The ride home was quieter than the journey to the Academy.
Not because anyone was unhappy.
Quite the opposite.
The excitement of the day had finally settled into something calmer.
Something real.
Kael sat beside the carriage window, watching New Haven pass by.
The afternoon streets bustled with life.
Students proudly carried their new uniforms home.
Parents chatted about registration.
Merchants advertised discounted Academy supplies to anyone who looked sixteen years old.
Noah pointed excitedly through the window.
“Look!” A group of children marched down the road wearing blankets tied around their shoulders.
One held a wooden stick high above his head.
“I’m Headmaster Graves!” Another shook his head dramatically.
“No, you’re the monster!” “I don’t want to be the monster.” “You were late.” “…That’s fair.” Marcus chuckled.
“Children adapt quickly.” — Back home, the dining table quickly disappeared beneath everything Kael had received.
His folded Academy uniform.
Student badge.
Class schedule.
Campus guidebook.
A small handbook titled: First-Year Student Regulations Rex would probably never read it.
Lyra picked up the handbook.
“Rule One.” She smiled.
“‘Students are prohibited from challenging instructors to duels.'” She looked at Kael.
“I feel like that rule exists for a reason.” Marcus nodded.
“It absolutely does.” Noah raised his hand.
“Can I challenge instructors?” “No.” “What about chickens?” “…Why chickens?” “They look confident.” Nobody had an answer.
— After dinner, Kael carried everything upstairs.
He placed the uniform carefully across his bed.
For a long moment…
He simply looked at it.
Black.
Silver trim.
The Academy crest embroidered over the left chest.
Simple.
Elegant.
Professional.
His fingers brushed lightly across the fabric.
In his previous life…
A school uniform had represented obligation.
Exams.
Grades.
A future that always felt uncertain.
This one felt different.
It represented choice.
He had chosen this path.
— “You are sentimental.” The Queen’s voice echoed quietly through his soul.
Kael folded the uniform carefully.
“I’ve been told.” “You’ve changed.” “I have.” The Queen rested her chin on one hand.
“You no longer think like someone surviving.” “…No.” “You’ve started thinking like someone living.” Kael didn’t answer.
Because she was right.
— A knock came at his bedroom door.
“Come in.” Marcus stepped inside carrying a long wooden box.
Kael immediately recognized it.
The practice sword.
“I forgot something.” Marcus placed the box on the desk.
“You’ll start carrying this next week.” Kael frowned.
“A wooden sword?” “For now.” Marcus smiled.
“The Academy provides steel weapons later.” He sat beside the desk.
“But I wanted to tell you something before your first day.” Kael listened quietly.
Marcus leaned back.
“When I entered this Academy…” “I wanted everyone to notice me.” Kael blinked.
“You?” “I was young.” Marcus laughed softly.
“I thought if everyone respected me…” “Everything would work out.” “And?” “It didn’t.” Silence filled the room.
Marcus looked toward the window.
“My closest friend graduated without anyone remembering his Rank.” Kael looked up.
“What do people remember?” Marcus smiled.
“The way you treat them.” Those words stayed with Kael long after Marcus left the room.
— The following morning…
Kael resumed training.
Not because anyone asked him to.
Because it had already become routine.
Wood met wood.
Again.
Again.
Again.
His footwork had improved considerably over the past three weeks.
His breathing had become steady.
Every movement flowed naturally into the next.
At the edge of the yard, Noah copied everything with his own tiny practice sword.
Unfortunately…
His version involved much more spinning.
“Hi-yah!” The little boy accidentally struck a bucket.
Water exploded across the yard.
Lyra looked down from the porch.
“…A bold strategy.” “It attacked me first.” “I see.” “It lost.” — Marcus returned from work shortly before noon.
He watched Kael silently for several minutes.
“Better.” Kael lowered his sword.
“You’ve improved.” “I still lose against you.” Marcus nodded.
“You should.” Kael smiled.
“I suppose that’s true.” Marcus stepped into the training ring.
“One round.” Kael immediately straightened.
“No Beastification.” “No strength.” “Only technique.” Kael nodded.
The spar began.
Unlike three weeks ago…
He wasn’t defeated immediately.
Marcus attacked.
Kael shifted his footing.
Wooden blades collided.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Marcus smiled.
“There.” Kael saw it.
A tiny opening.
He stepped forward.
Tapped Marcus’s shoulder with the tip of the practice sword.
Silence.
Marcus looked at the mark.
Then laughed.
“You got me.” Noah gasped dramatically.
“BIG BROTHER WON!” Marcus shook his head.
“No.” “I allowed an opening.” Kael lowered his sword.
“I still had to notice it.” Marcus’s smile widened.
“Exactly.” — That evening…
The family gathered in the living room.
Elara poured warm tea while Noah somehow convinced everyone to play a board game.
Halfway through…
He quietly moved one of Kael’s pieces without anyone noticing.
Except Kael noticed.
“…Noah.” “What?” “You moved my piece.” “No.” “You absolutely did.” “I was helping.” Marcus looked at the board.
“I think he’s winning.” “He is cheating.” “They’re not mutually exclusive.” The room erupted into laughter.
Kael found himself laughing too.
Louder than before.
Freer.
The sound surprised him.
Ethan Cole had forgotten what it felt like to laugh without forcing it.
— Later that night…
Everyone had gone to bed.
Kael stood alone on the roof.
The wind carried the distant sounds of New Haven settling into sleep.
Above him…
The twin moons hung peacefully in the night sky.
Three weeks ago…
He had stood on this same roof wondering what his future would become.
Now…
He knew.
Tomorrow…
He would walk through the Academy gates as an official student.
Not because fate demanded it.
Not because destiny had chosen him.
But because he had earned the chance to begin.
Inside his soul…
D-Rex slowly rose.
“The hunt begins.” Mosasaurus surfaced.
“The journey begins.” Quetzalcoatlus spread its wings.
“The horizon widens.” The Queen remained seated upon her throne.
She looked toward Kael.
“Do not forget.” “What?” She smiled faintly.
“Watch.” “Listen.” “And trust slowly.” Kael nodded.
“I always do.” Outside, the first light of dawn began to appear beyond the eastern horizon.
Tomorrow would not change the world.
It would not reveal hidden secrets.
It would not bring legendary battles.
It would simply mark the first day of school.
Sometimes…
The smallest beginnings led to the greatest stories.
«End of Chapter 17»