Castle Manga

Chapter 1 Ang bahay namin ay laging masigla—o sa ibang salita, laging maingay. The walls were painted a deep, passionate red, matched by the heavy crimson curtains that swayed whenever the electric fan faced their direction. It was a house that felt like a constant celebration, but today, my heart was racing for a different reason. I was sitting on the edge of the sofa, my phone clutched so tightly in my hands that my knuckles were turning white. I was waiting. Sa totoo lang, simpleng pangarap lang naman ang gusto ko: to travel, to see the world, and to wear that crisp uniform of a Tourism student. I had taken the entrance exams for the two biggest universities in the city. My dream schools. Ting. Isang notification ang lumabas sa screen. My breath hitched. With shaking fingers, I tapped the email. “We regret to inform you…” The words blurred. Hindi ako nakapasa. Ang unang school na inaasahan ko, tinanggihan ako. Parang biglang gumuho ang mundo ko sa limang salitang iyon. "O, Jaquilyn? Bakit parang nakakita ka ng multo riyan?" puna ni Tito Rey habang naglalakad bitbit ang isang tumpok ng labada. Pilit akong ngumiti, pero ramdam ko ang panginginig ng labi ko. "Tito... yung email. Hindi po ako nakuha sa unang school." Agad na lumabas si Tita Precy mula sa kusina, bitbit ang sandok na may bakas pa ng sarsa. "Hala, anak? Hayaan mo na 'yun! Baka hindi talaga 'yun ang para sa'yo." "Pero Tita, pangarap ko po 'yun," bulong ko. Lumapit sa akin si Tito Rey at tinapik ang balikat ko. "Naku, Jaquilyn, huwag kang mawalan ng pag-asa. Napakaraming bituin sa langit, hindi lang isa. At saka, may isa pa tayong hinihintay, 'di ba? Fighting lang!" "Oo nga!" dagdag ni Tita Precy habang tumatawa. "Tourista ka pa rin sa paningin namin, kahit sa kanto lang tayo mamasyal mamaya. Ngumiti ka na, baka pumangit ang swerte!" I forced a laugh. Their energy was contagious, as always. Isang panibagong araw ang lumipas, pero ang bigat sa dibdib ko, tila lalong nadagdagan. Nang tumunog ang phone ko para sa pangalawang pagkakataon, mabilis ko itong binuksan, hoping for a miracle. Pero pagkakita ko sa screen, parang nanlamig ang buong katawan ko. It was identical. The same formal font, the same polite rejection. “We regret to inform you...” Hindi ako makapaniwala. Tourism was my dream, my only plan. Napasandal ako sa pader ng kwarto ko, pinipigilan ang luha. Bakit parang lahat ng pinto, isinasara sa akin? ________________________ Nang sumapit ang hapunan, pilit akong lumabas ng kwarto. The dining table was a battlefield of noise, as usual. My younger cousins were chasing each other with spoons, habang si Tito Rey ay malakas na tumatawa sa kung anong biro sa TV. "Jaquilyn, kain na! Paborito mo 'tong ulam," sigaw ni Tita Precy mula sa dulo ng lamesa. Umupo ako, tahimik lang na nilalaro ang kanin sa plato ko. Maski ang ingay nila, hindi magawang itago ang lungkot ko. Napansin siguro ni Tita ang matagal kong pagtitig sa kawalan. Bigla siyang tumigil sa pagkain at may kinuhang kung ano sa bulsa ng duster niya. "Anak, wag ka nang masyadong malungkot sa dalawang school na 'yun," sabi niya nang mahinahon. Inilapag niya ang isang itim na card sa tapat ng plato ko. It was sleek, dark, and felt strangely heavy. "Subukan mo ito. May tumawag sa akin, sabi nila, bagay ka raw dito." Binasa ko ang nakasulat. Isang numero at isang email address lang ang nandoon: luminaacademy@gmail.com. "Lumina Academy?" bulong ko. "Para sa Tourism din ba 'to, Tita?" Ngumiti si Tita Precy, isang ngiting tila may halong misteryo. "Sabi nila, doon mo raw mahahanap ang tunay mong tatahakin. At least, you can still pursue your dream career, right?" Huminga ako nang malalim. Kahit hindi ko alam kung anong klaseng school ito, nabuhayan ako ng loob. I smiled back at her, feeling a spark of hope. "Sige po, Tita. I-email ko po sila mamaya." "Mabuti 'yan. Tawagan mo rin ang Mama mo, ibalita mo sa kanya," dagdag ni Tita. Agad akong umiling, ang ngiti ko ay bahagyang kumupas. "Naku, Tita, busy po si Mama sa abroad. Alam niyo naman po 'yun, baka makaabala lang ako." Sanay na ako. I was raised in my auntie’s presence. My mom was always working far away, and my dad? I didn't know anything about him. Every time I asked, my relatives would go silent or change the topic. I guessed they hated him, so I stopped asking a long time ago. Pagkatapos ng ligpitin ang hapunan, mabilis akong pumasok sa kwarto ko. I opened my laptop and typed the email address from the black card. To: luminaacademy@gmail.com Subject: Admission Inquiry - Jaquilyn Braush I hit send and leaned back on my pillow. While waiting for the notification, my eyelids started to feel heavy. The red walls of my room seemed to glow a bit brighter in the dark, and the scent of