The sky above Regis Station was the same sterile gray it always was—artificial clouds moving in perfect cycles, automated to mimic weather that hadn't existed on real Earth in over a century. But this morning, the air felt heavier.
Kael noticed it immediately.
It wasn't the weather.
It was the eyes.
More of them.
Every corridor he walked down, every lift he stepped into, even the mess hall—he was being watched. Not just by cadets anymore. Not just the curious or envious. But by observers.
Security officers in plain uniforms. Drones hovering longer in his vicinity. Instructors hesitating just a beat too long before speaking to him.
He didn't have proof.
But his instincts—and Aegis—agreed.
"The system is reacting. Not overtly. Yet. But the surveillance pattern is tightening. Your anomaly status has triggered secondary review."
Kael kept his face neutral as he moved through the east campus hall.
They're afraid I'm going to break something, he thought.
"No. They're afraid you'll prove they've already failed."
During morning drills, Kael's squad was joined by a new addition—a cadet from another class temporarily reassigned to 13-Z. His name was Kallen, lean and quiet, with dark hair and reflective green eyes.
Dane didn't like him.
"Doesn't talk much. Always watching. Kinda gives me the creeps."
Lira agreed. "He's reading us, not joining us."
Kael didn't voice his suspicion.
Because Aegis had already confirmed it.
"Kallen is an embedded monitor. Skillset suggests psychic trace reader. He's here to map your aura patterns and confirm whether you're housing foreign consciousness."
"You mean you?" Kael had asked in the shower earlier.
"Yes. My signature is faint enough to be missed—if you stay calm. Any spike in emotion or combat use will risk exposure."
So Kael played the game.
He trained, sparred, ate lunch with his team, laughed when Dane made a joke about gravity-resistant underpants. He showed no sign of change.
But inside, he was boiling.
The final evaluation that day was a team skirmish: Class 13-Z versus Class 14-K, terrain randomized, live ability engagement allowed.
Kael entered the arena and immediately felt it.
Someone had tampered with the environment.
The artificial terrain shimmered in subtle irregularities—heat signatures slightly off, gravity fields fluctuating. It was too subtle for most to notice.
But Kael noticed.
And so did Aegis.
"This is a test. Or a trap. Possibly both."
Class 14-K had two Rank Bs, including a girl known as Mirella Stryke, who could manipulate hardened light into bladed constructs. She grinned the moment she saw Kael.
"Can't wait to see if the golden boy lives up to the rumors."
Kael didn't rise to the bait.
But as soon as the buzzer sounded, the pressure in the arena spiked.
Kael's team scattered by instinct, but the terrain collapsed inward, forcing them toward a corner kill zone.
"This is rigged!" Dane shouted, dodging a burst of concussive shockwave.
Renna was already shielding Rylen. Lira began directing evasive formations, eyes scanning for an exit.
Kael knew it was on him.
"This is your opportunity. Controlled escalation. Use just enough. Let them see your power—but not its source."
Kael nodded.
And then he moved.
He didn't sprint.
He flowed.
One step, then another—feet gliding across cracked metal, energy pooling in his calves.
When Mirella hurled a wall of hard-light blades at him, Kael spun through them, slipping between angles like he could see the very math of her technique.
He closed the distance in three seconds.
Her grin dropped.
He didn't hit her hard.
Just precise.
A pressure point strike, guided by Aegis's recall technique, collapsed her shield before she realized she was vulnerable.
She dropped to one knee, stunned.
Kael turned.
Three more cadets came.
He took them down with equal efficiency—not brutality. Just dominance.
The match ended in under a minute.
13-Z was victorious.
The silence in the observation deck was louder than any alarm.
Back in the locker room, Kallen approached him.
"Nice moves today," he said, voice casual.
Kael nodded. "Thanks."
"You've been… improving fast."
Kael shrugged, toweling his hair. "Good sleep. Better protein bars."
Kallen smiled slightly. "You know, some say you're a little too good for a first year."
Kael met his eyes. "What are you saying?"
Kallen held his gaze for a second too long. "Just curious."
Then he left.
Lira waited until the door closed. "He's reporting that, isn't he?"
"Already has," Kael muttered.
"Should we be worried?"
Kael glanced at the cracked mirror beside the sink.
"I think… they're done watching."
"I think they're starting to plan."
That night, Kael didn't go to the cliffs.
Instead, he stayed in the dorm, watching stormlight flicker through the reinforced windows.
Lira sat nearby, half-reading a manual.
Dane played cards with Rylen and Renna.
It was peaceful.
But only on the surface.
Kael closed his eyes.
"Aegis."
"I'm here."
"How long until they try to contain me?"
"They won't do it openly. They'll try to shape you. Use you. Or discredit you first."
Kael clenched a fist.
"Then I need more."
"More what?"
"Strength. Control. Legacy. Something they can't manipulate."
A pause.
Then:
"There is… one path."
Kael opened his eyes.
"Tell me."
"It's time you learned about the Codex Circuit."