Ziraiah smirked, fingers resting lightly on the control dial.

  “Trying to be a man, huh?”

  She twisted it.

  WHOOOM—

  The weight of a hundred billion G crashed down.

  Valerius grunted as his knees buckled, one leg hitting the floor. His body trembled, sweat already rolling down his temple.

  Ziraiah’s voice cut through the intercom, teasing.

  “I don't even know how high this thing goes. I wonder how this room can even withstand it. Based on how strong you were on the island… I expected more, Val.”

  Valerius’s teeth clenched, but then—slowly—he rose. His body straightened with deliberate calm until he stood tall again, steady as stone. His voice was low and cutting:

  “Who exactly are you looking down on?”

  Ziraiah blinked, startled. “You were clearly struggling just now. What’d you do?”

  Valerius bent down and lifted a barbell. He spun it once through the air, then caught it with ease. His voice was casual.

  “Bravo. It makes me stronger. This is nothing compared to the training I did for the past two years. If it wasn’t for body reconstruction, I’d be dead. We didn’t have fancy gravity manipulation rooms…” His eyes hardened. “…so I had to pull mountains every morning.”

  He tossed the barbell aside and stepped onto the treadmill. At first he jogged normally. Then faster. Faster still—until his arms and legs blurred into nothing but streaks. Sonic booms cracked like gunfire in continuous bursts, shaking the walls. His body vibrated at hypersonic velocity.

  The treadmill’s voice called out speeds in cold mechanical tones:

  “Mach 10. Mach 20. Mach 50. Mach 80. Mach 100.”

  The air rattled with shockwaves.

  Andrea’s voice rang from the doorway. She entered with Eliana at her side.

  “Why are you showing him around and leaving her behind?”

  Ziraiah cut her eyes sideways. “Because you took her away.”

  Andrea ignored her, folding her arms. Her lips curved faintly.

  “Impressive. A hundred billion Gs.”

  Eliana’s wide eyes swept the chamber. “What is this place?”

  Ziraiah’s pride glowed. “This is where Pungence trained us. The entire room is enchanted. You should try it out one day.”

  Eliana breathed, almost in awe. “This place looks so advanced…”

  “Yep,” Ziraiah said with a grin. “It’s magic and technology woven together.”

  Eliana turned her gaze to Valerius, who blurred across the treadmill in invisible strides. “What is that?”

  “A treadmill,” Ziraiah said smoothly. “You run in place.”

  Eliana tilted her head. “…Is that Lerius?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Ziraiah laughed. “That’s what he tells people to call him. Don’t ask me why—Val is way better. Isn’t it, Eryndor?”

  “I would much prefer his appellation in its entirety—unabridged, in all its dignity,” Eryndor remarked dryly, adjusting his sleeve.

  Ziraiah’s lips curved mischievously. Without warning, she twisted the dial again—hard.

  The chamber roared. Gravity spiked to 1.4 trillion Gs.

  Valerius’s body slammed downward. The treadmill spat him off like a missile, hurling him into the reinforced wall with a bone-rattling CRACK.

  He groaned, peeling himself up from the dented surface.

  “You… bitch.”

  “Language, Valerius,” Eryndor admonished coolly, his hands clasped behind his back. “Must you forever resort to such vulgarity?”

  Ziraiah burst into laughter, cutting the gravity back down. “Come on, let’s go see the rest.”

  ---

  They wound their way deeper through the estate until they came to a massive chamber of glass and light. An enormous aquarium stretched wall to wall, filled with strange glowing fish that shimmered in colors Valerius had never seen.

  From there, they stepped into a darker chamber, dominated by a colossal glowing orb that pulsed with faint waves of energy.

  Valerius squinted. “What the hell is that?”

  Ziraiah’s voice hushed, reverent. “That’s the core that powers the barrier around Heful.”

  Valerius blinked. “And you keep it here? Shouldn’t something like that be under top-level security?”

  Ziraiah smirked. “No one’s stupid enough to break into Pungence’s house. And crime in Heful? Zero percent. Everyone knows if they try anything, Pungence will catch them.”

  She tapped her chin. “I think he has some kind of perception ability. Way stronger than Search.”

  “Search?” Valerius echoed.

  “See?” Ziraiah grinned. “This is why you should go to school.”

  Eryndor inclined his head in measured thought. “I have verified as much myself. Once, I contended with a Bravo wielder who was bereft of sight.”

