Vorn's Apartment - Late Morning
The television droned on with some morning talk show. A woman in a bright dress was explaining how to make healthy breakfast smoothies while a man in a suit nodded and smiled.
Seren sat on the couch, her wheelchair folded nearby. She could walk short distances now, but sitting was more comfortable for watching TV. Her phone buzzed every few minutes - messages from old classmates asking how she was doing, if she was coming back to school.
She ignored most of them.
"...and remember, viewers, adding spinach gives you iron without changing the taste..." the TV woman chirped.
Seren changed the channel, news, weather. Some drama about rich people having problems. She settled on a cooking competition where people made elaborate desserts under time pressure.
Much more interesting than smoothies.
From the kitchen came the sound of Vorn making coffee. He'd been up since dawn doing his exercises - push-ups, stretches, that weird breathing thing he'd picked up recently.
Her phone buzzed again. This time it was different - a text from someone named 'Study Group - Emma' asking if she wanted notes from Advanced Literature.
She stared at the message for a long moment, then deleted it without responding.
'BEEP BEEP.'
Vorn's communicator went off. The sound was sharp, cutting through the cooking show's cheerful noise.
"Yeah?" His voice carried from the kitchen.
"Training room, one hour, readiness check." The voice was gruff, older. Master Hajime.
Seren muted the TV to listen better. Vorn didn't answer right away.
"You there?" Hajime asked.
"I'll be there."
The line went dead. Vorn appeared in the doorway, coffee mug in hand.
"Going out?" Seren asked.
"Academy business. Won't be long."
She nodded and turned the volume back up. On screen, someone's chocolate sculpture had collapsed into a brown mess. The baker looked like he might cry.
Vorn grabbed his jacket from the back of a chair. "Need anything while I'm out?"
"We're low on milk. And those crackers I like."
"The expensive ones?"
"They're not that expensive."
He smiled - barely, but it was there. "I'll see what I can do."
The door closed behind him with a soft click. Seren pulled a blanket over her legs and watched the baker try to salvage his dessert. It wasn't going well.
---
Academy Training Facility - One Hour Later
The training room smelled like metal and sweat of older generations. Weight machines lined one wall, their steel plates gleaming under harsh fluorescent lights. In the corner, a gravity chamber hummed with suppressed mana energy.
Hajime stood with his back turned, adjusting cables on a strength-testing apparatus. His hands moved with practiced efficiency, tightening bolts and checking calibrations.
Vorn waited by the door, scanning the room out of habit. Emergency exits, potential weapons, sight lines. Old reflexes from when every new place might be a trap.
"Equipment's been acting up," Hajime said without turning around. "Give me another minute."
Vorn leaned against the wall. Through the windows, he could see students walking between buildings. Normal people living normal lives, worrying about grades and friendships instead of surveillance networks and ancient family politics.
'Must be nice.'
"There." Hajime wiped his hands on a towel and finally faced him. "Strip down to basics. Let's see where you're at."
The tests were straightforward. Grip strength - Vorn crushed the metal handles until the digital readout hit its maximum. Sprint speed across the room - his feet barely seemed to touch the floor. Endurance on a modified treadmill that kept increasing incline and speed.
Hajime watched the numbers climb, occasionally making notes on a tablet.
"Four thousand eight hundred kilograms grip strength," he muttered. "Speed approaching supersonic in short bursts. Recovery time..." He checked his stopwatch. "Fifteen seconds back to baseline after maximum exertion."
"Good?" Vorn asked, toweling off sweat.
"Better than good. You're three-quarters of the way to the threshold." Hajime set down his tablet. "When you cross twelve thousand kilograms consistently, I'll take you for the Transcendent injection. That's when the real work begins."
He gestured for Vorn to sit on a bench. "Now for the part that can't be measured with machines."
"Life force?"
"Life force." Hajime sat across from him. "Close your eyes, breeathe normally, feel for the energy that moves through your body below the conscious level."
Vorn followed the instructions. His enhanced senses picked up his own heartbeat, blood flow, electrical activity in his nervous system.
"Deeper than that," Hajime said quietly. "The energy that powers adaptation itself. The force that makes your body evolve."
It took several minutes of focused concentration before Vorn felt it - a warm current flowing through pathways that weren't quite physical. Like blood vessels made of light.
"Good, now try to direct it, don't force it. Guide it toward your left hand."
The energy responded sluggishly, like thick honey flowing uphill. When it reached his fingers, they tingled with warmth.
"Better." Hajime nodded approvingly. "Practice that daily. When you become a Transcendent, life force control will determine whether you live or die."
---
Supply District - Commercial Area
On his way home, Vorn made a detour through the city's supply district. Narrow shops selling everything from mundane household items to exotic materials for specialized crafts.
He stopped at three different stores.