smoke—faint, almost like a dying candle—filled the air. Hindi ko na namalayang nakatulog na pala ako, bitbit ang huling pag-asa na baka sa Lumina Academy, doon magsisimula ang lahat. Nagising ako sa sikat ng araw na tumatama sa mukha ko. Sa sobrang antok ko kagabi, halos makalimutan ko na ang tungkol sa email na ipinadala ko. Dumiretso ako sa kusina para mag-almusal nang datnan ko si Tita Precy na nag-aabang na pala sa akin. "O, Jaquilyn? Kumusta 'yung card na binigay ko sa 'yo kagabi? Na-email mo ba?" tanong niya habang nag-aayos ng plato. Napatigil ako. Oo nga pala. Biglang nag-vibrate ang phone ko sa bulsa. My heart started to race. Kinuha ko ito at nakita ang isang notification mula sa Lumina Academy. Shaking, I opened it. OFFICIAL ADMISSION NOTICE Dear Ms. Jaquilyn Braush, We have been watching your spirit, and it burns with the intensity we require. You are officially accepted into Lumina Academy. To begin your journey, you must claim your belongings. Follow the attached map to the 'Red Brick Nexus' building in the Old District. This location is hidden from the mundane eye—walk three blocks past the clock tower and turn where the air feels warmest. Once inside, proceed directly to the door marked with your designated number. There, you will find your ID card, your uniforms, and the key to your assigned dormitory. "Tita! Tita, tanggap ako!" sigaw ko habang tumutulo ang luha ko sa tuwa. Halos magtatalon kami sa kusina habang binabasa ang direksyon. Hindi ko alam kung bakit kailangan ko pang pumunta sa isang lumang building para lang sa gamit, pero sa sandaling iyon, wala akong pakialam. Habang nasa biyahe ako, hindi ko mapigilang mapatawa. Seryoso ba 'to? I thought it was a scam! Ang bilis ng reply nila, hindi katulad ng ibang university na pinaghintay ako ng ilang linggo para lang tanggihan. At ang direksyon? "Turn where the air feels warmest?" Gusto kong maiyak sa tawa dahil parang laro lang ang lahat. What kind of school has these weird rules? Pero nang makarating ako sa dulo ng map, tumigil ang tawa ko. The building was exactly as described—matayog, luma, pero may kakaibang bigat ang aura. Pagpasok ko, isang grand view ang sumalubong sa akin. The lobby was massive. People in expensive-looking suits were walking everywhere, but they didn't look like office workers—they looked like they were guarding something important. Hinanap ko ang taong pwedeng pagtanungan hanggang sa makita ko ang isang babaeng naka-formal uniform na kulay yellowish-gold. Lumapit ako at ipinakita ang email ko. "Excuse me po, student po ako ng Lumina Academy..." The woman’s eyes widened the moment she saw my name on the screen. She looked shook, her breath hitching for a second. Without a word, she bowed slightly and looked at me. “Ms. Braush," she said. "Please... follow me. We have been waiting for you to arrive." Habang naglalakad kami sa mahabang hallway, ipinaliwanag niya sa akin ang tungkol sa numerong nasa message ko. “Ang numerong iyon ay hindi lang basta numero, Ms. Jaquilyn. It is the number of the door you must enter here in this building. Sa loob ng kwartong iyon, nandoon ang lahat ng pag-aari mo—ang uniform, at ang susi ng kwarto mo Academy. Ang building” Huminto kami sa tapat ng isang asul na pinto. It was unusually small, barely enough for a child to fit through, but when she opened it, there it was—isang itim na bag at isang itim na envelope. It looked mysterious, like it held secrets I wasn't ready for. I reached out and took them, feeling the heavy material against my palms. "Sundan mo ako. Dadalhin na kita sa bus mo ngayon," she said firmly, her voice leaving no room for argument. "Sandali lang po!" I replied, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Kailangan ko munang magpaalam sa Tita ko. I can’t just leave like this without saying anything." "Huwag kang mag-alala. Kami na ang bahala sa parteng iyon," was her only cold response. Agad kong kinuha ang phone ko at tinawagan si Tita habang naglalakad kami. "Tita! Paalis na po ako—hindi ko alam kung saan—" "Jaquilyn, anak, okay lang!" she cut me off, sounding surprisingly calm. "May mga taga-Lumina Academy na rito sa bahay. Nag-explain na sila tungkol sa scholarship at kung bakit kailangan mong umalis agad ngayong araw. Mag-iingat ka roon, ha? Ipagmalaki mo kami!" I let out a huge sigh of relief. At least legal ang pag-alis ko. When we reached the parking lot, I saw a pure white bus. There were a few people my age already inside, their faces unreadable. Sinubukan kong ngumiti sa kanila, but one guy with sharp brown eyes looked at me like he wanted to punch me right then and there. Luh, mananapak ba 'to? I quickly looked away and found a seat. A few moments later, the driver entered the bus. "Fasten your