  Valerius’s eyes sharpened. “I know what you mean. We have it too. It’s called Sentinel. Some are better than others at it.”

  Eryndor’s emerald eyes glimmered. “I harbour a multitude of inquiries regarding Bravo—questions to which Pungence obstinately withholds his answers. You, however, shall satiate my curiosity.”

  Ziraiah folded her arms. “How good are you at it?”

  Valerius’s gaze hardened. He spoke evenly.

  “At my current level, I can feel what everyone in this city is doing.”

  Ziraiah gawked. “Val, this city is over four hundred kilometers across.”

  “You doubt me?” Valerius said quietly. “Right now, twenty thousand children are playing outside. I can feel their heartbeats. In the last five seconds alone, over five hundred people have died.”

  Eliana swallowed. “Can you… tell what color things are too?”

  Valerius raised a brow. “Can you tell a color just by touching it?”

  “…No.”

  “Exactly. Sentinel is like that. Think of it as the sense of touch, expanded and multiplied a thousand times. With it, you don’t need sight. You only need awareness. The only thing it doesn’t give you…” His eyes narrowed. “…is color.”

  Ziraiah leaned back against the glass, a sly grin tugging her lips.

  “So, Eryndor… think you can beat Val right now?”

  Eryndor’s lips curved into the faintest smile. “Valerius would, no doubt, provide me with a worthy challenge. However...would I be Triumphant? Undoubtedly.”

  Valerius turned, brow arching. “Oh, really?”

  Eryndor’s voice remained calm, yet honed like a blade. “All you possess is brute force. I, however, marshal a vast repertoire of spells. I can compel even the very air you draw into your lungs to yield to my dominion.”

  Valerius smirked. “I can hold my breath for days, Eryndor.”

  Eryndor’s tone descended into shadow. “And pray tell—what remains of your vaunted strength when your lungs are utterly bereft of air?”

  Before Valerius could reply, Ziraiah gasped.

  “Wait—days? Damn, Val, how’d that even happen?”

  Valerius shrugged. “Part of my training.”

  Eliana stared. “But… days? That’s insane.”

  Valerius grinned. “My lungs can take in a ton of air. Like—a lot. A lot.”

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  Ziraiah’s eyes lit with mischief. “Really? Then I should be able to do it too, right? It’s not a Bravo thing?”

  “Nope.”

  “Good.”

  She inhaled. Fwooooom.

  The entire chamber groaned as Ziraiah sucked in nearly all the air around them. Pressure shifted violently. Eliana’s eyes widened—she had to cast Muscle Augmentation just to withstand the crushing pull.

  Andrea stormed into the room just in time to smack Ziraiah squarely between the shoulder blades.

  WHOOOOOSH!

  The air blasted out of her lungs in a violent torrent, slamming everyone into the walls.

  “Crazy girl!” Andrea scolded, glaring as her hair whipped around her face. “Do you want us to suffocate?!”

  Ziraiah wheezed, then grinned sheepishly. “S-sorry, Aunty Ann. But that was awesome. I didn’t even know I could do that! Wanna try, Eryndor?”

  “…No.”

  Ziraiah pouted.

  Eliana, meanwhile, was quietly reeling. How can they do things like this naturally? Without magic augmentation, we’re basically normal people… and yet, they can do things that defy reason.

  She bit her lip, watching Valerius’s relaxed grin. What are they, really?

  ---

  Later, as they returned upstairs, they spotted Irisa storming out of a room, slamming the door behind her. Her face was pale with anger, silver eyes sharp.

  Valerius stepped toward her. “What happened?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said curtly. She shoved a card into his hand. “I’m leaving. I’ll be headed to Mazorik once it opens in four months. If you want to have some fun, explore the world—call me.”

  Without another word, she walked out of the house, her silver hair vanishing into the setting sun.

  Ziraiah blinked. “What was that about?”

  Valerius slipped the card into his pocket. “No idea.”

  ---

  That night, the house was quiet.

  Eliana stood in the living room, clad in a flowing white gown. The moonlight streamed through the wide windows, glinting off the pendant she clasped tightly in her hands. Her expression was troubled.

  A soft voice broke the silence.

  “Hey.”

  She jumped with a startled cry. “Aaah! Don’t sneak up on me like that, Lerius!”

