Rayan left his room after finishing his conversation with Chris and Celine in the Golden Room, only to find everyone seated around the table, waiting for him to come down. He smiled warmly and said:
— "Go ahead and start eating… I'm here."
They ate together, and the atmosphere was calm and pleasant. After finishing the meal, Rayan turned to Liana and said:
— "Liana."
— "Yes?"
— "You and I are going on a reconnaissance mission."
She looked at him in surprise:
— "Where to?"
Rayan smiled:
— "You'll see."
At the Hospital
The two arrived at the hospital. Liana suddenly stopped walking… shocking memories rushed back to her. Rayan noticed and spoke in a reassuring tone:
— "I know it's hard… but bear with it a little."
She nodded in agreement.
Celine led them to a specific spot behind the hospital and said:
— "I buried the Stone of Agility here."
Rayan raised an eyebrow:
— "Exactly where?"
Celine pointed… at dog droppings.
Rayan sighed:
— "Just my luck…"
He pushed the droppings aside with a stick and began digging slowly until a shiny red stone appeared.
Rayan picked it up and whispered to Celine:
— "How did no one find it?"
Celine replied:
— "As long as the stone has no bearer… its energy remains sealed."
— "Alright… I understand."
After that, Rayan and Liana headed to the place Celine had mentioned. They arrived at an abandoned house near a café.
Rayan said calmly:
— "Act normal."
Then he continued:
— "Do you remember when you said you'd gotten a little better at using your ability?"
Liana nodded.
— "I want you to focus and listen to the thoughts of the people inside that building."
Liana closed her eyes, trying to concentrate… but suddenly she grabbed her head in pain.
— "There are… so many minds! Their thoughts are all rushing in at once!"
Rayan said:
— "Try to focus on just one voice. If it's not useful… move on to another."
She took a deep breath:
— "Alright… I'll try."
She began picking up thoughts one by one… most were useless, some embarrassing or strange. Then… an important voice emerged:
— "If the bosses find out the base has been compromised… they'll wipe us all out. We must change the headquarters immediately… and move all experiments and documents… especially the stones. The operation will take four months."
Liana conveyed everything to Rayan.
Rayan gently patted her head:
— "See? You did it. Thanks for the information. Now… let's go home."
Rayan gathered the team and said:
— "Our next step is clear. We'll train under Chris… then infiltrate this place and recover the stones with minimal losses."
Jamal raised his hand hesitantly:
— "Will… four months of training be enough?"
Rayan smiled:
— "Not four… two months."
— "What?! That's impossible!"
— "Chris will train you four hours a day. This puts my body at risk, since I can only endure three hours… but there's no other choice."
— "You must learn to control your powers as efficiently as possible. I expect excellent results from you."
He glanced at his watch and said:
— "It's time."
Suddenly… Rayan's eyes glowed gold. Everyone knew Chris had appeared.
He spoke in a powerful voice:
— "Greetings. I am Chris… the former bearer of the stone. I will be your trainer from now on. I expect discipline… and efficient work. You have ten minutes to change your clothes and meet me in the backyard."
He shouted loudly:
— "Move!"
Everyone rushed toward the back at once.
Chris picked up three branches: two long ones and one short one.
— He wrapped the branches so they became uniform in size, then said, "Each of you, choose a branch."
After the selection, the two long branches went to Jamal and Liana, while the short one went to Nova.
Chris then said to Jamal and Liana:
— "Step forward. The first to surrender… loses."
Jamal said nervously:
— "Liana… I don't want to hurt you. It's better if you surrender."
She smiled confidently:
— "Don't worry about me. Worry about yourself."
Jamal lunged forward, but Liana lightly grabbed his arm with astonishing speed and used a jujitsu move that completely disoriented him and left him unable to move.
She said coldly:
— "If you don't surrender… I'll break your shoulder."
Jamal tried to resist, but his position only worsened.
Liana muttered:
— "Then… I'm sorry."
Jamal quickly shouted:
— "I surrender! I surrender! Let go!"
She released him, and they both stepped back.
Chris said:
— "Good, Liana… you've received excellent training. As for your ability… I can't help you directly. I'll only guide you."
Liana asked:
— "And how do I gain better control over it?"
Chris replied:
— "I want you to sit in crowded places: a cinema… a market… a restaurant… a public park. You must learn to separate thoughts and focus your mind on just one person. This will be painful… but it's necessary."
Liana sighed:
— "That… will be torture."
Chris then turned to Jamal:
— "You are very strong… and that works against untrained people. But against a fighter like a werewolf… you'd be defeated easily. We'll raise your level significantly."
Then he lifted the short branch:
— "Now… round two: Nova versus Liana."