seatbelts," he muttered without looking back. Mabilis akong sumunod, pulling the strap across my chest. But I noticed the others didn't even flinch. Para silang walang narinig, acting like they were too cool for safety rules. The trip started normally for a few minutes... then the bus slowed down for a split second... and then it accelerated. Sobrang bilis. It was so fast I felt like my heart was left behind at the station. I looked out the window and gasped, my breath hitching in my throat. I couldn't see the road anymore. Clouds. Pure white clouds were everywhere, drifting past the glass. And shortly after, I saw the vast blue ocean below us and a massive school that looked like an ancient palace from a fairy tale. "What the—nakalutang tayo?! We're floating!" I panicked, my hands gripping the armrest so hard my knuckles turned white. "Tanga," one of my seatmates whispered, rolling their eyes. Instead of helping me or explaining, they just called me stupid. The bus eventually descended, landing smoothly in front of the grand, golden gates. It felt like we were back in the normal world, but my stomach definitely didn't get the memo. As soon as the doors opened, I stumbled out and started vomiting on the side of the road. Nag-suka lang ako nang nag-suka. "Grabe... what a terrible start," I groaned, wiping my mouth with a trembling hand. My dream of being a Tourism student started with me literally losing my lunch on the pavement. Ang panget naman ng simula ko.
Summer in New Thornebridge wasn't marked by beaches or pool parties,ait was the kind of summer that made you believe it'd never end. The air hung heavy with heat, carrying the scent of pine and dust, and the days bled into each other like the sky at sunset. There were no tourists, no noise. Just long windy roads, warm winds, and the kind of silence you only found in places where nature had reclaimed everything [that was only on the outside of the city the inside was ginormous bigger than most cities, it inhabited 1 percent of the worlds population.which may sound like a small number but there is 12 billion people in the world] Jackson loved that silence, he craved it. He hadn't told his mom he was heading into the woods that morning. She'd have flipped. She always did. New Thornebridges woods were the kind of place people told stories about-missing hikers, strange lights, voices when there shouldn't be voices. His mom believed every word. She used to say, "Those trees don't just grow-they watch." But Jackson didn't believe in fairy tales. Not until now. Lately, something had been pulling at him. Every time he looked out his bedroom window across the yard and into the shadowed tree line, he felt it: an itch, a whisper, not in his ears but rather deep in the back of his mind, his soul, calling him, luring him—like something had waited out there for years and had decided he was finally ready. He didn’t know for what. But today, he was going to find out. Jackson, Ken, Sai, and Doug—four kids who'd grown up digging in backyards, biking until their legs gave out, and making up games that lasted all summer—had planned this trip for weeks. It was their last real summer before college tried to turn them into strangers. So they packed up like explorers. Chips, jerky, trail mix. Fully charged phones, flashlights, and walkie-talkies. Even a paper map Sai had found in his grandfather's attic, full of weird old landmarks. Their destination: the legendary train tunnel. Sai had read about it in some conspiracy thread online. An abandoned tunnel from the 1940s, built during the war, supposedly sealed off after a landslide-or a government cover-up, depending on who you asked. Most people said that didn't exist. They were out to prove them wrong. "Bet you twenty bucks we find that old train tunnel today, " Sai said, fiddling with the straps of his ridiculously overstuffed backpack. "Bet you twenty bucks we get eaten by squirrels before we find it," Doug muttered, swatting at another mosquito. Ken laughed and tossed a stick at him. “Don’t give Jackson ideas. He already looks like he’s planning a nature documentary-slash-horror movie. Jackson just smiled, but he didn't say anything. He hadn't said much that morning. His head was full of static, the kind that made it hard to focus. Something was humming under his skin. Like static before a lightning strike. Two hours into the hike, Jackson stopped. "Yo," he said in a low voice. "Hold up. I gotta go." "Nature calls!" Ken grinned, tossing him a granola bar. Jackson caught it without looking and slipped off the trail. But he didn't stop to pee. He kept walking. Deeper than he should've. The air was different here, thicker, heavier. Like wading through water. The usual forest