At the first, he bought rare earth minerals - compounds that supposedly enhanced cellular regeneration. The shop owner, a thin man with suspicious eyes, asked no questions when Vorn paid in cash.
The second shop sold alchemical equipment. Glass tubes, precision scales, heating elements designed to maintain exact temperatures. The owner here was more talkative, asking what kind of research Vorn was conducting.
"Personal project," Vorn said, handing over more cash.
The third shop was harder to find - down an alley between two legitimate businesses, with no sign on the door. Inside, the air smelled like ozone and something medicinal.
"Black market components," Vorn told the woman behind the counter. "For biological enhancement research."
She studied him for a long moment, then nodded toward a locked case in the back. "Expensive."
"How expensive?"
The number she quoted would clean out his entire account.
"Done."
By the time he finished shopping, his bank balance showed zero. Every penny spent on materials for experiments he might never have time to complete.
But having options was worth more than having money in the bank.
---
Vorn's Apartment - Evening
Seren was still on the couch when Vorn returned, bags of supplies in both hands. The TV showed a different cooking competition now - people making elaborate main courses instead of desserts.
"Groceries?" she asked without looking away from the screen.
"Research materials."
That got her attention. She turned to look at the bags, noting their weight and the careful way he set them down.
"Food?" she asked hopefully.
"No food."
"Money for food?"
Vorn set the last bag by the kitchen counter. "Account's empty."
"What?" She grabbed the remote and muted the TV. "What do you mean empty? My money's in there too!"
"I needed—"
"You spent everything? Without asking?" Her voice rose. "That was rent money! Food money! How are we supposed to eat?"
"I sent a bill to the Li family for part of it."
"Part of it?" She stared at him. "Vorn, what the hell were you thinking?"
He sat down across from her, suddenly looking tired. "I got carried away. I'm sorry."
It was a lie, and they both knew it. But fighting wouldn't bring the money back.
Seren rubbed her temples. "This isn't sustainable. You can't just spend our entire savings on mystery projects without telling me."
"I know."
"Do you? Because this is the second time you've made major decisions without discussing them with me first."
He didn't argue. Just sat there accepting her anger, which somehow made it worse.
"I'm ordering groceries with the emergency card," she said finally. "Basic stuff. Rice, beans, cheap protein. Until we figure out how to pay bills."
The cooking show continued in silence, the contestants working frantically as their time ran out.
---
Li Family Compound - Same Evening
The bill arrived by messenger while the family elders were finishing dinner. Master Li opened the envelope, scanned the itemized list, and sighed.
"Biological research materials, rare earth compounds and enhancement substrates." He looked up at the assembled elders. "Vorn's been shopping."
Elder Chen snatched the paper from his hands. "Thirty thousand credits? For what?"
"Laboratory supplies, apparently."
"That boy's lost his mind," Elder Wu muttered. "Throwing away money on fantasy experiments."
The other elders murmured agreement, their voices mixing irritation with concern. Master Li stayed quiet, studying the list more carefully.
"Pay it," he said finally.
"Li, you can't be serious—"
"I said pay it."
The room fell silent. Master Li folded the bill and tucked it into his jacket.
"Meeting adjourned."
After the others left, Master Li walked to his private study and poured himself a drink. Through his window, the compound's gardens were lit by soft lanterns, peaceful and orderly.
In a back corridor away from the main dining hall, two younger elders whispered urgently.
"Multiple enhancement potions at once," one said. "You know what happens when someone tries that without proper preparation."
"Transformation. Usually fatal."
"Or worse than fatal. Remember the Chen boy? Turned into something that barely looked human before it finally died."
They smiled at each other in the darkness.
"Maybe our Vorn problem is about to solve itself."
---
Academy Training Facility - Late Night
Master Hajime sat alone in his office, a secure communication device glowing softly on his desk. The encrypted channel connected him to his superior - a voice he'd known for decades but had never met in person.
"His progress is slowing," Hajime reported. "Physical development continues, but I don't know if our protection will be enough. He needs to be able to protect himself and his sister."
"Forget it." The voice was tired, distorted by layers of security protocols. "We're only doing this because of our connection to his ancient family. It's not an obligation."
"His bloodline—"
"His bloodline is extinct. He's an anomaly, nothing more, if he survives, good, if not..." The voice paused. "We've done our part."
Hajime tried to argue, but the channel was already closing. Static filled the speaker for a moment, then silence.
He sat in the darkness of his office, looking out at the empty training facilities. Somewhere in the city, Vorn was probably still awake, planning his next move with the patient calculation that marked his family's bloodline.
"Vorn..." Hajime muttered to the empty room. "I hope you survive what's coming."
Outside, night settled over the academy like a heavy blanket. In the distance, the city's lights twinkled with the promise of tomorrow's challenges.
But tomorrow felt very far away.