CHAPTER EIGHT: THE NIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL
"Goodbye, Jack"
Third Person | Elvaris Estate – 9:47 PM
The mansion was quiet.
Even the wind seemed to hush as it passed the windows—cool and gentle, leaving behind the warmth of starlight and silence. The halls, usually alive with the soft cadence of systems running in perfect order, had gone still. Not because anything had failed.
But because the house, like its master, was waiting.
In his moonlit bedroom—walls painted soft navy, ceiling dappled with artificial stars—Velmir sat cross-legged on his bed, tablet resting in his lap.
The room smelled faintly of vanilla, fresh laundry, and something almost magical—like stardust carried in on the wind.
His school uniform hung neatly by the door. White, silver-trimmed, pressed with ceremonial care. Ready.
Tomorrow was his first day.
But tonight wasn't about beginnings.
Tonight was about remembering what came before.
✦ "Viera, dim the lights."
The ceiling darkened to a shade of deep twilight. Stars flickered softly overhead—constellations slowly rotating in a silent, imagined sky.
Velmir exhaled and leaned into his pillows, one arm tucked under the blanket, the other still resting on the glowing tablet screen.
"Hey, Sage."
[Great Sage: Online.]
"…And Viera?"
"I'm here, Master."
His voice was quiet. Unusually so.
"Do either of you… remember my name?"
There was a pause. Not from hesitation. From respect.
[Original name at time of death: Jack Archer.]
Velmir smiled faintly, eyes soft.
"Yeah. That's it."
He pulled the blanket higher, fingers curling against the edge like a child clinging to a memory.
"I didn't have much back then," he murmured. "Just a cheap phone. Busted headphones. A body that gave up faster than it should've."
A breath. Then a quiet, knowing laugh.
"But I remember everything. The cold street. The scream. The knife. The blood."
[Pain immunity acquired.]
Velmir chuckled, a glimmer of warmth returning to his face.
"That was the moment it all changed. I didn't scream. I just… listened."
✦ The Projection: Jack's Final Day
With a flick of his hand, Velmir called up a projection from the tablet—translucent, grainy. A digital reconstruction pulled from recovered city security footage. Viera had cleaned it up where she could, but it remained raw.
A boy walked alone under flickering streetlights. Hoodie pulled tight. Headphones in. Shoulders hunched like the world had never done him any favors.
Then came the blur.
A scream. The glint of a blade. A collapse.
And silence.
Velmir stared, unflinching.
"He was so… normal," he whispered. "Just some guy. Nothing special. No big destiny."
He lowered his gaze.
"But he gave everything to become me."
✦ Saying Goodbye
Velmir closed the projection.
The screen dimmed. The room held still.
He pressed his palms together.
And whispered, barely audible:
"Thank you."
It wasn't for Sage. It wasn't for Viera.
It wasn't even for himself.
It was for the scared boy who died on a concrete sidewalk—a life so quiet, the world barely noticed when it ended. But Velmir noticed. And he wouldn't forget.
"I'll live for both of us," he said.
Then he smiled—softly. Fully.
And meant it.
✦ Soft Night
Viera stepped to his side, silent and graceful. She pulled the blanket gently over his chest, tucking it around his small frame with a motion more maternal than mechanical.
"Would you like me to stay until you fall asleep, Master?"
Velmir looked up, the ceiling stars reflected in his eyes.
"Yeah," he said. "That'd be nice."
She sat in the chair beside the bed, hands folded in her lap.
"Tomorrow will be a new start."
"I know."
"Are you scared?"
He thought for a moment, then nodded.
"A little," he admitted. "But also… curious. Nervous. Excited. Y'know—everything a five-year-old noble dragon going to private school should feel."
"Statistically accurate."
He laughed softly. His eyes drifted closed.
"…Night, Viera."
"Goodnight, Velmir."
✦ Great Sage Internal Log
[Final psychological link to prior identity: reconciled.]
[Name: Velmir Elvaris — now complete.]
[Emotional state: centered. Curious. Hopeful.]
[Transition from Jack: finalized.]
[Let the new journey begin.]
[END OF CHAPTER EIGHT]