LOGIN"Class is in session," Liam announced, standing in the middle of the sprawling Royal Gardens.
It was a beautiful morning. Birds were singing. Jackson hoped they would still be singing by noon.
Subject 1: Aurora (Teacher: Liam)
"Okay, little star," Liam sat cross-legged on the grass. He placed a single, white duck feather on a stone in front of Aurora. "Move the feather. Do not touch it."
Aurora stared at the feather. "That's easy!"
"With your mind," Liam corrected. "But here is the rule: You cannot lift the stone. Only the feather. Control is more important than power."
Aurora frowned. She narrowed her eyes. Violet sparks crackled in her irises.
"Ugh!" She grunted.
WHOOSH!
It wasn't a gentle lift. It was a gravity blast.
The feather flew into the sky. The stone shot up like a bullet.
But that wasn't all.
The dirt around them exploded upwards. A decorative marble fountain nearby cracked, and the water began to flow... upwards.
"Stop!" Liam caught the flying stone with one hand.
Aurora giggled. "Did you see? It went high!"
"You made the water go up," Liam wiped mud off his face. "We have work to do."
Subject 2: Mia (Teacher: Jackson)
Inside the Dojo (Royal Gym).
Mia was wearing a mini gi (karate uniform). She was jumping around, chopping the air.
"Hii-ya! Take that! Kick!"
Jackson leaned against a punching bag, arms crossed. "Are you dancing or fighting?"
"I'm being a ninja, Daddy!" Mia tried a spinning kick and fell on her bum.
"Get up," Jackson walked over. "Rule number one: Never lose your balance. If you are on the floor, you are dead."
"But spinning kicks look cool in movies!"
"Movies aren't real life," Jackson gently nudged her shoulder. She wobbled. "See? Weak stance."
He crouched down to her level.
"Fighting isn't about looking cool, Mia. It's about ending the threat so you can run away safely. I don't want you to be a hero. I want you to be safe."
Mia pouted. "Fine. Teach me the boring stuff."
Jackson smiled. "Wide stance. Knees bent. Let's go."
Subject 3: Alex (Teacher: Margaret)
In the laboratory.
Alex looked bored. "Grandma, I memorized the Periodic Table when I was six. Can we skip to quantum mechanics?"
Margaret was mixing two clear liquids in a beaker. "You know data, Alex. You don't know reaction."
"It's just Chemistry," Alex tapped his tablet. "Simulation says if you mix Compound A and B, it creates a small exothermic reaction."
"Computers simulate the perfect scenario," Margaret added a drop of blue liquid. "Real life has variables. Impurities. Air pressure. Humidity."
FIZZ!
Pink foam suddenly erupted from the beaker, expanding rapidly like a volcano. It overflowed the table, covering Alex’s tablet in sticky slime.
"Hey! My screen!" Alex yelped, trying to wipe it off.
"Variable number one: Never put your electronics in the splash zone," Margaret winked. "Data is useful, Alex. But instinct keeps you alive."
Alex looked at his messy tablet, then at his smiling grandmother. For the first time, he realized books couldn't teach him everything.
Lunchtime.
Serenity walked out to the terrace with trays of sandwiches.
She saw the scene:
The garden fountain was broken.
Mia was sweaty and covered in mats bruises (but looking proud).
Alex was wiping pink slime off his glasses.
"How was school?" Serenity asked, suppressing a laugh.
"I moved the water!" Aurora cheered.
"I learned how to punch Daddy in the knee!" Mia added.
"Grandma blew up my firewall. Literally," Alex sighed.
Jackson walked up, kissing Serenity’s cheek. He smelled like sweat and dirt.
"We survived Day One," Jackson groaned, taking a sandwich.
"They are getting stronger," Liam said, looking at the children with pride. "By the time The Architects return... this pack will be ready."
Serenity watched her family. They weren't just royals or billionaires anymore. They were becoming something else. Something formidable.
"Just... try to leave the castle standing?" Serenity pleaded.
Jackson laughed. "No promises."