sounds—birds, insects, leaves rustling—faded the farther he went, replaced by a low, droning quiet. Almost like the trees were holding their breath. That's when he saw it. An old, rusted RV. Half buried in the earth, it might have been there for decades. Vines wiggled up its sides. One of the wheels had disintegrated into the ground. Its windows were blacked out, smeared with dust and time. It looked forgotten, a relic of the past. But it wasn't. Jackson knew that straight away. Painted in dark red, dried strokes across the metal siding were the words: “BENEATH THIS SOIL LIES THE The letters looked uneven, almost scratched into the metal in a rush. His heart thudded. But the thing that really perplexed him was the shovel. The only thing leaning beside the RV door, half-concealed in the weeds, was a shovel. New. Clean. The metal blade gleamed under the dappled light, untouched by time. It shouldn’t have been there. And yet it felt like it was waiting for him. Calling him. Before he could second-guess, he picked it up. And started digging. The earth gave way slowly, damp and dense. The deeper he went, the harder it was to breathe. His arms hurt, sweat pouring down his back, but something kept him driving. With every shovelful, the world seemed to shift. The colors around him dulled. The sounds twisted. Like reality itself was watching him dig. And then— THUD. He hit something solid. The earth quaked beneath him. The RV let out a metallic groan, like it was telling Jackson something that it shouldn't have. And the sky— The sky turned purple. Not sunset purple. Not storm-cloud purple. Incorrect purple. Jackson stumbled backward. The air distorted around him, compacting with pressure and electricity. His ears rang with the sound of whispers underwater. Shadows writhed. Trees stretched and leaned, as if trying to flee-or trying to see. Then—stillness. He looked at his hands. They glowed. Not bright, not blinding, but pulsing with something alive. Something impossible. It felt like his skin was just a disguise—and underneath was something not quite human. A quiet, hungry power. He raised a shaking hand. A rock floated into the air. He snapped his fingers. The rock exploded. His breath caught. Something inside him had changed. The world itself felt like it had turned a corner, and he was the one who pushed it. By the time he climbed out of the hole, the light was gone from the sky. The woods were completely dark. Cold. Cold to the bone. Too cold for July. He looked around—no Ken. No Sai. No Doug. No trail. Even the trees looked wrong, as though they had shifted when he wasn't looking. He checked his phone. Dead. He commenced walking. It took hours, or maybe longer. Time didn't feel right anymore. The streetlights at the edge of the woods flickered when he finally saw them, like they weren't sure if they were supposed to be on. His house was only a few blocks away. That is when he heard the scream. Quick. Short. Cut off mid-breath. He ran. Turned the corner—and stopped. A figure loomed over a body in the street, hunched and trembling. The light caught something in his hand-metal red stained. Jackson's legs locked. The figure looked up. Their eyes met. Cold. Empty. Wrong. The man then turned and disappeared between two houses, swallowed up by shadow. Jackson dropped to his knees beside the body. His throat closed. M-Mom? Her shirt was saturated with blood. Her eyes fluttered, out of focus. Her lips moved, but no sound emerged. Her fingers jerked, reaching toward him. "No," Jackson whimpered. "No no no- Mom, stay with me—please—" He grasped her hand. Tears blurred his vision. He could feel the power surging beneath his skin, begging to be used. Do something. Check it. Reverse it. He tried. He did everything. The glow brightened—and then flickered out. His hands went still. She died in his arms. He couldn't scream. He couldn't sob. He sat there, his eyes wide, staring at a sky gone purple, cradling the one person hed ever want to save, but he couldn’t save her. The stars above pulsed like slow heartbeats. Something had stirred beneath the earth that day. And it had changed everything. Jackson didn't know what he was anymore. But he knew one thing. Whosoever killeth his mother… Wasn't human anymore. Whatever it was, had just signed its name in bold letters in the book of death. Jackson didn't sleep that night, He sat with his mom until the sirens came, until they pulled her body away and asked him questions he couldn't answer. He said nothing. The paramedics looked at him like he was broken. Maybe he was. The purple was gone from the sky by the time he took off, but the emptiness inside his chest wasn't; he wandered aimlessly, his heart guiding his body where it needed to go. His feet led