The next morning, Arun woke up with a decision already made in his head.
No more casual testing.
No more using the power like a toy.
No more accidental panic-freezes.
He was moving to Mumbai soon — a huge city, new environment, new people, bigger risks, and much higher chances for problems.
If his power misfired there, he'd be in trouble.
So today?
Today was Training Day.
He called in a half-day leave.
"Urgent personal work," he told HR.
(Technically true. The personal work was becoming a time-controlling anomaly with self-discipline.)
He took a backpack, filled it with water bottles, an old watch, a tennis ball, and some trash items, then headed out.
Where to train?
Chennai had no quiet places.
Except maybe…
The abandoned railway shed near the old station.
Perfect.
The Training Ground
The shed was next to an unused track, partially broken, covered in dust, and occasionally visited by couples avoiding parental judgment.
Luckily, at 11 AM, it was empty.
Arun stepped inside. Light rays fell through holes in the roof. Pigeons stared at him suspiciously.
He closed the door behind him and exhaled.
"Okay. Let's find out what the hell you're capable of."
He set the backpack down and took out the first item — the tennis ball.
TEST 1: Freeze Duration Control
He tossed the ball up.
It rose…
He whispered:
"Stop."
Freeze.
The ball hung in mid-air.
Arun looked at his watch.
"Counting…"
5 seconds.
10 seconds.
15 seconds…
Around 47 seconds, he began feeling a heaviness behind his eyes.
A small throbbing near his temples.
50 seconds.
55 seconds.
A soft buzzing sensation in his ears.
59 seconds.
Then—
Thud.
Time resumed abruptly.
The ball fell to the ground.
Arun rubbed his temples.
"So… one minute is my hard cap right now."
He exhaled, relieved.
That lined up with the accident too.
TEST 2: How far can he walk during a freeze?
He froze time again and walked toward the far end of the shed.
No resistance.
He kept going.
Out the shed.
Onto the empty track.
Past the broken fence.
The frozen silence followed him like a dome.
He walked almost 300 meters before he felt something… odd.
A strange tightness in the air.
Like pushing against invisible rubber.
The more he walked, the heavier the air got, like time itself was resisting.
He stopped.
"Ah. Boundary."
He poked the air ahead.
His hand didn't go through.
It was like touching a transparent wall.
He stepped back.
The resistance faded.
"So my freeze has a RANGE."
He estimated mentally.
Roundtrip from shed to boundary ≈ 600 meters total movement.
Which meant:
Freeze radius ~300 meters.
Not global.
Not citywide.
But big enough to cover:
A train station
A marketplace
A corporate office floor
A bus
Which was… insanely useful.
He walked back toward the shed.
"Okay. Rule discovered: Time freeze radius ≈ 300 meters."
He paused, considering.
If I level up one day, maybe it'll expand.
TEST 3: Object Movement Limits
He froze time again.
Picked up a small stone.
Tossed it.
It froze mid-air.
He walked behind it and pushed.
The stone moved normally.
He tried a wooden plank.
He could move it, but with more force.
Then he walked to a rusted metal drum.
"Let's see…"
He pushed.
It didn't move.
He strained harder.
Still nothing.
His shoulder burned.
He stopped.
"Okay, okay. Heavy objects = not possible unless selective unfreeze."
He focused.
Tried to unfreeze the drum.
Nothing.
Then he placed both palms on it, closed his eyes, and willed:
Move.
A tiny vibration.
He felt the mass loosen slightly.
He opened his eyes and pushed again.
The drum moved two centimeters.
"YES!"
He nearly fist-pumped.
"So with selective unfreeze, I can move heavy things too, but it takes a LOT of focus."
He scribbled a mental note:
Selective Unfreeze Efficiency = Depends on object size & concentration.
TEST 4: People
This one made him hesitate.
He didn't want to freeze someone random and touch them.
That felt… wrong.
He needed someone safe.
Luckily, he had an idea.
Near the shed was an old cut-out statue of an actor lying on the ground, only half intact.
Human-shaped enough for testing.
He froze time.
Walked to the cut-out.
Placed a hand on it.
"Unfreeze."
Nothing.
He tried focusing deeply.
He imagined the cut-out separating from the frozen world's stiffness.
He imagined it "falling" into his moving bubble.
