It had been a while since I started training with them. And let me tell you—whoever said the old days were gold was a liar. The old days weren’t gold. They were molten, burning, and pressed against my skin like branding iron.

  And why do you think I’m saying this?

  Because it was hell.

  Solace, in all his infinite wisdom, had decided precision training was the next step. He told me I had to shoot the same target 100 times in a row. No problem, right? Not easy, not hard.

  Then he added, "If you miss even once, start over."

  …Right. I should have seen that coming.

  Still, I shrugged. “Fine. That’s how training works.”

  I got to work. The first attempt was laughable. I managed nine consecutive hits before my hands started to betray me. The second time, I made it to fifty. A massive jump, right? I thought so too. Then Solace, being the sadist he is, decided it wasn’t hard enough.

  “Every time you reach fifty, take one step back.”

  I had doubts. And I was right to have them.

  It wasn’t possible.

  At least, that’s what I thought.

  I tried. I tried again. I tried until my arms ached and my fingers cramped. It took two full days before I got close—seventy-seven consecutive hits before I missed. An obnoxious number. But you know what? Seven is my lucky number.

  And it hit.

  I was just about to let out a sigh of relief when Solace spoke again. “Now do it three hundred times.”

  …Seven isn’t my lucky number. I take it back.

  I think my soul left my body for a moment, but I did it anyway. And finally, after countless failures, I managed all three hundred shots. I turned to Solace, expecting some kind of acknowledgment. A nod. A slight hum of approval. Something.

  Instead, he said, “You haven’t learned it yet.”

  I wanted to throw the gun at his head.

  But I held back my violent urges and told myself that it would all be worth it.

  After all, I’d trained long enough. It had to sink in eventually, right?

  Right?

  Yeah, no. Instead of waiting for divine intervention, I went to check on Sebastian and Raven’s progress.

  Sebastian had his hands full. Between maintaining the house, taking care of Raven, and upgrading himself, he had somehow found a way to balance everything.

  And Raven? Raven had grown sharper. His body moved like a blur in the air, diving, weaving, cutting through the wind like a knife.

  Their training method was simple. Raven’s goal was to land a hit. Sebastian’s goal was to dodge.

  And to my surprise, he was doing well.

  Sebastian moved quickly, anticipating Raven’s strikes, shifting at the last second to avoid them. But Raven was relentless. The falcon cawed sharply—(because crows and ravens caw, even though he caws)—and flared his wings, switching directions mid-flight.

  Sebastian barely managed to twist out of the way.

  “Alright,” I called. “That’s enough.”

  Raven veered off, flapping onto the nearby railing with a satisfied puff of feathers.

  Sebastian was still catching his breath.

  I gave him a look. “Let’s have a spar.”

  His exhaustion vanished in an instant. “Yes, sir.”

  I sighed. “What did I say about calling me sir?”

  “My apologies, sir.”

  I gave up.

  We squared up. I decided to take it easy on him—he wasn’t physically awakened, after all. His Compatibility was entirely mental-based. But I had to admit…

  I had to focus.

  The moment the fight started, Sebastian lunged.

  I barely had time to blink before he slipped behind me, faster than I expected.

  Then came the back kick.

  I smiled.

  I let myself stagger forward slightly, keeping my balance intact. Sebastian recovered quickly, rushing toward me again. This time, he threw a punch straight for my stomach.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I leaned back—just enough to let his fist pass in front of me, brushing the fabric of my shirt.

  Solace hummed. “Looks like the training helped. Even though it’s just the start.”

  …The start?

  I had no time to question it.

  Sebastian pressed forward, hands reaching out in a swift attempt to grab me.

  And he succeeded.

  His grip was firm, his movements controlled. But there was a problem.

  I was out of his weight class.

  Even though I was absurdly tall—like, pretty damn tall for someone my age—Sebastian was no slouch himself, standing at around 6’3” or 6’4”.

  Still, he couldn’t lift me.

  But what he could do was throw me off balance.

  And he did.

  I quickly twisted out of his grasp and steadied myself. My mind was still adapting, still running on old instincts. I needed to switch tactics.

  I thought back to what I’d seen in old martial arts demonstrations.

  I adjusted my stance, shifted my weight—then shot forward with a palm strike.

  The force sent Sebastian stumbling back.

  Not much damage, but enough to put some distance between us.

  He took a sharp breath, steadied himself. His hands clenched into fists.

  He was tired.

  I dropped my stance. “That’s enough.”

  Sebastian hesitated, then nodded.

  I glanced at Raven. He had been watching the entire fight with sharp eyes.

  I smirked. “You learned something from that?”

  Raven ruffled his feathers, then cawed.

