Chapter 50: The Varakhs
The results had been out for less than an hour, and already Orion felt no fist-pumping euphoria. Just silence. The kind that followed him, even with the whole Confederacy buzzing about his performance. Across the screens and across the stars, they called him the prodigy.
But all Orion could think about was what came next.
He stood by the massive viewport in his temporary dorm, overlooking the sprawl of the city below. The tournament grounds were already being cleared.
Behind him, a digital message flickered on the holoscreen. A list of rewards. Invitations. Scholarships. And at the top—a personal offer from the Academy Council: access to rare genetic booster protocols, the kind only awarded to top rank.
Orion didn't even blink at it.
He raised his hand, opened a direct channel to his mother.
It took two seconds for Valeria Zey'ran Reyes to answer.
Her voice came through crisp and calm. "I can't say I didn't expect this call. Congrats on your amazing performance, little star," she said with a faint, knowing smile.
Orion didn't waste time. "Thanks, Mom," he said, voice measured. "Are the boosters really worth it?"
Valeria didn't respond at first. Her image blinked into full projection—shoulders draped in an embroidered shawl, her dark hair shimmered under the ambient glow of the twin suns.
"You don't seem thrilled," she observed, her smile gentle but searching.