Felix caught Raze's hesitation and smiled, just a slight curve at the corner of his mouth.
"Never seen anything like that before, huh?" he said quietly. "Makes sense. Most people haven't."
Raze glanced at him. "What do you mean?"
Felix lifted his hand for a moment. Red lightning flickered around his fingertips, faint and controlled, before vanishing as if it had never been there.
"The Blaze bloodline doesn't advertise itself," he said. "People who go digging usually regret it."
His tone was casual.
Too casual.
Nearby, a few students had gone quiet.
"I've heard of them," someone whispered.
"They don't live in cities," another muttered.
"Anyone who finds their territory just… disappears."
Felix didn't react to the whispers. If anything, he looked amused, like he'd heard it all before.
Raze watched him closely, trying to tell how much of this was real and how much was an act.
Felix met his gaze and smiled wider, as if he'd already decided it didn't matter either way.
"So," Felix said, leaning back against the railing, "still curious?"
Raze didn't answer. He had questions—too many of them but something told him Felix wouldn't give a straight answer even if he asked.
The officer called out another name.
A student stepped onto the field and activated his awakening. Metal plates formed over his arms as the combat robots advanced.
He moved with confidence, crushing them one by one.
The crowd murmured approval.
Felix barely watched.
"Bloodlines always show off," he said quietly.
"Makes it easier to know who they are."
Raze frowned. "Isn't that the point?"
Felix shrugged. "Depends who's watching."
The words lingered longer than they should have.
Not far away, Beatrix stood with her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed. She wasn't watching the field anymore.
She was watching Felix.
Someone from a bloodline shouldn't be talking this freely to someone without an awakening. It wasn't dangerous just strange.
The tests continued.
A boy from the Frostfang bloodline froze the robots solid, then shattered them with a single punch. His strength cracked the pillar. His speed was decent, though nothing remarkable.
Then a girl without a bloodline stepped forward.
She lasted less than ten seconds.
The robots overwhelmed her almost immediately, forcing the officers to shut the test down. She stumbled back, face flushed as whispers rippled through the crowd. Some students looked away. Others didn't bother hiding their expressions.
Raze clenched his jaw.
Felix stretched, hands laced behind his head. "See? This place isn't built evenly."
Raze glanced at him. "You say that like it's a joke."
Felix's smile didn't fade but something about it shifted.
"It is," he said. "Just not for everyone."
More names were called.
Earth-based abilities. Lightning. Wind.
Most did well. Some struggled. The gap was impossible to miss.
Eventually, the officer raised his hand.
"That's enough for today," he announced. "Dorm assignments will be handed out shortly. Dorms are arranged by age, ability, and rank."
Raze frowned. "What does rank mean?"
Felix shrugged. "No idea. Guess we'll find out."
The officer continued, "Before that, you'll be split into groups of four. Eighty students. Twenty groups. Your homeroom teachers will take it from there."
Felix leaned closer to Raze, lowering his voice. "We better end up in the same group."
Raze sighed internally. 'Is he serious?'
The officer tapped his tablet. Names began shifting across the screen as the system randomized the list.
"All right," he said. "When you hear your name, step forward and move away from anyone not in your group."
Students began separating, tension settling quietly over the field.
Raze stayed where he was, eyes fixed on the tablet.
For the first time since arriving at the academy, he had the strange feeling that whatever came next wasn't going to be random at all.