The morning sun filtered through the frost-streaked glass of the med-bay. Kael sat upright now, dressed in a fresh academy uniform. The aches in his body had dulled to a background hum, but the tension in his chest remained.
He could still feel it—that lingering heat buried beneath his skin. The fire hadn't just come from rage or fear. It had answered something in him.
But it wasn't his.
That's what Nathan had told him:
Mimicked powers aren't true powers—they're shadows. Echoes of the original.
He didn't understand it. Not fully.
A knock broke the silence.
Feyla stood in the doorway, her damp braid over one shoulder, arms crossed again. She stepped in without waiting.
"You look less like a corpse today," she said, offering the hint of a smile.
"Thanks," Kael said dryly. "Feeling about as lively as one."
She didn't sit this time. Just leaned against the wall and studied him.
"You really don't remember what happened that night?" she asked again.
Kael hesitated. "I told you—I remember heat. That's all."
She tilted her head, voice softer. "I saw the burn patterns. Whatever happened—it centered around you."
Kael shrugged, forcing nonchalance. "Maybe someone attacked me."
"Maybe," she said. But her eyes said she didn't believe it.
They stood in silence for a long moment before Feyla spoke again.
"Classes resume tomorrow. The instructors are acting like nothing happened. But I heard two of them talking—those burn marks weren't normal. They think someone high-level used fire there. But no one at this school is registered above Intermediate."
Kael looked up sharply. "And what if someone isn't registered?"
Feyla gave him a long, quiet look. "Then someone's hiding something."
She let the implication hang there before pushing off the wall.
"You coming to training tomorrow?"
Kael nodded. "Yeah."
"Good. You'll need the practice. That flicker of flame or whatever it was—if it was you—you'll need control. Fire isn't like water. It doesn't listen unless it respects you."
As she reached the door, Kael spoke up.
"Why do you care?"
She stopped, turning back just slightly. "I don't like watching people give up."
Kael stared at her retreating form long after she disappeared down the hall.
Then, quietly, to the silence of the room, he muttered, "I'm not giving up."
From somewhere deep inside, the system stirred.
Nathan: "Good. Because this is only the beginning."