Tsume remained frozen in place, his chest rising and falling with ragged, exhausted breaths. His eye was blown wide in absolute shock, locked onto me as if I were a ghost; he was completely bewildered by what had just happened. A moment later, Sensei, Saki, and Ging cautiously closed the distance between us, their weapons still drawn and their faces painted with the exact same profound confusion.
"What the—" Ging stammered, freezing as he took in the smoldering trench dividing the courtyard. "Where is he?" Sensei asked. His voice carried a sharp, deadly serious edge that we rarely ever heard. "He... he's gone, Sensei," I managed to say, coughing.
"You can still catch him!" Tsume shouted, his adrenaline still running entirely too high as he pointed at the wall. "He just vaulted over the gate! He can't be that fa—"
"He's long gone," Sensei stated flatly. The killing intent rolling off him vanished in an instant, replaced by total calm. "If he was anywhere near the sector, I'd already be tracking him." Tsume blinked, completely thrown off. "But... you just asked where he went!" Sensei's signature joking smirk crept back onto his face. "It was a joke, kid. I knew he was gone before I even opened the gates."
He lowered his sword, looking down at my bloody nose and pulsing veins. "Besides, hunting down an assassin can wait. We need to get you and Shujinko to the infirmary right now. Y'all look like you just went through hell and back."
Sensei closed the distance between us with slow, measured steps. He secured his blade in its holster and buried his hands in his pockets, his relaxed posture entirely at odds with the destruction around us.
Tsume, Saki, and Ging were talking animatedly in front of us, but Sensei intentionally blocked them out, kneeling right beside me. "You awakened your core... didn't you, kid?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
I wanted to avert my gaze, to hide the exhaustion etched into my face, but his stare demanded an answer. "Yeah," I whispered back, a heavy sigh escaping my lips. "I think."
He gave a slow, knowing nod and pushed himself back to his feet. He turned his attention toward the rest of the squad, but before he walked away, he paused, glancing back over his left shoulder.
"Considering what Tsume said about your eyes," Sensei murmured, his voice dropping even lower, "I think you must've awakened something else, too. Something rare. Something very ancient… I'll explain more to you when we get there." He didn't wait for my reaction, immediately raising his voice to address the squad. "Come on, let's get you guys to the infirmary."
Every muscle in my body throbbed in protest. "I-I can't move," I groaned, still slumped on the scorched cobblestone.
"You can. Now let's go," he replied flatly, offering his usual brand of tough love as he walked off to catch up with the others heading inside the Academy.
I sighed, the pounding headache still pulsing behind my eyes. With a loud, painful groan, I fought through the aching agony in my muscles and finally forced myself to stand.
We dragged our exhausted bodies through the loud, chaotic corridors of the Academy, finally collapsing onto two adjacent cots inside the pristine, white-walled infirmary. The sharp, clean scent of antiseptic mixed with soothing medicinal herbs filled the air, immediately grounding my frayed senses.
Before we could even settle into the crisp sheets, a woman with long brown hair, vibrant green eyes, and a calm, commanding presence stepped forward to greet us.
"I am Yunen Sogumi, your chief medical operator," she announced smoothly.
After we mumbled our weary thanks, Doctor Sogumi immediately went to work. It was as if she already knew exactly what was wrong; she expertly placed her hands over my chest, channeling a cooling energy to dull the fierce, lingering heat radiating from my newly awakened Spirit Core.
"It'll take a couple of hours for the heat to fully dissipate," she explained gently. "For now, it's best if someone maintains this hand placement on your chest so the pain doesn't become unbearable again."
I nodded weakly in agreement as the throbbing in my chest began to subside.
Sensei watched her with a grateful smile, his hands still shoved casually into his pockets. "Thank you again, Mrs. Sogumi. The kid had no idea what he was feeling," he said with a low chuckle.
She smiled back warmly, a playful glint in her green eyes. "Aww, it's no biggie, Mr. Motoke... Though, could I possibly get an autograph later?" She laughed, and the two of them began chuckling in unison.
Nearby, Saki stuck her tongue out in immediate disgust at the sudden flirting, prompting Ging to let out a quiet chuckle at her reaction.
Meanwhile, Doctor Sogumi's assistant moved over to the neighboring bed, efficiently setting to work treating the injuries Tsume was sullenly pointing out.
As Doctor Sogumi kept soothing the burning ache in my chest, Sensei Ayashi stepped closer to my cot, his usual laid-back demeanor completely replaced by a heavy seriousness.
"Alright, Shujinko," Ayashi said, his sharp eyes locking onto mine. "What exactly happened out there?"
I swallowed hard, the phantom images of the battle still fresh behind my eyelids. "Before the fire maniac attacked again, everything went completely black," I confessed, my voice quiet. "I was floating in a void, and I saw a vision of the future. I saw him use a Chap and completely incinerate us. When my eyes snapped open, reality changed. I could see transparent echoes of his movements a couple of seconds before he actually made them. That's how I saved Tsume."
Tsume froze, his pale eyes drilling into me with a toxic mix of shock and bitter envy, while Saki and Ging leaned forward, completely captivated by my words.
Sensei Ayashi let out a heavy sigh, finally pulling his hands from his pockets to address the whole squad.
"Listen up, because this is important," Ayashi began, his tone carrying an uncharacteristic weight. "You all know the basics: Boru is the refined spiritual energy produced by your Spirit Core. Think of the Spirit Core itself as a vital internal organ—it acts as your source, generator, battery, processor, and limiter all at once. When it awakens, it lets you generate Boru and shape it into your primary inherited Boru affinity.
There are different properties of Boru and various core stages... but we aren't going over the advanced stuff just yet."
He paused, letting the terminology sink into our heads.
"For most people, awakening a core simply gives them a baseline starting point to begin channeling their power." He shifted his sharp gaze directly back to me. "But your family line is a different story, Shujinko.
The Ryomen bloodline carries a rare, recessive spiritual mutation trait buried deep within their cores. If someone inherits that specific recessive trait from birth, the exact moment their Spirit Core violently sparks to life... it awakens Precognition alongside it. Perfect defense through foresight."
Ging let out a sharp gasp.
"Precognition?" Tsume muttered, his knuckles turning stark white as he violently gripped his hospital bedsheets.
"Yes," Ayashi confirmed, before locking eyes with me to deliver a harsh, absolute warning. "But do not get complacent, Shujinko. This power is legendary for a reason, and it is violently dangerous. Forcing a mortal mind to process future timelines strains the brain and the core to their absolute limits. If you push it too hard or overuse it, the cognitive backlash will permanently fracture your mind, blind you, or a permanently fractured Spirit Core. Keep that in mind before you try to play hero again."
He let out a softer breath, a faint glint of determination in his eyes. "For now, we'll keep working on your power so you will be able to use it to its fullest potential safely."
Me...? The words echoed in the silence of my mind. Out of my entire bloodline, I was the one chosen to inherit an ancient power that nobody else in my family got?
Sitting there on the clinic cot, a profound sense of shock washed over me as the terrifying weight of my own potential finally began to settle in.