The city no longer had a name.
On old maps it still existed, but in reality it was a place people left behind—
crumbling buildings, narrow streets, and children who learned early how to stay invisible.
Kael moved through it without hesitation.
Fifteen years old.
Sharp eyes.
Careful steps.
He noticed the black vehicle long before anyone called his name.
Clean. Silent. Out of place.
Someone was waiting.
"Kael."
The voice came from behind him. Calm. Measured.
Kael stopped, but did not turn.
"I didn't tell you my name," he said.
"You didn't need to," the man replied. "I know how to find what I'm looking for."
Kael turned.
The man was tall, dressed simply, his presence heavier than his appearance.
His eyes carried no curiosity—only certainty.
"My name is Arden," he said.
"I travel often."
Kael studied him.
"You don't belong here."
Arden nodded.
"Exactly."
They sat near a broken concrete wall overlooking the city.
Arden observed the surroundings without disgust, without pity.
"Do you know why places like this exist?" he asked.
Kael shrugged.
"So people don't look at them."
Arden smiled faintly.
"That answer is intelligent."
Kael frowned.
"You barely know me."
"I know enough," Arden replied.
"Your patterns. Your choices. The way you speak."
He turned toward Kael.
"I believe your intelligence is being wasted here.
An intellect like yours should not fade in a place like this."
The words hung in the air.
"And if I refuse?" Kael asked.
Arden's voice didn't change.
"Then you will survive.
But the world will lose you."
The adoption happened faster than it should have.
Documents were approved.
Officials didn't ask questions.
Kael noticed.
He doesn't request permission, Kael realized.
He removes obstacles.
The house was silent.
Wide corridors.
Cold lights.
Two teenagers stood inside.
Aren, older, sharp, already evaluating.
Lyra, calm, distant, unreadable.
"These are your siblings now," Arden said.
Aren looked at Kael.
"So you're the one."
Lyra didn't speak.
Dinner passed quietly.
Aren talked about rankings.
Lyra talked about schedules.
Kael listened.
When addressed, he answered briefly.
They weren't hostile.
They were wary.
Later that night, Arden stood at Kael's door.
"You understand why I brought you here," he said.
"You think I'm in danger," Kael replied.
"Yes."
"From what?"
Arden paused.
"From remaining invisible."
Valencrest Academy rose like a fortress.
Massive gates.
Cold symmetry.
"This is not a normal school," Arden said.
"It does not teach knowledge.
It measures value."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"And if I fail?"
Arden looked at him.
"You won't."
The entrance tests were brutal.
Psychological contradictions.
Moral traps.
Pressure without instructions.
Kael answered slowly.
Never perfectly.
Always… barely enough.
The second test broke many.
Isolation.
Artificial stress.
Time distortion.
Kael waited.
If I stand out, he thought,
they will watch me.
So he hesitated.
Misjudged once.
Corrected late.
Passed.
Just.
Observers whispered.
"Average."
"Lucky."
"Forgettable."
Exactly right.
At dusk, the results appeared.
PASS – CONDITIONAL
Kael read his name.
Behind a glass wall, a woman frowned.
"That boy…" she said.
A man beside her replied quietly.
"He shouldn't have passed."
That night, Kael lay awake in the dormitory.
This place doesn't reward excellence, he thought.
It controls it.
Outside, Valencrest Academy pulsed like a living organism.
And somewhere within its system…
Kael was already being watched.
End of Episode 1.