Two weeks later..

  A crowd of Sun's nobility surrounded the private training grounds, forming a loose circle that buzzed with whispers and tension. Some sat perched on cushioned chairs beneath shaded awnings, while others stood stiffly, arms crossed or hands fidgeting with worry. Men in robes marked with clan crests, women in elaborate silks, and even curious children too young to understand the stakes—all had gathered to witness this demonstration. The war had cast a long shadow over the clan, and with each passing day, paranoia crept deeper into the hearts of the highborn. Since we were in a war, I bet many of them wanted to make sure of my strength even further. If Sun falls, they will all be killed or forced into Obsidian's hand, which, being honest, is worse than Sun's. That's the reason Zero and Kaguya are waiting for this war to end.

  I turned my attention to the darksteel dummy standing before me. It loomed like a statue, black and unyielding, the same material used in the capital’s gate fortifications. I clenched my fists and punched the dummy square in the chest. A loud clang echoed across the courtyard, but the metal didn’t even flinch. It took my full force like nothing, standing unmoved. I haven't tested Severed Soul after I've transcended yet. Only Needle Point could damage darksteel before transcendence.

  I took a breath, feeling the pulse of power under my skin, then raised my hand high above my head. Energy surged through my arm as I brought it down in a diagonal slash across the dummy’s chest. A high-pitched screech of slicing metal filled the air—and then silence. The dummy broke in two, the top half sliding cleanly off before crashing to the ground. It felt like butter. The crowd clapped..

  Zachary, in his uniform, walked up to me. I sighed. He always comes to me for work. The busiest officer around. His uniform was crisply pressed, the golden emblem of Sun catching the sunlight with every step. Zachary pointed at the clipboard he was holding, "It's time. Leo wants to get a measurement of your capabilities before you, Finn, and Caleb, depart for Hasfra."

  I asked, "Hey, what makes you think the Grillir aren't all dead or working for Obsidian? It'll take two weeks to get there, even if we leave right now."

  Zachary gave me a mean look, his jaw tightening. "Obsidian has uses for the Grillir. From what our intelligence has gathered, with our super fast carrier pigeons, the Grillir are enslaved, still. I bet they want to see if they can get any more Grillir to transcend."

  Ugh, this is so complicated.

  Zachary averted his gaze, as if suddenly unsure of the weight of his own orders. "Are you ready to be tested?"

  I adjusted my hair, brushing back the strands that had fallen loose from the heat of exertion. "I'll be fine, I'm at my peak."

  We moved over to a long stretch of white concrete, maybe a thousand meters long. The surface gleamed under the sun, smooth and unmarred, like a blank canvas waiting to be scarred by speed. It was to the right of the training grounds, separated by a thin line of manicured hedges and white stone pillars. The crowd followed us, murmuring with curiosity and anticipation, fanning themselves or shielding their eyes as they tried to guess what kind of test was coming next. The stretch took up a fair amount of space—almost as long as the outer wall of the compound.

  Zachary pulled out a stopwatch from the pocket of his coat. Its frame was silver, polished, and etched with the Sun clan’s crest. "When I say go, I want you to run to the other end, passing the black line." He pointed down the stretch, where a thick, pitch-black stripe ran across the concrete..

  He won't be able to follow my movements.

  I asked, "You sure you can see me?"

  Zachary explained, "The only reason I'm able to administer this test is due to my family's special ability, the Eye of Everything. At birth, my family is able to view movements from thousands of meters away, and thousands of meters a second. Of course, I can't move or dodge like you can, but I can see it."

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  He hovered his thumb above the stopwatch. His stance was rigid, eyes trained on me with focused intent. "Alright, get ready."

  I took a deep breath, feeling the pressure in my legs, the coil of my muscles ready to spring. I don't want Leo to know everything I can do, so I'll only use ninety percent.

  He clicked it, "Go."

  A tenth of a second. My feet blasted off the concrete, the shockwave cracking behind me.

  A quarter of a second. The wind tore at my skin, blurring the crowd into streaks of color.

