"Seth?" Mr. Voight called out as he took attendance, but there was no response. He asked again, "Is Seth here?"

The students exchanged glances, trying to confirm if he was absent.

"Is he absent again?" Mr. Voight inquired.

"Yes," "Yes, Mr. Voight," "Yes," came the responses from some of the students.

Meanwhile, Jake, checked his phone, the message he had sent Seth the day before still hadn't been delivered.

"Jake, have you heard from Seth?" Mr. Voight asked after he finished taking attendance.

"No, Mr. Voight," Jake replied.

"Well, let's start the class. I hope everyone did their homework because I'll be collecting it for evaluation."

Jake, along with others who rarely did their homework, let out sighs of relief. Those who hadn't done it struggled to come up with a quick convincing excuse.

After collecting the homework, Mr. Voight continued with the class.

For the next classes, Seth still didn’t show up, and there was still no news about him.

During lunch, Jake talked about it with Viktor and Ilya. However, since none of them could remember where he lived there was nothing they could do about it.

As Jake’s last class of the day ended all of the students got up and packed their things, ready to leave. At the same time, Mr. Parker quickly assigned homework before dismissing them.

Remembering the important ceremony he had to attend, Jake ran back home. His house was relatively far from the academy however thanks to the teleportation rings he was able to arrive in just a few minutes.

"Jake, get ready quickly, we have to go," said Myriel as Jake arrived home. Various robots could be seen going from one room to another and following her.

"Sure, grandma," Jake said, hurrying to his room to get ready.

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Baldwin entered the room behind him.

"Welcome home, Master Jake," he greeted with a small bow.

"Good evening, Baldwin."

"Lady Myriel asked me to bring you the suit for the ceremony," Baldwin informed, handing Jake a sleek black suit.

"Thank you, Baldwin," Jake said as he took the suit.

"Lady Myriel also mentioned that the vehicle will be departing in 45 minutes."

"Alright, thanks, Baldwin," Jake acknowledged and Baldwin left the room.

Jake took a quick shower and changed into the suit Baldwin had brought him. He moved as fast as he could and made it just in time. When he came downstairs, his grandmother was already waiting by the front door, and a sleek hovercar could be seen parked outside.

"You look very handsome," Myriel said with a loving smile, patting his cheek.

The earlier rushed atmosphere had given way to a somber mood. The bustling house was now silent, and none of the robot servants could be seen, except for Baldwin, who waited beside the hovercar.

The day held significance for Jake and his grandmother. Six years ago, on this day, they had lost Jake's parents. And today, like every year, Jake's grandmother organized an event in their memory.

After getting into the hovercar, they headed to the city. Just as with Seth's house, Jake's residence lay in the residential areas outside the city. For old transport methods, it would have taken around an hour and a half to get from Jake's house to the place where the ceremony would take place, which was close to the city center. However, nowadays, such a distance didn't take more than some minutes to travel thanks to the teleportation rings and hovercars

After a few minutes, they got to a towering skyscraper with the words "HSA" above its entrance. This building was the Sunrise City HSA Headquarters. Just like the other HSA Headquarters around the world, these buildings stood apart from the rest for their futuristic and imposing look.

Jake and his grandmother entered the building, with Baldwin trailing behind. After presenting their IDs, a guard guided them to a conference hall on one of the upper floors. It was a spacious hall, almost at the same height as the city's tallest buildings. However, the HSA HQ still towered above. Its true height remained a confidential secret, the top not visible even from the surrounding skyscrapers

Guests began arriving after a few minutes, and Jake and his grandmother greeted them, expressing gratitude for their attendance and guiding them to their seats. In just twenty more minutes, the conference hall was brimming with people. Myriel took the stage, with Jake following.

"First and foremost, as we do each year, thank you all for joining us," Myriel began. "We gather here today to remember the lives of my son, Alex Weyer, and his wife, Elora Sai. Six years have passed since they were taken from us by the terrorists of Lux Aeterna, yet their loss still weighs on our hearts. My son and his wife devoted their lives to the service of humankind, and their contributions will not be forgotten. They understood the risks when they accepted high-ranking positions in the HSA, especially as Lux Aeterna emerged. But those dangers never shook their resolve. Their dedication, integrity, and commitment are an example that we must follow. They served humanity and met their end in its service, a cause for inspiration, not sorrow. We should aspire to be like them, to set an example for future generations!"

Applause filled the room. When the applause subsided, Myriel continued her speech. As she spoke, Jake struggled to contain his emotions. He usually tried to avoid showing how much the deaths of his parents still affected him, but on this day, it was nearly impossible to keep himself from tearing up.

Upon finishing her speech, Myriel got down from the stage to talk with some of the guests, with Jake standing by her side. Jake recognized a few of them, having known them since childhood before his parents' passing. His grandmother informed him that the others were his parents' colleagues.

An hour later, the ceremony concluded, and guests started to leave. As expected, Jake and his grandmother were the last to leave.

The following day, Jake went to school as normal. Few people knew about his parents, as he preferred not to talk about it. The only person he had told was Seth, who was in a similar situation. However, as the days passed, Seth still didn’t show up to school, and Jake, Ilya, and Viktor tried unsuccessfully to come up with a plan to contact him, especially since they didn't even know where he lived.

And soon enough, only one day was left for the tournament.