The training field stretched endlessly in every direction.
A vast sea of green grass swayed gently under the afternoon wind, the sky above wide and clear. From a distance, the place looked peaceful almost like a quiet countryside.
But at the center of the field, someone looked anything but peaceful.
Denver lay flat on the ground, her body sprawled across the grass. Her clothes clung to her skin, soaked with sweat, and her chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to catch her breath. Every muscle in her body burned.
Above her, the sun shone mercilessly, its light reflecting off the thin layer of sweat covering her face.
A few steps away stood Dr. Kiara, holding a sleek tablet in one hand. Her fingers moved across the screen with practiced speed as she scanned through lines of data. Her usual playful demeanor was gone her expression now was sharp and focused, her brows slightly furrowed as she analyzed the results.
Beside her stood Agent Kael.
Unlike Denver, he looked perfectly composed. His arms were crossed over his chest as he watched the exhausted girl on the ground, his expression calm but unreadable.
After a moment of silence, he let out a deep sigh. Then he stepped forward.
"Let's end our session today," Kael said, his voice steady. "We're not getting any results."
Dr. Kiara didn't respond. Her eyes remained glued to the tablet, scanning through the readings as if hoping something anything might appear.
Meanwhile, Kael approached Denver. He stopped beside her and looked down.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Denver didn't answer right away.
She was lying on her back, one arm thrown across her eyes to block the blinding sunlight. Sweat dripped from her temples and ran down the side of her face into the grass.
Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe normally.
"I-I… can't anymore…" she gasped between breaths, her voice sounded weak, strained.
"It's… been three days…" She clenched her teeth in frustration. "Why… is my curse not working?"
Kael's expression didn't change.
"Get up. We're leaving," he said flatly. "Session's over."
Denver slowly removed the arm covering her eyes. The sudden burst of sunlight made her squint painfully. She raised a hand to shield her vision as she forced her exhausted body to move.
Planting her hands on the ground, she pushed herself upright with effort. Her legs trembled slightly. Before she could fully stand, a hand appeared in front of her.
Without saying anything, Kael offered his hand.
Denver grabbed it, and with his help she pulled herself up onto her feet. For a brief moment she swayed slightly, still dizzy from exhaustion.
"I don't get it…" she muttered, running a tired hand through her damp hair.
"Why won't it work?"
She let out a long, frustrated sigh.
Nearby, Dr. Kiara continued tapping rapidly on her tablet, searching through diagnostic readings and monitoring data. Her eyes moved quickly across the screen, scanning for irregularities, miscalculations or anything that might explain the problem.
But there was nothing, no errors, no anomalies. Everything looked perfectly normal. Which only made the situation more confusing. Just as she was about to run another scan a familiar voice reached her ears.
"Hey! How's your research going, Kiara?"
Kiara froze. Her shoulders stiffened immediately. Both Denver and Kael turned their heads toward the voice.
Dr. Kiara slowly looked up. Standing a short distance behind her was another figure in a white lab coat. The moment Denver saw him, something about him felt oddly familiar.
It was Dr. Robert, he looked exactly the same as ever, white lab coat neatly worn over his clothes and that irritatingly smug smile plastered across his face like it belonged there permanently.
He walked toward them casually, hands tucked into his coat pockets. Kiara's face twisted into a pained expression the moment she saw him.
"Oh, it's been fine, Dr. Robert," she replied dryly.
"Unfortunately you came."
Robert placed a hand dramatically over his chest.
"C'mon, Kiara," he said with exaggerated hurt. "Don't look at me like that. You're hurting my feelings."
Despite his words, the amused grin on his face didn't disappear. He stepped closer to her and leaned slightly forward, peering at the tablet in her hands.
"Want me to help you out?" he asked lightly, his tone teasing, clearly trying to provoke her.
Kiara didn't even hesitate.
"That's very kind of you, Dr. Robert," she replied sweetly.
Then her smile sharpened.
"But you see, I'm a strong independent woman. I can handle things on my own."
She tilted her head slightly. "Unlike someone."
Robert chuckled under his breath.
"Ehehe… how funny," he said. "I'm here trying to lend a helping hand, and this is how you treat me?"
Kiara slowly turned her head toward him. Her gaze was sharp. Sharp enough that even Dr. Robert visibly stiffened under it.
"Oh," she said calmly. "And did I ask for your help?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"I guess I didn't."
While the two doctors continued their verbal battle, Agent Kael and Denver stood a few steps away, watching the scene unfold with the quiet resignation of people who had already seen it far too many times.
At this point, it almost felt like part of their daily routine.
For the past three days, Dr. Robert had been showing up constantly. The moment he realized that Dr. Kiara was struggling to fully analyze Denver's curse, he had begun appearing more and more frequently, sometimes offering "help," but mostly just interfering.
If their progress had been slow before, it was even slower now.
Denver folded her arms and tilted her head slightly as she watched the two doctors argue.
"Doesn't that guy ever get tired?" she muttered. "How many times has he come over here today? Twenty times?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on the distant argument, his expression calm and oddly used to the chaos.
"…Probably more," he replied flatly.
Denver sighed.
