Chapter 47: 24 Hours Remaining
Morning arrived too quickly.
Kael had practically not slept.
Every few hours, a blue window appeared before him.
[Estimated arrival: 24 hours.]
Every time he saw it, he felt a small chill.
He didn’t know what was going to arrive.
He only knew one thing.
Nothing related to the System had ever been normal.
And that was precisely what was worrying.
---
The first problem appeared even before breakfast.
Kael tried to create one of his energy whips.
Normally, it was enough to extend his hand.
This time...
The energy appeared.
Flickered.
Shattered.
And exploded into a shower of luminous pixels.
"..."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"That definitely shouldn’t happen."
He tried again.
The energy returned.
This time it took shape...
For half a second.
The tip of the whip turned into a giant rubber duck.
"Quack."
And disappeared.
Silence.
Kael looked at his hand.
Then at the empty space.
"..."
"Did I just summon a duck?"
Behind him, Aurelion almost fell over laughing.
"I can’t believe your magic tells jokes too."
Kael sighed.
"Me neither."
---
He tried again.
Now a tiny plastic chair appeared.
It lasted exactly two seconds.
Then exploded into particles.
"..."
"What does this mean?"
Aurelion smiled.
"Maybe your next summon will be a carpenter."
"Not funny."
"It is."
---
The Fat King watched everything from a window.
He wasn’t sleeping.
That was strange.
Very strange.
Since the Church incident, he barely left Kael’s side.
He kept pretending to be indifferent.
Kept yawning.
Kept ignoring orders.
But...
He was always nearby.
Always watching.
Kael was starting to notice.
And he didn’t know what to think.
---
During the first class, the second incident occurred.
The teacher asked for a simple demonstration of magical control.
Nothing complicated.
Just manifesting energy.
When it was Kael’s turn...
He extended his hand.
The energy appeared.
But immediately began to distort.
Small colored squares covered the air.
As if reality were glitching.
The students began to murmur.
"Does he always do that?"
"No..."
"I think he’s even weirder now."
The energy ended up turning...
Into a giant arrow pointing at Kael.
← Idiot
Absolute silence.
The entire class read the message.
Kael did too.
"..."
Aurelion couldn’t contain himself.
He burst out laughing.
Then another.
And another.
Darius took a deep breath.
"Not even your own magic respects you."
Kael massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Today is definitely not my day."
The arrow disappeared on its own.
The teacher pretended not to have seen anything.
It was easier for his mental health.
---
During lunch, the situation got worse.
Kael tried to cut a piece of bread using a small thread of energy.
The thread appeared.
It bent.
And for an instant...
The tip took the shape of a tiny flip-flop.
The flip-flop hit the bread.
The bread went flying.
Across the entire cafeteria.
And ended up landing exactly on Darius’s tray.
Silence.
Darius slowly looked up.
"..."
Kael raised a hand.
"It was an accident."
"I hope so."
Aurelion laughed again.
Seraphina, on the other hand, watched Kael with concern.
It wasn’t normal.
This no longer seemed like a simple loss of control.
It seemed like...
Something was trying to manifest.
---
Later, they decided to train in one of the courtyards.
Just as a precaution.
Kael took a deep breath.
"Alright.
Again."
He summoned the whips.
This time they appeared complete.
Perfect.
For three seconds.
Then...
The tip began to change.
Flip-flop.
Duck.
Bonk.
Bruh.
No U.
The manifestations appeared and disappeared so fast that it was impossible to use them.
As if someone were flipping pages too quickly.
Kael tried to maintain concentration.
It didn’t work.
The chains ended up exploding again.
"This is exasperating."
Aurelion stopped smiling.
Now he actually looked worried.
"They’ve never reacted like this before."
"I know."
Seraphina spoke for the first time.
"It’s synchronizing."
Everyone looked at her.
"Synchronizing?"
She nodded slowly.
"If another entity is really about to arrive...
Maybe the System is trying to adapt your abilities."
Kael didn’t respond.
Because...
It made sense.
And precisely because of that, it was scary.
---
That afternoon, even stranger things began to happen.
The academy’s magical clocks ran slow.
The illumination crystals changed color for no reason.
Some simple spells failed.
Not just Kael’s.
Everything seemed...
Slightly out of place.
As if the entire world were having small errors.
The teachers began to get restless.
The academy’s administration too.
But no one found an explanation.
Only Kael knew about the counter.
And he decided not to say anything.
He didn’t want to cause more chaos.
---
As night fell...
He went up to the rooftop again.
The same place where he had been with Luna and Seraphina a few days ago.
The wind was pleasant.
The academy was quiet.
Finally.
Kael dropped against a wall.
"I’m tired..."
He didn’t expect a response.
However...
He heard a small sound.
"Meow."
He turned his head.
The Fat King had just sat down beside him.
Not on top of him.
Not far away.
Right beside him.
Like last time.
Kael smiled slightly.
"You again."
The cat pretended not to hear him.
He was looking at the sky.
Very serious.
Kael followed his gaze.
"Do you know what’s coming?"
Silence.
"Meow."
"Yeah.
Me neither."
The Fat King closed his eyes for a few seconds.
But he didn’t fall asleep.
He just stayed there.
Still.
Watching.
Kael ended up leaning his back against the wall.
"I’m not going to lie to you.
I’m scared."
The cat moved an ear.
"I don’t know what’s going to appear.
I don’t know if we’ll get along.
I don’t know if it’ll try to kill me.
I don’t know anything."
He sighed.
"And that makes me pretty nervous."
The Fat King slowly opened his eyes.
Looked at him for a few seconds.
Then raised a paw.
Gave him a small tap on the knee.
THUMP.
Kael smiled.
"Was that supposed to cheer me up?"
"Meow."
"I’m going to assume yes."
The cat didn’t respond.
He just kept looking at the sky.
---
At that moment...
The blue window appeared once more.
Bigger.
Brighter.
And completely different.
[Estimated arrival: 24 hours.]
Below the counter...
For the first time...
The letters began to distort.
They flickered.
Disappeared.
Came back.
As if even the System were glitching.
Finally, the text changed.
[ERROR...]
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then a new message appeared.
[The Second Compatible Entity has detected the presence of the First Companion.]
Kael felt a chill.
He looked at the Fat King.
The Fat King was no longer looking at the sky.
He was looking directly at the window.
With an expression Kael had never seen on him.
It wasn’t annoyance.
It wasn’t pride.
It wasn’t laziness.
It was...
Expectation.
As if he were waiting for the arrival of someone he had known for a very long time.
And for the first time since he had obtained the System...
Kael had the feeling that the Little Fat King was not the only absurd being who had walked that path.
He was just...
The first.
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