Four days had passed since Kanetaro began his relentless training under Energy, Bull, and Puma, and in those four days he had learned a simple but humiliating truth—power was not impressed by enthusiasm. The Realm of Energy shimmered endlessly around him, vast violet currents flowing like disciplined rivers beneath a sky that pulsed with restrained infinity. There was no sun, yet everything glowed. No wind, yet everything moved. Energy existed everywhere here, structured, obedient, aware.
Kanetaro stood at the center of that brilliance, breathing steadily despite the ache in his limbs. His oversized tunic hung loosely over his frame, long sleeves partially covering his hands. Puma had insisted on the clothing. "Loose fabric hides intention," he had explained in his smooth, quiet voice. At first Kanetaro thought it made him look ridiculous. Now he understood it concealed the moment muscle tightened before a strike. It blurred prediction.
Above him floated Energy, upside down as usual, aura flickering lazily as if gravity were optional. "Four days," Energy remarked while spinning once in midair. "You're still functional. Honestly? Character development."
Kanetaro ignored him and extended his hand. Violet particles gathered toward his palm as he activated Energy's Forge. This time there was no rush. No dramatic flourish. He compressed the current carefully, layering density with controlled will instead of stubborn pride. A blade formed—sleek, stable, humming softly with restrained force.
It did not explode.
Energy leaned closer, inspecting it critically. "Structural integrity achieved. We love maturity."
Bull stood a short distance away, arms crossed, posture immovable as carved stone. Puma leaned against a floating shard of hardened energy, silent and observant.
Without warning, Bull moved.
The punch came direct and unforgiving.
Kanetaro dissolved instantly into liquid, his body collapsing into a controlled surge that splashed across the glowing surface. Bull's fist passed through empty space. Instead of reforming immediately, Kanetaro flowed past Bull's stance and circled behind him before solidifying again. He inhaled sharply, aligned his spine, anchored his breath, and condensed his mass deliberately.
He struck.
The impact echoed sharply through the realm.
Bull's stance shifted half a step. The ground beneath him cracked faintly.
Energy slowly rotated upright. "Wait," he said with exaggerated seriousness, "did the mountain just reconsider life choices?"
Bull glanced down at the fractured surface beneath his heel and gave a small nod. "Better. Still incomplete."
Kanetaro exhaled through clenched teeth. "Incomplete how?"
"You shift weight," Bull replied evenly. "Not full mass. Your arm commits. Your body observes. They must agree."
Energy folded his arms. "Translation: stop throwing aesthetic punches. Start throwing consequences."
Kanetaro reset his stance. "Again."
Bull attacked with increased force.
This time Kanetaro shifted into gas. His solid frame dispersed into shimmering violet vapor an instant before impact. The strike passed harmlessly through him. For a brief moment, he felt untouchable—free of density, beyond force.
Then the surrounding current nudged him slightly off balance.
Puma stepped forward and casually flicked his sleeve. The subtle pressure difference scattered Kanetaro further, dispersing his form unevenly.
Energy laughed. "Imagine being countered by oxygen. Historic."
Kanetaro focused. Instead of resisting blindly, he adjusted density pockets within his dispersed state, anchoring sections of mass and guiding himself deliberately through the current. He moved forward—not drifting now, but steering.
Puma vanished.
A strike came from the left.
Kanetaro reformed into solid mid-motion, sleeves shifting loosely around his wrists, and blocked partially. The force still pushed him back, but he remained upright.
Puma reappeared several steps away. "Gas form is not invisibility," he said calmly. "It is vulnerability shaped as freedom. Control decides which."
Kanetaro nodded, breathing heavier now.
Bull stepped forward again. "Mass transfer."
Condensed bands of energy snapped around Kanetaro's wrists and ankles. The sudden weight nearly forced him to one knee.
Energy floated nearby, chin resting on his palm. "You're about to question your life choices. Just saying."
