CHAPTER 161: THOUGHTS.

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Orion lowered himself deeper into the warm water until it reached his collarbones. The marble tub wasn’t enormous, but it was deep, and the heat soaked into his muscles in a way he’d never admit he enjoyed. Not to anyone.

But the truth remained.

This bath had become his sanctuary.

A quiet space.

A place where no one needed anything from him.

Where he didn’t have to think about leadership, responsibility, or expectations.

Where he could be still.

He exhaled slowly, letting the rising steam blur the edges of the room. His thoughts floated with it—shifting, drifting, then tightening into sharper lines as they always did when he allowed himself to sink into silence.

’What’s next?’

Margaret had asked him that same question earlier. He had answered without hesitation—because the path laid out for him was simple.

Graduate.

Return home for a year.

Enter the Royal Academy at fifteen.

But beneath those steps, beyond the comfortable predictability, something else stirred. Something quieter. Something far more restless.

He’d been growing... tired.

Not physically. Not mentally.

Just... existentially stagnant.

Peace was a strange thing. He had once thought he would crave it forever. Coming from Earth—a world where the most exciting fight he’d seen was two adults screaming over a parking spot—he believed tranquility was the pinnacle of comfort.

But now?

Now peace was suffocating.

It wasn’t boredom. Not entirely. It was a pressure he couldn’t fully name. A sense that he was stagnating in a way that grated against his very core. He’d noticed it long ago—right around the time his pride had fully awakened. And that pride... it had teeth.

He’d kept it under control, yes.

But he felt it.

A subtle heat under the skin.

A hum behind every accomplishment.

A low whisper that demanded recognition even when he tried to ignore it.

And it was growing quieter lately—not because he’d conquered it, but because the academy’s treatment of him as an enclave head stroked it constantly.

He wasn’t bragging.

He wasn’t posturing.

He never flaunted anything.

But the truth was simple:

people treated him differently now.

Whether he wanted them to or not.

He ran a wet hand over his face. The academy wasn’t helping his development in the slightest. It was a controlled environment with rigid rules and predictable threats. It was safe.

Too safe.

Perhaps that was why Velastra called to him even before he ever stepped foot into it. A world larger, messier, more vicious. A world where his instincts would sharpen again. Where real challenges existed. Where real danger lived.

Where demons and monsters lived.

That thought settled heavily in his chest. The sight of them from his childhood visions still lingered—the fear, the pain, the triumph.

He had been running toward that threat his entire life.

He simply hadn’t realized it.

Or perhaps... the Chronos blood in his veins had known. With every passing year, he understood more about himself. Not through books. Not through instructors. But through instinct.

Chronos blood carried more than magic.

It carried temperament.

Drive.

A natural bent toward conflict, evolution, and change.

A refusal to stagnate.

Perhaps it wasn’t surprising he was reacting this way.

Not implausible at all.

Still... it was jarring at times to feel his personality slowly shift. Not uncontrollably. Not erratically. Just subtly—and in ways that made perfect sense when he looked at the bigger picture.

He leaned back, eyes half-closed.

’Maybe I’m overthinking it.’

But he knew he wasn’t.

His instincts were rarely wrong.

His mind drifted again, this time toward the circulating rumor.

A1’s graduating students were being sent outside the academy for their final test.

A dangerous one.

A classified one.

One that would explain why he couldn’t meet Lyrielle after she completed her own journey.

He wasn’t usually one to pay mind to gossip. Ninety percent of it was nonsense. But this particular rumor had too much structure, too much consistency. The academy rarely allowed internal tests to be discussed openly—so the whispers had weight.

Still...

Unless Rhaena herself announced it, he wouldn’t commit to anything. The woman was playful and teasing, but she didn’t lie. If the test were happening, she would reveal it at the appropriate time. Until then, Orion refused to build expectations on shaky foundations.

He exhaled, watching the ripples distort his reflection in the water.

Tomorrow, he wouldn’t be going to the main spire.

He’d told himself he needed a break.

But the truth was more precise:

He needed clarity.

The gang would be meeting tomorrow, all of them taking the day off. They hadn’t talked properly in weeks—not all together. They needed to discuss their plans, their future, their directions after leaving the academy.

He simply needed to ensure they didn’t crumble once they stepped outside the academy’s walls.

He’d grown attached to them.

More than he liked to admit.

Another sigh left him as he finally stood, water cascading down his skin. Wiping his face with a towel, he walked to the wardrobe, pulling on a simple dark shirt and trousers. Nothing fancy. He didn’t need to impress anyone tonight.

He dressed slowly, methodically.

His mind didn’t stop working for even a second.

If the final test rumor was true...

If A1 graduates were truly being sent outside the academy...

Then some of his mates were in for real danger.

Some wouldn’t return.

It was a sobering thought, but it didn’t weigh him down.

It simply reinforced what he already knew:

He needed to be ready.

Not for the academy.

Not for titles.

Not for recognition.

But for Velastra.

For the demons he’d eventually face.

For the path that had been laid out for him even before he awakened in this world.

He adjusted his collar, staring briefly at his reflection. His eyes were calmer now. Focused. Less clouded.