One Month Later.
Things had been normal.
I hadn't told my parents about what I saw, and I didn't plan to. The visions. The fire. The people who weren't really there.
I kept it to myself.
I was ungrounded now. Free to see my friends again.
Tomorrow I was supposed to turn eleven.
I didn't feel excited.
School had started again, and I was allowed back.
In class, we were learning about sword chasing—the basics. This school was designed to prepare us for the real thing, teaching us everything we'd need to know until we were old enough to become chasers ourselves.
At lunch, Karr and I sat together, planning a trip to the geyser with some classmates.
Then Ace walked past.
He leaned in close and whispered, "Earthquake."
Before I knew what I was doing, I jabbed him in the gut.
Hard.
It wasn't me. Not really. Something else moved my arm—like I'd been forced.
Ace stumbled, then swung back and knocked me to the floor.
Karr shoved him. "What was that for?!"
Ace pushed Karr down, too. "Watch where you're going."
Anger boiled up inside me.
My left eye started seeing things again.
Ace glanced at me—then froze.
He looked at my eye, and something made him back off.
He didn't say another word. Just walked away.
I got up and helped Karr to his feet.
"Why did he back off?" Karr asked.
I muttered, "I think I know why."
The Geyser
Later that day, Karr, I, and a few classmates spent the afternoon at the geyser.
We ran around, threw water at each other, ate, and kept playing for about an hour.
It was the most normal I'd felt in weeks.
Practice
When I got home, I tried to figure out the eye on my own.
First attempt: I pressed on it. Nothing.
Second attempt: I opened it as wide as I could. Still nothing.
An hour passed. No progress.
Then I remembered something.
Every time the eye was activated, I was angry.
My father walked in.
He looked at me sitting on my bed and said, "What were you trying to do, Noah? Don't lie."
I denied it.
He got frustrated. Started yelling.
And that triggered it.
By the time he finished, I could see things on the edge of my vision again.
He noticed immediately.
"Why didn't you say anything, Noah? Why?"
"Because I wanted to learn on my own. That's why."
He sat down on the edge of my bed.
"Let me tell you a story."
The Story
"A long time ago, there was a powerful spell caster named Mazza. He was the mightiest in the land—stronger than any chaser who ever lived."
I listened.
"One day, he lost someone he loved. And it angered him. Drove him past the point of no return."
My father's voice grew quieter.
"He used that anger to power himself. But he fell into a hole he couldn't climb out of. He relied on it so much... he became anger itself."
I looked up at him. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I don't want you to make the same mistake." He met my eyes. "Don't rely on anger for power, Noah. I trust you'll listen."
I nodded.
He stood and walked out.
The next morning, I woke up from a nightmare.
I had been standing in a field of grass.
And darkness was creeping toward me. Slowly. Steadily.
I woke before it reached me.
But it made me wonder—where did this power come from?
A bang on the door.
I went to answer it.
Karr and Aubrey stood outside.
"Hello, guys."
They both shouted at once: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOAH!"
I jumped.
Aubrey hugged me.
I wrapped my arms around her—but my grip was too tight.
"Ouch."
"Oh—I'm sorry, Aubrey."
She laughed. "It's fine. I forgot I make you nervous."
I covered my face with my hand.
They both laughed harder.
"I don't really plan on doing much today," I said. "Maybe just train with my sword."
They exchanged a look.
Karr tilted his head. "Really? You don't seem excited about your birthday this year."
I hesitated.
"I want to tell you guys, something."
I told them everything.
The break. The visions. The out-of-body experience. The black mist. The burning in my eye.
They were shocked.
I explained that only my left eye had been affected so far. The right one hadn't changed.
Over the next two weeks, they tried to study it with me. Watched for patterns. Took notes.
Only one thing triggered it consistently.
Anger.
The Right Eye
Then one morning, I woke up, and my eye was already active.
But it wasn't my left eye this time.
It was my right.
And I saw something different.
Reversed lighting. Outlines of living things—plants, animals, people—glowing faintly against a dark backdrop.
It was like seeing life itself.
But it drained me.
My vision blurred.
My body went weak.
And I blacked out.