him to one place that made sense: Ken's garage. The old couch inside was stained and lopsided, but it was home base to every dumb plan they had ever made. The lights were still on. They were waiting. “Jackson!” Ken jumped up at the sight of him. “Dude, where the hell have you been? We thought you got mauled by a bear or something!” Doug was sitting on a cooler fiddling with a flashlight. “We looked everywhere, man. You just… vanished. And Sai’s gone. He split right after you.” “Sai’s not back?” he asked. “Nope,” said Doug. “Left the trail without saying anything. We thought he was chasing after you.” Slowly, Jackson sat down. He looked like he hadn’t blinked in hours. “I need you to listen to me,” he said. “And I need you to believe me.” He told them everything. The RV. The digging. The light. The power. The man in the street. And his mother. By the time he finished, his hands were shaking. Doug was pale, while Ken hadn’t looked so good since he drank that poorly brewed cider. “She… she didn’t make it?” Ken asked softly. Jackson shook his head. The silence in the garage set in like a heavy fog. Then Ken sat down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I'm so sorry, man.” Jackson's throat was raw, but he forced the words out. "I could've saved her. I had the power. It was right there in my hands and I couldn't do anything." “You don't even know what you are yet,” Doug said, voice low. “You said you lifted a rock and exploded it, that’s not exactly in the Beginner’s Guide to Resurrection.” Ken leaned forward. "Can you still do it? The powers, I mean. Can you show us?" Jackson demurred. He closed his eyes and reached inward. Searched for the spark. Nothing. His hands remained dull and lifeless. “I don’t get it,” he muttered. “It’s like it’s… locked away.” “Then unlock it,” said Ken. “We’ll help. We’re in this together, remember?” Jackson looked up. And something in him hardened. “Then let's start.” The training started the next morning. Jackson came back to the woods, to that place where everything started. The RV was gone—vanished into thin air, it seemed—sealed away by the earth as if nothing had happened. He meditated. Focused. Pushed himself. Pain was part of it-he learned that fast. His powers responded strongest when his emotions peaked, when his mind buzzed with grief or rage. But that wasn't control. That was chaos. He needed more. He practiced until his fingers bled, until stones hovered in the air, bending to his will, until he could twist a tree branch into a spiral with a thought. In less than a week, he could shift the gravity around him. Warp air. Tear a hole in reality and peer through the seams. When he came back, Ken and Doug stared at him as though they barely recognized their friend. "Jackson," Ken said, wide-eyed, "you're glowing." Jackson didn’t smile. “I’m ready.” That night, he stood beneath the street light in the spot where she'd fallen. He raised his hands and rewrote reality. Then it all fell apart. She was gone. Again. He screamed and fell on his knees. The universe didn't care. The power he'd been given was not enough, not in this case. But he could do one thing. He could share it. A week later, Ken felt it first. Time slowed for him—his own heart thundered, but the world moved through syrup. He lifted his hand and the second hand on his watch froze. Doug's was next. He blinked—and a door opened that wasn't there. A room between seconds, space bending around him like a second skin. A pocket dimension, empty and malleable: a safe place he could reshape. They weren't just kids anymore. They were a team. It led to the abandoned power station on the edge of town, the one that had been shut down for years. They found him in the middle of the turbine room. Sai. He turned slowly as they entered, his hoodie torn and burned, his eyes glowing faint blue. His arms were loose at his sides, but he didn't look surprised to see them. “You finally made it,” he said low. “Took you long enough.” Jackson stepped forward. “Where the hell have you been?” Sai tilted his head. “Where I needed to be. Learning. Changing. Like you.” "What happened to you?" Ken demanded. “The same thing that happened to him,” Sai said, nodding in Jackson's direction. “Except I listened to the voice. I embraced it.” Jackson froze, realizing. Remembered those glowing blue eyes. “You… you killed my mom.” Sai's expression didn't change. "I didn't want to. But she saw me before I was ready. She would've told someone. They would've tried to stop me." “You were our friend,” Doug said, his voice cracking. “I am your friend,” Sai said. “That’s why I’m warning you. Leave. Go back to your lives. You have no idea what’s coming.” Jackson felt a sort of, uncontrollable anger at that