A floating slab of hardened energy formed beneath Kanetaro's feet, hovering unsteadily.
"Punch without falling," Bull instructed.
Kanetaro steadied himself. He inhaled deeply, anchoring his spine, aligning core and breath. Bull lunged.
Kanetaro threw the punch with full commitment.
The slab shattered beneath him.
He fell.
Energy clapped slowly. "You destroyed your own support system again. Symbolism level: advanced."
Kanetaro groaned and pushed himself upright. "I felt it that time."
"You felt imbalance," Bull corrected.
Hours blurred into repetition. Punch. Fall. Adjust. Try again. Each attempt refined a fraction of understanding. When he hesitated, the recoil punished him. When he aligned correctly, the impact felt different—denser, quieter, heavier.
Finally, he landed a strike that forced Bull back a full step.
The ground cracked sharply beneath Bull's heel.
Silence settled across the training field.
Bull gave a single nod. "Progress."
Energy floated down to eye level with Kanetaro. "Okay. That one? That had intention. Don't let it inflate you."
Before Kanetaro could respond, Puma stepped forward. "Unpredictability," he said simply.
Puma attacked without rhythm. One strike slow and obvious, the next immediate and hidden. Kanetaro turned liquid to evade the first, gas to avoid the second, solid to counter the third. His oversized sleeves concealed the exact moment he condensed mass for a strike.
Puma smirked faintly when Kanetaro's punch nearly grazed him. "Better."
Energy watched with mild amusement. "You're less embarrassing now. That's huge."
They continued exchanging rapid transitions—solid to liquid, liquid to gas, gas back to solid—each state change sharper than before. Liquid allowed repositioning. Gas granted evasion. Solid delivered consequence. The key was not switching out of panic, but out of calculation.
When they finally paused, Kanetaro dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
Energy drifted closer, aura dimming slightly as his tone shifted from playful to thoughtful. "There's something you should understand," he said. "You're not training in isolation. There are others."
Kanetaro looked up. "Other Omnipotents."
Energy nodded. "Yes."
He hovered upright now, gaze drifting toward the far edge of his domain. "Time is always watching."
Kanetaro stiffened slightly. "Watching?"
Energy smiled faintly. "Relax. He's my closest friend."
Bull and Puma remained silent.
"Time doesn't interfere," Energy continued. "He observes. Measures. Records. While I shape flow, he ensures sequence. We balance each other."
"Then why doesn't he help?" Kanetaro asked.
"Because neutrality is his role," Energy replied calmly. "He believes interference disrupts growth. I believe growth sometimes needs pressure."
Energy's expression softened slightly. "We've stood together before. Against things you're not ready to understand yet. But Time will not step in for you. He will only witness."
Kanetaro absorbed that quietly.
Energy gestured toward the distant left boundary of the realm, where controlled currents faded into thin instability. "Beyond this stability lies the outskirts. I don't fully govern that region."
"Why?" Kanetaro asked.
Energy's eyes narrowed slightly. "Because power unchecked becomes corruption. Even mine. The outskirts exist to remind me of restraint."
Puma crossed his arms. "And beyond the outskirts lies the Realm of the Spark."
Kanetaro looked between them. "Guarded."
"Very," Bull confirmed.
Energy's grin returned faintly. "You're not ready for that yet. But you're less fragile than you were four days ago."
Kanetaro stood slowly, adjusting his stance once more. His breathing steadied. His sleeves shifted subtly in the current.
"Again?" he asked.
Bull stepped forward.
Puma vanished.
Energy floated upward, watching with quiet interest.
Far beyond the visible horizon, where perception thinned and causality layered itself in perfect sequence, Time observed silently. He did not interfere. He did not judge. He simply watched as Energy's chosen student moved through gas, liquid, and solid with growing intention.
For the first time since training began, Kanetaro's transitions were not panic. They were decisions.
And in a realm governed by power, that difference mattered.