(A Month Later)The wind was still in the forest, but Kai's breathing wasn’t.He stood rooted in the middle of a dense clearing, surrounded by twisted trees and fallen leaves. Morning sunlight filtered lazily through the canopy, catching the golden glint in his half-lidded eyes. His muscles were tense, drenched in sweat, his shirt already sticking to his body.Zora stood quietly beside him, arms folded, expression unreadable, like always.Kai’s third eye was open.The world around him was stretched wide, too wide. He could see the flutter of a squirrel’s tail in a distant tree. The twitch of a leaf behind him, the pulse of life and motion in every direction without having to turn.He saw it all.Everything… except Zora.Again.It had become normal and of course expected. The heavenly eye, despite its ability to detect even the faintest trace of energy and matter, never captured Zora’s presence. It was like she was a void, untouchable by the divine sight.Kai didn’t ask anymore, he was

Zora stood a few feet behind him, arms folded under her chest, expression unreadable, except for the sharp shake of her head. A slow, disappointed movement that sliced deeper than words.Kai noticed her expression and then looked at her, frowning. “Why are you shaking your head like that?”Her gaze met his, cold and steady. “Because you disappointed me.”That hit harder than any blow.Kai’s jaw flexed, but he said nothing.Zora stepped closer, her boots crunching the leaves underfoot. “You wasted too much energy, all that flair, all that muscle, just to take down opponents who were beneath you.”She looked at the spot where the masked assassins had escaped. “And still… they got away.”The words cut, Kai froze, his chest tightening.He thought he'd done well, thought he’d shown growth. But from Zora’s eyes it was nothing more than a show of reckless power.“You don’t get it, do you?” Zora’s voice dropped, low and sharp. “You weren’t supposed to fight them.”Kai blinked, confused. “What

That night, not long after Abigail had gone to sleep in the guest room, peace covered the penthouse and Kai sat cross-legged in his room, shirtless, the markings on his back faintly pulsing as he meditated. His breathing was steady, calm and focused. For once, he felt the world slow down, his energy flow steady, and his thoughts finally in alignment but then...SLAM!The door burst open like someone kicked it with a vengeance.“Kai, get your damn self out here.”His eyes snapped open and his brain registered the name.... Zora.Of course it was Zora.He blinked. “Zora, are you serious right now, it's dead in the night and you are screaming my...?”“No talking, just get here now.”“I’m cultivating...”She folded her arms and leaned on the doorframe. “Cultivating? With the awareness of a dead fish? If you don’t get up and put on something decent, I swear I’ll drag you out by your boxers.”Kai groaned and rubbed his temples. “Let me change, woman.”She turned and walked away like a queen

Zora stood tall amidst the oppressive silence, her arms crossed, her eyes never leaving Kai. The night around them still held its breath, as if unsure whether it dared to move again, she nodded once, the ghost of approval tugging at her lips. “Good,” she said. “You’ve learned how to release it. Now you need to master it.” Kai didn’t speak, he was still feeling the weight of his aura spreading across the grounds, it was powerful, raw, and unrefined. Zora stepped closer, her tone sharpening, “Right now, you’re a ticking bomb, that aura of yours doesn’t care if someone’s a friend or an enemy. If they’re weaker than you, it will crush them regardless.” Kai’s jaw clenched, his eyes moved to Abigail, and his chest tightened. She was on her knees, breath hitching, her body trembling under the strain of his pressure. Blood had started to leak through the fabric on her knees, soaking into the dirt beneath, she was seconds away from collapsing completely. “She’s your ally, your woman

Immediately Kai screamed, he braced for pain, real, mind-melting, soul-ripping pain.He waited for his brain to explode, his spine to snap, something, anything but then, nothing happened, nothing hurt but instead, a gentle warmth flooded into his skull. Not fire, or pressure. Just a stream of glowing golden data, a rush of knowledge flowing through his mind like someone had cracked open a dam made of secrets.The energy slipped into the crevices of his memory, lighting up places he didn’t know existed, it wasn’t torture as he'd assumed, it was… a gift.A ridiculously invasive, terrifyingly Zora-style gift and the glow faded slowly causing Kai to open his eyes, blinking.Zora tilted her head, staring at him like she was checking if he’d short-circuited.“Coward,” she said flatly, her voice sharp enough to cut titanium. “You screamed like I fried your ancestors.”Kai blinked again, still trying to process.Before he could respond, Zora snatched Abigail out of his arms, lifted her like