"0.15 seconds!"
Toru Hagakure's clear voice rang out across the training ground.
Amano Sora came to a stop, the golden arcs of Speed Force slowly fading from his body as the distorted air settled back into place.
"0.15 seconds for a hundred meters…" he muttered, rolling his wrist thoughtfully. "That's nearly twice the speed of sound. So roughly a sixty-five to sixty-seven times increase."
Without the Speed Force, his fastest 100-meter sprint was just over ten seconds—around ten meters per second. With it, his speed now exceeded six hundred meters per second. Even allowing for margin of error, the improvement was staggering.
Not far away, Toru Hagakure bounced in place excitedly and ran toward him.
"Sora! You're even faster than last time!"
Sora smiled. If his shoes weren't being destroyed by the strain, he probably could've pushed past Mach 2 already.
"How's your training going?" he asked.
Since most of his own training required constant movement, he rarely stayed beside Hagakure long enough to watch her progress.
Hearing the question, she straightened proudly.
"It's working!"
She raised her right arm.
At first, there was nothing. Then, faint light shimmered along her arm. Within seconds, it grew brighter and brighter, until it became almost blinding—like a miniature sun suspended in midair.
Sora quickly raised his arm to shield his eyes.
"Okay, okay—stop! That's enough!"
"Hah…" Hagakure exhaled and slowly dimmed the glow until it vanished. "So? What do you think?"
"Impressive," Sora said honestly, giving her a thumbs-up.
She scratched her head shyly. "Really?"
"But…" Sora added, his tone shifting slightly, "your activation speed is still too slow. You need to be able to trigger it instantly—without thinking."
Hagakure's shoulders slumped.
"Instantly? That's way too hard! I only just learned this!"
"Three weeks," Sora said calmly. "That's how long you have before school starts. If you practice every day, you'll manage."
She clenched her fist, eyes burning with renewed determination.
"Then I'll do it!"
Watching her enthusiasm, Sora couldn't help but smile.
"I should get moving too."
Golden lightning flickered around him once more—and in the next instant, he vanished.
Speed, Thought, and the Nature of the Force
Hagakure didn't try to chase him.
Instead, she gazed into the distance.
A faint golden thread streaked across the horizon.
"…I'll catch up someday," she murmured.
Meanwhile, wrapped in the Speed Force, Sora raced forward at blinding speed—though still not at full power.
Running at maximum velocity would shred his shoes within minutes.
And until he officially enrolled at U.A., he didn't have access to custom hero gear.
"That's the real problem…" he muttered.
As he ran, his thoughts accelerated alongside his body.
The Speed Force wasn't just speed.
It was a field—something that surrounded his entire body. A force that bent physics, reduced friction, altered perception, and amplified reaction time.
Time didn't slow down.
Instead, he moved faster.
His thoughts, reflexes, and awareness scaled with his speed.
That was why, even at extreme velocity, the world didn't appear frozen—it simply felt natural.
And that meant one thing.
The Speed Force wasn't just an ability.
It was a system.
A field that could be trained.
A power that could grow.
"Which means…" Sora murmured, eyes sharp, "…I can get even faster."
The Ocean Test
A sudden change in scenery caught his attention.
The air smelled different.
Salty.
He stopped at the edge of a rocky shoreline, staring out at the endless blue sea.
"…The ocean?"
A thought sparked in his mind.
The Flash could run on water.
So could he?
Before he could overthink it, he moved.
Lightning exploded beneath his feet as he sprinted forward—straight onto the ocean's surface.
To his surprise, he didn't sink.
The water supported him like solid ground.
Better yet—
It was smooth.
Elastic.
Comfortable.
He laughed aloud as he picked up speed, white trails of spray stretching behind him like comet tails.
Even at near-Mach speeds, his shoes didn't overheat.
No friction burn.
No damage.
"This is perfect…"
When he finally slowed, he scooped up a large fish startled by the wake of his passage.
"Guess this settles it," he muttered. "Training ground relocated."
Then, as an afterthought:
"…Also need to buy a fishing net."