The Kabunlawan Small Academy was no grand institution. Its stone walls, weathered by time, bore the weight of forgotten ambitions. The wooden beams that framed its archways creaked under the afternoon heat, the scent of old parchment mixing with the faint, lingering smell of incense from the morning blessings.
A long line of students stretched across the courtyard, voices a murmur of anticipation and nerves. Today was the beginning of their journey—one that would take them beyond this modest academy to the towering halls of the Union Academy, where the true trials would begin.
Judio stood among them, hands in his pockets, his heart steady yet unquiet.
This moment should have felt like progress. It should have been the first step toward something greater. And yet, as he looked ahead, toward the registration booth, it felt like stepping through a doorway that had been sealed for years.
