Theo's POV
The field was too loud.
Not in sound—
But in attention.
Eyes lingered longer than before.
Whispers followed movements.
Even when no one spoke—
I could feel it.
Watching.
Waiting.
Measuring.
"…Yeah, no," I muttered under my breath.
This wasn't the place.
Not today.
Not when everything still felt… unstable.
I turned without saying anything.
Ignoring the looks.
Ignoring the questions.
And walked.
Past the main field.
Past the usual training areas.
Toward the far end of the academy grounds.
Where fewer students went.
Where things were quieter.
Simpler.
The isolated training section.
Rows of practice dummies stood in place.
Worn.
Marked by repeated use.
No crowd.
No pressure.
Just space.
That was enough.
I stepped forward.
Stopping a few meters away from one of the dummies.
Breathing steady.
Mind clear.
No distractions.
No expectations.
Just practice.
"…Start simple," I muttered.
Because after everything—
I needed control.
Not power.
I let my awareness expand.
Slow.
Measured.
The air responded faintly.
Moisture gathering.
Not forced.
Not rushed.
Just enough.
I guided it forward.
Condensing it into form.
A sphere.
Small.
Compact.
A water ball.
It hovered in front of me.
Stable.
Clean.
No shaking.
No distortion.
Better than before.
"…Good," I said quietly.
Then—
With a subtle push—
It shot forward.
Striking the dummy.
A dull impact.
Water splashed—
But the core of the strike held.
Leaving a visible mark.
Not deep.
But clear.
I watched it for a second.
Analyzing.
Not enough force.
But the structure—
Better.
"…Again."
I formed another.
Faster this time.
Less hesitation.
The sphere condensed—
Denser—
Then fired.
Impact.
Stronger.
The dummy shifted slightly.
A small improvement.
But still—
Not enough.
"…Multi next."
I adjusted my stance slightly.
This required more control.
More division of focus.
Instead of one point—
Multiple.
I let the moisture gather again—
But didn't condense it all at once.
Separated it.
Small clusters forming in different positions.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Floating around me.
Unstable at first—
Then steady.
Multi Water Ball.
They hovered in place.
Waiting.
I held them there.
Testing control.
Maintaining structure.
No rush.
No unnecessary movement.
Just—
Balance.
"…Go."
They launched.
One after another.
Not at once—
But in sequence.
Controlled.
Each striking the dummy from different angles.
Impact.
Impact.
Impact.
The dummy shook more this time.
Multiple hits stacking.
Better.
More effective.
I lowered my hand slightly.
Breathing steady.
This—
Was working.
Not perfect.
But consistent.
And consistency—
Was what I needed.
I reset my stance.
Preparing again.
One more time.
This time—
Faster.
Cleaner.
No hesitation.
The air responded immediately.
Moisture gathering—
Splitting—
Forming multiple spheres again.
But—
Something felt different.
Subtle.
Almost unnoticeable.
At first.
The water didn't feel as light.
Not unstable—
Just…
Heavier.
My focus sharpened.
"…What…"
The spheres hovered—
But their movement felt tighter.
Denser.
Like something was pressing inward.
I didn't stop.
Didn't break the flow.
Just observed.
Carefully.
Then—
I released them.
They launched.
Faster than before.
Sharper.
Hitting the dummy—
Harder.
The impact sound changed.
Deeper.
More force behind it.
The dummy jerked back slightly.
More than it should have.
I froze.
"…That wasn't…"
I hadn't increased the output.
I hadn't changed the structure.
So why—
A faint pressure spread through my chest.
There.
That feeling again.
That pull.
Stronger this time.
Not overwhelming—
But impossible to ignore.
I inhaled slowly.
Trying to stabilize.
Trying to understand.
The air around me shifted again.
But this time—
It didn't respond the same way.
The moisture gathered—
But something else moved with it.
Something unseen.
Something that didn't flow—
But pulled.
My breath hitched slightly.
"…No…"
The water in front of me condensed again—
But not like before.
The surface trembled slightly.
Not unstable—
But… distorted.
Like the space inside it wasn't normal.
I didn't release it.
Didn't move.
Just watched.
Because this—
Wasn't something I controlled.
The pressure in my chest deepened.
That presence—
It wasn't quiet anymore.
It wasn't waiting.
It was reacting.
The sphere tightened—
Shrinking slightly—
Becoming denser.
Heavier.
Then—
Without me giving the command—
It fired.
Fast.
Faster than anything I had done before.
It struck the dummy—
And—
For a split second—
Everything warped.
The impact didn't just hit.
It pulled.
The surface of the dummy compressed inward—
Like something was dragging it from the inside.
Then—
It snapped back.
Leaving a deeper mark than anything I had done so far.
Silence.
I stood there—
Not moving.
Not breathing properly.
"…That wasn't me."
My hand lowered slowly.
The air returned to normal.
The moisture dispersed.
Everything—
Back to how it should be.
Except—
It wasn't.
Because that feeling—
That presence—
Was no longer quiet.
It had moved.
It had acted.
And I hadn't controlled it.
My chest tightened again.
Stronger this time.
A reminder.
Clear.
Immediate.
I took a step back.
Then another.
Not out of fear—
But caution.
Because now—
I couldn't ignore it anymore.
Whatever that was—
It wasn't just there.
It was part of my magic.
Part of me.
And if I didn't understand it—
Then the next time it happened—
I might not be able to stop it.
I looked at my hand.
Steady.
Normal.
But it didn't feel that way anymore.
Because now—
I knew.
Something inside me had changed.
And it wasn't going to stay hidden forever.