exact moment, an anger from deep within his own being. His fists were clenched; his teeth were gritted against each other. His heart and soul were battling each other-his heart wanted to take everything back, and his soul wanted to move forward until everyone who had ever done him wrong was gone. Sai's eyes were narrowed and suddenly his body was moving, quicker than the eye could follow. “Then I guess you'll die trying.” The turbine room shook, the two forces colliding: Jackson's raw energy against Sai's speed and precision. Ken froze time in waves, trying to slow Sai's attacks; Sai moved between, seconds like water through cracks. Doug opened rifts, trying to trap him in his pocket dimension, but Sai slipped through them like smoke. Both Sai and Jackson knew that Jackson was stronger, but they knew. They weren’t ready. For the first time, Jackson fought. He'd always hated conflict. But now it was necessary. And now he wouldn't be fighting alone. The turbine room exploded. Steel beams clattered, glass shattered, and sparks rained from the ceiling as Jackson's blast hit the concrete where Sai had just been, missing him by inches. Sai moved like a streak of lightning: the first second across the room, the next behind Ken, hand outstretched like a blade. Ken barely had time to flick his fingers. Time buckled. Jackson didn't need a second longer. He raised both hands; his veins glowed pinkish purple, and reality cracked. The floor split in a jagged line, throwing Sai off balance. But even in frozen time, he moved-twisting just enough to avoid the next wave of force as time resumed, like a snapped rubber band. Sai was already gone, crouching high on a support beam like a predator. "Not bad," he said, eyes gleaming. "But not enough." Doug raised both palms and a door opened in midair, a swirl of silver like liquid glass. From inside his pocket dimension, huge vines burst out, wrapping around the beam. “Try dodging this.” They snapped like whips toward Sai. He vanished. Then he appeared behind Doug, foot swinging in a brutal arc. Doug hit the wall hard, groaning as his portal fizzled. Jackson roared, fury igniting around him like a solar flare. The aura around him was a menacing purple; the air bent with the force of his charge. He blinked across the room and planted a fist in Sai's face. BOOM The shockwave flipped turbines, shattered railings, and sent Sai skidding back. Blood dripped from his lip. His hoodie was torn across the chest, showing skin marked with black etchings that were like ink bleeding from his veins. “I see you've gotten strong, old friend, ” Sai said while cracking his neck. “So have I”. In an instant, he was everywhere. Ken threw a hand out and rewound time by three seconds. Sai's last attack had now never landed. Darkness. Silence. “You're done!” Ken shouted. “Give up! For a moment, something in Sai's eyes flickered, like the boy they knew was still inside. Then the darkness swelled. The shadows coiled up from the floor like smoke. “No,” Sai breathed, voice echoing with something inhuman. “You’re too late.” The shadows then swallowed him. The chains snapped, sucked into the void. Doug lunged to grab him—but his hand passed through nothing. Sai was gone. Again. Only the echo of his voice remained, hanging in the dark like smoke: The lights crackled back to life, one by one. But they were alive. And next time… they would be stronger. “Next time… I will.” They barely made it out of the power station. He couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes, he envisioned Sai's face-the flicker of hesitation, the venom in his voice. “Next time… you’ll have to kill me.” Jackson knew he wasn't ready. Not yet. He had the raw strength, sure. He could bend light, twist gravity, and crush steel with a thought. Sai was different; he moved through space as if it didn't exist, fought like his body read time before it happened. But Jackson needed more than power. The next morning, he left a note for Ken and Doug. Then he vanished into the woods again. Not to the old trail. Not to the RV site. Deeper. He walked for hours until the forest swallowed up all signs of the town. No signal, no sound, just trees and shadows, with the pulse of the world beneath his feet. He sat on a stone ledge at the edge of a forgotten river and closed his eyes. The universe hummed. And he listened. Day 1 Day 3 Why won't you just be calm and embrace your feelings? Day 5 He stopped trying to force it. He meditated beneath a waterfall. Let the forest speak. Let time slip around him without chasing it. Let himself forget pain, forget revenge, forget control. The click of something unlocking. Like his soul had shifted into gear. He stood barefoot in the clearing, his shirt soaked, his