The Last Dragon Enrolled In The Knight Academy

The sky above the Empire's capital was too clean. No birds. No beasts. No dragons. Only pale clouds stretched thin over the towering spires of the Imperial Knight Academy. A place where monsters were trained to kill monsters. And today, a new student arrived. Kael Verin stood before the iron gates. No crest on his clothes. No attendants behind him. No trace of nobility. Just a black uniform and a worn travel bag. If anyone looked at him twice, they would forget him the next moment. That was the point. A guard sat at the gate, not even glancing up. "Name" "Kael Verin" Ink scratched against parchment. "Mana signature?" Kael paused. Not because he didn't know. But because the truth always created problems. "…None" The pen stopped. The guard finally looked up. A slow blink. Then a short laugh. "You're joking." Kael didn't respond. The silence answered for him. The guard sighed, already bored. "Next fake applicant. Move along." Behind Kael, laughter broke out. "How does a mana-less i***t even get here?" "Probably forged his entry token." Kael didn't react. He simply stepped forward. The moment his foot crossed the gate– the air shifted. Not loudly. Not visibly. But something deep in the world stuttered. Every detection rune carved into the iron gate flickered at once. darkness. The crystals went dead. The guards stiffened. One of them dropped his pen. "…What did you do?" Kael frowned slightly. "I walked" Inside the academy hall, the ceremony continued. Rows of students stood in formation. Mana shimmered around them in colors—blue, red, gold, violet. Some faint. Some brilliant. All measurable. All visible. Except one. Kael stood at the far edge. And around him– nothing. No aura. No trace. Not even distortion. A girl whispered beside him. "That's him? The mana-less one?" "Impossible… everyone has mana." "Maybe he's defective." Kael heard them. He didn't care. But something inside his chest tightened. Not pain. Recognition. Like something old pressing against the walls of his body. A voice cut through the hall. "Silence." Instructor Veyr stood on the raised platform. One presence alone made the air heavier. "Welcome to the Imperial Knight Academy." His gaze swept over the students. "Where the weak become weapons… and the strong become legends." A pause. "Or they break." Then–his eyes lingered on Kael. Just for a fraction of a second. A crystal pillar rose from the floor. "Begin evaluation." One by one, students stepped forward. Light burst. Mana surged. Names were recorded. Ranks assigned. "Next." Kael stepped forward. His hand touched the crystal. Nothing happened. No glow. No sound. No reaction. The hall went silent for a beat. Then laughter spread. "Is it broken?" "There's no way that's zero…" Instructor Veyr narrowed his eyes. "…Step aside" Kael obeyed. But as he turned– CRACK. A thin fracture ran through the crystal's core. Only Veyr saw it. His expression changed. Not surprise. Concern. That night. The academy slept under a sky of distant stars. Kael stood alone on the rooftop.Wind tugged at his sleeves. Below him, the academy glowed like a cage of light. He should have felt nothing. That was the plan. But his fingers trembled slightly. Not fear. Something else. Something waking up. Kael closed his eyes. And then he heard it. A roar. Not outside. Inside his blood. His eyes snapped open. The sky shimmered for a fraction of a second. Like something massive had passed through it. gone. Kael exhaled slowly. "…What am I?" A voice answered from nowhere. Calm. Measuring. Cold. "You are not supposed to exist." Kael turned. No one was there. But the air felt occupied. Watching. Waiting. Then a whisper: "Dragons were erased for a reason." Silence. Kael's expression didn't change. But something faint curved at the edge of his lips. "…Then I'll find out why." And somewhere deep beneath the academy… something that should have stayed asleep… smiled.