The academy gym wasn't like most schools. It was a damn city.
Massive halls. Floating battle platforms. Spirit resistance chambers. Gravity tunnels. And simulation domes that could recreate any terrain, enemy, or scenario — from beast-infested ruins to spirit-infused warzones.
And today?
Every first-year was scheduled for level-zero performance testing.
Not for powers — that hadn't fully awakened yet.
This was about what they could do without them.
---
🏋️ Scene 1 – Physical Assessment
David grunted as he shoved a reinforced metal sled across the frictionless floor. His muscles flared, sweat rolling off his back.
"You're enjoying this too much," Brian said.
"Because I'm the strongest one here," David replied without slowing down. "And I haven't even gotten my powers yet."
Brian smirked. "Big talk for someone who gets winded after one lap."
"Say that again when I toss this sled into orbit."
On the far end of the room, Niko and Alcino were on the sprint track, racing side-by-side.
"Try not to eat my dust this time!" Niko yelled.
"You'll be eating wall if you cut me off again!" Alcino snapped.
Their legs blurred. They weren't speedsters yet, but they were fast enough to shock most instructors. Both of them had cracked the reaction test before lunch.
In a nearby combat pod, Hayk was in deep concentration, running code while reacting to a virtual enemy's attacks in real time.
"Muscle-mind syncing at 89%," he muttered. "Close. Almost there."
Declan monitored the data with a visor over one eye.
"You're stalling at the feint-reaction layer. Your inputs are anticipating, not processing."
"I know. My mind's too fast, my body too slow. It'll balance."
"You better hope so when your powers hit. I'm not coding your survival."
Meanwhile, Brian quietly tested the grip sensors.
He squeezed the bars. Broke one accidentally.
He glanced around. No one saw.
He laughed lightly and picked up a towel like nothing happened.
> "Careless," Infinity whispered inside him. "Control yourself."
"I am controlling myself," Brian muttered in his mind. "Just testing my ceiling."
---
🧊 Scene 2 – Isolation: Kendall
In another sector of the academy, Kendall floated above the ground inside a gravity sphere.
Ten tons of weight pressed down on her body from above — invisible, artificial pressure. Her bones creaked. Her skin shimmered with heat.
But she didn't flinch.
"Increase pressure," she said.
The chamber responded with a shrill tone. Her weight doubled.
She exhaled. Focused. Pressed back.
> She wasn't trying to compete with anyone.
She wasn't part of any friend group.
Kendall Burke was here to win. Period.
An instructor watched through the glass and murmured, "She's a monster."
But Kendall didn't hear it.
She was already thinking ten moves ahead.
---
🧠 Scene 3 – New Conversations, New Observations
Later that day, the main group sat beneath a wide dome tree. Artificial sunlight filtered through its golden leaves. The air buzzed faintly with spirit particles.
"Anyone else been feeling weird lately?" Niko asked, cracking open a cold drink.
"Weirder than usual?" Hayk asked.
"No. Like… stronger. Faster. Like my body's not mine, but also more mine, y'know?"
Alcino nodded. "Yeah. Same. I hit the wall in the maze run and didn't feel a thing. Not even sore."
David leaned forward. "You think… it's starting?"
Declan scrolled through data on his wrist. "If it is, it's subtle. No confirmed readings yet. But I did detect a faint spirit pulse coming off Hayk yesterday during diagnostics."
Hayk raised a brow. "That's not possible. I haven't linked to anything yet."
"Exactly," Declan replied. "And Brian—"
Everyone looked at Brian.
He looked up mid-bite. "What?"
"You been feeling weird?" David asked.
Brian smiled. Shrugged. "Nothing crazy. Maybe I just got more sleep than the rest of you."
They laughed.
Brian smiled along.
But deep down?
He could see the spirit particles floating around them. He could hear their minds — fragments, emotions. He could predict how David would react if he told him the truth.
> "Keep it light. Keep it calm," Infinity said. "The time isn't right."
Brian nodded inwardly. "Let them grow. Let them trust me."
---
🕶️ Scene 4 – Instructor's Briefing (Private)
Later that night, behind locked walls, three of the academy's top instructors stood over glowing screens.
"Group 8's development rate is ahead of schedule," one said.
"Except for Brian Jean," another added. "Completely neutral."
"Or hiding something."
They pulled up his vitals.
Flatline. No spikes. No fluctuations. No spirit resonance.
"Impossible," Vehlan whispered.
"He's a ghost," someone else said.
"But the system confirms: he's not bonded with a spirit at all."
They paused.
Then turned to the last screen.
Eira Callen.
And next to her… a shadow signature. Unreadable.
"Keep watching both," Vehlan said. "Neither of them belong on the standard chart."