The morning sunlight filtered lazily into the apartment, golden and warm, but there was nothing warm about the stomping that echoed down the stairs.Zora appeared, hair wild, face grumpy, and stomach clearly leading the charge."I'm hungry!" she declared, as if the universe was responsible. "Why the hell are hospital meds designed to make you eat like a beast? I feel like I could swallow a cow whole!"Kai, who was seated on the couch with a tablet in hand, didn’t even glance up. His finger continued scrolling through the digital screen as he casually sipped water, acting like a certain someone wasn’t unleashing war cries at the breakfast table.Zora narrowed her eyes. “Oh, so now you're deaf too? Great. My only company in this miserable world is a mute, scrolling corpse. Do I need to faint before you look up?”Kai sighed, finally giving her a glance. “What do you want now?”She folded her arms dramatically. “Groceries. I need groceries. And not the poor-man groceries please. I’m talki

Kai watched the beast kicking up dirt and leaves in its final, twitching breath. The echo of the impact still rang through the trees when Zora dropped from her perch in the tree like a meteor.She landed hard, so hard the earth cracked beneath her feet, forming a shallow crater with her boots in the center like a damn superhero landing.Without even glancing at Kai, she dashed toward the dead creature, eyes gleaming like she’d just found a pile of treasure. Her lips curled in delight as she crouched beside the body, licking them with disturbing enthusiasm, as if she’d been starving for a beast buffet.Kai stood there, still trying to breathe, still stunned.His chest heaved. His hands trembled slightly. Sweat dripped down the side of his face. He’d just unleashed a technique so violent it had shocked him and it had actually worked. Better than he ever imagined. Still, he could feel the intense pull on his energy. His insides felt like chewed wire and battery acid.He narrowed his eyes

Kai shifted in his seat, eyes still on the half-eaten soup bowl like it might attack him. “Alright then... Explain it better. The beast. The energy. This whole blowing-up nonsense. I want to understand.”Zora paused mid-bite, fork hovering midair. She looked up slowly, squinting at him like he’d just requested calculus at midnight.“You seriously want a lesson now?” she asked. “After I just saved your intestines from becoming air freshener, wasn't the explanation I gave okay?”Kai didn't blink. “Yes.”For a moment, it looked like she might throw her fork at him. But then, for some unknown reason...pity, amusement, boredom, she sighed and set her plate aside.“Fine,” she muttered. “Scoot over, big bro, it's story time.”Kai didn’t move.She ignored that and continued anyway. “You see that beast you fought earlier?” she began, hands gesturing like a drama teacher prepping for stage. “As crazy as it sounds, that oversized forest turd was cultivating.”Kai frowned. “Beasts can do that?”“

Kai barely got the words out before Zora suddenly sat up like someone had just slapped her with a frying pan.“Ah! That’s true! I’ve been meaning to talk about that your shiny little eyeball situation and it's important!”She jabbed a finger at him like he was caught red-handed.Kai blinked. “You... forgot to tell me something important?”“Yes,” she said without remorse, “and it’s all your fault.”He stared at her in stunned silence. “How... how is it my fault you forgot something?”She squinted at him like it was obvious. “You distracted me. With your questions and your stupid soup face and your constant breathing.”Kai’s mouth parted. “...My breathing?”Zora waved dismissively. “It throws me off balance. Anyway, listen, Eyeball Boy, this is serious.”He was too confused to argue the nickname.She sat properly now, legs crossed, arms folded, face full big-sister energy. “That Heavenly Eye of yours? Yeah. It’s cool. It’s powerful. It’s shiny. But it’s not a toy.”Kai stayed quiet and

Five hours later, Kai finally staggered out of the cave.His clothes were shredded, barely hanging off his frame, blood clung to his arms, streaked across his chest, and trickled down the side of his face, some of it was his, most of it wasn’t.His breathing came in rough, uneven bursts, and with every step he took, his knees threatened to buckle. The ground beneath him felt foreign, like he wasn’t walking on earth but on the edge of consciousness.His body was covered in bruises, bite marks, claw trails, deep gashes lined his ribs and shoulders, even with his healing ability, it was slow, slower than before, the kind of injuries that left a lingering sting, even after the flesh closed.Zora, sitting cross-legged on a rock nearby like she’d been on a picnic this whole time, looked up when she heard him.And burst out laughing.“Well, damn,” she grinned. “You actually made it out. Wasn’t betting on that.”Kai glared at her like he wanted to snap her neck with his eyes.She stood lazily