The air in the training chamber was thick and heavy, smelling like scorched wood and ozone. Kai stared at the training dummy and couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement. With just one strike, he had shattered a high-grade frame that was supposed to withstand thousands of pounds of pressure.
He could feel his heart thumping against his ribs, not from fear, but from the raw, intoxicating realization of how much power the System had truly gifted him.
Underneath his skin, a restless, electric energy continued to buzz. It was a sharp, wonderful contrast to the dull, aching powerlessness the "old" Kai had lived with every single day. For a man like Alexis Chase, who had once ruled a business empire, this was the ultimate high.
He felt a deep sense of triumph bubbling up in his chest. He wanted to throw his head back and laugh out loud at the sheer absurdity of it all. This was more than just a second chance; this was going to be fun.
Kai turned and looked at his stepsister, a predatory smile playing on his lips. He savored the sight of her wide eyes and pale face. Usually, Aria carried herself with a bored, aristocratic arrogance, looking at him as if he were a bug under her shoe.
But right now, she looked like she had just watched a house cat tear a tiger to pieces. Her gaze darted frantically between the smoking wreckage of the dummy and Kai's face. Her mind was clearly reeling, trying to process an impossibility.
"So? What do you think, sister? Pretty good for a 'dud,' right?" Kai asked.
His voice was different now. The weak, submissive tremor was gone. It was replaced by a sharp, mocking edge that seemed to vibrate through the small room.
Aria remained frozen, paralyzed by the sight of the brother she had always treated like a stain on the family name. The Kai she knew would have been cowering in the corner, terrified that he might have broken expensive equipment. This version of Kai was basking in the destruction, standing tall amidst the splinters and smoke.
As the initial shock began to fade, Aria's expression shifted. Her eyes became narrow and analytical, sharp as a scalpel. She began to study him with growing suspicion, her mind searching for a logical trick.
She was looking for signs of hidden technology, illegal drugs, or some kind of freak fluke to explain why the family "failure" was suddenly acting like a combat master.
Kai felt a bead of sweat roll down his back. He knew he was playing a dangerous game. If she truly suspected he was an impostor or possessed by a ghost, his new life would be over before it even started.
He forced his lungs to take slow, steady breaths, masking his frantic pulse with a look of arrogant boredom. He needed to give her a reason for his personality flip—something her ego could wrap its head around.
"I know exactly what you're thinking," he challenged, stepping closer until he was locking eyes with her. He didn't blink.
"But use your brain, Aria. Wouldn't it be weirder if I wasn't acting different? Wouldn't it be strange if I wasn't excited about finally getting a power-up like this?"
Aria stayed quiet, her lips pressed into a thin line. The silence stretched out, filled only by the low hum of the room's cooling fans trying to clear the smoke.
"I can understand a sudden ability appearing, even if it's incredibly rare for a man," she finally said, her voice regaining its icy, superior chill. "But you're acting like a completely different person. It's like you were replaced overnight."
The accusation hit Kai like a physical punch. For a second, he feared the game was up. He felt his heart race, but he didn't let a single muscle in his face twitch.
Instead, he reached deep down and pulled up the genuine resentment he felt for how this girl had treated the original Kai. He remembered every sneer, every "prank," and every moment of forced isolation. He let that heat boil over into his voice.
"What do you even know about me, Aria?" he snapped, his voice echoing off the reinforced walls. "All my life, you and Madison have treated me like trash. You berated me, called me names, and looked through me like I was invisible. And now that I actually have a spark of potential, you want to blame me for not being the same quiet little victim? What the hell do you want from me? Should I apologize for finally having a spine?"
He looked at her with eyes that were sharp, tired, and full of fake—yet believable—hurt. He played the part of a man who had finally been pushed past his breaking point. Aria flinched, her eyes flickering with a moment of doubt. She realized he was right, and her suspicion began to melt into a different kind of understanding.
To her, it finally made sense. If you had lived your whole life being treated like a nobody because you were weak, suddenly having a weapon would be intoxicating. It would change the way you walked and talked.
She didn't see a stranger anymore; she saw a victim who had finally found a way to fight back. I guess it's normal for his behavior to turn arrogant, she told herself, her mind settling back into its comfortable pattern of thinking she understood him.
Aria didn't say anything else. Her face turned back into a mask of ice. She turned around to leave the room. She didn't say "good job" or "sorry." She just stopped at the door and looked back.
"I don't care if you think you're a big deal now," she said, acting like she was better than him again. "If you want me to keep helping you, go clean my room like you always do."
Then, she walked away.
Once she was gone, Kai let out a long breath. He felt so relieved. He had passed the first test. His shoulders dropped as he stopped acting.
Thank God she's a bit full of herself, he thought. If she wasn't, I'd be in big trouble. He knew Aria was smart, but her own pride made her blind. She couldn't imagine a world where he was anyone else.
I have to plan better next time, Kai thought. I need to act like someone who just got their first taste of power—someone who is loud and a bit too arrogant.