Summer moved slowly.The last weeks before the new school cycle felt heavy, as if time itself were waiting for something.
Vex spent those days with his mother—helping at the shop, walking the dirt roads along the village fields, and sometimes sitting under his favorite tree beside a statue, watching the sky between the mountains. A sky that had grown brighter lately, with impossible colors that only existed since the appearance of the two moons after the Great Awakening.
But inside him, something wasn't at peace.
Since that day in Zurath's shop, something gnawed at him.Aric Ghalahad's gaze.The way he had looked at him—as if he already knew something Vex didn't.He hadn't seen Aric again, but in his dreams, he felt him nearby. Like a presence… waiting.
One morning, while returning from a delivery in the upper part of the village, Vex noticed a figure leaning under the shade of a tree. Tall. Cloaked in black. He didn't recognize the man at first—but the wrapped sword at his side gave him away.
It was Aric.
"I didn't think you'd come back here…" Vex said cautiously.
Aric looked up. His eyes were still as unreadable as before.
"Zurath asked me to watch you. Not to judge you. Just to understand."
"Understand me? Why? I have no powers, no Awakening… I'm no one."
Aric didn't answer right away.
"There are moments in history when the ones who think they're nothing… are the ones who change everything."
An uncomfortable silence followed.The wind rustled the tree's branches.
"I want you to come with me."
"To where?"
"Olympo Academy."
Vex took a step back.
"Are you insane? Me? Olympo? I don't even know who my ancestor was."
Aric nodded slowly.
"Exactly. Zurath asked me to give you the chance. He saw something in you. And if he saw it… I can't ignore it."
Vex returned home, head full of thoughts.His mother saw the look on his face and knew something was wrong.
"What is it, Vex?"
"Aric… the man from the shop. He asked me to go with him. To Olympo. To the academy."
He told her everything that had happened the last time he visited Zurath.
His mother stood silent. After a few seconds, she placed her hands on the counter and lowered her gaze.
"You should go."
Vex blinked, stunned.
"What? No, Mom… I was planning to stay. Help you. This is our life."
"And that's exactly why you need to leave," she said, raising her eyes to meet his."This shop was my life. And maybe it still is. But yours doesn't have to be. If someone like Zurath sees something in you, you can't waste it. Not because of me."
A lump formed in his throat.He hadn't expected that response. Not so firm. Not so direct.
"I don't know if I deserve that chance…"
"Then prove to me you do."
She stepped forward, took his face in her hands, and smiled.
"I'll be waiting."
Before leaving, Vex made one last stop in a forgotten corner of the woods.The place where he had grown up. Where he'd played. Where he'd imagined other worlds.
There, among old roots and dry leaves, stood the broken statue.Covered in moss, face cracked in two, and a name nearly erased:Cae...
And there was Jeremy Tull, sitting exactly where they used to build castles from sticks.
"You're late, oh prince of the forgotten realm," he said, not looking at him, voice slightly shaky.
Vex smiled, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"My steed got tired. I fed it market carrots and now it's charging me interest."
Jeremy let out a shaky laugh but didn't stand up.
Vex sat beside him, just like when they were eight, plotting to save the world with wooden swords.
"Remember when we used to say this statue was a buried superhero?" Jeremy asked.
"Yeah… you said it was the first mage ever."
"And you said it was your great-great-grandfather!"
They both chuckled softly.Leaves rustled in the breeze.The silence afterward felt heavier.
"So, you're leaving… to become someone."
"I don't know about someone—but I'm going to try something."
"I've got plans too, you know?" Jeremy quickly wiped his eyes like he didn't want Vex to notice."I'm going to be the greatest farmer in history. When people talk about crops, the name Jeremy Tull will thunder across the fairs."
"Gonna revolutionize wheat?"
"I'm gonna make magic bread, Vex!"
They burst out laughing again, louder this time.Then… silence.
Jeremy stood first, swallowing his tears.
"I don't know what's out there, Vex… but if anyone can face it, it's you."
"Thanks, Jeremy… for everything."
"And don't forget to write. Even if it's just to tell me you jumped off a tower or ate something glowing."
Vex hugged him tight.
"Take care of your family."
"And you come back whole, yeah? No dying dramatically in the climax. Doesn't suit you."
They both laughed, voices trembling.And as Vex walked away down the path, Jeremy remained by the statue.
"You hear me, Cae-whatever-your-name-was?" he muttered."You'd better watch over that idiot."
And the statue, silent as always, stared into the horizon.
Two days later, Vex was gone.
The farewell had been brief, just as his mother wanted. No drama.Just a strong hug, a backpack over his shoulder, and one last look at the shop sign that had been his home for sixteen years.
Aric waited on the outskirts of the village with a carriage powered by runic energy.The journey would be long. On foot, it would take weeks—but with transport portals, they could reach New Europe in days.
Aric didn't speak much on the road. But what little he said… left a mark.
"The academy isn't what the legends say. It's older than you think. Harsher. And far more dangerous."
"What kind of people go there?" Vex asked.
"Children of powerful bloodlines. Warriors with awakened gifts.And some… like you. The ones who don't yet know what they carry."
Vex stayed quiet.The landscape changed as they neared the border.Fields and villages gave way to valleys crystallized by ancient magical wars.
"Did you study there?" Vex asked, breaking the silence.
"I was a student. Now I'm a temporary instructor.But I spend more time outside than inside. On… missions."
"What kind of missions?"
Aric glanced at him sideways.
"The kind that lead to the continent of Arkhadia."
Vex frowned.
"Arkhadia? Never heard of it."
Aric smiled for the first time.
"You need to read more. Arkhadia is the newest continent. The least explored.And also… the most dangerous."
"You've been there?"
"More times than I'd like.But that story… I'll tell you if you survive your first semester."
The journey had only just begun.