Kael had about two hours of sleep.
It’s hard to sleep with everything that happened last night.
Like always, Liz started knocking on his door.
He opened it and leaned against the door fra.
"You’re here early," he said, smiling at her.
"Can I co in?" she asked with a cheerful expression.
"Liz, we can’t. A boy and a girl alone... it doesn’t look good. It’d look bad," he teased.
"It’s serious." Her glare was sharp.
"Ok, fine. Co in."
She sat down with him.
At first, she didn’t say anything.
Then she said, "Do you rember those dreams we talked about earlier?"
"Yes," he responded.
"I didn’t have any this ti.
Today’s dream was peaceful. Perfect.
You were there, I was there... and we didn’t die."
"Oh really? Told ya it was just dreams," he said.
Then she started thinking about what she saw earlier—
that tear through space.
"But that thing we saw—"
Before she could finish, he cut her off.
"You probably saw that in your dream or sothing. You are the daughter of Apollo. Maybe you got a glimpse of the future."
That made her pause. The edge in her voice softened.
"Maybe that’s it," she muttered.
"Yes it is."
Then he took out the rings he got.
"Okay, sunshine, I need you to take this."
"What is this?" she questioned, confused.
"Trust and take it. You’ll know what it does when the ti cos," he said as he handed it to her, and he wore the other one.
He knew it was wrong, but it was better to keep it a secret from her for now—
especially since he wanted to modify it later.
He wanted to make sure that no one could touch her—
that the only ti they could was over his lifeless body.
She glared at him.
He blinked, confused.
"C’mon, put it on," he muttered.
She gave him an angry look.
He froze for a mont, then understood.
He reached forward and gently slid the ring onto her finger.
"Sorry, first ti," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck.
She didn’t say a word. Just leaned in and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder.
He held her close... but his eyes weren’t calm.
His grip tightened slightly.
Deep down, sothing twisted in his chest.
He hated this.
Because the more she smiled—
—the more terrified he was of losing her.
The old man’s voice kept playing in his head over and over.
"Get ready," she said, snapping him back to reality.
"Okay. I’ll et you outside in a bit," he said.
As he was changing, more thoughts popped into his head.
Why was that tear here?
Too much confusion filled his mind.
"Are you done?" Liz shouted from the other side.
"Yes, my dearest fireball."
Like usual, they sat in the class.
Today was training day.
So Chiron entered the room.
But today, he looked serious—worried.
"Students, let’s go to the training hall. There is soone who will be here soon."
The classroom started murmuring.
"Who could it be?"
"Maybe the kings."
"Or the Holy Knights."
The murmurs got louder.
But Kael felt sothing coming toward them.
He knew what was coming.
"Don’t worry, students. We only need three students from each class."
"Why?" one student asked.
"We have sothing important for them," Chiron answered.
"Who will you pick?" another asked.
"Do you rember the Olympus Ranking Test?"
"Yes," they all answered.
"We’re going to pick the top three students from there," he continued.
"Caius, Kael, Liz—please follow ," he announced.
Kael was a bit confused,
but he could feel that energy getting closer.
They moved to the hall.
There were more students there—
most of them looked older, like they were in higher classes.
They all lined up.
About ten teams of three.
"Why are there so many students?" he asked.
"They also had the sa ranking test as you three.
And they’re the best in their class."
He was still confused why he was here—
since he kinda passed out.
Also, they never ntioned any of this after that.
He felt like the gods had sothing to do with it.
He waited.
The entertainnt was getting closer.
Chiron stood at the front.
"Please show respect.
If you do not, you will be punished.
Be on your best behavior," he shouted to the students.
The tear in the sky was still visible.
The sky was no longer red.
Kael looked at it again.
Sothing about it—that made him feel uneasy.
Liz leaned closer to him.
"Why do I feel like it’s watching us?" she whispered.
He glanced at her.
"Don’t be silly, sunshine," he said, forcing a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
As usual, Caius was calm.
"You two good? Any idea who’s showing up?"
Kael replied, "Oh, you will see. But I’ll tell you this—I’m not a fan."
Caius’s face filled with confusion.
Then sothing cut through the air—low, just enough to catch Kael’s attention.
"Here it cos," he muttered.
That energy he felt earlier?
It’s almost here.
Chiron raised his hand, and the murmuring stopped.
"Stand straight. Say nothing unless spoken to.
And don’t—under any circumstance—disrespect the one who’s coming."
Students looked around, whispering, but saw nothing.
But Kael did.
He stared in that direction.
It was fast.
He reached for Liz’s hand.
"Don’t worry, I’m here. Don’t let go," he said while giving a smile of relief.
She nodded without a word.
He had arrived.
The students tried to get a glimpse of who it was, but couldn’t—
blinded by the sunlight behind him.
But Kael saw through it all.
The figure stood in the air.
Still. Silent.
The wind didn’t touch him. The sun bent around him.
He didn’t speak.
He didn’t move.
He just hovered—like a judgnt waiting to fall.
Kael stared at the figure, his grip tightening slightly.
From the front, Chiron shouted, "On your knees, students!"
Most of the students were confused, but slowly, one by one, they started to kneel.
Kael let go of Liz’s hand and looked at her with a smile.
"It’s okay."
Everyone was on one knee—
Kael was the last to do it.
The students whispered among themselves.
"Who is it?"
"I couldn’t see anything..."
But Kael knew.
He knew those sandals anywhere.
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