Night drifted over Nexara as Raze and Lily finally rolled into the Arcwell estate.The engine purred to a stop, and Lily—still clinging to Raze's waist—burst into another fit of giggles.
"Heehee… Big bro, that was soooo fast!"
Raze removed his helmet and ruffled her hair.
"Alright, Lily. Quiet now. If we're careful, we can sneak inside before—"
SLAM!
The front door whipped open.
Luna Arcwell stood framed in golden light, arms crossed, expression glowing with righteous fury. Her foot tapped against the marble like a ticking time bomb.
"Oh look," she said softly—dangerously softly."My dear siblings finally decided to return home."
Raze went pale.
"S–Sis, we can explain—"
Luna raised a hand and pressed a finger to his lips.
"No. Not you. Her."She turned, eyes blazing."Lily… sweetheart. Tell me. Where exactly did the BOTH of you go today?"
Raze froze.Lily's eyes sparkled with traitorous innocence.
"Well! Big brother took me on the FASTEST bike ride! And then—"
Raze reached out.
"Lily, wait—NO—"
"—and then we played with Big Sister Astra!"
Silence.
An ominous wind rattled the windows.
Luna stared at them the way ancient gods stared at mortals who touched forbidden artifacts.
"So let me get this straight…"Her tone dripped with betrayal."You two left me alone at home… while you rode around the city… AND hung out with another girl?"
Raze raised both hands. "Okay listen—"
"No. YOU LISTEN." Luna jabbed a finger at him."You REPLACED me. With ASTRA."
"She's not replacing—"
"And YOU." Luna whirled toward Lily."You betrayed me."
Lily gasped dramatically."No! Luna-sis, I love you most! But the bike was super fast and Big Sis Astra is super cool!"
"Oh. So she's 'super cool.' Good to know."Luna turned away, arms crossed like a dethroned empress."Enjoy your new big sister then."
Raze sighed. "You're being dramatic."
"I LEARNED IT FROM YOU!"
The banter escalated—accusations, exaggerated heartbreak, sibling betrayal theatrics—until a calm voice cut through like a divine decree.
"Alright, that's enough."
Rose Arcwell stepped forward with her gentle smile.
"Luna, stop sulking. Lily, stop teasing. Raze… stop encouraging chaos."
"I didn't—"
Rose raised a single eyebrow.Raze shut up instantly.
In minutes, the Arcwell household returned to peace.
Lily hugged Luna.Luna hugged her back (after pretending she wouldn't).Raze pretended he wasn't relieved.
The Starbreaker Is Born
Morning light spilled over the Arcwell Technologies laboratory.
Holograms.Machinery.Engineers sprinting like caffeinated ants.
Because today—they were analyzing his data.
Dr. Kelvar nearly tripped running toward him.
"Raze Arcwell! Perfect timing! We've analyzed your entire fight with Voxen Hale!"
He held up a glowing tablet.
"We've upgraded your combat suit. Version 7.2."
Raze blinked. "Already?"
"You gave us data better than ten normal tests combined!"
Another engineer chimed in, eyes sparkling.
"The Abyss Alloy layers adapted more efficiently than predicted. The nanotech responded with 99.7% accuracy. So we decided to give your suit a proper name."
Kelvar tapped the hologram.
The blueprint rotated.
ARCWELL PROTOTYPE — ASTRAEOS MK-I'THE STARBREAKER SUIT'
Raze raised an eyebrow. "Starbreaker?"
"Well," Kelvar grinned, "you caught a tungsten punch with your bare hand."
"Fair enough."
When Raze wore the new suit, it fused to him—lighter, stronger, smarter.A heartbeat of silver-blue energy pulsed through it.
For a moment, he stared at his reflection.
Not powerless.Not a burden.Not the outlier of his family.
But someone who was becoming… something else.
Something new.
Training with Luna
Later that afternoon, Raze met Luna in the Arcwell training yard.
She cracked her knuckles.
"Okay, traitor. Show me how much stronger you got."
Raze twirled his batons."You sure? Yesterday someone was pretty jealous."
"Hit me and I'll forgive you."
"Oh, so that's the forgiveness price now?"
They clashed—light against steel.
Luna blurred with radiance.Raze's upgraded suit amplified his speed, his reactions, his precision.
Every strike lit the air.Every dodge was a tight dance of two prodigies.
Luna smirked between blows.
"You're getting faster."
"You're still annoying."
"No—you're finally catching up."
They fought until the sky turned sunset gold.
A New Path for Voxen
After training, Lily ran over with a tablet.
"Big brother! Look! Look!"
A headline flashed:
Voxen Hale Accepted into Argent Sentinel (AS) Hero Academy.
Raze blinked."Already…?"
Luna nodded.
"Well, he awakened mid-battle. And our hero class is full. He deserves it."
Raze exhaled softly.
"I'm glad… he earned it."
Their fight had been brutal, honest, powerful.
Raze respected him deeply.
Round Two Approaches
The next morning, Lionel Academy buzzed like a hornet's nest.
Students crowded the digital boards.
Round Two brackets lit up the screens.
Raze stepped forward…
Found his name…
And smiled.
The preliminaries were over.
Now—
the real tournament was about to begin.