Far away from the stadium, in a quiet district where the echoes of the awakening ceremony could no longer reach, stood a modest yet well-guarded residence hidden behind rows of ancient trees and worn stone walls.
The night air was cool, carrying only the faint whisper of the wind as it brushed against the leaves. Inside the house, however, the atmosphere was anything but calm.
A single lantern illuminated the room, its dim golden light casting long, wavering shadows across the wooden floor.
Alice sat near the table, her posture composed but visibly strained. Though she tried to maintain her usual calm demeanor, the slight tension in her shoulders and the faint tightness in her breathing betrayed her condition. Across from her, Zevi stood by the window, his gaze fixed far beyond the horizon, as if he could still see the remnants of the phenomenon that had shaken the entire empire.
"So… he awakened his bloodline," Alice said quietly, breaking the silence that had stretched for far too long.
Her voice carried a calm tone, but beneath it lay a deep undercurrent of realization. This was not a simple observation—it was an acknowledgment of something far greater.
Zevi exhaled slowly, his arms still crossed as he remained staring into the distance.
"Not just that," he replied. "He didn't only awaken my bloodline… he awakened yours as well."
Alice's fingers curled slightly against the edge of the table as his words sank in.
"That wasn't a normal awakening. What we saw… that was convergence."
The word itself carried a dangerous implication.
Alice lowered her gaze, her thoughts drifting to things she had long tried to forget.
"I don't know what the clan will do if they learn about this," Zevi added after a moment, his tone growing more serious. "This kind of anomaly doesn't stay hidden. Not from them."
Alice let out a soft hum, though her mind was clearly elsewhere. Instead of responding directly, she shifted the conversation to something just as pressing.
"Have you recovered any of your strength?" she asked.
Zevi shook his head without hesitation.
"No."
There was no need to elaborate, but he did anyway.
"My energy core is still damaged," he admitted. "Every time I try to push beyond my limits, it pushes back harder. My strength hasn't just stagnated—it has regressed over the past few years. At this point, maintaining what I have left already requires twice the effort."
Alice listened quietly before speaking again, her voice slightly more fragile than before.
"My mana core is worse," she said. "It's barely functioning. I can't even absorb a trace amount of magicules from the atmosphere anymore."
(AN: Magicules are the natural particles of mana present in the environment we will use this term from now on.)
The room fell silent again, but this time, it carried a heavier weight.
For warriors like them—once feared and respected—such conditions were more than just setbacks. They were shackles.
Zevi glanced at her, his expression softening slightly.
"And yet," Alice murmured, "our son surpassed us… in a single day."
"you wish! i'm gonna beat him up if he became arrogant. he still have a long way to go"
There was no bitterness in her voice.
Only a quiet acceptance.
—
Back at the stadium, the atmosphere had shifted dramatically from what it had been earlier.
What was once a place of rigid structure and ceremonial order had now transformed into a lively and chaotic space filled with excited voices and lingering disbelief.
Groups of young Dragonborn gathered in clusters, animatedly discussing what they had just witnessed, their expressions a mixture of admiration and confusion.
At the center of it all was Alex.
As he stepped down from the stage, the faint glow that had once surrounded him had finally faded, but the presence he carried remained undeniable.
It was subtle, almost invisible, yet everyone could feel it. It clung to him like a second skin, marking him as something fundamentally different.
The moment he approached his friends, he immediately noticed their reactions.
They weren't speaking. They weren't even moving much. Instead, they simply stared at him, their expressions frozen somewhere between disbelief and awe, as if their minds were still struggling to catch up with reality.
Alex frowned slightly, glancing from one face to another.
"…Why are you all looking at me like that?" he asked.
Draco opened his mouth as if to respond, but no words came out. He closed it again, clearly at a loss.
Alex let out a small sigh before shaking his head. If they weren't going to say anything, then he would move on.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
A smirk slowly formed on Alex's lips.
Shaking his head, he walked past them and stopped in front of Betty who looked just as stunned as the others.
He leaned in slightly and whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
The reaction was immediate.
Beatrix stiffened, her entire body freezing for a brief second before her face turned a deep shade of red. The embarrassment hit her harder than any physical blow ever could.
"Ngghhh!!!" she burst out, her voice louder than intended as she tried to recover her pride. "So what if you surpassed me in bloodline talent?! That doesn't mean you're stronger than me!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake.
Slowly, almost mechanically, she turned her head.