hair dripping. Energy danced around him, but not like before. This wasn't rage. This was clarity. His thoughts were still. His power didn't scream now; it sang. He raised one hand and whispered: “Freedom of Reality.” The world bent. Space peeled back like paper, revealing a second layer underneath: a pure white zone beyond dimension. His body moved faster than sound, faster than thought. He blinked and was standing across the clearing. Every law of physics bowed to him. He wasn't breaking reality anymore. He was moving it as he wished. He lifted his hand, and the waterfall froze in mid-air. Hung suspended like shards of glass. He spoke again. “Continue.” Everything started again - as if it had never stopped. When he returned to town, Ken and Doug were waiting, wide-eyed. "What the hell happened to you?" Doug asked. Jackson's eyes glowed faint with pink. His steps did not even leave marks on the ground. Ken blinked. “You're gonna have to explain that.” Where time and matter and thought obeyed his bidding. Where Jackson became more than human. But that came at a cost. Every time he entered that state… He felt a little less connected to the world he knew. A little more like something other. And he'd need every ounce of it. Besides, Sai was changing too. Ken sat on the lawn chair, wearing sunglasses that were too big for his face, flipping through a dog-eared comic book and pretending like he wasn't humming along to the music. Jackson sighed. "This is weird." Ken didn't look up. "What, the fact that Doug thinks syrup goes on the stove?" "No." Jackson frowned. "This. Us. Just… chilling." “Yeah.” Ken grinned. “Kinda freaks you out, huh?” Doug kicked open the screen door and stepped out holding a plate stacked like a tower. “PANCAKES, LOSERS.” Jackson stared. "Are those… pink?" “I added strawberry protein powder,” Doug said proudly. “They look like crime scenes,” Ken muttered. "Eat them and get jacked, can't you just make it to where you aren't allergic anymore?" Doug said throwing a pancake like a frisbee at Jackson, who caught it mid-air with his powers and spun it gently like a plate then threw it back. “Look at you,” Doug said with a smirk. “All enlightened and floaty now. Mr. Freedom of Reality.” Jackson smirked back. “At least I didn’t burn breakfast.” Ken stood and stretched. "Alright, alright, food first, then we finally play the new Super Mecha Tournament. I've been saving this moment." "It's called being prepared," Ken said, pulling a small hourglass pendant from his pocket like it was some kind of badge of honor. They spent the whole day goofing off. The kids spent their time playing video games, taking turns jumping off the dock. Doug accidentally opened a portal in the lake and almost got sucked into a dimension full of bees-they didn't ask questions. Ken made time loop so Jackson was stuck in an accidental dance for fifteen minutes. At one point, they tried to roast marshmallows. Just because he could. But as night fell, as the fire had ticked down to embers and the lake was reflecting the moon in perfect silence, the mood changed. He sat alone, away from everyone else, looking up at the stars. "You thinking about your mom?" he asked softly. Jackson nodded. “Every night.” Doug came over too, wrapped up in a hoodie. “We’re gonna fix it,” he said. “Somehow. We’re gonna bring her back. And we’re gonna stop Sai. Jackson nodded again. “I know. Just… tonight, I needed this. Us. The dumb jokes. The fire. Even the pancakes.” Ken slung an arm around Jackson’s shoulder. “We’re not just a team,” he said. “We’re brothers. You hear me? End of the world or not-we got you.” He just smiled. And for the first time in what felt like a lifetime— He didn't sleep anymore. But Sai didn’t notice. The day he changed—the day Jackson did—it hadn't been random. It had been chosen. And it saw potential in Sai. A broken boy, sharp, angry, hiding pain behind laughter, full of love… and loneliness. It gave him more than power. Sai's abilities had no flashy name, no glowing aura. But it wasn't just speed. "Fate drawn in blood." It let him fracture reality through blood. If he'd fought you long enough, if he'd spilled even a few drops of your blood, he could see your fate-the strings of possibility branching from your body. And then he could cut them. Make your heart beat wrong. Make your bones forget how to hold shape. Once. Someone whom Jackson loved. Sai opened his eyes. He stood, blades of wind coiling around his arms like scarves. The candles flickered in fear. In the rear of the cathedral, a figure stirred. “You’re restless again,” it rasped; a voice like dust and smoke. Sai didn't turn. "They're training. Growing stronger." “I don’t doubt,” Sai said. “I remember.” He touched his