(Rodova Military Academy, Genetic Awakening Chamber)
Once the neuro-pods hissed open, Major Hen immediately moved in, supporting both boys out of their capsules and toward the recovery room.
For the first time since Leo's arrival at Rodova, Hen felt the boy's weight against his shoulder— unsteady, heavy, exhausted.
'He's never leaned on me before,' Hen thought, glancing sideways at the pale young man beside him. 'Not even after his first shot. If he's doing it now… his body must be truly battered.'
After carefully helping Leo onto the recovery bed, Hen wasted no time pulling up his data-slate and running a series of keyword searches on the term flashing still in red across Leo's vitals panel:
[Mana Heart – Formation Confirmed]
What he found left him more confused than reassured.
According to every available source, the 'Mana Heart' wasn't supposed to exist in humans— at all.
There were no confirmed cases of a human being born with such an organ, nor were there any reports of one forming as a result of Genetic Awakening, making Leo's case the first of its kind.
The little information that did exist traced the phenomenon back to a very specific source: Ancestral Dragons.
All ancestral dragons were born with a Mana Heart, though the organ didn't fully activate until adulthood. Its primary function was to act as a filtration and compression chamber—removing impurities and enriching both blood and mana before pumping it back into circulation.
This filtration granted ancestral dragons a staggering edge in both longevity and combat.
Some estimates even claimed that a fully awakened Mana Heart could boost a dragon's lifespan by centuries and increase their battle capability by up to 30%.
It was the reason why, even among dragons of the same tier, the presence or absence of an active Mana Heart created a difference as vast as sky and earth.
After all, the purer the mana flowing through one's circuits, the stronger the output of even the most basic techniques.
It was the same logic that allowed a Transcendent-tier warrior to unleash a [Fireball] spell that would vaporize an entire canyon—while a Master-tier could barely melt stone with the same move.
However, while rudimentary studies existed on Mana Hearts in dragons—what little existed regarding their transplant or formation in humans was grim.
A few desperate warriors had once attempted to surgically transmute the Mana Hearts of slain dragons into themselves, but all of them had died within days—suffering violent systemic rejection as the foreign organ slowly poisoned their bodies from the inside.
There had never been a case of a human forming one naturally.
Until now.
Hen rubbed the back of his neck, staring blankly at the screen.
"This… this isn't supposed to be possible," he muttered aloud, torn between awe and concern. "Just what the hell are you becoming, Leo Skyshard?"
*Sigh*
[Forward Report To Principal]
Hen forwarded the report to Principal Alric at once, hoping that perhaps he would have access to more information.
—-------
Meanwhile within the recovery room, Leo and Su Yang lay side by side, bruised and battered— breathing in sync beneath the faint hum of medical monitors.
Su Yang broke the silence first, his voice hoarse but laced with a half-crazed grin.
"I can't believe this is the last time, Skyshard… I can't believe you're really leaving."
Leo turned his head slightly, a weary smile tugging at his lips despite the ache burning through every inch of his body.
"About time you spoke, princess. You've had quite the royal attitude the past few days," he murmured, his voice dry and raspy.
Su Yang coughed out a laugh, then chuckled deeper— something caught between amusement and regret.
"Yeah, I'm still mad at you. But… this might be the last peaceful moment we get. So I figured— why the hell not?"
His voice turned quieter, gentler.
"I wanted to recruit you as my right hand, Skyshard. And I say right hand —metaphorically. You'd always be my equal. My brother."
Leo didn't interrupt, just listened in silence.
"You know I'm one of the successors to the Su family patriarch position. Once this academy chapter ends… I'm going to be dragged into a world of politics, bloodline alliances, and cold, suffocating power games."
Su Yang's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.
"I thought… no, I hoped— we'd have one year. One final year to fight side by side, to battle like hell, to push each other to our limits and kick some Geneva ass before the wolves came for me."
He glanced sideways, voice cracking slightly.
"But without you, it just feels... gray. The one rival who could keep me sharp, the one man who made the spars feel exciting— will now be gone."
He exhaled, a long, bitter breath.
"I don't even know what to look forward to anymore. It's like a fog's already rolling in, and I haven't even left yet."
Leo said nothing— because he knew Su Yang wasn't done.
"You're like a storm, Skyshard," Su Yang muttered, his voice softer now. "You move on instinct. You think five steps ahead, but never bother telling anyone where you're going. Half the time I don't get you, and the other half… I guess wrong."
There was no malice in his tone, only truth.
"I respect what you're doing for Darnell. Hell, it's the kind of honor I wish I had in me. But what pisses me off is that you didn't talk to me. Not once. You just made your decision and moved like I wasn't even part of your calculations."
His voice trembled slightly, not from anger— but from vulnerability.
"Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe it's not that deep. But when you treat everything like it doesn't matter, sometimes… I feel like I don't either."
A pause. Then, a low chuckle.
"You're such an asshole, Skyshard, no wonder I'm your only friend." Su Yang added, laughing now for real— nervous at first, but slowly easing into something freer. Looser.
And somewhere between the laughter and the silence, Leo's own chuckle joined his.
It wasn't loud, nor long.
But it was real.
And just like that, the weight between them— days of cold shoulders, unsaid words, and bottled emotion— began to dissolve.
"Who knows, Yang," Leo said at last, his voice faint but steady. "Maybe one day, if you do need a blade in your corner during that patriarch struggle… you'll find me there."
Then, after a brief pause, he added with a smirk, "Besides, it's not like I'm dying. I'm still alive, aren't I? We'll meet again for sure…."
Su Yang turned his head, looking at him through half-lidded eyes.
"True," he whispered, as he nodded his head.
"Promise me you'll be there when I need you, and I'll promise you the same—" Su Yang said, his eyes opening sharply now, as Leo nodded back in acknowledgement.
"I'll try my best, that much I promise—"
—------------
(Meanwhile Principal Alric's Office)
Principal Alric's gaze flicked to the blinking notification on the corner of his data-slate.
[URGENT: Subject Leo Skyshard | Genetic Awakening Status Anomaly Detected]
He tapped it once, his fingers hovering over the "View Report" button.
Then, with a tired sigh, he closed the tab entirely.
"He's not our problem anymore, let the Black Serpents deal with their precious prodigy." He said to himself, as he tossed the matter aside, without even checking on what the anomaly was.