The training facility was massive—reinforced concrete walls, high ceilings, impact-resistant floors designed to take a beating. Equipment lined the walls: weights, machines, target dummies that had seen better days.
In the center of the room sat a crystal ball.
Not metaphorical. An actual crystal sphere about the size of a basketball, mounted on a sleek black pedestal. It pulsed with a faint blue light, circuits visible beneath the surface like veins. A mix of magic and technology.
Dante stood beside it, tablet in hand, looking entirely too cheerful for someone who'd been up all night.
Kínitos and Monti stood in front of him, both exhausted, both still sore from their three hundred push-ups. Red and purple littler there body's.
"Alright," Dante said, grinning. "Time to see what you're working with."
Kínitos eyed the crystal ball skeptically. "What is that?"
"Paradox energy analyzer," Dante said, patting it fondly. "Jade built it. Well, Jade designed it. Violet engineered it. I just get to use it." He gestured to the sphere. "It measures your energy output in joules. Tells us your capacity, your efficiency, how much you're burning through when you use your abilities."
"It's a magic eight ball that does science," Monti said.
"Basically, yeah. You where supposed to do this before you're mission. But yeah." Dante tapped his tablet.
"Okay, Kínitos. You're up first. Put your hands on the sphere."
Kínitos stepped forward, placing both palms against the cool crystal surface.
"Now," Dante said, "channel your paradox energy. Not your ability—just the raw energy. Like when you're buffing yourself for speed. Feel it flowing through you, then push it into the sphere."
Kínitos closed his eyes, focusing. He felt it immediately—that static sensation beneath his skin, the purple energy that had been humming quietly since The Stack. He guided it down his arms, into his hands, and—
The crystal sphere lit up.
Purple light flooded through it, swirling like smoke trapped in glass. Numbers flickered across Dante's tablet.
"Holy shit," Dante breathed, watching the readings. "Okay. Okay, that's… that's a lot."
"Is that good?" Kínitos asked.
"You're putting out twelve thousand joules, about a spoon full" Dante said, looking up with wide eyes. "That's… that's mid-three-star output. For someone who awakened their paradox, what, a few weeks ago?"
"Is that unusual?" Monti asked.
"Unusual? Try absurd." Dante made notes on his tablet. "Most people start around four to six thousand. It takes *months* of training to hit ten thousand." He looked at Kínitos. "You're either a natural, or your paradox is just that powerful."
Kínitos released his hands from the sphere. The light faded.
"Monti, your turn."
Monti stepped up, placing his hands on the crystal. He channeled his energy—felt the purple smoke stirring inside him, that familiar warmth—and pushed it into the sphere.
Red light this time, mixed with purple. The smoke manifestations were part of his energy signature.
Dante's tablet lit up with new numbers.
"Ten thousand eight hundred," Dante read. "Also really good. Solid three-star range." He grinned at them both. "You two are gonna be monsters once you learn control."
"So what's next?" Kínitos asked.
"Now we test your limits." Dante gestured to the far side of the training room. "We need to see how long you can hold your abilities active. How efficiently you use your energy. And what breaks your concentration."
He pointed at Kínitos. "You—go stand over there. Activate your immovability."
Kínitos walked to the marked spot on the floor. He took a breath, then felt for that state—the one where reality itself anchored him in place.
Immovable.
The world solidified around him. His feet became fixed points in space. Nothing could move him.
"Good," Dante said. "Now hold it. Don't release it. Just… be immovable."
Kínitos stood there, locked in place.
Dante looked at Monti. "Grab a hammer."
Monti's eyes widened. "What?"
"Hammer. Over there." Dante pointed to a rack of training equipment. "We need to test the degree of his immovability. See if he can feel impacts."
Monti walked over and picked up a sledgehammer. It was heavy—solid steel, meant for breaking things.
He walked back to Kínitos, hefting the hammer. "You sure about this?"
"Do it," Kínitos said.
Monti swung.