself the trouble."

He said, and she scoffed, muttering a "another bloody coward" before returning to the jet.

It rose high into the air and in the next moment disappeared through the crimson clouds.

That left only the 7 students along with the tattooed man.

"Well then, let’s get going."

The man spoke, pulling the hood over his robe before continuing into the distance.

Quietly, all seven followed.

After about an hour, they came across a place where White realized they had passed three times already.

But this time, something was different, something that hadn’t been there before.

A massive pitch red slab of sorts, standing about a meter tall, covered completely in crimson runes.

The man walked towards it and in the next moment,

PUCCCHI!

DROP!

The sound of the blade digging into skin rang out as pitch-black blood dripped down to the ground.

Quietly stretching his hands behind him, he flicked it forward, sending splashes of blood onto the slab.

Right after that, the change began

...