Morning arrived far too quickly.
Hitake woke to the sound of his alarm and stared at the ceiling for several seconds.
For a brief moment, he forgot where he was.
Then he remembered.
The academy.
The dungeon.
Kael.
Nefertiti.
Zena.
The fight with Thorne.
He groaned and pulled the blanket over his face.
"Too much happened in three days."
"Four, technically."
Hitake pulled the blanket down.
Nefertiti was sitting on the windowsill, legs crossed, golden hair spilling over her shoulder.
"How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to watch you sleep."
Hitake stared at her.
"That's creepy."
"I'm a system intelligence. I don't sleep."
"Still creepy."
She smiled.
"Good morning, darling."
"Stop calling me that."
"Good morning, darling."
Hitake sighed.
He climbed out of bed.
His room was already beginning to feel familiar. The academy had provided everything he needed, but the space still felt strangely empty.
He opened the wardrobe.
The new clothes Nefertiti had bought were neatly arranged inside.
He picked up the black jacket Zena had liked.
He put it on.
Nefertiti's eyes sparkled.
"Excellent choice."
Hitake looked at himself in the mirror.
He had to admit it.
The jacket suited him.
His white hair fell naturally around his face, and the contrast made his eyes stand out even more.
His appearance had changed since his awakening.
Not dramatically.
But enough.
There was a presence to him now that hadn't existed before.
He looked less like a boy trying to disappear.
And more like someone who had finally realized he belonged in the world.
A knock sounded.
Hitake opened the door.
Zena stood outside.
She looked at him.
Then at the jacket.
Her expression softened.
"It suits you."
Hitake smiled.
"You said that yesterday."
"I still mean it."
She stepped closer and adjusted the collar.
"There."
Her fingers lingered for a second.
Then she pulled them away.
"You should eat."
"Good morning to you too."
"Good morning."
They walked toward the common lounge together.
The dormitory was already alive.
Students sat around eating breakfast, arguing over training schedules, complaining about professors, and discussing the previous day's fight.
The moment Hitake entered, several conversations became quieter.
He ignored them.
A student at one of the tables whispered,
"That's him."
"The one who beat Thorne?"
"Yeah."
"He doesn't look like the weakest student anymore."
Hitake continued walking.
Zena's eyes moved toward the students.
They immediately looked away.
Hitake noticed.
"You're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Scaring people."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"They're simply sensitive."
He laughed.
They reached the breakfast table.
John and Zack were already there.
John looked at Hitake.
"Morning."
Zack nodded.
"Congratulations on your continued survival."
Hitake sat down.
"Thanks."
Thorne wasn't there.
John looked toward the empty seat.
"He's avoiding you."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Zack nodded.
"He has spent the last twelve hours telling everyone that your victory was an accident."
Hitake smiled.
"Sounds healthy."
John took a bite of breakfast.
"He's also challenged three people to fights."
Hitake sighed.
"Definitely healthy."
A voice came from behind them.
"Somebody talking about me?"
Thorne stood there.
His expression was irritated.
Hitake glanced at him.
"Morning."
Thorne froze.
He clearly hadn't expected that.
"Don't get comfortable."
"I wasn't."
Thorne stared at him.
Then scoffed and walked away.
John watched him leave.
"That went better than expected."
Zack nodded.
"Nobody was punched."
"Yet."
Breakfast continued.
For the first time, Hitake experienced something he hadn't expected to enjoy.
Normal academy life.
Students complaining about homework.
Someone arguing over whose training partner was cheating.
A girl complaining that the showers were always occupied.
Two boys discussing a dungeon rumor.
It was ordinary.
And somehow, after everything he'd experienced underground, ordinary felt precious.
Then Professor Mira entered the lounge.
"Everyone who survived the dungeon, report to the lecture hall in thirty minutes."
A collective groan spread through the room.
Mira folded her arms.
"Your suffering is noted."
She turned to leave.
"Professor."
She looked back.
"Yes?"
John raised his hand.
"Will there be breakfast after the lecture?"
"No."
John lowered his hand.
"This academy hates us."
Mira smiled.
"Now you're learning."
She left.
Hitake laughed.
Zena looked at him.
"You laugh a lot more now."
He paused.
"I guess I do."
"You didn't before."
"No."
She looked at him for a moment.
"Why?"
Hitake thought about it.
"Maybe I finally have something worth laughing about."
Zena's expression softened.
She looked away before he could notice.
Unfortunately, someone else had noticed.
Mirai.
She stood near the entrance, watching them.
Again, Hitake hadn't noticed her.
Or perhaps he had.
She couldn't tell.
Before, he would have noticed her immediately.
He would have rushed over.
He would have tried to make her laugh.
Now he simply sat there, talking to Zena as though Mirai wasn't even in the room.
Something unpleasant tightened in her chest.
She didn't understand it.
She had been the one who walked away.
So why did she suddenly want him to look back?
"Mirai."
She turned.