Just as she was about to complain again, her gaze drifted past the two arguing doctors.
Two figures were approaching from across the field.
At first they were just silhouettes against the bright grass, but as they got closer their forms became clearer a woman wearing the same dark coat as Agent Kael, and beside her walked a small boy.
The moment Denver recognized them, her mood brightened instantly.
"Look, Kael," she said, nudging him slightly with her elbow. "They're here."
Kael followed her gaze.
Agent Mira was walking toward them with her usual lively energy, the long coat swaying lightly behind her with each step. Next to her was the young boy who had been visiting along with her these past few days.
While Dr. Robert had made it his personal hobby to bother Dr. Kiara, Agent Mira and the boy had also been stopping by regularly during Denver's training sessions.
Over the past three days, Denver had slowly managed to befriend the kid.
To her surprise, the boy was incredibly gentle and soft-spoken nothing like his little brother. He had a calm, polite way of speaking that made it easy to talk to him, and it didn't take long before the two of them became comfortable around each other.
Well…
Until the moment Denver casually revealed that she was actually a dude. That had certainly created an awkward moment. Still, the kid had taken it far better than expected. Now the two of them approached with bright expressions.
"Hey! Denver!" Agent Mira called out loudly, waving her hand enthusiastically in the air.
Denver waved back immediately. Kael, on the other hand, simply watched with a relaxed expression, his hands resting in the pockets of his coat.
Mira and the boy broke into a light run as they got closer, their footsteps rustling the tall grass.
When they finally reached the group, Mira stopped in front of them, slightly out of breath but still smiling brightly.
"So!" she said eagerly. "How's the diagnostic test going?"
Kael answered before Denver could.
"Same as always."
His tone was calm, almost bored.
Denver groaned dramatically beside him.
"It's even worse today," she complained. "Agent Kael woke me up in the middle of the night just to do some weird exercise."
She pointed accusingly at him.
"And Dr. Kiara just stood there laughing the whole time instead of doing her job."
From across the field, Kiara's laughter suddenly rang out again right in the middle of her argument with Dr. Robert.
Kael didn't even react, he simply glanced at Denver.
"You're exaggerating."
Denver looked offended.
"No I'm not!" she shot back.
Denver straightened slightly, as if something inside her had just reset.
She cleared her throat softly.
"Ahem…"
Then she looked down at the young boy beside Mira.
"So… how was your session, Noah?" she asked casually.
The boy flinched a little when his name was called. Noah looked at her for a second before quickly glancing away, scratching the back of his head in a shy, awkward manner.
"It was… alright, I guess," he said with a small, uncertain chuckle.
His voice carried a bit of doubt.
Agent Mira gently placed her hand on top of Noah's head and began ruffling his hair affectionately, though the smile on her face looked slightly awkward.
"Yeah," she said with a sigh. "It was alright… if you ignore the part where he almost accidentally blew Dr. Robert into pieces."
Denver blinked.
Mira shrugged lightly.
"But regardless," she continued, "his diagnostic tests will be over soon."
Denver frowned deeply.
"Lucky kid."
Meanwhile, Noah puffed up his chest slightly, a hint of determination lighting up his eyes.
"And then when I'm out of here I'm going to beat some bad guys," he declared confidently.
Denver stared at him for a moment.
'I wonder…' she thought quietly to herself.
'If my little brother awakened as a gift user… would he become like this kid?'
The thought lingered longer than she expected.
As she looked at Noah, she felt a strange sense of familiarity almost like a quiet connection between them. Maybe it was because they both possessed something beyond ordinary humans. Or maybe it was something simpler than that.
Maybe they had simply grown comfortable around each other. Whatever the reason was, Denver found herself smiling faintly.
Not far away, Dr. Kiara was still staring at the tablet in her hands, tapping the screen rapidly as she reviewed data. Dr. Robert stood beside her, continuing his usual attempt to bother her.
"Hey, Kiara," he said casually. "It's been a while. Why don't we take a break and spend some free time together?"
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Maybe at the coffee shop nearby."
Then he quickly added,
"I-I'm not asking you out or anything. Just… a hangout between colleagues."
Dr. Kiara didn't respond immediately. She didn't even look at him. Her eyes remained glued to the tablet.
Then suddenly her face brightened and a smile slowly spread across her lips.
"Yes."
Without another word, she turned around and began walking quickly toward Kael and Denver.
Dr. Robert remained standing there.
Frozen.
Dazed.
His brain clearly struggling to process what just happened.
'Did she just say yes? W-wait…'
His eyes widened.
'Why is she walking away so fast? Is she… shy about it?'
Panic flickered across his face.
Then he hurried after her.
"Hey! Kiara!" he called out while jogging toward her. "What about tomorrow? Ten in the morning?"
Kiara didn't even slow down.
"Huh?" she replied flatly without looking back. "What are you talking about? Not right now. I'm busy."
Dr. Robert blinked in confusion.
Meanwhile, Denver noticed Kiara approaching them. She tilted her head slightly, puzzled. Before she could ask anything...
Kiara suddenly grabbed Denver's arm. Her smile was wide excited and almost mischievous.
"Oh," she said brightly.
"I found the problem."