chest. “I know what I have to do,” he said. “But I won’t kill them. Not yet.” “I still feel everything,” Sai snapped. “That’s the difference between me and them. Jackson’s becoming light. But I…” He turned to the shadows. “I’ve become what lives beneath it.” The voice hummed, pleased. And whispered: "Next time, I end it." Just a blur. A breeze. A storm waiting to strike. Jackson's living room had become command central. And on the front door? A hand-painted sign: “HOLLOW CORE — Defend the Light. Break the Shadows.” Doug raised his hand. “Do we get codenames?” “Yes,” said Jackson, without missing a beat. They trained every day. Enter: Master Sasaki. A retired martial artist, once rumored to train world champions in secret. Now? He ran a used bookstore on the edge of New Thornebridge, lived above it, and only took students "worthy of being punched through a wall." Ken was second. Jackson blocked it, but only just. He trained them with bamboo swords, ankle weights, and wooden dummies rigged to explode. He had them fighting blindfolded. He had them sparring each other without powers. And he had them meditating in cold rain until their breathing synchronized. And slowly… Then came the alert. Not the dark force behind him. Name: Aki Abilities: Cybernetic speed enhancement, combat-grade exosuit, electric arc blades. Cars overturned, smoke everywhere, and people screaming. And amidst all of them was a tall figure clad in black and chrome armor that pulsed blue with energy: Aki. “Looks like we've got company,” Aki growled, eyes glowing beneath his visor. Jackson stepped forward. Ken blinked out of view, reappeared behind Aki, and swung a crowbar through a slowed-time loop. Aki dodged effortlessly and countered with a surge of kinetic energy that sent Ken tumbling. They clashed: metal tech versus real powerz. Aki slid back, armor steaming. Jackson fought hand to hand, power flaring in every strike. But Aki was calculated: every punch a program, every block augmented by nanosecond reaction time. Then Jackson remembered Sasaki’s voice: "Strength is nothing without timing." He baited Aki. Feinted left. Kicked the inside of his knee. Aki blinked. "Collapse." Doug opened a void. They left him tied in carbon-fiber wire, police en route, as the crowd started gathering. Cheers. Phones flashing. Ken smirked. “We need better masks.” Jackson just watched the skyline, serious again. What kind of monster was running the syndicate? The room smelled of old pizza and burnt circuits. Jackson leaned over the busted helmet they'd taken off Aki, running his fingers over the melted wires and the shattered plating. Ken worked his magic, scanning it with his modified tablet. Untouchable. Until now. Ken pulled up the file. "Cassian Rook—ex-military, dishonorably discharged. Runs the Syndicate. Specializes in tech-weapons, black-market biotech, energy siphoning. Rumors say he's been recruiting enhanced individuals." Jackson's hands clenched into fists. "If Sai's working with him." His voice trailed off, tight and furious. Ken nodded. "That’s our lead." Jackson stood up, energy crackling faintly around his fists. "Then we're off to see the docks." The Mission: Night fell heavy and wet over Fox Hollow. Clouds blanketed the sky. Thunder rumbled far off, as if the city itself was holding its breath. Dressed in dark clothes and masks, Hollow Core moved through the abandoned shipyard. Cranes rusted into the fog like metal skeletons. The only light came from a few buzzing sodium lamps—and the warehouse at the end of the pier, humming with neon lines. “Multiple heat signatures,” Ken whispered. “And turrets.” Doug made a portal high above the warehouse roof. “In or out?” "In." Inside the Warehouse: Jackson, Ken, and Doug moved like shadows. They found the main room. Rows and rows of black-market tech. Weaponized exosuits. Serum canisters. And in the middle, a reinforced vault door. Ken hacked the security panel, fingers flying. "This. isn't just weapons," he said, voice tight. "It's augmentation tech. This is how they're making enhanced soldiers. This is how Aki got juiced up." Jackson shook his head. "Not yet." They found it tucked behind the vault. On the desk—a laptop, still open. He plugged in immediately. Files spilled across the screen: movement logs, transaction records, test subjects, enhancement experiments. And then they saw it. "Subject 000 — Raptor." "Subject has demonstrated exponential growth in physical capabilities. Demonstrates full awareness and the will to push further. Requires additional advanced augmentation support to survive further evolution." Alarms burst into noise. "They aren't forcing him," he said, his voice cold. "He's choosing this. He's training to beat us." Ken nodded grimly.