One of her friends stood beside her.
"You coming?"
Mirai looked toward Hitake one last time.
"Yeah."
But she didn't move immediately.
The lecture that morning was about the dungeon incident.
Professor Mira stood at the front of the room while the academy displayed a three-dimensional projection of the dungeon's lower levels.
"According to the surviving teams, the dungeon experienced an abnormal spatial shift."
The projection changed.
"Several corridors shouldn't have existed according to our original scans."
Hitake's attention sharpened.
Zena noticed.
Mira continued.
"More concerning is the energy signature detected in the lower structure."
A strange symbol appeared on the projection.
Hitake's heart skipped.
It was similar to the symbol he'd seen beneath the dungeon.
The one connected to Kael.
Mira frowned.
"Our instruments couldn't identify it."
Elowen raised her hand.
"Could it be an ancient civilization?"
Mira considered it.
"Possibly."
Hitake's eyes narrowed.
Ancient civilization.
That word stayed with him.
Then Mira added something almost casually.
"Of course, that doesn't mean much. Earth has many ruins we haven't fully understood."
A student asked, "Could it have come from outside Earth?"
The room became quiet.
Mira looked toward the student.
"That's not impossible."
Several students exchanged looks.
"But we have no confirmed contact with an extraterrestrial civilization."
Hitake's fingers tightened beneath the desk.
No confirmed contact.
That wasn't the same as no contact.
Nefertiti appeared silently beside him.
For once, she wasn't smiling.
"Careful."
Hitake looked at her.
"What?"
She stared at the projection.
"There are things about your father's world that you aren't ready to hear yet."
Hitake's eyes narrowed.
"You know something."
"I know enough to tell you not to start asking questions in a classroom full of people."
She leaned closer.
"Especially not about the civilizations beyond Earth."
Hitake froze.
Civilizations.
Plural.
He looked at her.
"You said civilizations."
Nefertiti smiled faintly.
"Did I?"
"Yes."
"Then perhaps I misspoke."
"You never misspeak."
"Correct."
Hitake stared at her.
She winked.
"You'll learn."
That evening, Hitake returned to his dorm room and called his mother again.
Amara answered quickly.
"You're calling early."
"I wanted to talk."
Her voice softened.
"About your father?"
"Partly."
There was silence.
Hitake looked toward the window.
"Mom, did Dad ever talk about other worlds?"
Amara didn't answer.
"Mom?"
"He talked about many things."
"Other civilizations?"
Another pause.
"Why are you asking?"
"Because something happened at the academy."
He told her about the dungeon symbol but left out Nefertiti and the Blank Canvas.
Amara listened quietly.
When he finished, she sighed.
"Hitake."
"Yeah?"
"Your father wasn't from Earth."
He froze.
"I know."
"No."
Her voice became unusually serious.
"I mean he didn't simply come from somewhere else on Earth."
Hitake sat upright.
"I know."
Silence.
Then Amara whispered,
"One day, I'll tell you everything."
"Why not now?"
"Because you're still my son."
Hitake frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means I spent seventeen years trying to give you a normal life."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"And now that life is gone."
Hitake didn't know what to say.
Amara continued.
"Your father loved this planet."
A faint smile entered her voice.
"He loved simple things."
"Like what?"
"Rain."
Hitake smiled.
"Rain?"
"He said Earth had the most beautiful rain he'd ever seen."
Hitake looked out the window.
Rain had begun falling outside.
Amara went quiet.
Then she said,
"He used to tell me that Earth was small."
Hitake's smile faded.
"Small?"
"Very small."
"Compared to what?"
Amara didn't answer.
The call ended a few minutes later.
Hitake remained beside the window.
Rain slid down the glass.
He looked at the city.
The academy.
The world he had always known.
It suddenly felt smaller than it had yesterday.
Nefertiti appeared behind him.
She didn't say anything.
Hitake finally asked,
"How many civilizations are out there?"
Nefertiti looked toward the night sky.
Her emerald eyes reflected distant stars.
"Enough that Earth has never been alone."
Hitake turned.
"What?"
She smiled.
"But whether they know Earth exists..."
Her smile disappeared.
"...is another question entirely."
Hitake stared at her.
For the first time since awakening, he felt something stronger than excitement.
He felt anticipation.
Somewhere beyond the atmosphere, beyond the moon, beyond the familiar planets and stars visible from Earth, something existed.
Civilizations.
Worlds.
People who might know Kael.
People who might know the Blank Canvas.
And perhaps people who were already looking for his son.
Nefertiti placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
"Not yet."
Hitake looked at her.
"When?"
She smiled.
"When you're strong enough to survive the answer."
Outside, thunder rolled across the city.
And far beyond Earth, in a place no human telescope had ever reached, a faint signal appeared on an unknown starship's navigation screen.
A single designation blinked.
EARTH — UNCONFIRMED.
Then another line appeared beneath it.
KAEL SIGNATURE — DETECTED.
The screen went dark.