  “Good.”

  I turned back to Sebastian. “You’re improving. But you’re not there yet.”

  He straightened. “I’ll do better.”

  “I know.”

  I exhaled, rolling my shoulders. The exhaustion from training was starting to settle in, but there was still one thing left to do.

  I turned my thoughts back to Solace.

  “So,” I said. “What’s the Link you’re teaching me?”

  Solace didn’t even hesitate before answering. “Didn’t I already tell you? It’s precision.”

  I sighed. Of course. There was no winning an argument against him. Not because he was always right—but because he was the kind of person (or voice, or whatever the hell he was) who would just keep going until I gave up.

  Now that Sebastian was done with his task, I tried to plan my next move. There was always something to do, something to think about—but strangely, the voices had been unusually quiet.

  It had been a while since I last talked to them.

  That was weird.

  “Alright,” I said aloud, stretching my arms. “Why have you guys been so silent these days?”

  For a moment, nothing. Then, Asher’s voice drifted into my mind like a sigh.

  “We need to rest too.”

  I blinked. That was new. “What?”

  “We’re you too, you know,” Asher continued. “Even though we only exist in your mind right now, we still need to replenish our mental energy.”

  I frowned. “Since when do voices in my head need rest?”

  “Since always.”

  Yeah, great explanation. Very helpful.

  I crossed my arms. “So, what, you guys just… take naps?”

  “Not exactly.” Asher sounded amused. “We go into a state of slumber. It’s the only way for us to recover. If we don’t, we start losing stability, and that’s the last thing you want.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “How long are we talking?”

  “About a week. We’ve exhausted ourselves dealing with you.”

  “Wow, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  A week of silence? That sounded like both a blessing and a curse.

  “Wait.” A thought clicked. “If that’s the case, then what about Solace? He’s always there.”

  Asher chuckled. “That guy? He’s not the smartest among us for no reason. He sleeps when it has the least impact—like when you’re asleep or doing mindless tasks. That way, he’s always awake when it matters.”

  Of course, Solace had figured out some loophole. That was just like him.

  “So, are all the others asleep right now?”

  “Yup. Every single one of them.”

  Huh.

  I paused. “What about you?”

  “I already finished replenishing my energy,” Asher replied easily. “I didn’t take over your body, so I didn’t need much recovery.”

  That made sense. The ones who took control needed more energy to restore themselves.

  I hesitated before asking my next question.

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

  “Oh?”

  “At the funeral… after it, I know Fang and Solace took over. But before that, when things really went to hell—who was the one in control?”

  Asher’s tone turned serious. “That was Vail.”

  I stiffened.

  I hadn’t spoken to Vail yet. Not directly. But I had felt him.

  There was something different about him.

  Something wrong.

  I exhaled slowly. “You’ve mentioned the ‘evil twins’ before.”

  “Right. You already know Fang is one of them.”

  I nodded. “So Vail is the other?”

  “Exactly.”

  I clenched my jaw. I had figured as much, but hearing it confirmed wasn’t exactly reassuring.

  “And… you said Fang was the ‘lesser evil.’”

  “Correct.”

  I swallowed. “Then what does that make Vail?”

  Asher sighed. “Not just the greater evil—he’s the worst among us.”

  A chill crept down my spine. “…Worse than Fang?”

  “Far worse.”

  That was hard to wrap my head around. Fang was already bad enough.

  But then, Asher continued, his voice calm, matter-of-fact.

  “You say I’m an angel, right?”

  I frowned. “I mean, compared to the rest of you, yeah.”

  “And you think Fang is a monster.”

  I nodded. “Obviously.”

  “Then Vail is the devil.”

  Silence stretched between us.

  I didn’t speak. I just let those words settle.

  “He’s ruthless,” Asher went on. “To others. To himself. To anything that gets in his way. The only thing that matters to him is power. If it means growing stronger, he will do anything—no matter how brutal, no matter how costly.”

  I exhaled sharply. “…He sounds insane.”

  “Oh, he is. Completely.”

  Great. Just what I needed.

  I shook my head. “And he took over during the funeral?”

  “Yes. He didn’t just take over. He dominated.”

  That explained the aftermath.

  I ran a hand through my hair, forcing myself to move on. “Alright. What about the others?”

  Asher’s voice lightened. “The last two? That would be Daze and Greed.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Daze?”

  “The most talented out of all of us.”

  “Wait.” I held up a hand. “The most talented? Then why haven’t I heard him speak even once?”

  “Because he’s the laziest.”

  I blinked. “You’re telling me that the most powerful one out of all of you just… sleeps all the time?”

  “Exactly. Ever since we all woke up, he’s been asleep.”

