The main doors creaked open, and a blast of sunlight hit Xane's face, forcing him to squint.
The sudden shift from the dim hall to the open world made his senses sharpen.
Cold air swept in, carrying the scent of fresh grass and something faintly metallic.
It was different. Wider. Alive!
Xane looked at the bright outside world.
There, he saw a lot of guards standing at both ends of the pavement that connected to the door.
At this, the Academy representative said, "Come on, it's time to start your journey as a Hex Master."
The Academy representative wasted no time, and he started walking outside.
This time, both elders remained standing in their places, motioning for the children to walk out.
Melina and the elites were the first to take the lead, and behind them, the others started walking out.
As Xane kept following them, he noticed everyone pausing just as they walked out.
They looked around in surprise at their surroundings.
He asked Zayn,
Zayn shrugged. [Who knows?]
He didn't ask again, as he was already on edge.
The moment he took a step outside, he felt hundreds—no, thousands of eyes on him.
This froze him for a moment.
As he glanced around, he saw thousands of kids of their age, along with many younger ones, all standing beyond the pavement.
All of them were staring at them.
Their eyes showed admiration, jealousy, frustration, helplessness, and, above all, hope.
Thousands of kids just standing there, staring at them, without uttering a single word.
As Xane walked, he felt the weight as thousands of eyes locked onto him.
Heavy. Intense. Watching.
Some of them clenched their fists.
Some had wide, admiring eyes.
Others just stared, frozen, like they were looking at something unreachable.
Zayn said to him, [Those standing at the front are the ones with bronze or lower Hex Cores.]
Xane raised an eyebrow and asked,
[Nope. Look beyond the garden.]
There was a garden on both sides of the pavement, around 100 meters in width.
After Zayn said that, Xane noticed that everyone standing beyond the garden looked a bit younger than him.
They were far greater than those near the pavement.
Zayn explained, [Those standing at the front are the ones with low Hex Cores. They have Hex energy, but it's too weak, so they can't become Hex Masters.]
Instead of giving a straight answer, Zayn said, [You know, Xane, in this world, only 10% of people are born with a Hex Mark on their body.]
Xane tilted his head.
Zayn did not immediately reply.
They continued walking toward the massive estate gate.
As they reached it, Zayn said, [Yup, and those are the remaining 90%.]
The moment Zayn said that, Xane stopped walking.
Not just him everyone, including the elites, froze in their tracks when they saw the world beyond the gate.
As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but kids, 13 and 14 years old, standing there.
The moment those kids saw the Academy representative walking ahead.
One by one, they started bowing with a deep 90-degree bow.
The movement spread like a wave; first hundreds, then thousands, all started bowing in perfect silence.
Xane exhaled.
Even those beside the pavement started to bow one by one.
No one said anything. They just stood there, surrounded by a hundred thousand kids, all showing respect to them.
It was not like worship, more like admiration.
At this, Xane couldn't help but smile at the irony of the situation. Just a few minutes earlier, all the upcoming Hex Masters had signed away their freedom, and now they were being treated like royalty.
He couldn't help but ask Zayn,
Zayn answered back this time. [Oh? Do you want to try it out?]
Xane raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
The other heirs around him also snapped out of their daze and now looked up with pride.
Not caring about all this, the academy representative led them to the carriages standing at the side.
The children also got back on their feet, trying to get a good glimpse of all the upcoming Hex Masters.
Xane even waved at a few of them while walking.
[Oh, why don't you start blowing kisses?] Zayn deadpanned.
[Don't you dare—]
He switched at the last second, running his fingers through his hair instead.
Zayn sighed. [I hate that I actually feel relieved right now.]
Zayn sighed in relief. When he heard Xane, he thought of countering back but decided not to risk it. He didn't want Xane to attract any more attention.
At this moment, he missed having control over the body. He wanted to reach the Academy and research their condition.
To check if he had any chance of becoming normal again or if he was stuck being just a voice in someone's head.
Zayn stopped sulking the moment he saw the massive wooden carriages lined up, their polished exteriors reflecting the late afternoon sun.
Each one bore two crests.
The Zenaris family's silver-red emblem pulsed faintly, a mark of their family authority.
But next to it, the brown castle wrapped around a serpent—the Tenebris Academy crest.
[Tch.] Zayn sighed. [That is exactly the same as in the novel.]
He also noticed bull-like monsters attached to the front of the carriages, with drivers dressed in Tenebris Academy robes.
The Academy representative pointed at the carriages. "Four per carriage, pick whichever you like." Saying that, he walked to the foremost carriage, which was covered in gold plating.
The moment he entered, the elites moved to pick the carriage just behind the Academy representative. The others followed suit.
It was almost the same order they had been standing in earlier. Soon, the 40 Pulse Heirs sat down in 12 carriages ready to depart.