  Valerius leaned casually against the window frame, the moonlight spilling over him. He was shirtless, his frame carved in sharp lines — muscle defined like sculpture, his abs ridged and gleaming faintly under the silver glow. His green eyes caught the light, glimmering like emerald fire as they fixed on her.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asked, his voice low and even.

  Eliana’s breath hitched. She turned quickly toward the glass, but not before a flush crept across her cheeks. Her fingers tightened around the pendant at her throat, betraying the heat rising in her chest.

  “Nothing,” she said quickly. “Just… what Uncle Pungence said.”

  He stepped beside her, looking out into the stars. His eyes narrowed. “Is it about the spirit energy inside you?”

  Eliana froze. “…How did you—”

  “I deal with spirits all the time,” Valerius said evenly. “I know their energy when I feel it. So why’d you do it?”

  She hesitated, hands tightening around her pendant. “…Now you’re the third person who knows.”

  “Don’t worry,” Valerius said, his voice calm. “I won’t tell anyone.”

  Eliana’s gaze lingered on the necklace around Valerius’s neck. The pendant gleamed green, an inscription etched into it in flowing Synelee script.

  “That’s a beautiful necklace,” she said softly, leaning closer. Her eyes narrowed. “That symbol… it looks just like the ones carved into the great stone in our castle.”

  Valerius’s hand rose instinctively, fingers brushing over the pendant. “I’ve had this for as long as I can remember,” he said, his tone quiet but steady. “I’ve been through hell and back, but somehow this thing hasn’t taken a single scratch.”

  His eyes drifted to the piece resting against her chest. A faint smile tugged at his lips. “You have a pretty nice one yourself.”

  Eliana’s gaze dropped as she held her pendant. “I told my father I could take care of myself. But on that island, I realized… everyone was far stronger than me. Then we met her—the spirit. She told me Bravo wielders were headed for us, that we wouldn’t stand a chance. So… she offered me power. A contract.”

  Valerius turned his head slightly. “In exchange for what?”

  Eliana’s throat tightened. “…She asked for one day. In my body.”

  Valerius exhaled, turning away. His voice was edged with certainty.

  “Of course. They can’t step into our realm unless summoned. But with a contract and a host… they bypass that.”

  Valerius’s eyes glinted. He leaned close to Eliana and whispered a single word:

  “Sithedra.”

  BOOOOOM!

  A portal ripped into existence, the air bending, sparking with violet fissures. From it stepped a towering figure — thirteen feet tall, draped in a perfectly tailored suit. The being was sleek and feline, its fur an intricate weave of crimson and midnight black. A long tufted tail swayed lazily behind him, and sharp amber eyes burned with predatory elegance.

  Sethedra tilted his head, his high-pitched voice cutting the silence.

  “…What?”

  Across the estate, in his quarters, Pungence woke up from slumber. His eyes opened instantly. He felt it — the ripple of a foreign presence. He did not move, not yet. He simply observed.

  Valerius turned back to Eliana. “What’s the name of your spirit?”

  Eliana hesitated, then spoke softly. “…Selestine.”

  Valerius faced Sethedra. “Do you know a spirit by that name?”

  Sethedra’s tail flicked once. “So because I’m a spirit, I’m supposed to know all spirits? Do you know all mortals?”

  Valerius blinked, then shrugged. “…Fair point.”

  Eliana circled him curiously. “So this is your ability?”

  “Yeah,” Valerius said casually. He looked back at Sethedra. “So… do you know her?”

  Sethedra’s amber eyes narrowed. “…No.”

  “I see.”

  Valerius inhaled deeply. “Then… Fenry. Lorde. Avostigo.”

  BANG-BANG-BANG!

  Three more portals banged open in rapid succession. From them emerged spirits one after the other, each heavier than the last.

  Lorde — a golden, translucent figure, fourteen feet tall, scoffed the moment he appeared. “Well, well. Still alive, huh? Honestly thought you’d be dead by now.” He circled Valerius with lazy arrogance.

  Fenry — a storm made flesh, fifteen feet of roiling cloud and lightning, his voice a rumble of thunder. “Hmph. Surprised you survived that beating, boy.”

  And Avostigo — seventeen feet of leonine muscle, his mane glowing faintly like molten gold. He cracked his knuckles with a grin. “Pay up, Lorde.”

  ---

  To Be Continued....