  A half a second. The air roared in my ears, the line approaching fast—faster than anyone not transcendent could perceive.

  Just over a second. I crossed the black line, the sound barrier straining behind me. I skidded for a few meters, the soles of my shoes throwing sparks as I dug in my heels to stop, halting just before the end of the track.

  I assumed he clocked it, and without pause, blitzed back toward the starting line. The concrete hissed beneath me as I ran, then I stopped just a few steps in front of Zachary, who smiled knowingly.

  He showed me the time. It read one and twenty. He said, "Eight hundred and thirty three meters a second. Pretty quick. You're fourth."

  Caleb was fifth, for sure. If that was ninety percent or so, I'm just above nine hundred meters a second. That means these two weeks of intense weight training has increased my speed by five percent.

  Zachary jotted it down with a pen, the sound of scribbling faint beneath the chattering crowd. "Next we have up is strength. Follow me please."

  He led me not too far—just across a small paved path lined with obsidian tiles—to a large punching machine embedded into a reinforced platform. The centerpiece was a thick, upright white cylinder made of lightsteel, reinforced with alloy rings that shimmered faintly in the sunlight. The structure hummed with power, its internal mechanisms quietly active, waiting to calculate force with frightening accuracy. It was old-world tech, rare and expensive, likely brought in from one of Sun's research guilds. When struck, it would analyze the pressure and speed of the blow and translate that into a tonnage rating, displayed on a digital dial from one to twenty.

  I’d used this before—only once—when Zero was training me. It was a special occasion. I was what, sixteen or so? My absolute limit with Needle Point barely registered a single ton. I remembered the look Zero gave me. Proud, but measured. He knew I was only at the beginning.

  Zachary tapped the steel with a sharp knuckle, drawing my attention back. "Alright, just hit this thing with your strongest attack."

  I didn’t hesitate. I stepped into position, steadied my breath, and immediately fired Needle Point with everything I had. My arm extended like a bullet, energy funneling into a perfect strike. I didn’t hold back. Not even a little.

  The shockwave blasted outward, slamming into the pavement around the base and sending dust into the air. Zachary staggered back, nearly losing his footing. He shielded his face with his clipboard, squinting through the dust cloud as the machine’s display flickered and spun with rapid calculations.

  Finally, the numbers settled. Twelve.

  Zachary exhaled and scribbled it down. "Twelve tons. You're fourth."

  Fourth again?

  I relaxed my arms and looked at the readout again, slightly frowning. Only fourth? I asked, "What's the other Flames score?"

  Zachary spun his pen between his fingers with ease. "Finn scored six tons, but single attacks aren't his thing. He could release dozens that output in moments. You scored twelve tons, of course. Alexander scored sixteen tons with his Star-Crossed Void Eater technique. Kaiguro scored eighteen tons with his Demon Tempest technique. And Caleb scored nineteen tons without even using Reinforced Fist. He was worried he would break it if he did."

  Nineteen tons—without using Reinforced Fist. That was insane. Caleb... will you stand in my way?

  This just tells me I need to grow further.

  Zachary patted me on the back, his voice gentler now. "Don't worry, Vellin. You're an all-rounder, like Leo. You're plenty strong." His pen clicked as he turned back to his notes, flipping through pages of records with practiced efficiency. "Anyways, I'm going to jot these down in our records."

  He began walking away toward the main steps of the compound, waving with his back turned. "The escort to Hasfra will be heading out tomorrow!"

  I yelled after him with a question I had to know the answer of, "What did Leo score on those tests?"

  He stopped, just at the edge of the path, turned his head slightly over his shoulder, and smiled. The kind of smile that made you feel small, even though he's a mere officer.

  "Those are private." he said with a chuckle. Then, more seriously, "Let's say... he surpasses Finn in speed, even with his Flash, he surpasses Alexander in technical skill, and he rivals Caleb in strength." He raised a finger and pointed toward the sky, where clouds drifted lazily overhead.

  "Even all of humanity together can't beat him."