The storm had passed, but its echoes lingered like smoke after fire.
Dreck sat with Liam on the floor for a while longer, until the boy's breathing finally slowed. His shoulders sagged, and his eyes returned to clarity. It wasn't peace—not yet—but it was enough.
"You good?" Dreck asked, voice softer now.
Liam nodded faintly. "Yeah… I think so."
Dreck stood and helped him to his feet. "Get to your room. You need to rest. Not just your body—your mind too."
Liam hesitated, still shaken, but he obeyed. "I'm sorry," he muttered.
"It's okay," Dreck said with a heavy sigh. "It means you still feel. That's not weakness, Liam… but next time, don't let it break loose like that."
As Liam climbed the stairs and disappeared into the hallway, Dreck remained in the living room. He walked over to the window and looked outside—neighbors still lingered on sidewalks, murmuring, glancing toward the house like it was some cursed place.
They didn't know.
They couldn't know.
He turned back to the television. The news was still on loop—flashes of tragedy, but nothing about the deeper truth.
Lucas's apartment was silent save for the occasional ticking of a wall clock. Soft golden light bathed the room as the afternoon sun dipped low. Lucas stood near the window, arms folded, watching the slow drift of clouds outside.
Behind him, Kaela sat sideways on the couch, a cold drink in hand. She'd just finished recounting the full story—the fight, the awakening, and the moment both she and Liam unleashed something they didn't understand.
Lucas turned slightly, his eyes narrowing with thought.
"So… neither of you won?" he asked quietly.
Kaela scoffed. "Pfft. I was this close to wrecking his smug face, but he pulled something outta nowhere. Idiot lit up like a walking pressure bomb."
Lucas gave a faint smile. "And then you did the same."
Kaela shrugged, looking at her hand as if it still burned. "Didn't mean to. It just… happened."
There was a pause before Lucas spoke again, his voice calm but serious.
"That's the kind of power that doesn't wake up gently. It answers to the heart. And when it does… it doesn't care if you're ready or not."
Kaela looked away. "Yeah, well… next time, he's getting clobbered. I swear it."
Lucas chuckled under his breath. "I'm sure you'll let him know. Loudly."
---
The Next Day
Morning passed without incident. School was routine. Dull, even. Liam and Kaela sat through classes, exchanged looks, and didn't bring up the day before. Lucas had told them not to train today. Not to push the power again so soon.
So instead, they walked.
The sky was painted a soft orange as evening fell. Town lights flickered on, casting soft glows on the streets. People bustled in every direction, chatting, laughing, living.
But then—they saw it.
Two shadows.
Darting across rooftops with inhuman speed.
Blurs, to any ordinary eye.
But not to theirs.
Kaela froze, her soda can crumpling slightly in her grip. "Did you see that?"
Liam's eyes narrowed. "Yeah."
Without speaking, they burst forward, weaving through alleys, jumping fences. Their movements matched the rhythm of the two figures above—fast, deliberate, silent.
---
Ten Blocks Later
The trail led them to a quiet industrial zone at the edge of town. No people. No cars. Just old warehouses and faint echoes.
The two figures landed ahead of them on a low rooftop, finally halting.
Cloaks rippled in the wind. They were lean and masked—clearly young. Teenagers at most.
One of them, voice soft and low, said, "We're being followed."
"I know," the other replied, harsher, edged with impatience. "Their auras were obvious five blocks ago. One's… oddly clean. The other is unstable. Feral."
"They're kids," the first one said.
"Doesn't matter. Witnesses are witnesses."
Liam and Kaela stepped into view.
Kaela popped her gum with a loud snap. "Y'know, for a couple of stealthy rooftop creeps, you talk a lot."
One of the masked figures tensed.
Liam stepped forward beside her, voice calm. "We're not here to stop you. We just want to know who you are… and what you're carrying."
"You're not in a position to ask," the more aggressive assassin hissed.
The calmer one replied, "We're just messengers. Delivery for an organization you don't need to know about."
Kaela snorted. "Lemme guess. Some secret fancy club with a badass name?"
You two weren't even supposed to see us. But since you're going to die here... ever heard of Black veil? You won't have heard of it."
Kaela's grin widened. "Oh, we have now. And I gotta say… for an 'underground' name, it sounds like a second-rate goth band."
But why are you telling us this, isn't it supposed to be a secret? Kaela said.
Because you're both gonna die here
You're quite confident in yourself kaela said
The more aggressive assassin moved a step forward. "You're really asking for it, girl."
Liam lifted a hand in front of Kaela, stopping her. His voice dropped into a cool, deadly calm.
"She has a mouth. You'll get used to it. But me? I don't need words to make a point."
The air shifted. Everyone felt it.
A moment of dead stillness.
Then—one of the assassins whispered, "Enough."
They launched forward.
The clash began instantly.
Kaela met the dark-aura assassin mid-air, their limbs locking in a rapid exchange of strikes—knees, fists, elbows clashing like thunder cracks. She laughed mid-swing. "Ooh, you hit harder than I thought, shadow boy!"
Liam faced the calmer one, dodging a spinning kick and countering with a lightning-fast jab that sent his opponent sliding backward.
"You're sharp," the assassin admitted, shaking his arm. "Who trained you?"
Liam's eyes gleamed. "A man who taught me to end fights. Not start them."
Kaela dodged a sweep, spun, and landed a punch to her opponent's gut. "I'm gonna enjoy cracking your ribs. Just a heads-up!"
The assassin growled, then backed off slightly, aura flaring—but not yet releasing.
Neither of them had shown their full hand.
Not yet.
And as the rooftop lit with the fury of fists and kicks—shadows tangled with resolve—the fight
raged.
But it was far from over.
[To be continued…]