Julian exhaled slowly, feeling his body return to himself once more. Relief flooded his chest. Thank the heavens it had happened during the holiday.
If that breakthrough—if that clash with his own demon—had erupted on a match day, it wouldn't just have been his problem.
It could have cracked the team. Maybe they'd lose outright… or worse, win while leaving a fracture that would haunt Lincoln High for the rest of the season.
But for now, it was fine.
He had endured. He had grown stronger.
A power-up, plain and simple.
Even so, he could feel it—the constant pull of Earth's limits. This body, this vessel, was still human. Flesh and bone. He couldn't fly, couldn't bend the skies, not yet.
But one day… one day he would. His strength would burst past this world's records and redefine what humans thought possible. That much, he was certain of.
