Monday arrived beneath the brilliance of the morning sun, its warm rays spreading across the Royal Academy grounds and slowly chasing away the cold that had settled during the night.
For Ezra, the morning began almost exactly like every other school day.
He woke up early.
Took his heat-stimulating pills.
Freshened himself up, changed into his training clothes, and left his residence to begin his usual morning routine.
It was almost as if yesterday hadn't happened.
As if he hadn't collapsed in the middle of the Royal Academy Shopping Complex, been carried to the hospital unconscious, and spent several hours receiving treatment after his Silent Enlightenment had forced his body through Cognis Reverse.
Ezra didn't allow any of that to interrupt his routine.
Cyrus joined him during his morning jog, just as he usually did, and the two boys continued along one of the paved routes leading toward the training areas.
