Morning at Valencrest did not begin with noise.
It began with order.
Doors slid open at the same minute.
Lights adjusted automatically.
Schedules appeared on wrist devices.
Kael noticed everything.
He said nothing.
Aren walked beside him through the main corridor.
"You passed conditionally," Aren said, not looking at him.
"That means you're replaceable."
Kael nodded once.
Lyra walked ahead of them, posture perfect.
"Replaceable people don't last here," she added calmly.
Kael didn't respond.
They're not warning me, he thought.
They're measuring me.
The first official class wasn't a class.
It was an evaluation chamber.
Students stood alone inside transparent cells, unable to see one another.
A voice filled the room.
"Observation test.
You are not being graded on answers.
You are being graded on reaction."
Kael's cell darkened.
A simulation began.
He stood in a virtual street identical to the one he grew up in.
Too identical.
A child ran past him, chased by two older figures.
Help him.
Ignore him.
Intervene late.
Kael watched.
He counted seconds.
He stepped forward only when the outcome stopped changing.
The system froze.
Behind the glass, an observer frowned.
"He waited too long."
Another shook his head.
"No. He waited until the variables stabilized."
When the test ended, Aren looked irritated.
"You hesitated."
Kael replied quietly.
"Yes."
"That's inefficient."
Kael met his gaze.
"So is acting too soon."
Aren didn't answer.
Lyra glanced at Kael for a fraction of a second longer than necessary.
Lunch was mandatory.
Silence wasn't.
Students compared results openly.
"Top percentile."
"Flawless response time."
"Zero hesitation."
Kael sat alone.
Nobody mentioned his score.
That was intentional.
The second evaluation came without warning.
A combat hall.
No opponents.
Only instructions.
"Advance."
Kael did.
The floor shifted.
Gravity altered.
Drones activated—non-lethal, but precise.
Kael moved minimally.
He never overcommitted.
He fell once.
On purpose.
Recovered late.
Passed.
Barely.
Arden watched from above.
"He's suppressing himself," Maera said beside him.
"Yes," Arden replied.
"Why?"
Arden's eyes didn't leave the screen.
"Because the fastest way to lose freedom here…
is to appear exceptional too early."
That evening, Kael returned to the dormitory.
Aren was reading.
Lyra stood by the window.
"You're hiding something," Aren said suddenly.
Kael removed his jacket.
"Yes."
Aren waited.
Nothing else came.
Lyra spoke instead.
"Hiding doesn't mean surviving here."
Kael looked at her.
"It does," he said.
"Long enough."
Later that night, Kael sat alone on his bed.
His device lit up.
NOTICE:
Performance flagged as inconsistent.
Observation level: increased.
Kael turned the screen off.
So it begins, he thought.
Outside, Valencrest Academy remained silent.
But silence here was never empty.
It was watching.
End of Episode 2.