The sky did not calm after training ended.
Clouds spiraled slowly around the fracture, glowing faintly like a wound refusing to close.
Arjun stood alone at the rooftop edge while the others rested behind him.
His hand still tingled.
Not pain.
Expectation.
Seraphine watched quietly from a distance.
You feel it trying to take shape, don't you?
Arjun nodded.
Something keeps forming… but I don't understand what it is.
She walked beside him.
Every awakened ability reaches a moment where power gains identity. When that happens, it receives a Name.
Kael stretched from the floor.
Wait, powers have names automatically?
Seraphine smirked.
Not automatically. The user defines the concept. Reality accepts it.
Lyra added softly.
A named ability stabilizes existence. Without a name, power remains incomplete.
Arjun looked at his glowing hand again.
So I just… name it?
No, Seraphine said. You discover what it already wants to be.
She stepped back.
Close your eyes again.
Arjun obeyed.
The city sounds faded.
Origin Flow surrounded him instantly this time, smoother than before. Golden lines appeared in his mind, spreading outward like roots.
But now he noticed something new.
Threads.
Countless faint threads connecting moments around him.
Movements slightly ahead of time.
Falling dust before it touched the ground.
Kael shifting weight before stepping.
The world felt… delayed.
Or maybe he was early.
His heartbeat slowed.
Boom.
The threads brightened.
Images flashed rapidly.
The Guardian's eyes.
The hunters' attacks.
The fracture widening.
Then a realization struck him.
His power wasn't about destruction.
It was about possibility.
Choosing outcomes before they fully existed.
Energy surged violently.
The rooftop trembled.
Golden light exploded outward again, but this time it didn't scatter randomly. It formed a circular field around him filled with glowing lines intersecting endlessly.
Mira shielded her eyes.
Arjun!
Seraphine smiled slightly.
It's happening.
Inside the light, Arjun spoke instinctively.
Not loudly.
But reality heard him.
I see the moment… before it happens.
The threads aligned.
Energy condensed into his palm, forming a small rotating symbol resembling an unfinished clock made of light.
The world slowed.
Wind froze midair.
A falling leaf stopped inches from the ground.
Kael blinked slowly.
Why… is everything moving weird?
Seraphine watched carefully.
Temporal perception… rare manifestation.
Arjun opened his eyes.
Golden light reflected within them.
The ability completed itself in his mind.
He understood.
He whispered the name.
First Step.
The energy stabilized instantly.
Light collapsed inward, leaving only a faint golden mark circling his wrist like a moving ring.
Time returned to normal.
Wind rushed again. The leaf hit the rooftop.
Everyone stared at him.
Mira stepped closer carefully.
What did you just do?
Arjun looked at his hand.
I didn't stop time… he said slowly.
I moved before it decided what happens.
Seraphine nodded approvingly.
A predictive synchronization ability. You perceive and act within probability gaps.
Kael raised both hands.
I understood none of that, but it looked insanely cool.
Lyra's expression remained serious.
Such abilities attract higher entities quickly.
As if summoned by her words, the fracture pulsed violently again.
A deep echo rolled across the sky — louder than before.
Not distant anymore.
Closer.
Seraphine's smile disappeared.
Training phase ends early.
She turned toward them.
We leave the academy tomorrow.
Mira frowned.
Leave?
Yes. The Accord headquarters is protected territory. Staying here is no longer safe.
Arjun looked up at the crack in the sky.
For a brief moment, he felt something looking directly back at him.
Curious.
Hungry.
Waiting.
His new ability pulsed gently, reacting like a warning.
The game had changed again.
And somewhere beyond reality, something ancient had just learned his power's name.