Day seven. Final exam. Final minutes.
Juli looked like death.
His blonde hair stuck up at weird angles. Dark circles under his eyes. His uniform wrinkled. He'd aged ten years in seven days.
Question ninety-eight of one hundred stared back at him from the datapad.
"Analyze the strategic implications of the Scorpio Squad's deployment patterns in contested sectors over the last decade. Cite at least three specific examples."
His hand trembled as he wrote. The words barely made sense anymore. Just word vomit. Academic nonsense pulled from the depths of his dying brain cells.
Across the hall, two figures observed him.
Javar perched on the back of his chair, wings folded, that permanent grin on his beak. "Yo, di blonde yout' look like him soul leavin' him body, zeen?"
The red-haired captain sat properly at his station, exam already completed. His eyes tracked Juli with quiet intensity. "He's lasted this long."
"Yuh t'ink him pass?"
"Maybe." The captain's fingers drummed once against his datapad. "We'll see."
The countdown timer hit zero.
"EXAMINATION COMPLETE," the proctors announced. "All datapads will now submit automatically. Remain seated until—"
Juli STOOD.
Not just stood. He planted both feet on his TABLE and threw his arms wide.
Then he ROARED.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The sound echoed through the entire hall. Primal. Unfiltered. Pure relief mixed with exhaustion and probably a little insanity.
Every head turned.
Every proctor's emotionless face somehow managed to look offended.
"CADET!" The nearest android floated toward him rapidly. "REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THE FURNITURE IMMEDIATELY OR FACE DISCIPLINARY—"
Juli didn't hear it. Didn't care. He let out the biggest sigh of his life, chest heaving.
"I'M ALIIIIIVE!"
"CADET WEIPER, THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING—"
Then Juli started dancing.
Not just any dancing.
He moonwalked backward across the table. Smooth as butter. His feet glided like he was on ice.
The hall EXPLODED with laughter.
"IS HE SERIOUS?!" someone shouted.
"OH MY STARS, HE'S ACTUALLY DOING IT!"
Juli spun, grabbed his crotch, and kicked his leg out. Then he did the lean. The impossible, gravity-defying lean that should not be physically possible without wires.
But he DID it.
Javar fell off his chair laughing. "RAAAAAAAS! DI YOUT' IS MAD! ABSOLUTELY MAD!"
C'luppo's tentacles went limp from wheezing. "THAT'S—THAT'S ACTUALLY BRILLIANT!"
Kade had his face in his hands, but his shoulders shook with barely contained laughter. "Why. Why is he like this."
McGee was recording on his datapad. "This is going in the archives."
Miki tried to look stern but couldn't stop the smile. "He's insane."
The girls' reactions varied wildly.
Tessa covered her face with both hands, peeking through her fingers. Half cringing, half smiling.
Pam stood with her arms crossed, the look of a mother watching her child do something stupid in public. "I'm going to kill him."
But there was the tiniest quirk to her lips.
Nara had her hand over her mouth, eyes gleaming. "My future husband is... unique."
The butterfly girl from Steel Sector was giggling uncontrollably. "He's amazing!"
The Saurian just sighed. "Why are all the interesting ones completely unhinged?"
Juli hit the spin. Three full rotations. Stopped perfectly on beat. Then he did the robot, movements sharp and mechanical.
The proctors were FUMING. Multiple androids swarmed toward him.
"CADET WEIPER! CEASE THIS BEHAVIOR IMMEDIATELY!"
"DISCIPLINARY ACTION WILL BE—"
Juli threw in a wave. Then the splits.
He actually did the SPLITS on the table.
The hall lost it completely. Even cadets who'd been crying from exam stress were laughing now.
"THIS IS A VIOLATION OF—"
"THAT BOY'S GOT MOVES THOUGH!" someone shouted.
"HE'S BEEN SITTING FOR SEVEN DAYS, LET HIM HAVE THIS!"
Juli hopped off the table, landed in a crouch, and froze in a pose. Arms out. Head down. Perfect form.
The laughter reached a crescendo.
The proctors surrounded him. "You will be reported for—"
Then the laughter stopped.
Not gradually. All at once.
Like someone had cut the audio.
Juli noticed the change. Looked up from his pose.
The crowd parted.
Someone was walking toward him.
Slow. Measured steps. Black military boots clicking against the floor. Perfect posture. Hands at his sides.
The red-haired cadet.
His expression was neutral. Not angry. Not amused. Just... focused.
Juli straightened slowly, the goofy energy draining from his body. Something in his gut twisted.
The boy kept walking. Closer. Closer.
The entire hall was silent now. Thousands of cadets watching. Even the proctors stopped their threats.
Juli's eyes locked onto the approaching figure. That uniform. Those holstered pistols. That cap.
And beneath the cap—
Red hair.
Not hidden. Not concealed. Just there. Flowing from beneath the black fabric in short, sharp strands. Bright. Unmistakable.
The same shade that haunted Juli's memories.
The same shade that saved his life.
Juli's breath caught.
The captain stopped three meters away.
Their eyes met. Black versus red.
And then Juli saw it.
The emblem on the captain's cap.
A flame crest.
Identical. EXACTLY identical to the one Juli kept hidden against his chest. The one given to him years ago. The symbol of a hero. The mark of—
Juli's entire body went rigid. His playful expression vanished completely. His jaw clenched.
The captain's black eyes remained steady, unreadable. But there was something there. Recognition. Calculation. Purpose.
The silence stretched.
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Two boys. Two flame crests. Both touched by the same legend.
Standing face to face.
The tournament hadn't even started yet.
But destiny was already making its moves.