"Most kids cry on their first day of school.I smiled.Because school isn't a place to learn.It's the first battlefield."— Caelum Virelion, Age 3, Diary Fragment
The Prestige of Primrose Hall
At age three, Caelum Virelion began his official education—not at any random private school, but at Primrose Hall, an invitation-only academy nestled discreetly behind centuries-old iron gates in the Upper East Side.
No public records existed. It didn't advertise. It didn't apply. Children were chosen. Its alumni included senators, titans of industry, and blue-blood royalty.
It was where the sons and daughters of the elite were groomed not just to succeed—but to rule.
"System Notification: Cultural Sphere Detected – Elite Indoctrination Zone.""Priority Objective: Establish Dominance Before Age 5.""Rewards: Social Supremacy · Automatic Network Integration · Long-term Loyalty Seeds (High Potential)"
Caelum arrived on his first day in a navy double-breasted coat with silver buttons, hand-stitched Italian boots, and a hairline part so sharp it looked like it had been drawn by a draftsman.
He stepped from his car—not stumbling, not swaying.With posture honed through physical recalibration and subconscious spinal alignment.
Every other child? Still babbling, clinging to nannies or chewing their sleeves.
Caelum?He stood alone, eyes cool, calculating. His shadow touched the cobblestones like a crown.
Classroom Politics: Establishing the Pyramid
The classroom was decorated with pastel tones and too many plush animals. Caelum ignored them.
"Lyra, run scan: Peer Analysis – Influence Potentials.""Top Five Detected. Highlighting targets for social manipulation and alliance."
Grayson van Albrecht – Fourth-generation heir to a Euro-American banking dynasty. Arrogant. Spoiled.
Ava Kensington – Daughter of a media mogul. Emotionally sensitive. Highly observant.
Leo Astor-Belmont – Dual-hyphen last name. Enough said.
Ivy Chen-Hartley – Daughter of Silicon Valley-turned-NYC unicorn founders. Quiet genius.
Maxine Rothschild – Blair Waldorf's distant cousin. Purebred ruthlessness.
"Approach strategy?""Soft domination. Become the gravity around which their personalities orbit. Build trust, not fear. Yet."
While the teacher introduced herself with singsong sweetness, Caelum turned his eyes to the room—and smiled like a wolf in silk.Every other child looked away, unsettled.Except Ava.
"You don't smile like a kid," she whispered.
Caelum tilted his head. "Maybe I'm not just a kid."
She blinked.Then she nodded like she'd been knighted.
Social Engineering: Playgrounds as Thrones
By the third week, Caelum had turned the sandbox into a kingdom.
Literally.
He'd architected a miniature fortress in the center of the school's playground using buckets, geometry, and two toddlers with a gift for stacking blocks.
"You can't come in unless you give me your snack!" yelled Grayson.
"Let him in," Caelum said, eyes never leaving the chess set he'd somehow convinced the teachers to provide.
"Why?"
"Because Grayson's snack has diplomatic leverage. A bribe only matters when it's accepted."
Grayson blinked. "W-what's diplo—"
"Means you'll owe me later," Caelum said calmly. "Enjoy your temporary access."
From that moment on, Caelum had a rotating cast of subjects. They didn't even realize they were pledging fealty—they just wanted to be around him. His presence was addicting. Calming. Unshakable.
"Lyra, loyalty rating among top ten peers?""7 have reached early-stage imprinting. 3 remain volatile. Continuing influence cycles."
Academic Domination: Genius With Restraint
While the rest of the class struggled with letters and numbers, Caelum breezed through French, Latin, arithmetic, and symbolic logic.He aced puzzles in seconds. He corrected the teacher once, then never again—preferring subtle redirection over public shame.
"Too smart is dangerous," he noted internally. "I need to be mysterious, not monstrous."
So he deliberately slowed down in front of others. Failed strategically. Asked questions he already knew the answers to—just to give classmates a chance to feel superior.
This, more than perfection, made them worship him.
"New Function Unlocked: Social Symbiosis.""You may now mirror emotional and behavioral cues to generate empathy, trust, and perceived bonding."
Enter Serena & Blair
Though not students yet, Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf occasionally visited with their mothers, who sat on the school's Advisory Board.
Caelum always knew when they arrived.
Serena was sunshine—hair like golden honey and a smile that melted the frost off any room. Blair was winter steel—sharp, guarded, regal.
One visit, they were brought into the playground during recess.
"Is that your castle?" Blair asked, arms crossed.
Caelum nodded. "Want to take the throne?"
Blair narrowed her eyes. "Why would you give it to me?"
"I'm not giving it. I'm watching if you can hold it."She didn't answer, but her smirk said enough.
Serena twirled a daisy in her hand. "You're weird," she told him kindly.
"You're dazzling," Caelum replied, catching her off-guard.
She laughed. "You talk like an old man!"
"I am older than I look."
And in that instant, something shifted. Serena looked at him—not as a kid, but as something… else. Something strange and special.Her expression didn't say playmate.It said story.
Caelum filed the moment away. "Serena," he thought, "will someday be legend. A chaotic sun. Beautiful but unstable."
"Begin subtle emotional resonance tether.""Target: Serena van der Woodsen. Status: Bond Initiated."
The Hidden Empire: ArdentLion Grows
After school, Caelum returned to his suite and reviewed global assets.
"Lyra, status on ArdentLion?""Expanded. Proxy acquisitions in biotech, data storage, and real estate. Estimated hidden valuation: $1.2 billion."
All controlled by shell accounts, stacked under trust proxies. He would take formal ownership in ten years. But now? He was the invisible prince of invisible wealth.
He used the 500,000x economic rebate multiplier to turn even small donations—like toy drives—into silent profit machines.
A $10,000 philanthropic fund under his name had now generated over $2.6 billion in asset flipping. All clean. All untraceable.
"Also," Lyra added, "Gossip Girl's server has absorbed 317 new whispers. Rumors of your 'royal blood' and 'mind reader' status have begun to circulate in coded language among nannies, aides, and interns."
Caelum smiled.
"Let the legend grow. An empire isn't built on stone alone. It needs myth."
Final Scene: The Teachers' Lounge
Two teachers whispered in the corner over coffee.
"Have you noticed him? Caelum? He's… unsettling."
"Like a little king. Or a general."
"No, more than that. It's like… like he knows everything."
Their words would be forgotten in the chatter of the school day.
But Caelum? He was already onto the next board, the next plan.