After school that afternoon, when Amano Sora returned home, neither his aunt nor Hanabira Nanami had come back yet.
That wasn't unusual. The daily schedule of professional Heroes was never as stable as that of ordinary students.
Sora took out his phone, ordered dinner for three people, and ate it himself before the others could return.
Only after his stomach was full did his thoughts finally drift back to the mysterious power that had awakened within him.
The Speed Force.
Even as someone who had transmigrated into another world, Sora found it difficult to fully comprehend the situation. He had read countless web novels, watched endless anime, and seen every kind of "cheat ability" imaginable—but actually obtaining such power himself still felt unreal.
And yet, whether it was a blessing, a trap, divine intervention, or some unknown scheme… none of that mattered right now.
Because one truth was absolute:
Without power, he had no right to question anything.
"If there really is some kind of conspiracy behind this," Sora muttered, "then the only way to resist it is to become strong first."
He rested his chin in his hand, thinking.
The Speed Force…
He still remembered what he knew about it.
Even though he hadn't watched all of The Flash in his previous life, he had looked it up before out of curiosity. The Speed Force was the origin of all speed—an extra-dimensional energy that granted its users superhuman velocity, accelerated perception, rapid healing, molecular vibration, time travel, and even reality-altering effects at the highest level.
Just recalling those descriptions made his heart race.
"I should test it myself," Sora said quietly.
No matter how much he theorized, nothing compared to real experience.
But testing it in broad daylight felt… awkward.
"I'll wait until evening," he muttered.
——
Not long after, on a quiet street near the Hero residential district, Sora stood alone, dressed in simple athletic wear.
Waiting until nightfall had been nothing more than an excuse.
He couldn't hold himself back any longer.
This was the power he had dreamed of for decades.
Standing at the intersection, Sora stretched his arms and legs, took a deep breath, and focused.
His heart beat faster.
This was the first time he would truly use his power.
"Alright…"
He exhaled slowly.
Then—
He ran.
At first, nothing seemed different. His speed increased slightly, but nothing extraordinary happened.
But as he continued forward, something inside him responded.
The Speed Force stirred.
Golden arcs of electricity began to flicker faintly across his body.
His legs moved faster.
And faster.
And faster.
In the blink of an eye, his entire figure blurred, wrapped in brilliant lightning as the world around him slowed to a crawl.
The air howled past his ears.
Red and gold streaks of light traced his path, leaving afterimages behind him.
Sora's eyes widened.
Everything had changed.
Pedestrians walking on the sidewalk looked like statues.
Cars moving at full speed crept forward as if trapped in molasses.
Leaves drifting through the air appeared frozen mid-fall.
Even his own thoughts felt sharper, faster, clearer.
"This… is the Speed Force…" he whispered in awe.
It wasn't just speed.
It was perception.
Cognition.
Motion.
The entire world had slowed to a fraction of its original pace.
"This is definitely beyond the speed of sound…"
His heart pounded violently, but not from exhaustion—only excitement.
He ran.
The wind tore at his hair, but he laughed freely, exhilaration surging through him.
"So this is what it feels like…"
Ahead, he noticed a bus stop crowded with people.
Among them, one man stood out.
The man's appearance was strange—clearly someone whose Quirk had altered his body. While society had long accepted heteromorphic Quirks, discrimination still lingered in the eyes of some.
But that wasn't what caught Sora's attention.
The man's hand was inside a woman's bag.
A wallet was already halfway out.
"A thief…"
Sora narrowed his eyes.
He didn't hesitate.
His body shifted instantly.
In less than a heartbeat, he crossed the distance between them.
He didn't strike.
Didn't grab.
Didn't shout.
Instead, he bent down, swiftly tied the thief's shoelaces together in a tight knot, and gave him a gentle push.
That was all.
—
Tsubasa Ando was having a good day.
Blending into the crowd at the bus stop, he skillfully tested the weight of the wallet he'd just lifted.
Jackpot.
But just as he was about to pull away—
Something brushed past him.
Then a force hit his back.
"What the—?!"
He tried to step forward—
And tripped.
Hard.
"Ahhh—!"
He fell flat on his face.
The wallet flew into the air, spinning before landing squarely on his forehead.
"Hey! That's my wallet!" the woman in front of him shouted.
She checked her bag and immediately panicked.
"Thief! He's a thief!"
The crowd erupted.
"What happened?!"
"Is it a villain?"
"Did someone get attacked?"
People scattered in alarm.
Someone rushed forward and started hitting Ando with her bag.
"Catch him! Someone catch him!"
Ando curled up on the ground, completely stunned.
He didn't even know what had happened.
All he knew was that his legs wouldn't move—and the beating hurt like hell.
Before long, patrolling Heroes arrived and dragged both him and the furious woman away.
As the chaos unfolded—
Sora stood nearby, invisible to the scene.
Then, in a flash of golden light, he vanished.
No one noticed.
Except one person.
Among the crowd at the bus stop, a thin figure narrowed their eyes.
A faint blue glow flickered briefly within them.
"…Interesting."
—
Sora slowed to a stop several streets away, his heart pounding.
He bent forward, hands on his knees, laughing breathlessly.
"That… was amazing."
The power.
The control.
The freedom.
He straightened and exhaled deeply.
But he didn't notice—
That somewhere behind him, unseen eyes had already taken interest.