  That was… unexpected.

  “What about Greed?”

  “Ah, Greed is the opposite. He has the most curiosity, the most creativity. He’s always looking for something new, something exciting. His mind never stops.”

  That made more sense.

  “So we have the evil twins—Fang and Vail,” I muttered, trying to keep track. “Then we have the lazy genius, the overly curious one, and…”

  “And the prodigy trio.”

  I blinked. “What?”

  “Solace, Daze, and Greed. Those three are in a league of their own.”

  “…You’re telling me Solace is on the same level as those two?”

  “Of course.”

  That actually didn’t surprise me. Solace was always ahead, always calculated.

  I crossed my arms. “And why are they called a trio?”

  “Because when we were awakening, those three stuck together the most. They shared their power, their thoughts. They developed in sync.”

  “Huh.”

  “Meanwhile, Fang and Vail were practically inseparable. They’re twins in every way.”

  “And what about you and Riven?”

  “We’re just… there.” Asher sounded vaguely amused. “We don’t belong to any special group. We’re just ourselves.”

  I exhaled.

  So, in total:

  Fang and Vail, the ‘evil twins.’

  Solace, Daze, and Greed, the ‘prodigy trio.’

  Asher and Riven, the outliers.

  My mind spun trying to process it all.

  “You guys have a lot of complicated relationships,” I muttered.

  “Welcome to your own head.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  This was only getting more chaotic.

  And somehow, I had a feeling This is just the calm before the storm.

  I turned away from the impending headache and looked at Raven. “Fly as high as you can.”

  Raven cawed, puffing up his feathers like he was offended I even had to ask. He could fly however high I wanted—probably even higher.

  “Quite confident, huh?” I smirked. “Alright then, keep going until I tell you to stop.”

  Raven wasted no time. He flapped his wings and shot into the sky, rising higher and higher, slicing through the air like a black arrow.

  I waited until he was nearly a speck against the endless stretch of blue. Then, cupping my hands around my mouth, I shouted, “Now embrace the air!”

  …Yeah, not my best line.

  But Raven, being the absolute legend he was, understood.

  Without hesitation, he folded his wings and lunged straight down.

  It was instant. One moment, he was up there. The next, he was a dark blur against the sky, plummeting toward the ground at terrifying speed.

  The sound came first.

  A deep, sharp boom—a ripple cutting through the air like a whip.

  Then another.

  And another.

  Raven was breaking through the air so fast that sound booms trailed behind him.

  I squinted, struggling to keep up. Even with my enhanced vision, tracking him was difficult.

  It was only when he was dangerously close to the ground—mere inches away—that he finally flared his wings.

  The force sent a sharp gust of wind in all directions, making the trees bend and my hair whip around my face.

  And just like that, he landed.

  No crash. No broken bones. Just a perfect stop.

  But it had cost him.

  Raven panted, his wings trembling slightly, his feathers looking ruffled—some on the verge of being torn off from the sheer force of the descent.

  I walked over and picked him up gently.

  “You’ve grown well,” I murmured, running a careful hand over his feathers.

  Raven let out a tired but satisfied caw.

  I took him inside, bathed him, and got him fresh again.

  And just as I was drying him off, my phone buzzed.

  A call.

  I glanced at the screen. The car dealer.

  I answered. “Yeah?”

  “The modifications are complete,” the man on the other end said. “I’m outside the mansion with your vehicle.”

  I grinned.

  Finally.

  I walked downstairs and called for Sebastian. He appeared within seconds, ever-efficient as always.

  “We’ve got a delivery,” I said.

  We both stepped outside.

  And there it was.

  A beast of a machine.

  Pitch black, sleek, and deadly. The kind of car that oozed danger just by existing.

  Its frame was reinforced—tough enough to withstand just about anything from a normal human.

  Of course, against an Awakener, it was about as effective as a glass of water in a burning house. But still, for everyday use? Perfect.

  The dealer stepped forward. “Everything’s set. Payment has already been processed, so there’s nothing left on your end. If you ever need further modifications, don’t hesitate to contact us.”

  I gave him a nod. “Appreciate it.”

  The man left, and I took a moment to admire the car.

  Damn.

  It was beautiful.

  A predator on wheels.

  I turned to Sebastian. “Park it in the garage.”

  He nodded, taking the keys.

  Meanwhile, I headed back to the terrace.

  I already knew Solace wasn’t done with me.

  “What’s next?” I asked, stretching my arms. “I assume you have something even worse planned?”

  Solace chuckled.

  And that’s when I realized—the hell I had been talking about?

  The hell Was Going to open it's gate's for me.

  To be continued...