When I woke up, my parents were standing over me.
I was on the floor.
"What happened?" my mother asked.
My father and I exchanged a look. He knew—but we couldn't tell her. Not yet. Not until I could control it.
So we lied.
"I didn't get enough rest," I said. "Just passed out."
She didn't look convinced, but she let it go.
Training
Later that day, Karr and I started a training session.
He wanted to be a sword chaser because I did. That was his reason. He just tagged along wherever I went.
We used the field on the farm. Open space. No distractions.
Both of us—and most of our classmates—had already awakened our potential. The next step was mastering the basics before we could take real chaser lessons.
Our training was simple: dueling and hand-to-hand combat. I'd learned most of what I knew from my father when I was about five. It was brutal back then. But I'd heard the real chaser training was worse.
Abilities
When you awaken, you're granted abilities. How many depends on luck.
I was on the fortunate side. I got four.
My element was ice. I could manipulate water, ice, mist, and snow. So far, I'd only practiced with water.
Karr wasn't as lucky. He only got one ability—fire. He could add flames to almost anything: swords, sticks, grass. It wasn't flashy, but it worked.
His father had all six abilities. You could train to unlock more, but it wasn't easy.
There was another category—energy abilities. Rare. Powerful. Neither of us had those.
My father did. I think that's where his real strength came from.
We trained for about an hour, pushing our abilities as far as we could. Karr lit sticks on fire. I tried to move water at will.
Then I moved on to the next phase.
The eyes.
Experimentation
Karr was distracted, burning things in the corner of the field.
I took the seal off my wrist.
Energy flooded into me instantly. I felt like I could run for hours.
I closed my eyes. Focused. Guided the energy toward them.
Then I opened them.
Nothing.
I looked up at the sky and thought.
Then it clicked.
Anger triggered the eyes—but anger was just an emotion. Maybe I didn't need anger specifically. Maybe any strong emotion would work.
First attempt: happiness.
I thought of Aubrey.
Nothing.
Second attempt: joy. A calmer version of happiness.
Still nothing.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Karr shouted from across the field.
I waved him over.
He jogged up. "What's going on?"
"I'm trying to activate my eyes again. Nothing's working."
He scratched his head. "Maybe you're overthinking it. You said anger triggers it, right? What if you use something close to anger—like being annoyed? Mad, but not furious. Less damage."
I stared at him.
"You're right, Karr."
He blinked. "Really? I was just winging it."
Activation
I closed my eyes.
Forced the energy toward them.
Thought of Ace.
He made me mad. Not furious—just irritated. That constant smug look on his face.
I opened my eyes.
Fire flickered at the edge of my left vision. Reversed lighting outlined everything to my right.
It worked.
Karr's jaw dropped. "Oh my god—Noah, your eyes are doing something!"
"Don't lie to me, Karr."
"I'm serious!"
Then I saw it.
Through my left eye—something that didn't belong.
A figure. More defined than the others. Watching me.
It had been watching me since the moment my eyes activated.
"What do you see?" Karr asked.
"Something's looking at me," I said quietly. "And it's freaking me out."
"What do you mean? I don't see anything."
"I can see people through my left eye. But this thing... It's staring right at me."
The Approach
The figure started walking toward me.
Slowly.
I began to shake.
Hostile intention radiated off it like heat from a flame.
"Noah, what's happening?" Karr asked.
The wind picked up. Clouds rolled in. The sky darkened.
The figure was six feet away now.
From Karr's perspective, I was just standing still, staring at nothing. He started to panic.
"Calm down," I told him. "Just stay calm."
The figure was chest to chest with me now.
I looked at it through my right eye.
It was outlined in smoke.
It reached me.
I jumped back.
It screeched—but I couldn't hear it. Just saw its mouth open wide.
Then more of them crawled out from every direction.
They were everywhere.
Karr was shouting something, but I couldn't focus on his words.
Because I saw something else.
A figure unlike the rest.
Pitch black. Red glowing eyes. Wreathed in smoke.
And it was looking right at me.
"Run."
"Karr. Run."
"What do you mean, Noah?"
"RUN!"
We bolted in opposite directions.
I sprinted until I lost sight of them. Ducked behind a shack on the edge of the field. Pressed my back against the wood. Tried to slow my breathing.
I poked my head out—
A gust of wind hit me.
I turned around.
The red-eyed figure stood behind me.
My chest seized. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.
It reached out—and touched my forehead.
Everything turned black.
Home
I woke up in my bed.
The house was loud.
My parents were arguing.
I could hear my name through the walls.