The door sealed behind Null. Inside the circular room, seven heirs remained, the air thick with unspoken calculations.
"He's different," Leo said first, breaking the silence. The demon heir's red eyes tracked where Null had stood. "Ten years we've watched him grow, and he still doesn't fit any pattern we know."
"Could he be from Earth?" The question hung between them like a blade.
Elarion's fingers drummed against the table. "His growth is… unprecedented. The spatial manipulation was impressive at the age of five. Now? He bends reality like breathing. That's not normal evolution—that's something else."
"If he starts asking the right questions," Selene said quietly, her moon-pale eyes focused on nothing, "our parents might notice things we'd rather keep hidden."
"He won't ask," Elarion said, though uncertainty flickered across his features. "His curiosity seems directed elsewhere."
Marcus cut in with quiet authority. "He won't."
His certainty did not ease the tension. If anything, it highlighted how much Null had already exceeded their expectations.
"He'll probe eventually," Khaos said, examining her nails with affected casualness. "He's too smart not to. And getting smarter."
Elena, the quietest of them, spoke up. "His bond with his mother is the real danger. If she learns what we suspect—"
"She won't," Elarion interrupted. "Aurora sees her son, not the anomaly."
Orin laughed without humor. "Trouble wrapped in cosmic silence. That's what he is."
The room fell quiet. They'd planned to recruit or neutralize potential threats among the new generation. Instead, they'd found something that defied categorization. Null wasn't just powerful—he was evolving in ways that made even them, the chosen heirs of the Nexus, nervous.
TEN YEARS LATER
Null sat alone in the throne room, no longer the small dragon who'd first claimed this seat. At fifteen, his human form had evolved into something that made others forget to breathe. Perfect proportions that seemed carved rather than grown. Skin that held a subtle luminescence. Hair darker than void with threads of starlight woven through.
His cosmic eyes hadn't changed—still black holes ringed with photon fire—but now they held depths that made grown warriors look away.
Space itself bent subtly around him, a passive effect of his presence. The air was always slightly cooler near him, gravity always somewhat wrong, as if reality itself deferred to his existence.
"The Academy will be different from here," Aurora said, standing before her throne. "I cannot protect you beyond our borders."
"I know."
"They'll test you. Challenge you. Try to break you."
"Let them try."
She studied her son, this being she'd created from her own essence, who'd become something beyond her comprehension. "You'll travel by carriage with the other young dragons. No teleportation. It's tradition."
His eyebrow lifted slightly. "With Sierra?"
"Among others, yes."
A ghost of something crossed his features. Recognition. Memory. It had been years since he'd seen the ice dragon who'd been his first real fight, his first equal.
"I'm ready," he said.
Reality folded around him when he rose; it wasn't an effort anymore, just a reflex—standing bent the air.
Conversation died when Null entered the carriage. He didn't look up. He sat, closed his eyes, and the room quieted around him. His presence filled the space like water filling a container. The temperature dropped two degrees. Shadows grew longer. The boasting died in their throats.
"It's been a while, Null."
Sierra's voice cut through the silence. She sat across from him, white scales gleaming in her dragon form. She'd grown too—larger, more refined, ice crystallizing in the air around her with each breath.
Null opened one eye, regarding her with the same calm that had unnerved elder dragons.
"You haven't changed much," she continued, undeterred by his silence.
"You talk too much."
The words were delivered without heat, but they landed with weight. The other dragons pressed themselves against the walls, trying to become invisible.
Sierra smiled, showing fangs. "And you still pretend you don't enjoy the attention."
He closed his eyes again, ending the conversation. But she'd seen it—the tiniest quirk at the corner of his mouth. He remembered their fights. Remembered the chaos they'd created together.
The rest of the journey passed in silence. As the carriage began its descent, jolting them from their stillness, Sierra's smile sharpened into a predatory smirk. Fine, she thought. I'll make you care.
The carriage jolted harder as it dropped lower. Through the windows, the Academy revealed itself—a massive floating island suspended in endless sky.
Black spires twisted upward like frozen screams. Veins of pure ether ran through structures that defied architectural logic. Crystal bridges spanned impossible distances. Training grounds stretched for miles, some on fire, some frozen, some flickering between dimensions.
The airspace teemed with activity. Ships powered by ether. Students on flying beasts. Winged races soaring between buildings.
Null watched it all with the same calm he'd shown in the carriage. Then, without warning, he vanished.
The other dragons scrambled to the windows. Below, in the Academy's central courtyard, a wrinkle in space appeared. Null materialized from nothing, his human form drawing every eye in the vicinity.
"Is that… a dragon?"
"The Dragon Prince. Has to be."
"He's more handsome than the rumors said."
A student with lion-like features sneered from the sidelines. "Hmph. Just another royal brat. Bet he's never seen a real fight in his life." A few of his companions snickered.
"Those eyes, though… gods, those eyes…"
Whispers followed him as he walked toward the Academy gates. Students parted before him without conscious thought. His presence created a bubble of space that none dared enter.
Some stared in awe. Others in fear. A few with the calculating look of those measuring a potential rival or ally.
Null ignored them all. His stride never changed—unhurried but purposeful, each step causing the air to hiccup around his feet.
"Well, well. The prince arrives."
Khaos materialized from the crowd like smoke given form, and ten years had transformed her from an eerily beautiful child to something that defied description. Her dark skin seemed to drink light. Her red hair moved like liquid fire. Her white eyes glowed with inner radiance.
She'd kept the gothic aesthetic but refined it. Black dress that was somehow both modest and scandalous. Jewelry that looked like crystallized void.
"Khaos," Null acknowledged.
She circled him slowly, predatory grace in every movement. "You've grown. Finally hit puberty, I see."
"You're more beautiful than before."
The words were delivered with the same tone he might use to observe the weather. But Khaos heard the truth in them.
"Like what you see?"
"Yes. I do."
She laughed—a sound like silver bells and breaking glass. "Still honest to a fault. I've missed that." Her expression shifted, becoming serious. "The Order's been more active. Attacks on three kingdoms in the last year. You should consider my offer of alliance."
"I can handle myself."
"Against the Order? Against the seniors here who'll want to prove themselves by breaking you? Against the Academy itself?" She stepped closer, close enough that he could smell cinnamon and danger. "Even you have limits, Null."
"Then I'll find them and break them."
She studied him for a long moment, then smiled. "This is going to be an interesting year."
The aura hit like a physical blow.
Students throughout the courtyard dropped to their knees. Even some of the Nexus heirs staggered. It was power made manifest, crushing will given form.
Null remained standing. His expression didn't change.
A figure descended from the central spire. Not flying—falling with control, robes whipping in the wind. The Assistant Academy Director, though Null didn't know the title yet. Only that this being radiated danger.
"Welcome, fresh meat," the figure said upon landing—a male voice, harsh with amusement. "I am Authur, your worst nightmare for the next year. Let's start with a simple test."
He raised one hand. Runes blazed to life across the courtyard.
"You'll be transported to an unknown land. There will be monsters—expect anything from dimension-wolves to mirror-skulks. There will be each other. Survive for three days. Fighting is encouraged. Killing…" he smiled, showing too many teeth, "is not forbidden."
Some students tried to run. The runes held them in place.
"Oh, and one more thing," Arthur added. "The weak die first. Have fun."
Light exploded.
When it faded, the courtyard was empty.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
This is the last time skip. I kinda been rushing the timeline to get here, but this is the last one for a while