Her friends were staring at her—but this time, their expressions carried something entirely different. It wasn't shock. It wasn't awe.
It was a mix of amusement and disbelief, as if they had just witnessed something unexpectedly entertaining.
Beatrix's face grew even hotter under their gazes. Unable to endure it, she lowered her head and gripped the hem of her dress tightly, wishing she could disappear on the spot.
Then came the laughter.
It started with Draco, who tried—and failed—to hold it in. Within seconds, the others followed, their laughter echoing across the training grounds.
"Bro," Draco said between breaths, wiping a tear from his eye, "I already knew you were a monster, but this? This is on another level."
Alex raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.
"Are you insulting me?" he asked.
"NO!" they all replied at once.
Alex pointed directly at Draco's head.
"You're the monster, not me. Look at you—you've got horns. I don't."
Draco instantly stopped laughing, his expression shifting into mock offense.
"These horns are a sign of our noble bloodline, you bastard!"
"WHAT?" Alex shot back.
The tension broke instantly.
Without another word, the group suddenly scattered, instinctively knowing what was coming next.
"RUN!"
"Why are we running?!"
"Because he's will chase and beat us, idiot!"
Alex lunged forward with a grin.
"Get back here!"
What followed was complete chaos as the boys sprinted across the open grounds, laughing and shouting as Alex chased them relentlessly. The earlier tension that had weighed on everyone's shoulders was gone, replaced by something far simpler—something human.
Beatrix remained where she was, watching them.
At first, she tried to stay composed, still clinging to the remnants of her pride. But as she watched their ridiculous antics unfold, she couldn't hold it in anymore.
A small laugh escaped her lips.
"…Idiots," she muttered, though there was no real annoyance behind it.
Instead, there was warmth.
—
From the elevated throne, the emperor observed everything in silence.
Kaeltharion's sharp gaze followed the group as they ran across the arena, their laughter echoing into the night. He had expected tension. Rivalry. Perhaps even resentment.
But what he saw instead surprised him.
Despite the overwhelming display of power, none of them seemed consumed by jealousy. Even David, who was known for his competitive nature, had chosen to join in rather than isolate himself.
It was… unusual.
Kaeltharion leaned slightly forward, resting his chin against his hand as he continued to observe.
"Fascinating," he murmured under his breath.
Power like Alex's had the potential to divide.
Yet somehow, it had done the opposite.
For now.
His gaze hardened slightly.
Because he knew better than to believe it would stay that way.
—
Later that night, the warmth of home offered a stark contrast to the chaos of the stadium.
The dining table was filled with food, and the room buzzed with conversation as the family discussed the events of the day. The atmosphere was lively, almost normal—but beneath it all, there was an unspoken tension that refused to fade completely.
"You certainly caused quite the commotion today, son," Zevi said with a faint smile.
Alex scratched the back of his head, looking slightly embarrassed.
"…How bad is it?" he asked.
Zevi chuckled.
"Well, let's just say the entire empire saw it."
Alex froze mid-motion.
"…You're kidding."
Alice shook her head gently. "The sky itself reacted. There was no hiding it."
Alex leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair as he processed the implications.
"…That's definitely not good."
He hesitated for a moment before asking the question that had been lingering in his mind.
"Will this bring trouble to us?"
Zevi and Alice exchanged a brief glance before Zevi answered.
"Most likely," he admitted. "But the empire is strong. And the emperor is not someone easily shaken. We'll manage."
He said it with a reassuring tone, clearly trying to lighten the mood.
But Alex wasn't fully convinced.
He could feel it.
The weight of what had happened.
This wasn't something that would simply pass.
"…Then we shouldn't waste time," Alex said, his expression growing more serious.
Zevi raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"You said you'd teach me how to fight after the awakening ceremony," Alex continued. "So let's start."
A small smile formed on Zevi's lips, but it quickly faded as his expression turned serious.
"I did say that," he replied. "But before we begin…"
The room grew quieter.
"There's something you need to understand first."
Alex straightened slightly, sensing the shift in tone.
"Our family history," Zevi said.
Alex frowned.
"…Our history?"
Zevi nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The lantern flickered softly, casting shadows that danced along the walls.
"What you awakened today," Zevi continued, his voice lowering, "was never meant to exist within a single person."
Alex's expression hardened with focus.
"And the reason it does…"
Zevi leaned forward slightly, his eyes locking onto his son's.
"…is because of what we are."