"Did… did the dude just rip up the floor and turn it into a ball? That's rad. No wonder you creamed when you looked into his mind."
"P-please, just say I screamed. And… and yes, it is impressive."
"Yo. Y'all seeing this?"
"Damn."
The group exchanged glances, trying to gauge each other's reactions after what they had just witnessed. Their reactions were all different, but one thing was clear—they were all shocked.
But no one felt it more than Hannah. Her feet moved forward on their own, closing the distance between her and Riley.
"You…" she muttered, her eyes flicking between her brother and the tiny crater he had supposedly made. She stopped in front of him, both of them looking down at the dented floor at the same time.
Then, without warning—
"Riley!"
Hannah screamed, not in fear or anger, but pure, unfiltered joy. She grabbed Riley's hands, practically vibrating as she started hopping in place, waving their hands up and down.
"I told you! You have powers!"
And Riley also hopped with her, but his face was as expressionless as ever. The two spun in place like children at recess, Hannah laughing uncontrollably.
Until that is—
Riley coughed, and a small splatter of blood landing on Hannah's cheek.
"Oh my god—Riley!" Hannah gasped, immediately stopping. Her joy turned to panic as she wiped the blood from his mouth, her fingers trembling.
Due to her excitement, she had completely forgotten that Riley had just taken one of the worst beatings in his life just moments ago—even their training with their father didn't go that far.
"You—you need to go to the clinic!" she urged.
But Riley simply shook his head.
"No. The test is not over, Hannah."
"What do you—"
A sharp gust roared behind them, forcing Hannah's hair to whip around her face as she was interrupted.
She turned, only to see Hera touching down on the platform, her massive wings retracting back into her body as if they had never been there.
Hannah's wide eyes quickly narrowed. She wanted to glare at her, but she swallowed it.
"Ma'am…" she said, her tone just a little sharp. "You're not planning on continuing the test, are you?"
Hera didn't answer right away. Instead, she raised a single finger in a silent gesture for patience, her steps slow as she approached the tiny crater.
She crouched down, reaching out with two fingers and giving the tiny marble inside a little flick.
The sound it made as it rolled back and forth was louder than they expected, the marble hissing across the smooth surface like a concrete door being dragged.
"Do we continue our spar, Ms. Hera?" Riley asked, stepping forward while the compressed ball was still rolling.
Hera flicked the ball absentmindedly, watching it glide across the smooth platform. "Are you not tired at all?"
Riley glanced at his palms before answering, although his hands were slightly shaking, his voice was not. "I do not believe so, Ms. Hera."
"Hmm…" Hera pinned the ball down with a single finger, stopping it in place.
Was this why her body had reacted to Riley earlier?
A telekinetic who supposedly unlocked their abilities today had already compressed an extremely tough alloy into a tiny sphere?
Was it instinct? Talent? Raw unreleased power? Or was her body reacting to him because—
He was dangerous?
Hera exhaled through her nose. "Are you sure you haven't unlocked your powers before today?"
"I do not believe so, Ms. Hera." Riley shook his head. "But… is that possible?"
"Yes," Hera nodded, eyes narrowing slightly. "Our bodies have ways of ensuring survival. Maybe you already had it and it was just waiting inside you until you were ready. Maybe not." She sighed. "I guess it doesn't really matter."
With another small breath, she picked up the compressed ball and stood up.
Riley immediately took a step back, already preparing to fall into a stance. "Are we going to spar again, Ms. Hera?"
But Hera only shook her head.
"No."
Then, with a flick of her wrist, she let go of the compressed ball—dropping it right in front of Riley. The sound it made was solid, the dense sphere burying itself slightly into the reinforced platform.
"Now, try moving that."
Hera took several steps back. The other examinees—Jericho, Pauline, Benjamin, and Bella—gulped in unison before instinctively stepping away. Then, after a brief hesitation, they took another step back for good measure.
The only one who didn't move was Hannah.
All she wanted was for her brother to stop and let the doctors treat him. But this was the first time she had ever seen him so determined—so persistent—about anything.
So all she could do was watch.
Watch as Riley once again stretched his palm forward, his gaze locked onto his target.
He was completely focused.
He recalled what it felt like to crush the platform. He fixated on the sensation, on the weight of his will pressing down.
And then—he envisioned something else.
Blood. Pain.
He remembered the mangled corpse from earlier, limbs twisted unnaturally, brutally impaled, life drained away. Then, in his mind's eye, he saw Hera… lying in a pool of her own blood.
"Hmm?"
A chill crawled up Hera's spine. The fine hairs on her arms stood on end. She narrowed her eyes at Riley, her instincts sharpened—but her body wasn't telling her to move. Which meant… he wasn't planning to attack her.
Yet, at least.
The others barely breathed, their eyes locked onto the tiny ball embedded in the platform as if they wanted to move it themselves.
And then—almost as if their teamwork worked…
It trembled.
The cracks surrounding it spread outward, the platform fracturing further.
"Only move the ball, Riley Ross."
"Okay."
Riley nodded without hesitation as he heard Hera's words, his usually expressionless face now showing a hint of… something. His eyes were wide—perhaps the most emotion he had shown in hours.
And then, he felt it.
It was as if an invisible arm extended from his body, reaching out—not toward the entire platform, not toward Hera, but only toward the tiny ball.
Soon, it was instinctual, like breathing.
The moment his mind grasped it, the ball lifted.
Hannah wanted to scream, wanted to cheer, but she held her breath, afraid of breaking his concentration.
Slowly, the ball began to float toward Riley—no, not just toward him. Much like Bella's demonstration earlier, it started rotating around him.
"Yo, that my trick?" Bella quipped, only for Benjamin to immediately shush her.
The group continued to watch in silent awe as the veins on Riley's neck and arms started to surface. The ball spun faster and faster, gaining speed with every second.
Still slow compared to Bella's earlier display, but still—fast.
And then—
"Riley!?"
A thin trail of blood dripped from his nose.
"Ah, there it is!" The twins pointed at him in unison.
"Man, tell him to chill—he workin' himself too hard!" Bella hurried to Hannah's side. "That shit used to happen to us a lot too when we was children and first awakened our powers!"
The moment Hannah heard that, she rushed forward, frantically waving her hands at her brother.
"Riley! You heard them! You can stop now!" She hollered, forcing a smile. "You did it! We… I think we can be together in Mega Academy!"
Her smile, however, faltered almost instantly.
"Riley…?"
He wasn't listening.
The ball only spun faster.
And then, ever so slowly, a smile crept onto Riley's already wide lips.