Two days later...
The soft thwack of bare feet against polished wood echoed through the quiet dojo at the back of Kaela's house. Late morning sun filtered through the slatted windows, casting golden lines across the floor. The air held the faint scent of incense and old aether—like something ancient had once stirred here.
Liam stood at the edge of the sparring mat, stretching his shoulder. It didn't hurt anymore. Not even a little. No bruises, no soreness. Not even a scar where Brody's artifact had cut him.
"Still feels weird, doesn't it?" Kaela asked, tying her hair back into a tight ponytail as she stepped beside him. "Two days ago we were half-dead. Now we're… this."
Liam nodded slowly, his eyes flicking down to his hands.
"Yeah," he said. "I've been thinking about it since this morning. It doesn't make any sense."
He exhaled, and the memory crept back like a vivid dream.
---
Back in Saint Zephra's hospital... second morning
Liam had just started to sit up in bed when the door swung open.
The doctor—Dr. Hemez—strode in with a tired expression, a clipboard in hand and a nurse trailing behind him.
"Alright, let's take a look at our miracle children," he muttered sarcastically, not even glancing up as he approached Liam's bed. "Vitals check, muscle response, and then—"
He froze.
Liam blinked as the man's eyes widened.
"What… the…"
Dr. Hemez dropped the clipboard. It clattered to the floor.
He reached forward, gently grabbing Liam's arm. Turned it over. No bruises. No cuts. The skin was flawless.
His hands trembled as he stepped back and rushed to Kaela's side. He peeled back her blanket, his hands moving over her bandaged torso. Then he began tearing the bandages off.
"No scarring," he whispered. "No clotting. No discoloration. Not even residual swelling."
He spun toward the nurse. "Check the vitals again. Run a scan. Now!"
Kaela stirred, sitting up slowly. "What's going on?"
Liam glanced at her. Her eyes were clear. Her color had returned. She looked… healthy.
The nurse scanned them both with a medical tablet. Her mouth dropped open.
"Cellular regeneration… is off the charts. It's like they've undergone a full month of healing in less than twenty-four hours…"
Dr. Hemez looked at them like they were ghosts. "This... this shouldn't be possible."
Outside their room, murmurs began to spread. A nurse whispered to another. Another ran to the front desk. Within hours, the rumors had spread through all four floors of the hospital.
"Did you hear?"
"Room 204—the two kids. They were barely alive yesterday…"
"No one knows how. Some are calling it divine intervention."
"Others think it's some top-secret tech. Like a prototype nanomedicine."
By the end of the day, the entire hospital was whispering about them.
---
Back in the dojo…
Liam shook his head, snapping out of the memory.
"Still gives me chills," he muttered.
Kaela nodded. "Yeah. I heard a nurse whisper something about us being 'unnatural'—like we weren't human anymore."
"I don't feel cursed," Liam said, cracking his knuckles. "I feel ready."
From the back of the dojo, two figures stood in silence.
Lucas, arms folded, leaned casually against the wall, his eyes sharp and unreadable.
Dreck stood beside him, hands behind his back. Unlike Lucas, his presence carried a quiet intensity, like a blade that had tasted war and still hungered.
"You both recovered faster than expected," Lucas said. "But don't mistake healing for strength."
Kaela raised an eyebrow. "What are we doing today?"
Dreck's lips twitched in the faintest of smirks.
"Proving yourselves," he said simply.
Lucas stepped forward. "You'll spar. Full contact. No killing blows—but don't hold back. Let's see what those bodies can do after whatever saved you."
Kaela smirked and bounced lightly on the balls of her feet. "You're going down, miracle boy."
Liam grinned back. "We'll see, secret assassin sibling."
Kaela rushed forward first, footwork precise, striking high with a left hook.
Liam ducked, swept low with a spinning kick, and the clash began.
The dojo rang with the sharp cadence of feet sliding, fists striking, and breath hissing between clenched teeth.
Kaela's elbow came fast, targeting Liam's temple. He deflected it with his forearm, absorbed the blow's shock, and spun away just in time to avoid her sweeping kick. She didn't wait—she chased, relentless, pressing in like a storm.
But Liam didn't back down.
Now he fought with intent.
Kaela had tasted defeat before. She didn't want to taste it again. Not from him. Not ever.
She was stronger than she had ever been. More focused. More grounded. And above all—furious at how weak she had been two days ago.
Their fists met mid-air, a loud crack splitting the room like thunder.
Neither of them moved.
Then, with a grunt, Liam pivoted low, sweeping Kaela's feet. She backflipped, caught her balance, landed in a crouch, and pounced again.
Their fight became rhythm—raw, precise, beautiful. Not flashy. Not showy. But hungry.
Hungry to improve.
Hungry to overcome.
Hungry to never lose again.
Every block, every punch, every pivot carried weight.
Dreck and Lucas watched in silence, eyes sharp and unreadable.
Ten minutes passed.
Then fifteen.
Neither side gave in.
They weren't holding back. They weren't waiting for permission. They were fighting with purpose.
Finally, Liam landed a body blow that sent Kaela staggering. But she didn't fall.
She smiled.
"Better," she said, panting. "Still not good enough."
They both stepped back, breathing hard, sweat clinging to their skin.
Lucas finally moved from the shadows, slow and deliberate.
"Enough," he said.
Kaela wiped her forehead. "We didn't even scratch each other."
"You weren't supposed to," Dreck said, stepping forward now. "You were supposed to feel what your bodies could do. What they've become."
Liam blinked, still catching his breath. "So… what exactly happened to us?"
Dreck crossed his arms. His eyes were steady.
"What you two experienced in that hospital," he began, "wasn't a miracle."
Lucas chimed in. "It was instinct. Something deep inside you activated the moment your bodies thought they were dying."
Kaela narrowed her eyes. "You're saying we… did that? On our own?"
"Yes," Dreck said. "And no. The truth is… you were both born with something rare."
He walked slowly to the center of the mat, standing between them.
"A natural ability so uncommon, it's almost considered myth. Aetheric Regeneration. A trait only one in a million people are born with. Sometimes even rarer."
Liam looked down at his hands. "We can heal?"
"Not instantly," Lucas added. "It's not immortality. And it won't save you from decapitation, poison, or total blood loss. But when your core believes survival is still possible, your cells respond with accelerated regeneration."
Kaela frowned. "So why now? Why didn't this kick in when I was injured before?"
Dreck's voice lowered.
"Because pain wasn't enough. But fear? Helplessness? The idea that you could really die that night in the hospital? That triggered it. You didn't fight for your life. Your bodies decided to survive."
Liam shivered. "It felt like something pulled me back… like I refused to let go."
"That was it," Lucas said. "That refusal. That stubborn, stupid will to live... That's the trigger."
Dreck gave a faint nod.
"It takes time to activate now. Even with this ability, you won't regenerate instantly again unless pushed to the edge. From here on, your healing speed will improve—but expect at least a full day or two for recovery after severe damage."
Kaela's voice dropped. "So we're rare. Freaks, basically."
"No," Dreck said, eyes firm. "You're chosen. Whether by fate or biology doesn't matter. What you do with it does."
Lucas turned toward the door. "The world is changing. Fast. And this... this is just the beginning."
Kaela and Liam looked at each other, sweat still fresh on their skin, adrenaline still humming in their veins.
No glowing energy.
No mysterious surge.
Just two fighters who refused to lose.
And the first whisper of something far bigger waiting just beyond the edge of understanding.