The knock hit harder than it should've.
I pulled the door open, Matt and Neo hanging just behind me, eyes still foggy from the whole sleep-stare incident.
Standing in the hall was a Concord officer. Gray uniform, polished boots, expression set like carved stone. No badge name. Just the weight of authority radiating off him.
"Malakai Apolix," he said. "We are here to recruit you."
I rubbed at my eye — the one I still had. "Recruit me for what? I'm already working precinct shifts. My week's full enough."
His gaze didn't flinch. "Your lineage has manifested."
My chest went cold. "…That was just a dream."
The officer leaned in, voice quiet but cutting. "Dreams are doors. Sloth God Zoma has chosen you. That's not something Concord ignores."
Neo stiffened behind me. Matt's jaw ticked.
I scratched the back of my neck, yawning so hard it hurt. "Okay. So what? You gonna chain me to a desk? Stick me in a lab? I don't work like that."
"You'll work how humanity needs you to work," the officer snapped, then steadied himself, slipping back into that controlled calm. "Your powers are untested. Dangerous. Concord will provide structure, training, protection."
"Sounds like a leash."
"Call it what you want. But you can't hide this. Not anymore. Every scanner lit up when your soulprint shifted. You're on every board in Zone Alpha."
Neo stepped up then, voice tight. "He's not property."
The officer glanced at him once, dismissive, like Neo was just a shadow. "He'll cooperate. Because if he doesn't, Concord will make sure he doesn't take a single step without eyes on him."
I laughed — tired, cracked, but real. "You don't get it. I can make people sleep just by looking at them now. You sure you wanna play this game?"
For the first time, he faltered. Not long, just a flicker in his stare. But I caught it.
"You don't know what Zoma gave you," he muttered. "You think it's just tricks? You're touching divinity. Concord doesn't let gods walk free."
My hand drifted to the wall, steadying myself. "Then watch me walk."
I shut the door.
He didn't knock again.
---
The apartment stayed quiet after. Matt and Neo both staring at me, waiting for me to say something.
Instead, I let my body fold onto the couch. Exhaustion had its claws in me, and fighting it felt wrong now. Sleep wasn't weakness anymore. It was… a kind of throne.
Neo shook his head. "They're not gonna stop."
"I know." My voice came out muffled against the cushion. "But I'm too tired to care."
Matt barked a dry laugh. "That's the Sloth talking."
Maybe he was right.
---
Later that night, I couldn't stop thinking about the cloud. The way it hovered in my soulprint like a small sun waiting to be called. I stood on the roof, city lights buzzing below, air sharp against my skin.
I exhaled.
It came easy — a puff of white, solid and soft, rising under my feet. I stepped onto it, half-expecting to fall straight through.
But it held.
The Nimbus Cloud swelled, glowing faint at the edges. My scars didn't ache anymore. The tiredness in my muscles eased. I felt weightless, whole.
"Alright," I muttered. "Let's see what you can do."
The cloud lifted, slow at first, then smooth, steady, like it was reading my pulse. Zone Alpha shrank beneath me. Streets of neon, towers of cracked glass, the hum of the city all muted to a distant murmur.
For once, I wasn't running, wasn't hiding, wasn't clawing out of pits. I was flying.
I laughed — really laughed — wind tearing it out of me as the Nimbus curved higher. Air burned cold in my lungs, my coat flapping like wings. I tilted, thought about drifting left, and the cloud obeyed like it was part of me.
The field shimmered faintly around me. A bottle tossed up from some rooftop cracked against it, shattering harmless in sparks of glass. Projectiles couldn't touch me.
I leaned back, arms spread, staring up at the fractured stars. "Zoma, you lazy bastard," I whispered. "Maybe you were right."
The cloud carried me until dawn.
---
By morning, I had to come down. Nynxreach's gates loomed, students spilling in like always, backpacks bouncing, chatter buzzing. Normal. Too normal for what I'd just lived.
I slid off the Nimbus before anyone saw, let it fade into my soulprint.
The halls smelled like chalk and ink again. Same old place.
Until Neil nearly bowled me over.
His eyes were wide, hair even messier than usual, and he grabbed me by both shoulders like he'd just found buried treasure.
"You!" he hissed. "Malakai! Was it you? Tell me it was you!"
I blinked. "What?"
He looked around, lowered his voice. "The readings last night. Spikes across every scanner. A new lineage, resonating at divine levels. That was you, wasn't it?"
I tried to shrug him off. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Neil leaned closer, manic grin on his face. "Don't play coy. I can see it in your aura. Sloth. Zoma's mark. Do you realize what this means? We can study it. Experiment. You could be the key to proving resonance isn't just instinct, it's system. Science. A blueprint for divinity!"
His words tumbled faster than I could track. He was vibrating with excitement, scribbling equations in the air with his fingers like he couldn't keep them contained.
"Slow down," I muttered.
He laughed like that was a joke. "Slow down? No. Never. We need to test your cloud. Your gaze. The sleep field! Do you understand the implications? You might have broken the boundary between soulprint mechanics and divine lineage!"
Around us, students whispered, stealing glances. Neo leaned against a wall nearby, watching with that quiet frown. Matt crossed his arms, half-amused, half-concerned.
I sighed, shoulders slumping. "Neil, I'm not your lab rat."
"Not a rat," he said fiercely. "A pioneer." His grin sharpened. "And I'm going to help you chart it."
I didn't answer. My eyes already felt heavy again, lids dragging like anchors.
All I wanted was another ride on the cloud.