Maya was standing at the kitchen sink, sleeves rolled up, soap suds still clinging to her forearms as the last few dishes clattered softly into the rack. The rhythmic sound of water running almost lulled the room into calm. In the living room just beyond, Elijah hunched over a small engine spread out on a cloth, its pieces neatly arranged as he tinkered with a wrench. He looked more like a surgeon than a mechanic, examining every bolt, every cog, with patient precision.

Everything was normal—quiet, almost domestic. That is, until the wall shimmered faintly as though the air itself was being pulled apart.

And then… someone phased right through.

Elijah didn't even flinch. He didn't need to.

"Yah back," he said without lifting his eyes from the machine, a faint grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Kael stepped through the wall fully, his coat flaring as the particles of his phasing ability closed behind him like ripples in water. His hair fell loosely over his face, shadows making his eyes unreadable.

"Yep," Kael replied, his tone flat but heavy. "And I won't be staying here tonight."

The clang of a dish echoed a bit too loudly as Maya turned sharply from the sink.

"Why?" Her voice carried a mix of irritation and concern, her brows furrowing.

"I need to cultivate," Kael said calmly, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve. "I can't do it here. My aura will leak… and might put you guys in trouble."

Maya opened her mouth to argue, to tell him he wasn't as much of a burden as he thought, but before a single word left her lips, Kael simply vanished. One blink he was there, the next he wasn't—like the room had breathed him out into the night.

Maya's jaw tightened. "He always decides everything on his own," she muttered.

Elijah set down his wrench and sighed, glancing toward her. "That's Kael for you."

---

Into the Wild

The night air was crisp, the moon only a faint blur in the sky. Kael moved at exactly one kilometer per second—blurred beyond the comprehension of ordinary eyes. To him, the city passed like streaks of watercolor. Lights stretched into ribbons. The earth felt still while he became a phantom rushing across it.

He stopped in a barren expanse, a desolate plain where no buildings or curious eyes could interfere. The silence here was vast, almost deafening. Perfect.

Kael exhaled, a sharp breath. "This will have to do."

From his storage ring, he summoned stones—massive, glowing with the faint inner shimmer of energy: Compound-X. Over a hundred of them dropped to the ground with heavy thuds, each one worth millions in UN dollars.

"What's worth kingdoms… is going to be burned away tonight," he muttered, his voice carrying both regret and anticipation.

He placed them methodically, his movements precise, as though following a memory ingrained in his soul. Stone by stone, he arranged them into a wide circle, and within that circle he traced lines, arcs, and sigils with meticulous care. The pattern was ancient, more art than geometry, more instinct than science.

When the last stone was laid, the entire arrangement pulsed faintly—then came alive. Lines of light ran from the center outward like veins, connecting each stone, until the rune circle blazed with power.

Kael stepped into the middle, sat cross-legged, and shut his eyes.

And then, he devoured.

Energy flooded toward him in torrents, pulled into his chest like rivers converging into a whirlpool. His body was a black hole for Compound-X, red light flickering across his skin, arcs of power snapping against the ground. His hair lifted slightly, swaying in currents of invisible force.

He looked like a starving beast gorging after a century-long fast.

---

The Awakening

Then came the explosion.

A violent aura ripped outward from his body, shockwaves tearing through the barren land, blasting soil and dust away in a perfect radius. And yet, the rune remained intact—solid, untouchable, holding the storm together. His suit too, impossibly, was unscathed.

Moments later, a second explosion followed. This one was different. The aura wasn't red but yellow, brighter, sharper, purer. The air itself bent as a void rift split open in the sky above him, howling like the cry of a torn universe.

---

Hours Earlier: The Levels

As Kael devoured energy, Augustus' calm voice chimed within his mind, each notification crisp, mechanical, and mercilessly fast.

[ Level 95–96: 48%...62%...89%...100% ]

[ Level 99–100: 16%...24%...56%...100% ]

A surge of power slammed into him, threatening to tear his body apart. But Augustus wasn't finished.

[ Tier Advancement Completed. Searching for suitable evolution... ]

[ Evolution Aborted. Zulek's Seal Interference Detected. ]

[ Warning: Excess Sealed Power Unlocking. Override? ]

Kael's fists clenched, his teeth grinding. "Damn Zulek…"

[ First Evolution Unsealed. ]

[ Level Up: 100...114...150...179...200 ]

[ Second Evolution Unsealed. ]

[ Level Up: 200...223...256...287...295 ]

The numbers rolled like thunder. Kael roared as his veins glowed, his body stretching, straining, breaking only to rebuild itself stronger.

He summoned his stats.

---

[Name: Kael-X]

[Level: 295]

[Energy Level: 100%]

[Energy: Speed Force (Yellow), Voidstream (Grade 3)]

[Attributes: Speed-Spatial Laws]

[Speed: 50,460]

[Strength: 26,200]

[Space Control: 30,730]

[Stamina: 35,482]

[Undistributed Attribute Points: 4020]

[Potential Points: 5,650]

[Health: 76,343]

---

Kael's laughter burst out uncontrollably, echoing across the barren land like the cry of a god returning to glory.

"Hahahahahahahaha! This feeling… this feeling is back!"

"Shame on you, Zulek."

And then—without standing, without even preparing—he moved.

From his lotus position, his body snapped into Mach speed instantly. A boom thundered outward as he shattered the sound barrier, the shockwave flattening everything within hundreds of meters.

Windows shattered in villages kilometers away. Animals fled in panic. And from the skies, satellites caught the image of a streaking yellow flash cutting across continents in seconds.

Kael wasn't running on earth anymore. His legs didn't touch the ground—he was simply… everywhere. His blue hair had transmuted into streams of yellow lightning, whipping behind him as if the storm itself had chosen him as its avatar.

---

Maya Waits

Back in the city, the clock struck 1:00 AM.

Maya sat curled on the couch, knees tucked under her chin, eyes heavy with exhaustion. She had been waiting ever since Kael left, refusing to sleep until he returned. The television hummed in the background, muted.

Her head dipped once, twice… and then—

BOOM.

Every object in the room rattled violently. Cups fell, books tumbled, light furniture skittered across the floor. Even some heavy chairs slid inches away. The air itself twisted, electrified.

Maya's eyes snapped open.

And there, standing amidst the chaos, was Kael—wrapped in yellow lightning. His aura was wild, destructive, magnificent. For the first time since she met him, his face was visible beneath the lightning, clear, godlike.

Her breath caught.

"Kael… is that you?"

"Hahahahahaha! It's me. It's really me," Kael said, his laugh booming with pure exhilaration.

Maya stared, her chest tight, a strange mixture of awe and something she didn't want to name. Too handsome, she thought bitterly. No wonder Samantha…

"You've gotten stronger," she whispered, lips pursed in a pout.

With a faint snap, Kael retracted the lightning, the glow fading until only shadows returned. His hair fell forward again, covering his face.

"Yep," he said simply. "I have."

Maya frowned, her jealousy slipping out in a sharp mutter. "You look way more handsome with that lightning… shame you hide behind your hair."

Before Kael could respond, Elijah stepped in, wiping his hands on a rag. His grin was genuine, unbothered. "Wow. Kael… you've really gotten stronger."

"But that means more trouble, doesn't it?" Maya cut in, her tone sharper now, as though her concern had to be disguised as annoyance.

Kael's eyes narrowed faintly. His voice dropped into something darker, sharper. "Just… free me for a day."

The silence that followed was heavy, filled with both awe and the weight of what his power meant.

---

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