The news the very same night was a masterclass in propaganda. Channels reported a "terrorist attack" on the Lekratian Embassy, praising the "valiant efforts of Lekratian diplomat Kaelen," who had tragically died from a "catastrophic mana overload while defending the compound." The three missing children were found "wandering nearby, disoriented," their memories of the event a complete blank. The Lekratian government vehemently denied any knowledge of the children being on their premises, and without proof, the case was quietly dropped. It was a clean, quiet, and utterly false conclusion.
Meanwhile, in the sterile, hidden silence of Aisha's underground lab, the real story was being pieced together.
Exalibar lay on a medical cot, his body hooked up to monitors that beeped a steady, reassuring rhythm. The worst of his external injuries had been treated, but a deep-seated exhaustion remained. Aisha moved around him, her expression a mixture of concern and intense scientific curiosity.
"So," she began, her voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space, "care to explain what actually happened tonight?"
Exalibar kept his eyes closed. "We got in. We got attacked. I took action. It's simple."
"No, Exalibar, it is not that simple," Aisha snapped, stopping beside the cot and crossing her arms. "You drained an entire shield generator's mana supply, a feat that, at your skill level should have vaporized you. You killed a man with your bare hands. You then performed a field-medic miracle on Theo, healing a wound that should have been fatal. And you mimicked Kaelen's lightning technique after seeing it once. So, explain yourself."
"Which part?" he asked, finally opening his eyes to look at her.
"All of it!" she said, her frustration boiling over.
Exalibar offered a weak smile. "Shhh. I know this is your secret underground lab, but shhh."
Aisha pinched the bridge of her nose. "No one can hear us down here. It's just you, me, and my robots. Now talk."
Exalibar's smile faded. He took a deep breath, the memory flashing behind his eyes. "You remember the dreams I've been having, right? The ones that currently have me in therapy?"
"Of course I remember."
"I had another one. In the middle of the fight. And when it happened... it was like a weight I didn't even know I was carrying just... lifted." He struggled to find the words. "I had already felt like using lethal force was the only way to survive, but after the 'dream'... it was like it was second nature. I didn't even feel remorse. I mean, I feel it now, but not... not as much as I know I should."
Aisha listened cataloguing every word. "And the techniques?
"Ever since the dreams started, it's like I understand mana better," he admitted, his voice low. "I can't properly explain it. It's like a language I'm suddenly starting to remember. How to mimic others, how to see the flow... it's all becoming clearer, even if it's still hazy. I failed the first time I tried to hijack Theo's nervous system, but the second time... it worked."
Aisha was silent for a long moment, her emerald eyes studying him as if he were a fascinating new element. "X," she said softly, using the old childhood nickname. "If it's alright with you, I want to run a test."
"Why?"
"The amount of raw mana you absorbed and then expended is more than your body's recorded capacity by several orders of magnitude. Until a few weeks ago, your body was terrible with mana efficiency. Something has changed." She picked up a tablet. "Just stretch out your hand and create a fireball. A simple one."
Exalibar did as he was told. A perfectly spherical, intensely hot orb of flame ignited in his palm, hovering without a single flicker or wisp of stray energy.
Aisha's eyes widened slightly as she read the data on her tablet. "Okay. Now, I need you to try and recreate Kaelen's powers. Fire a lightning bolt at that target drone over there."
Exalibar pointed a finger. The air crackled, and a precise lance of electricity erupted from his fingertip, instantly frying the drone's core in a shower of sparks.
"Fascinating," Aisha whispered. "Now, emit as much raw aura as you possibly can. Don't hold back. Keep going until I say stop."
Exalibar focused. A blue aura flared to life around him, so intense it was almost difficult to look at. The monitors beside his bed chirped in alarm as their readings spiked.
"Okay, stop," Aisha said after a full minute, her voice filled with awe. She stared at the data, her mind racing. "Exalibar, up until a few weeks ago, you mainly used mana to crudely enhance your body to make yourself stronger."
"Your point?"
"My point is that the government's database listed Kaelen as having a 37% efficiency rating with his lightning. You, someone who is mimicking his power, are showing an efficiency between 40 and 45%. Your fireball was perfectly contained, like a natural pyrokinesis user conjured it." She looked up from the tablet, her eyes blazing with excitement. "I'm not done. You were emitting 15 mana units per second. Your highest recorded output ever was 6, and you could only sustain it for 20 seconds. By all accounts, you should be a dried-out husk on this cot. But you're not even winded."
"But isn't that just because of the excess mana from the generator?" Exalibar asked, sitting up straighter.
"You used all of that healing Theo," Aisha stated, pacing back and forth. "The mana you have right now is your own. The mana you naturally generate and gather from the environment."
Exalibar's eyes widened as the implication sank in. "Are you saying my capacity has increased? My control? Over one night?"
Aisha stopped pacing and turned to him, her expression dead serious. "Exalibar, I believe these 'dreams' are unlocking something in you. They might not be memories of a past life but they're probably fragments of your own potential." She moved closer, her voice dropping to an earnest whisper. "Of course, I'll have to run more tests to be sure. You have to promise me that every time you have one of these episodes, you inform me, alright? We have to document this. We have to understand what's happening to you."
Exalibar swung his legs over the side of the cot, feeling stronger than he had in years. "It's alright, Aish. We'll finish this later. Right now, I gotta get home. Sky can't keep covering for me forever."
"It's alright, Exalibar," she said, a genuine smile finally breaking through. She tossed him a small, familiar green vial. "If you aren't fully healed, take that. And don't tell anyone about this, okay? Not yet."
Exalibar caught the vial and pocketed it. "Thanks." He took a step, and then paused at the door, looking back at her with a new, unshakable confidence in his eyes. "And, Aisha... by the way."
"Yeah?"
"I know how to regenerate now."
Before she could even process the statement, the air swooshed. In a blur of motion that was far cleaner and more controlled than any he had managed before, Exalibar vanished from her lab, leaving Aisha alone with the humming machines and the staggering truth of what her best friend was becoming.