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
The Architect's Temporary Base. Unknown Location."Denied?" Zero stared at the screen. "What do you mean 'Access Denied'?""The bank accounts are frozen, Sir," his subordinate stammered. "Sterling bought the banks. He bought the holding companies. He even bought the electric grid supplying this building."PZZZT.The lights in Zero's office flickered and died. The emergency red lights turned on."He cut our power," Zero whispered, trembling with rage.In one hour, Jackson Sterling had dismantled an empire that took fifty years to build. No supply chain. No weapons. No money to pay the mercenaries."He thinks he can starve us out?" Zero smashed his desk lamp. "He thinks we are businessmen? We are gods!"He turned to his lieutenant."Assemble the Legion. Every remaining soldier. Every working Drone.""Sir? What is the target?""His heart," Zero pointed to a map of Long Island, New York. "The Sterling Manor. We go there tonight. We burn it to the ground. If we can't rule the world, we wil
Sparks showered from the ceiling. The sound of tearing metal was deafening.The dining car groaned and tilted violently to the right. Tables, chairs, and expensive wine bottles slid down the slope, crashing into the wall.Jackson slammed one hand into a window frame, his other arm locked around Serenity’s waist. He stopped them from sliding into the pile of broken glass below."Don't let go!" Jackson shouted over the noise.Serenity looked down. Through the shattered window beneath them, she saw nothing but swirling snow and darkness. They were dangling over a canyon."The coupling is breaking!" Serenity yelled, pointing to the metal hook connecting their car to the rest of the train. It was stretching, groaning under the weight.CLANG.The door at the top of the tilted car (the one Zero left through) was kicked open.Two figures rappelled down into the car on zip lines.They wore sleek, matte-black armor. No faces. Just glowing red visors. They moved with robotic precision, magnetize
The Midnight Express tore through the darkness of the Swiss Alps at 300 kilometers per hour.In the exclusive private dining car, crystal glasses jingled softly with the vibration of the tracks. Outside the window, nothing existed but snow and night.Jackson adjusted his cufflinks. Under his tuxedo, he was wearing a ceramic knife taped to his ribs—the only weapon the metal detectors didn't pick up.Serenity sat opposite him, looking breathtaking in a black velvet gown. She held a clutch that contained a small vial of Margaret’s anti-serum."Nervous?" Jackson asked, pouring her water."I’m having dinner with the man who tried to kidnap our children," Serenity’s eyes were cold. "I’m not nervous. I’m restraining myself from stabbing him with a fork.""Patience," Jackson whispered.The door at the end of the car slid open.A man walked in.He looked nothing like a villain. He was handsome, in his forties, wearing a grey suit that cost more than the train itself. He had silver hair and a s
"Close your eyes," Liam commanded softly.The nursery was dimly lit. Aurora and Alex lay on the large rug, pillows under their heads. Liam sat between them in a lotus position. Jackson and Serenity watched from the couch, feeling useless but alert."Grandpa, this is unscientific," Alex muttered, keeping one eye open. "Telepathy isn't real.""Quantum entanglement is," Liam placed a finger on Alex's forehead and another on Aurora's. "Connect."A pulse of violet light rippled through the room.The Dreamscape.Alex gasped. He wasn't on the rug anymore.He was standing on an endless plane of pure white water. The sky was white. The horizon was white. It was a blank canvas."Whoa," Alex looked at his hands. They were glowing. "High definition rendering. Zero latency.""Where are the toys?" Aurora appeared next to him. In the dream, she wasn't wearing pajamas. She was wearing a sparkling fairy queen dress.Liam appeared in front of them. He looked younger here, powerful and majestic."This i
That night, the Palace was quiet. But the air was heavy.In the royal nursery, five-year-old Aurora was tossing and turning in her bed. She was sweating.“No… go away…” she whimpered in her sleep.Around her room, objects began to react to her distress. Her teddy bears floated into the air. The heavy curtains rustled as if caught in a storm, though the windows were closed. The water in her glass began to boil.In the Dream:Aurora was standing in a field of grey ash. The sky was purple.In the distance, a massive Black Tower stretched up into the clouds. It looked like a needle piercing the sky.Standing at the top of the tower was a man. He didn't have a face. Just a smooth, white mask with a single vertical line drawn on it."Come here, little star," the man’s voice echoed inside her head. "Your light belongs to me."Shadowy hands reached out from the ground, grabbing Aurora’s ankles."Daddy!" she screamed in the dream.In the Real World:CRACK!The mirror on Aurora's wall shattered







