Something was wrong with Yoo's eyes.
He woke up and the world looked... different.
Not blurry, or broken, just—
Too clear.
Everything had edges. Sharp, perfect edges. Like reality got an upgrade while he slept.
The ceiling tiles above him—he could see every crack. Every grain. The tiny imperfections where the factory pressed them together.
That's not normal.
"Awake, I see."
Han stood in the doorway. She held a breakfast tray but didn't move closer. Just watched him.
Like she was waiting to see if he'd do something dangerous.
"How long was I asleep?" Yoo asked.
"Fourteen hours."
That long?
His body felt strange. Not tired. Not energized either. Just... present.
Like every muscle knew exactly where it was and what it could do.
He sat up.
The movement was effortless. Smooth.
His body moved like water—no wasted energy, no hesitation.
What's happening to me?
"Your integration jumped overnight," Han said.
She set the tray down, still keeping distance.
"Forty-seven percent now. The seed is changing you faster than we predicted."
Yoo looked at his hands.
Normal hands, Nothing changed
But when he focused—really looked—he saw something else.
Light.
Golden threads flowing under his skin. Moving through his arms in patterns. Following invisible paths.
My Gi. I can see my own Gi.
"That's new," Han observed.
"You're seeing energy flows?"
"Yes."
"Internal or external?"
"Both."
Yoo looked at her—without trying, he could see her Gi circulation.
Diamond-rank energy moving through her body like a living river. Powerful. Controlled.
"Your energy is... bright."
Han's expression shifted. Not fear—recalculation.
"You shouldn't be able to see Diamond-rank Gi patterns at your level. The difference should blind you."
She pulled out her scanner. "Stand up. I need readings."
Yoo stood.
The floor felt... alive under his feet. He sensed vibrations in the walls, footsteps three rooms away, even the hum of distant machinery.
Everything is louder. Clearer. More.
Han ran the scanner. Each beep made her frown deepen.
"Neural activity up thirty-seven percent," she muttered.
"Sensory processing—completely restructured. You're developing new brain pathways that don't exist in normal humans."
She lowered the scanner.
"You need to understand something. You're not human anymore."
The words hit like cold water.
"What?"
"Cellular analysis shows seventy-three percent human tissue. The rest is..." Han hesitated. "Something else. The seed is rewriting your biology."
Twenty-seven percent not human.
And increasing.
"By the time integration finishes," she continued, "maybe sixty percent human. Maybe less. Whatever Kaelthas made you—you've crossed a line."
Yoo should have been terrified. But the other fragments—those broken memories—felt... resigned.
I need power. This is the price.
"I understand," Yoo said quietly.
"Do you?" Han moved closer.
"When factions find out a Primordial personally invested in you? They'll want to control you. Or kill you."
Great.
"The cooperation deal still stands," she said. "One month of testing. Then we give you information about your father. But know this—you're now our most important subject."
She gestured to the tray.
"Eat. Then we test your new abilities."
She left.
Yoo stared at the food.
Rice porridge. Vegetables. Tea.
With his new sight, he saw too much—
grains, fibers, particles floating in the tea.
This is overwhelming.
"Recommend selective focus," Akasha said in his mind.
"You can choose detail level."
How?
"Intent. Think 'normal sight' or 'enhanced sight.'"
He tried.
Normal sight.
Everything blurred to normal.
Enhanced sight.
The world exploded with detail.
Back to normal.
Relief.
He ate quickly, The rice was cold but he dlidn't care.
Testing Chamber Three
The room looked like a nightmare obstacle course.
High platforms, Uneven barriers. Moving targets.
"This is perception testing," Han's voice echoed from above.
"Fifty holographic markers. Ten minutes. Begin."
10:00
Yoo moved.
Twelve markers in seconds.
Easy.
Enhanced sight—
The room lit up. Energy flows, currents, residual Gi.
Markers hidden behind energy fields.
Eight minutes later: forty-nine tagged.
One left.
He scanned deeper.
Then saw it—
a distortion between spaces. Half-real.
He reached with Gi, touching the thin veil—
Tagged.
"Time. Fifty of fifty. Nine minutes, fourteen seconds," Han announced.
"Previous record—seventeen minutes."
Beat a Gold-rank.
At Iron 19.
"Next test. Combat scenario. Six holographic opponents. Evasion only. Begin."
They attacked together.
Yoo's enhanced sight tracked every motion.
Punch—lean.
Kick—drop.
Slash—roll.
Perfect movement.
Then all six attacked at once—no escape.
Unless...
He remembered his finger turning translucent before.
What if I do that to my whole body?
It might not end wellg
He pushed his Gi outward—
His body flickered. Turned half-transparent.
The attacks passed through him.
He snapped back. Gi already drained by a quarter.
Too costly, if this had been 4 times More costlier would have happened.
The thought of it was...
"Time," Han said slowly.
"You just became intangible."
"Half-real," Yoo panted. "For one second."
Han blinked. "You invented a dimensional technique mid-battle."
"The seed helps," Yoo said simply.
"That's not how techniques—"
"Unless he's changing," a deep voice interrupted.
Director Kwan appeared beside her.
Diamond 55. Authority in every step.
"The boy's not just seeing clearer," he said.
"Kaelthas gave him enhanced creativity. His brain explores thousands of options instantly."
He turned to Yoo.
"You understand what you're becoming?"
"Yes, sir."
"And that it makes you a target?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good."
Kwan's voice softened just slightly.
"One month protection. After that—you're alone."
He left.
Han exhaled.
"You just got the Director's attention. Congrats—you're top-priority now."
Great.
"Back to medical bay," she said. "Scans tonight."
Medical Bay – Evening
Yoo lay on the table, pretending to rest.
Actually, he was thinking.
Three days till the hijack.
Sixty-eight percent success.
Failure means death.
Third time dying. Lucky number three?
He almost laughed.
Then—
Reality cracked.
A presence descended.
Pressure. Awareness.
"You're adapting well, Good, That's Good."
Kaelthas.
The Primordial watched him.
"Forty-seven percent integration. Impressive. But know this—your cooperation month is shortened. Your father's pain will increase. The challenges—deadlier."
Yoo couldn't breathe. The air itself trembled.
"Three years till the cosmic game ends, I said."
A pause.
"I lied. You have two. Maybe less."
What?
"Entertain me, specimen."
Then—gone.
Reality stitched itself back together.
The techs didn't notice.
Kaelthas just changed the timeline.
"Akasha?" Yoo whispered in thought.
"Did you catch that?"
"Affirmative. Recommend acceleration. Timeline compressed."
How much?
"Unknown. But months matter now. Not years."
Yoo clenched his fists.
Dad's suffering increased. Time shortened. Difficulty higher.
Kaelthas is playing with us.
Then... he remembered.
In another timeline, I fought Primordials. And won.
I'll do it again.
He looked at his hands. The golden Gi shimmered under his skin.
Two years instead of three? Fine.
This path is not taking me, anywhere
The scan completed.
The techs left.
Yoo lay alone in darkness.
Planningand calculating his next move
This will work.
It has to.
But why do i feel like...someone hates me so much.
Everyone I care about dies.
And I'm not letting that happen.
Not again.