Chapter 9: The Moment Everything Broke
The training hall rang with controlled power.
Crystal vanished in a flash of pale light and reappeared on the upper platform, landing lightly, already turning her head to lock onto her next point. She inhaled once and blinked again, crossing the room in a clean line of movement. Every jump was precise. Every landing exact.
Below her, Arc stood with his feet planted apart, electricity threading along his arms like restrained fire. He clenched his fists and released a bolt forward. It struck the reinforced target with a sharp crack, leaving the air buzzing.
The target shifted but did not fall.
Crystal appeared beside him. "You rushed it."
Arc glanced at the scorched mark. "It still hit."
"Yes," she said calmly. "But it could have listened."
Arc smirked faintly. "You always say that."
She shrugged. "Because it's always true."
Their instructor watched in silence. There was nothing to correct. Both of them were advancing faster than projected.
Only one absence remained impossible to ignore.
Arc glanced toward the observation area. "He's not coming, is he."
Crystal did not answer at first. Her eyes drifted toward the far corridor, her expression tightening just a little.
"He's with Father," she said.
Arc's smile faded. "Again."
Crystal nodded once. "Train."
They did. Harder than before.
Elsewhere in the estate, silence pressed down like weight.
Mason stood in the smaller chamber, shoulders squared, hands clenched. Sixteen years old. No ability. No manifestation. Nothing that answered when he reached inward.
Richard Kane watched him without blinking.
"Again," Richard said.
The pressure returned. Cold and invasive. Mason grit his teeth, searching for anything that would respond.
Nothing came.
Richard's jaw tightened. "Sixteen years," he said quietly. "Your siblings bend the world to their will. And you remain unchanged."
"I'm trying," Mason said, voice strained.
"That is not enough."
The pressure lifted abruptly.
Diane entered the room moments later and immediately crossed to Mason's side. She rested her hands on his shoulders, grounding him.
"That's enough," she said firmly. "He needs rest."
Richard did not object.
Diane lowered her voice. "You are not failing," she whispered. "You are not late. You are you."
Mason nodded, fighting the ache in his chest.
For a brief moment, it worked.
Then Richard stepped forward.
Before Diane could react, the world shifted.
The pressure did not return to Mason's body. It went straight to his mind.
Fear surfaced. Isolation. Watching his siblings grow while he stayed behind. Being unseen. Being unwanted.
Then Diane cried out.
The sound cut through everything.
She fell.
Mason froze.
"No," he whispered.
Something inside him shattered.
The air exploded outward.
Raw force surged in every direction, tearing through the room without shape or control. Stone cracked. Equipment disintegrated. The chamber screamed under the pressure.
Richard braced himself, muscles locking as he endured the wave through sheer endurance. He staggered but did not fall.
When the force vanished, silence followed.
Mason collapsed to his knees.
Diane lay still.
His breath came in broken gasps. "I'll end it," he choked. "I'll end the Kane bloodline."
Richard approached him slowly.
"That is grief speaking," he said evenly. "Not resolve."
Mason looked up, eyes hollow, something permanently fractured behind them.
Elsewhere, Crystal stumbled mid jump as the air warped violently. Arc's lightning died in his hands.
Both turned toward the same direction.
Mason.
The estate settled into silence.
The Kane line had awakened something at last.
And nothing would ever be the same again.