"Kagetsu told me to meet him here," I muttered to myself, standing in the middle of the empty track field. The running paths surrounding the grassy expanse were quiet, and I was in my usual skin-tight shirt and shorts.
Moments later, Kagetsu came sprinting toward me, his usual sportswear clinging to his muscular frame. When he reached me, he stopped and said, "Time to train your ability."
"How do we do that?" I asked, confused.
Kagetsu crossed his arms. "You need to work on using more portals," he explained.
"I can do seven without stopping," I blurted out. "I didn't even realize… it must be Zane's memories blending with mine," I thought.
"So all you need to do is keep using your ability until you build its stamina," Kagetsu clarified.
"That makes sense… but what about you? You don't have an ability," I asked.
Kagetsu smirked. "Don't worry about me. I'll just run," he said.
Even though I had never consciously used Zane's portal ability before, it felt instinctive now, like an extension of my own body. I thought of a portal, and a black, circular vortex opened in the air. I couldn't see inside it.
I stepped through, floating in nothingness. Focusing on my target, I imagined my bed, where I'd been sleeping for the past seven weeks.
Whoosh.
The portal formed beneath me, and in an instant, I landed on my bed.
HELL YEAH, I thought, grinning from the sheer thrill of control.
I created another portal beneath me, this time imagining the field I had just left. I fell through, landing on the ground with Kagetsu staring down at me.
He gave me a big thumbs-up and a silly smile. "Keep it up."
After five more portals, I was drenched in sweat, struggling to breathe.
Is this what he meant by "stamina of the ability"?" I wondered.
After dozens of minutes resting, I continued portal after portal, while Kagetsu ran laps nonstop. This routine went on for six days straight. Over time, I discovered I could make about seven portals every fifteen minutes—my current maximum—and the range seemed limitless as long as I focused on the destination.
The one flaw of this ability was that I could only remain in that nothingness domain for ten seconds. After that time was up I would get vilantly expelled out onto the area I first formed the portal.
Finally, the day before the entrance exam, Kagetsu and I decided to rest. I spent the day at home, doing nothing productive—just scrolling through my phone and computer until nightfall.
I'll need to sleep early, I reminded myself. The exam would start at 8 a.m., and I'd need to wake up at 6:30, shower, get ready, and head to the exam location.
By 10 p.m., I was in bed, lights off. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and slipped under the covers. Moments later, my eyes grew heavy, my heartbeat slowed, and sleep claimed me.
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in my room. A stark white ceiling stretched above me, and I was in a long, empty hallway with no windows, no paintings—nothing. My clothes were white too.
What the fuck is happening? I muttered, confusion and a flicker of fear in my voice.
I ran down the endless corridor until a white door appeared. Hesitating, I muttered, "Either this is a dream, or I die if I open this door."
Taking a deep breath, I gripped the handle and pushed. A cool breeze brushed my face as I stepped through.
Before me lay a vast field, bathed in the orange-pink hues of a setting sun. The grass was lush and green, stretching endlessly with no buildings in sight.
Ahead, a figure sat on a throne. He wore a black suit and bowler hat, his head resting in clenched hands. Slowly, he lifted his head, revealing a glowing red eye.
Fear gripped me, my breath quickening. As he stood fully, I realized the impossible: he looked exactly like me—Zane—but with thick black bars across his face, one down each eye and one across his nose.
I tried to run, but my body was frozen. The man grinned, a terrifying curve that seemed to split the world itself, and snapped his fingers.
WHOOSH.
A gust of wind threw me backward. My eyes snapped open. I was in my bed, drenched in sweat, heart racing. Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise.
I grabbed my phone—6:00 a.m.