The cardboard shifted.
Just a little.
Arun's eyes widened.
"Okay so technique matters. It's about mental anchoring, not words."
He picked up the cut-out's hand.
It moved.
Freely.
"YES!"
Then he felt something.
A tug.
A heaviness.
Like dragging a fridge uphill.
He winced.
"People-size objects cause MASSIVE strain."
He dropped the cut-out hand gently.
Strain vanished.
So:
Moving frozen human-sized objects = significant physical cost.
He rubbed his sore hand.
"This will be useful in Mumbai… but only when necessary."
TEST 5: Selective Unfreeze Range
He placed several objects around the shed:
Tennis ball
Metal screw
Plastic bottle
Coin
A piece of brick
A cloth rag
He froze time, then stood in the center.
He pointed at the tennis ball.
"Move."
He visualized it unfrozen.
He flicked it.
It bounced.
He smirked.
Next: screw.
He attempted unfreeze.
The screw didn't move.
He walked closer.
One meter away — nothing.
Half meter — slight vibration.
Touching distance — normal movement.
"Ah. Range is tiny for small items."
He tested bottle.
Three meters away → nothing.
Two meters → slight movement.
One meter → fully free.
He tried the coin.
He couldn't unfreeze it at all — only physically push it.
He scratched his chin.
"So small objects are harder. Larger, heavier objects easier."
Then the realization hit him.
"No… not size. Complexity of edges and movement."
A screw, coin — too small, too defined.
But a bottle?
Bigger surface = easier anchor.
He laughed softly.
"My power is less 'god mode' and more 'physics teacher with anger issues.'"
TEST 6: Time Re-Entry
He froze time and ran around the shed.
Fast.
Fast enough that his lungs burned.
Then he said:
"Resume."
Everything continued normally.
He wasn't tired.
But he felt… displaced.
Like his brain overclocked.
A slight dizziness.
He steadied himself.
"Okay. Using powers aggressively affects ME first."
Makes sense.
He wasn't immune to fatigue.
BREAK TIME — Talking to Himself
He sat on a broken tile slab, drank water, and sighed loudly.
"This is too much science for one day."
He leaned back against the wall.
"What will HR do if I accidentally freeze time during onboarding? 'Sorry Ma'am, I paused reality because I sneezed.'"
He shook his head.
He needed more control.
He closed his eyes.
"If I want this power to behave… I need to be able to summon it and dismiss it without panic."
He inhaled deeply.
Training time was not over.
He stood again.
TEST 7: Trigger Refinement
He attempted to freeze time:
By blinking hard — nothing.
By clenching fists — nothing.
By imagining the accident — slight flicker.
By focusing on stopping everything — freeze.
So the rule became clear:
Direct intention = strongest trigger.
Strong emotion = secondary trigger.
Voice = optional.
He let out a relieved sigh.
That was manageable.
He could think it, and it would obey.
More or less.
FINAL TEST: Multi-Object Unfreeze
He placed the tennis ball and bottle side by side.
Time froze.
He focused on both objects.
He imagined them inside his moving bubble.
He opened his eyes and flicked the tennis ball.
It bounced.
He kicked the bottle.
It rolled.
He pumped his fist.
"YESSS! Two objects at once!"
He tried adding the screw.
Nope.
He almost fainted.
"Okay okay… limit is two big objects. Enough."
CONCLUSION OF TRAINING DAY
Arun packed his bag, exhausted but satisfied.
He walked out of the shed into the bright afternoon sun.
His mind wasn't racing anymore.
It was structured.
Clear.
He had rules now:
• Freeze duration: 1 minute max
• Range: ~300 meters
• Small objects: hard to unfreeze
• Large objects: easier with focus
• People-sized: heavy strain
• Multi-object unfreeze: max 2 at current level
• Emotion triggers are dangerous — need control
• Selective unfreeze requires mental "intent", not command
He smiled slightly as he walked.
He wasn't scared of the power anymore.
He respected it.
He understood it.
And he was ready to take it to Mumbai.
But somewhere deep in his chest, a strange tug remained.
The name Rathore.
The initials A. S.
He didn't know why.
But he felt — with the same instinct that saved his life — that Mumbai was not just a transfer.
It was the beginning of something enormous.