Chapter 8 – Training the Unseen
Morning came with no sunrise—just a dull silver glow bleeding through the storm clouds. Hollow Light never truly saw the sun anymore. The sky had turned into a ceiling of endless static, and beneath it, people learned to move fast and stay unseen.
Kai was already awake when Lira entered the training hall. The place was half-lit, the floor panels humming softly beneath his boots. A dozen holographic drones floated in orbit around him, flickering in and out of visibility.
"You didn't sleep," she said, tossing a small cube his way.
"Couldn't." He caught it automatically. The cube unfolded midair, forming a sphere of blue light. System text hovered above it:
> [Simulation Field: Level 1 – Cognitive Control Test]
Lira adjusted her gloves. "If that mark in your hand really links you to the Overmind, you need to learn how to block it. This will track every uncontrolled pulse you emit."
"Great," Kai muttered. "So basically, if I think too hard, it fries me."
She smirked faintly. "That's the idea."
With a gesture, the drones expanded into full-sized targets—metallic constructs shaped like humanoid shadows. They stood in perfect stillness, no features, no faces.
Lira tapped her wristband. "Begin."
The shadows lunged.
Kai moved on instinct. His body blurred forward, blade in hand. Sparks flew as steel met alloy. A second drone swung from behind; he ducked low, kicking it aside before spinning into a counterstrike.
He'd trained before—countless hours inside the academy simulators—but this felt different. Every movement drew faint pulses of light from the mark on his hand, like the shard beneath his skin was reacting to the fight.
"Focus," Lira barked. "Don't let it sync!"
But it was already happening. The world slowed, details sharpening—the hum of circuits, the heartbeat of machines. He could see the prediction lines of every drone, threads of possible motion extending seconds ahead.
He moved through them effortlessly, slicing through two in one motion.
When the last drone fell, the system chimed:
> [Simulation Complete – Cognitive Field Overlap: 47%]
[Warning: Partial Link Detected]
Kai collapsed to one knee, breathing hard. Sweat beaded across his forehead, but his eyes glowed faintly silver.
Lira approached, studying the mark pulsing under his skin. "It's syncing faster than expected. You're letting it guide you."
"It's not guiding me," he said through gritted teeth. "It's showing me what's possible."
"That's the same thing."
She crouched beside him. "If you keep giving it control, it'll stop showing and start deciding."
Her tone was sharp, but her eyes softened. "I've seen that look before. Power whispers—especially when it knows you're listening."
Kai looked away. "Then maybe I should stop listening."
"Too late for that."
She stood and extended a hand. He took it reluctantly, pulling himself upright.
"We'll start again tomorrow," she said. "For now, keep the shard quiet. No activation, no experiments."
He nodded, though he already knew he'd disobey.
---
That night, the shard pulsed again.
Kai sat cross-legged in his dark room, the mark on his hand flickering with faint blue veins. Every time he tried to suppress it, the light grew brighter.
> [Synchronization: 68% — unstable.]
He exhaled slowly. "If you're listening, tell me what you want."
For a moment, there was nothing—just the distant hum of the city. Then the air rippled, and a voice replied, "Observation. Integration. Understanding."
Kai frowned. "You mean control."
The voice didn't argue. It simply whispered, "Show us your limit."
And then, without his command, the Dimensional Store opened again.
This time, the categories were gone. In their place was a single, shifting window filled with infinite data streams—visions of other worlds, battles, beings wrapped in light. He saw reflections of people wielding powers that defied logic, heroes and monsters that bent reality like cloth.
> [Overmind Archive – Tier 0 Access Granted.]
The words burned into his vision. He reached out, not touching the display but feeling it touch back.
Memories that weren't his surged through him—fragments of civilizations that had risen and fallen, of soldiers who had once stood where he now stood. All linked to the same consciousness that now watched through him.
A jolt of pain ripped through his head. He screamed and clutched the mark.
The light went out.
> [Link Severed Temporarily.]
Kai slumped forward, panting. His mind felt split open—like he'd glimpsed something too vast to comprehend. Yet beneath the exhaustion, one truth had crystallized: he wasn't the first to make contact with the Overmind.
And he wouldn't be the last.
---
Morning found him on the training platform again. Lira was already there, eyes shadowed from lack of sleep.
"Couldn't resist, could you?" she said dryly.
He didn't answer. She sighed. "You're reckless. But maybe that's exactly what we need."
She tapped the console, and the floor shifted—this time, expanding outward into a simulated battlefield. Towering constructs rose from the ground, flickering like mirages.
"This is Level Two," she said. "Pain feedback enabled. No safeties."
"Good," Kai replied, cracking his knuckles.
As the simulation began, something inside him clicked. The mark flared, not in rebellion this time, but in rhythm with his movements. It wasn't guiding him—it was learning from him.
He danced through the battlefield, dodging blasts of energy, cutting down projections one after another. His body moved faster than thought, the line between man and system blurring.
When it ended, he stood alone in the silence of a shattered arena.
> [Simulation Complete – Cognitive Field Overlap: 92%]
[Result: Stability Achieved.]
Lira stepped forward, a slow grin spreading across her face. "You just hit ninety-two. That's beyond human limits."
Kai lowered his weapon. "Then what does that make me?"
Her expression faltered, the grin fading. "That's what I'm afraid of finding out."
He looked at his reflection in the polished floor. For the briefest second, his eyes weren't his own—they were endless, reflecting a thousand worlds.
And somewhere far beyond the storm, the Overmind watched, amused.