"…Having fun?" Silas asked, completely deadpan.
Ezra groaned, flopping back onto the bed. "Go away."
"No, no, by all means—continue," Silas said, leaning against the doorframe. "It's not every day I get to witness someone trying to summon imaginary chains with the sheer power of desperation."
Ezra threw a pillow at him. Silas dodged effortlessly, shaking his head as he strolled inside.
"You do realize most Resonance abilities require some kind of trigger, right?" Silas mused, tapping a finger against his temple. "You don't just call them. They're instinctual. Your body has to recognize them as an extension of yourself."
Ezra frowned. "So what, I just feel it into existence?"
Silas rolled his eyes. "That's a dumb way to phrase it, but yes."
Ezra stared at his hands, deep in thought. If that was the case… then he needed to stop thinking about the chains as something separate. They weren't just an ability he had. They were his.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, reaching inward. He focused not on the idea of summoning them, but on the weight of them—the feeling of something there, connected to him, waiting.
And then—
A faint clink echoed in the air.
Ezra's eyes snapped open.
From his fingertips, thin tendrils of radiant chains flickered into existence, glimmering like golden threads of light.
He grinned. "Oh, hell yes."
Silas, watching from the sidelines, nodded approvingly. "Not bad." Then, after a pause—"Took you long enough."
Ezra let out a long, suffering sigh. "I swear, next time, I'm throwing something heavier."
Silas, already halfway out the door, didn't even look back as he muttered, "Try using your brain instead."
Ezra rolled his eyes before turning his focus back to the chains. They vanished exactly five minutes after being summoned—noted.
For his first test, he wrapped them around the headboard, watching as the luminous bindings coiled tightly like molten rope. He gave a sharp tug—
And immediately regretted it.
The headboard snapped free and smacked him straight in the face.
He groaned, clutching his now-bloody nose. "Okay… that was not part of the plan."
Wiping away the blood, he moved on to a sturdier target. The chains were thinner than he expected, three tendrils extending from his fingertips, but their grip was ironclad. He wrapped them around a chair next, pulling with a cautious amount of force—
The chair did not move cautiously.
Instead, it launched across the room like a catapulted projectile, obliterating the window before crashing to the ground outside with an echoing thump.
Ezra flinched, staring at the gaping hole in the glass. 'Yeah… I'm not explaining that.'
As he examined the aftermath, something else caught his eye—the places where the chains had touched were burnt, charred as if seared by molten iron.
He flexed his fingers, watching faint traces of light linger before fading completely. A slow grin spread across his face.
"Oh," he murmured. "Now this is interesting."
The next ability to test was Dawnstride.
Leaving his dorm, he made his way to the hallways where sunlight filtered through the towering glass windows, casting golden streaks across the polished floors.
His speed wasn't bad—in fact, it was noticeably above average—but it wasn't anything mind-blowing either. He stretched his legs experimentally, shaking them out as he prepared to test his limits.
That, of course, earned him a few looks.
Students passing by exchanged glances, giggling behind their hands, some outright pointing at him. A few muttered comments drifted his way—something about him looking like a dumbass.
Ezra ignored them, exhaling sharply as he set his stance.
'Alright. That should be enough.'
He focused, grounding himself—then turned sharply on his heel—
He sprinted.
The change was immediate.
Ezra felt it in his core—a sudden weightlessness, a shift in momentum that sent a shiver through his body. His steps no longer felt like his own; they were lighter, faster—effortless.
The world blurred at the edges as he moved. He whizzed past students, their startled gasps barely registering in his ears. Wind tore against his skin, his coat billowing behind him like a banner caught in a storm.
For a fleeting moment, he felt free—like a bird slicing through the sky.
Then, everything lurched.
His vision swam, his stomach twisting violently as his legs faltered beneath him. The weightlessness vanished in an instant, replaced by an unbearable dizziness.
Stumbling, he barely managed to brace himself against the wall before doubling over—emptying the contents of his stomach onto the floor.
Ezra groaned, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "Yeah… definitely a downside."
With a sigh, he pushed off the wall, already resigning himself to yet another trip to the infirmary.