I took a breath. This was the moment where everything could go wrong. Where a single word could unravel months of careful deception and bring the VHC crashing down on my head.
But she'd trusted me with her rooftop. Her secret place. The girl beneath the mask.
"I have abilities that aren't on my official registration. The VHC thinks I'm a C-Rank with A-Rank potential. Thermal Incision. Basic pyrokinesis. The truth is more complicated."
"How much more complicated?"
"I absorbed an A-Rank entity's lightning attack during the tournament semifinals. I tanked void damage that should have erased me from existence. My physical stats exceed what any C-Rank should possess by a significant margin."
Reyna's eyes narrowed. Calculating. Reassessing everything she thought she knew.
"You're not C-Rank."
"No."
"What are you?"
"Something that shouldn't exist."
She leaned forward. Close enough that I could count the flecks of gold in her green eyes. "That's not an answer."
