The scent of strong blood still clung to Nyra's cloak as she stepped into the war room.
Holograms floated in the air, depicting chaotic red dots across the globe. Hollow Earth was no longer just a hole in the sea. It had become a wound leaking horrors into the world. And the latest wave was more organized, more intelligent.
Kent leaned against a wall, arms folded, as the brass sat behind their reinforced desks, waiting.
Nyra didn't hesitate. Her voice cut through the thick silence like a blade.
"One of them spoke."
The murmuring ceased instantly.
A grey-haired commander narrowed his eyes. "Spoke?"
Nyra nodded. "Not telepathy. Not instinct. Language. Intent. It called the battle a 'children's fight.' Told me not to interfere."
The silence turned suffocating. One of the instructors dropped their pen.
Kent pushed off the wall, frowning. "Did it name itself?"
"No," she replied. "But it had intelligence. Purpose. And when I tried to close the gate…" She hesitated, then continued. "It blasted me thirty meters before sealing the portal itself."
That did it. The room exploded into debate. Words like new hierarchy, sentient entities, and phase-level mutations bounced from wall to wall.
Kent stayed quiet. He knew what this meant.
It was no longer about surviving waves of monsters. It was about understanding a new order of enemies. Enemies that could think. Plan. Manipulate.
"Anything else?" someone asked.
Nyra's crimson-strand-blond hair glinted under the lights. "I'll need access to the special dimension. The kids aren't ready. the army cannot hold the next wave of attacks and i guess we do not have much time before they again attack and it will be more devastating unless we called one of the old monsters which is not likely going to happen so the next option we have is
i want access of special dimension to train the new awakens fast as the time will not wait for anyone "
The higher-ups exchanged glances, then nodded. "Granted."
She turned without another word and walked out. Kent followed.
[Outside the War Room — Hallway]
"You handled that well," Kent said, matching her pace.
Nyra didn't look at him. "That wasn't even the worst part."
"What was?"
"The fear. Not mine… theirs."
Kent raised an eyebrow. "The monster?"
"No. The soldiers. The graduates. Even the instructors." She finally looked at him. "They weren't just overwhelmed. They were breaking. and i have to make them trust us and fight for us to defeat those bastard monsters "
Kent let that sit for a moment before replying.
"oh then good luck with that . i am also going to meet an interesting one can you wait few days before opening special dimension until i back with that little awaken because i feel that he is something "
"just don'nt make me wait too much " and then she disappear without any traces
[Scene Shift — India, Ancient Temple Ruins, Midnight]
The air here was thick. Not with smog or humidity—but with power.
Kent stood atop a ruined stone platform, staring at the cracks in the earth. They glowed faintly with residual elemental energy, like embers under ash. Trees around the site leaned away, unnaturally twisted by the burst's aftershock.
A stealth drone hovered silently above him, scanning the area.
"Confirming elemental energy signature," a voice came through his earpiece. "It's authentic. A new Awakener was born here."
Kent adjusted his black overcoat. "Any eyewitnesses?"
A convoy rolled in behind him. Out stepped three figures in tight black suits, agents of the academy. One of them, a woman with silver-rimmed lenses, handed him a tablet.
"We traced reports of strange phenomena around a boy," she said. "Roughly sixteen to eighteen. Name: Aryan. Witnesses say he vanished and reappeared multiple times during the burst."
Kent scrolled through the images. Surveillance shots. Blurry but clear enough. The boy had a distant look. Like he was still halfway between here and somewhere else.
"He's not just awakened," Kent murmured. "He's warping space."
[30 Minutes Later — Outskirts of Town, Rooftop Observation Point]
The boy stood near an abandoned temple wall, his back turned to the city lights. with his legs closed and making it like he is in meditation
Kent crouched on a nearby rooftop, watching.
"Let's see what you can do," he muttered.
He launched a silent, compressed mana burst — enough to startle, not injure. It struck Aryan's position like a hammer… or should have.
The boy wasn't there.
Kent blinked. Aryan was now fifteen feet to the left, unharmed, hands in his pockets.
Interesting.
He tried again. A faster spell, this time from behind.
Nope. Aryan blinked to the right.
Five times Kent attacked, five times the boy simply wasn't where he was supposed to be.
And each time, it was like he never moved at all.
No spell circles. No visible channeling. Just — not there.
Kent stepped from the shadows.
"You're not teleporting, are you?" he whispered, more to himself than to Aryan.
The boy turned slightly, his eyes sharp now. Defensive. Preparing to retaliate.
Kent smiled faintly. "Guess I deserved that."
He let his weapons fade, relying only on martial instinct. With a swift dash, he closed the distance — grabbed Aryan's wrist mid-movement and held him in place.
"Relax," Kent said. "I'm not your enemy."
Aryan's eyes flashed, chaotic energy swirling faintly behind them.
Kent met his gaze evenly.
I didn't mean to spook you. But I had to know what you are. but look like i am failed to do so you have quite a future brat
Aryan doesn't respond.
Kent sighs, but a small smirk tugs at his lips.
"You're gonna be fun to train."
He releases his grip slowly, backing away.
"Let's start with your name, shall we?"