Chapter 5
If the Voltraxian Pre-Academy was built to forge the future elite of the Empire, then Kenzo Arclight Voltrax was its loudest, brightest spark—and also its most frequent rule-breaker.
At age four and a half, his daily report logs contained more incident flags than most upper cadets. Not for malice or disobedience—no, Kenzo's problem was curiosity. Uncontainable, electric curiosity.
The kind that made him reprogram a field drone to follow Kael around humming an off-key lullaby.
The kind that got him caught trying to reverse the polarity of the bathroom mirrors just to see what would happen to reflected light.
The kind that made him challenge instructors with wild theories like:
"If Essencia flows like current, then why can't I induce feedback loops for layered weaves?"
In Class 3A: Energy Constructs & Barrier Theory, he was supposed to be learning the standard five-fold shield diagram—basic technique every Voltraxian should master.
Kenzo, instead, proposed a rotating shell that constantly shifted its magnetic alignment to destabilize enemy attacks upon contact.
"It would collapse under field stress," Instructor Maedrix warned.
"I tested a variant in my dorm," Kenzo answered. "It withstood Kael's kinetic blast and deflected my feedback arc."
Maedrix stared at him. Then sighed. "Do it."
The barrier shimmered into being, a semi-transparent sphere spinning subtly, pulses flickering along its edges. Kael hurled a shockwave at it.
Thoom. The barrier bent, shimmered… then rippled the wave outward, redirecting it harmlessly to the side.
The class went silent.
Then Ysia whistled. "You just bent force."
Kenzo grinned. "Just science."
Despite his antics, Kenzo wasn't arrogant. He helped classmates refine their techniques, shared ideas freely, and often tested wild theories just for the thrill of it. But his energy—chaotic and ever-curious—was becoming hard to ignore.
During one combat simulation, when he was supposed to fire a linear pulse through a training crystal, Kenzo layered magnetic fields to cause a spin-flux explosion.
"Kenzo!" Instructor Oralis snapped. "What part of controlled output did you not understand?"
"I did control it. I just didn't limit it."
The floor smoked.
The dummy was gone.
The back wall… cracked.
Soon, whispers spread across the Pre-Academy.
"He's the one born with a core, right?"
"Magnetic manipulation? Isn't that dangerous?"
"I heard his mother once split a battleship with a single wave. What if he's worse?"
To some, Kenzo was brilliant.
To others, he was a risk.
But no one denied—he was different.
One afternoon in the Theory of Flow class, a quiet moment turned to chaos—again.
"Essencia flows through the Soul Veins like chi," the instructor explained, "but unlike mysticism, we use scientific logic to shape it. Resonant thought. Precision formulas."
Kenzo raised his hand. "What happens if two Essencia types overlap?"
"Incompatible weaves will destabilize."
He frowned. "But wouldn't opposing fields form a harmonic null zone? That could be used to contain energy."
The instructor shook his head. "Impossible. No documented pattern exists for that."
Kenzo stared down at his slate. Then up again.
"I'm going to try it anyway."
The instructor paled. "Please don't."
Later that evening, in an empty lab chamber, Kenzo placed two types of field emitters in a glyph ring. He pulsed alternating magnetic frequencies, then wove Essencia through both hands—one pushing, one drawing.
The opposing forces collided.
The air froze.
For a moment, silence.
Then—
Vwooom. A small void opened in the center, a black orb humming gently.
Stable.
Contained.
Neutral.
Kenzo's eyes widened. "A null bubble… It worked."
The possibilities raced through his mind. Energy cages. Feedback traps. Absorption fields.
He grinned, crackling with excitement.
Then the bubble exploded in a puff of sparks and smoke.
He coughed, fanning the air. "Okay. So… version two needs a regulator."
By week's end, Kenzo had been called to the Head Preceptor's chamber.
Lady Syzra Voltrax, head of early education, folded her arms as he entered.
"You've violated standard protocols nine times in five days. You've rewritten two spell templates, broken a lab drone, and nearly erased Kael's eyebrows with an experimental pulse net."
Kenzo stood straight. "I'm just… exploring possibilities."
She leaned forward. "You're brilliant, Kenzo. But brilliance without restraint is a star that burns its own system."
He blinked. "That sounds awesome."
Syzra's eye twitched. "You're on probation from unsupervised labs for one cycle."
He sighed. "Worth it."
And yet, beneath the chaos and laughter, something serious was building.
Kenzo wasn't just a volatile prodigy. He was a pattern breaker. A soul who questioned every rule and asked why not when others asked how.
And though the staff tried to contain him…
They all saw the same thing:
A storm in the shape of a child.
One who would either revolutionize Essencia...
Or break the Voltraxian system wide open.