Scene: Rooftop of Kian's childhood home – late evening
The sun dipped low, casting warm orange hues across the quiet city skyline. Wind whispered over the rooftop tiles of Kian's old home the place he had once played, laughed, and listened to his father's stories under the stars.
Now, he sat cross-legged at the center, shirt fluttering in the breeze. His eyes were closed, his breathing calm. The world felt… closer somehow. Alive.
Below, the house held traces of comfort and memory the smell of home-cooked meals, the hallway he used to race down. But up here, above it all, Kian felt the hum of something deeper: the world's rhythm calling to him.
Mickyle's words from earlier that day still echoed in his mind.
"You're ready, kid. You've stopped looking for strength to run from the past now you're chasing it to protect your future. That's when Tier 7 starts to listen."
Kian opened his eyes. A faint shimmer danced in the air around him, soft and subtle at first, like heatwaves.
This was resonance.
He placed a palm to the stone beneath him. No core, no glowing center. Just his veins pathways of power refined through pain and resolve. And now, they began to drink in the surrounding energy.
Green lightning sparked faintly across his forearm. Chaos stirred deeper, coiling in his muscles. Space flickered around his back, teasing the edges of void.
Kian gritted his teeth as the pressure grew but this time, he didn't resist it. He welcomed it.
"I'm not running anymore," he whispered to himself. "I'm rising."
The rooftop lit with flickers of green and violet. Power, once wild, now circled him in tight orbits. His breathing slowed… then stilled. His heart aligned with the pulse of the world.
He was resonating.
And Tier 7 heard him.
later that evening
Scene: Inside the house,
The door creaked softly as Kian stepped back into the house. The warmth inside contrasted the cool, charged air he'd just left behind. His skin still hummed faintly with the aftershocks of resonance, faint wisps of green lightning trailing his fingertips before fading.
Nia was on the couch, legs curled under her, flipping through a notebook filled with scribbled diagrams from her training. When she looked up, her eyes lit up with quiet concern.
"You've been out there a while," she said, standing as she placed the book aside. "Everything okay?"
Kian smiled faintly, his chest rising and falling slower now. "Yeah. More than okay."
She tilted her head, stepping closer. "You did it?"
He nodded, still a bit breathless. "I resonated. Tier 7."
A smile bloomed across her face proud, warm, and a little teary at the edges. Before she could say anything, Kian reached out and pulled her into a hug. Not rushed. Not dramatic. Just… full.
She melted into him, arms wrapping around his back, resting her head against his shoulder. He smelled faintly of ozone and the faint earthy trace of stone and lightning.
"I'm stronger now," Kian murmured softly, voice almost breaking. "Not just because of the power… but because I'm not alone."
Nia tightened the hug.
"I thought the past would break me. But you, Chandler, this house… it gave me something to protect. A reason to grow."
Nia looked up at him, her cheeks pink. "You're going to make me cry again."
He chuckled. "I'm serious though. I wouldn't have made it here without you."
"Don't get soft on me now," she teased with a gentle poke to his ribs.
"Too late," he whispered, eyes locking with hers for just a moment.
The silence that followed wasn't awkward. It was full heavy with everything unsaid, but deeply understood. Eventually, she nudged him toward the kitchen.
"Come on, Lightning Boy. You just unlocked Tier 7. You've earned some hot tea."
"And a bath," he added with a smirk. "Resonating with the world kind of makes you feel like you got hit by it."
She laughed. "Welcome to the next tier."