The professor paused, fingers loosely clasped behind his back as if holding something unseen.
"What happens when humans evolved from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens?"
Silence hung in the hall.
"What was the trade-off?"
His eyes drifted slowly across the empty rows, though it felt as though he was looking at someone in particular.
"What did we lose… and what did we gain?"
A faint smile appeared, thin and uncertain.
"Some claim we traded masculinity and brute strength for intelligence."
He tilted his head slightly.
"But what if that was not true…"
A longer pause.
"What if…"
His voice lowered to something almost inaudible.
"…we traded something else entirely?"
The sentence never finished.
Far away, under a sky that seemed permanently overcast, a private jet slammed into the runway with a violent screech.
Rubber burned against concrete.
Metal groaned.
For a moment it looked as if the plane might simply break apart.
Inside the cabin, Kael gripped the armrest as the aircraft skidded sideways before finally grinding to a halt.
"…That was rough."
The engines whined as they powered down.
The door burst open.
Cold air rushed inside.
And then—
"PRINCEEEEEE!"
The roar echoed across the tarmac.
"I SWEAR TO GOD SOMEONE IS FUCKING DEAD!"
A massive man stomped down the boarding stairs, each step rattling the metal frame.
"What the hell is this test?! That flying piece of shit could've killed me!"
The man was built like a battering ram—thick neck, scarred jaw, fists clenched like he was already looking for someone to bury.
"Calm yourself."
Another voice followed, smooth and disdainful.
A tall man stepped out behind him, adjusting his cuffs as though the chaotic landing had been a minor inconvenience.
"How childish, Alfonso."
His gaze slid lazily over the furious brute.
"You survived."
A faint smile curled at the edge of his mouth.
"So why bark like a dog that slipped its leash?"
The insult hung in the air.
"Don't disgrace yourself any further, you brute."
Alfonso turned, veins bulging along his neck.
For a moment it looked as if the runway itself might crack under the tension.
Then—
A third voice drifted in.
"Hm."
Another jet had landed nearby, its engines still hissing with heat.
A thin young man stepped down from the staircase, brushing invisible dust from his coat.
"I thought I smelled something foul from a mile away."
His eyes rested lazily on Alfonso.
"Now I understand."
A small smirk.
"It was simply you… Mr. Bull."
Alfonso's knuckles cracked.
"You wanna say that again—"
But before anything could erupt, the sky thundered.
Another jet descended.
Then another.
Then another.
Private aircraft began arriving in rapid succession, screaming across the sky like iron vultures.
Some landed cleanly.
Others struck the runway so violently their wings shook.
One plane dragged sparks across the concrete for nearly fifty meters before stabilizing.
And each one carried passengers.
Usually one.
Sometimes two.
Never many.
Kael stepped down from his aircraft slowly, eyes scanning the endless row of jets filling the runway.
"…How absurdly rich can one institution be?"
The thought slipped quietly through his mind.
Hundreds of aircraft.
Each custom.
Each private.
Each for a single student.
This wasn't wealth.
This was something else.
Something deeper.
Something older.
A sharp crackle broke the silence.
The airport speakers came alive.
"ALL NEW STUDENTS SHOULD FOLLOW THOSE IN BLUE."
The voice was mechanical.
Emotionless.
"FOLLOW THOSE IN RED IF YOU WERE INJURED OR FEEL ANY IRREGULAR DISORDER IN YOUR BODY."
Men in blue uniforms appeared from multiple entrances across the terminal.
Their movements were precise.
Disciplined.
Watching.
Always watching.
Kael fell into the line of blue.
They were led through a labyrinth of corridors.
Room after room.
Test after test.
Blood extraction.
Retinal scans.
Full skeletal imaging.
Vaccinations whose labels none of them recognized.
Body searches so thorough they bordered on invasive.
Machines scanned them again and again.
Every step recorded.
Every reaction measured.
Hours passed.
No explanations were given.
Finally, long after exhaustion had dulled most of the students into silence, they were escorted outside again.
A massive residential complex stood before them.
It didn't resemble student housing.
It looked more like luxury research containment.
Glass.
Steel.
Layers of security.
An attendant stopped in front of Kael's door.
The panel beside it scanned his face automatically.
A soft chime.
The door slid open.
"Here is your room," the attendant said calmly.
"You will find various useful items inside."
He turned to leave.
"For the next two days, familiarize yourself with the facilities and available resources."
A small pause.
"Orientation will begin afterward."
Without another word, he walked away.
Kael stepped inside.
And stopped.
"…Is this really a student's room?"
Two bedrooms.
A massive living area.
A private study.
A separate computer room.
Screens built into the walls.
Devices he couldn't even name.
Some of the equipment looked less like technology and more like something experimental.
Something not meant for the public.
Kael slowly stepped deeper into the room.
The door sealed behind him with a soft mechanical click.
For a moment the silence felt… heavy.
As if the walls themselves were observing him.
Watching.
Waiting.
And somewhere in the distance—
Far beyond the apartments.
Another jet screamed across the sky.