The weekend arrived quietly. For once, Cael didn't have any plans to train. He woke up later than usual, got dressed, and walked downstairs. Mira was already sitting at the dining table. She looked at him. "You're late." Cael stopped. "Late for what?" "Breakfast." Cael looked at the clock. "It's eight." "Exactly." "That's not late." Mira crossed her arms. "It is in this house." Cael laughed. Their mother placed a plate on the table. "Both of you, eat before it gets cold." Cael sat down. "Where's Dad?" "Already working." "On a Saturday?" "He had to check a spacecraft." Cael nodded. Mira immediately looked at him. "Probably one going to The Void." Cael smiled. "Maybe." Mira leaned closer. "Did you ask him?" "No." "Why not?" "I just woke up." Mira frowned. "You're losing your curiosity." Cael laughed. "I don't think that's possible." --- After breakfast, Cael helped his mother with some things around the house. Later, he found his father in the small workshop behind their house. Rayan was working on a compact mechanical component. Cael watched for a moment. "What are you fixing?" Rayan looked up. "Navigation unit." "For a spacecraft?" "Yeah." Cael stepped closer. "From where?" "An exploration vessel." Cael's eyes immediately lit up. "Where did it go?" Rayan smiled. "You're asking a lot of questions today." "That's normal." "Mostly within the explored region." Cael's expression changed slightly. "The Void?" "Yes." Cael looked at the component. "Have you ever been outside Blue Star?" Rayan shook his head. "No." Cael seemed slightly surprised. "But you work on spacecraft." "I work on them. I don't fly them." "Oh." Rayan returned to his work. "Most people who work with exploration vessels never actually leave Blue Star." Cael nodded. "Then how do you know what it's like out there?" Rayan paused. "We don't." Cael looked at him. Rayan smiled. "That's why they explore." --- That afternoon, Cael sat in his room. He opened his school tablet. Instead of studying Core theory, he opened an old history archive. The Return. He had studied it at school before. But this time, he wanted to read it again. The archive displayed an image of Earth from before the Return. A familiar blue planet. The description below it was simple. Human civilization had once developed without Core. There were no Affinities. No Shells. No Core Ranks. No Cultivation. Then the Return occurred. And everything changed. Cael scrolled through the archive. Early Core users. Governments. Wars. Research. The formation of the Robotics Association. The emergence of the Six Great Families. He stopped at an old image. Six figures stood together. The founders of the Six Great Families. Cael stared at them. He knew the names. Duum. Safior. Clok. Shadow. Paradisos. Dis. Their abilities had been passed down through generations. Space. Light. Time Loop. Shadow. Illusion. And the strange hypnotic ability of the Dis family. Cael leaned back. Six people had changed human history. But before them... there had been no Core at all. He looked toward the window. A spacecraft passed across the distant sky. Cael thought about his father. Then about the Return. Then about The Void. Something about the history bothered him. Humanity had existed normally. Then one day, Core appeared. After that, humanity changed. But why? Cael stared at the archive for several seconds. There was no answer. At least, not in the history books. He closed the tablet. "Maybe that's something I'll never know." He stood up. Outside, the afternoon sky was clear. For now, he didn't need an answer. But the question had been added to the list. --- That evening, Cael sat with his family for dinner. Mira was talking about school. Elira listened. Rayan occasionally added something to the conversation. Cael mostly listened. It was ordinary. Comfortable. Nothing like the enormous world he kept imagining. But as he looked around the table, Cael realized something. This was his world too. Not just spacecraft. Not just The Void. Not just the unknown. His home. His family. His friends. Everything he already knew. Maybe one day he would leave Blue Star. Maybe he would see places no human had ever seen before. But he didn't need to rush toward them. There was still plenty of world left to understand. Cael looked out the window. A faint light moved across the night sky. Another spacecraft. He smiled. "Someday." And this time, he didn't say it because he wanted to leave. He said it because he knew he would have somewhere to return to.

Chapter 14 — The World Before