Akyo's alarm rang early, and he woke up easily.
Ana had pulled the blanket completely over herself, complaining about the noise in her sleep.
'She won't wake up on her own,' Akyo thought as he got up.
He set another alarm to ring a few hours later, tidied up the room a bit, got dressed, and headed to where he was supposed to go.
"Why does Tachi want to see me so early?" Akyo muttered, stretching as he walked.
He arrived at the training room, where the sound of impacts echoed from inside. 'Is he training?'
He opened the door, but the large white room was empty. "Did I dream it? I'm probably not fully awake yet," he said, looking around.
"WATCH OUT!"
Suddenly, Akyo felt a weight slam into him from behind, knocking him to the ground.
"Ow…" He slowly pushed himself up, rubbing his back. "I wasn't ready for that."
A voice behind him apologized, "Oops, sorry."
Sōsuke was sitting on the floor, his massive sword unsheathed and resting beside him.
"You're lucky I didn't stab you in the back. Would've been stupid if you died again. I came out in a hurry, that was close."
Akyo turned around, slightly irritated.
"Are you an idiot or what?! What are you doing with that weapon? And where did you even come from?!"
Sōsuke stood up. "Whoa, relax. You're fine, aren't you? And I came out of the ground."
Akyo frowned. 'What is he talking about?'
"What do you mean, out of the ground?"
The blond puffed out his chest proudly. "See, Sigurd blessed this beautiful sword and entrusted me with part of his powers. I learned how to dive into shadows, and I was trying to see how long I could stay inside. I almost suffocated though. I don't know how Sigurd manages to stay in there that long."
'He did mention that yesterday, but when I was younger, Sigurd told me it took him a long time to learn how to travel through his shadows. He mastered it that fast?' Akyo wondered.
At that moment, Tachi suddenly opened the door. "Good morning!"
Akyo and Sōsuke turned toward him.
"You're in a good mood," Akyo noted.
"Someone else in my training room?" Sōsuke complained.
'Your training room? Who does he think he is?' Akyo thought.
"Oh, you're here too?" Tachi said, surprised. He walked over to Sōsuke and stared insistently at his sword.
"What?" the blond asked.
"Nothing, nothing. Sigurd told me about your weapon. I just wanted to take a quick look." He then turned to Akyo. "But that's not why I'm here."
"You wanted to see me, right? What's going on?" Akyo asked.
Tachi stepped closer and began examining him.
"Do you feel any different since you woke up?"
"Not really. Nothing special."
Tachi finished inspecting him.
"Nothing unusual physically, but don't you find it strange that you ripped a door off its hinges while trying to open it gently?"
Akyo paused, remembering the cafeteria door he had sent flying into a wall. "Sorry about that. I think my sleep messed me up a little. I just misjudged my strength."
'No, that's not it,' Tachi thought as he moved away from them. "Listen. I want you to punch the ground as hard as you can, only using your physical strength."
He floated up into the air and noticed Sōsuke still sitting nearby. "Sōsuke! Don't just sit there. Move away!"
"Oh. Okay." The blond grabbed his sword and stepped aside.
'That burst of energy when he woke up wasn't normal. Then he nearly broke my back hugging me. The door isn't the only strange thing since he came back,' Tachi thought.
Akyo focused, pulled his arm back, and delivered a monstrous punch to the floor.
The entire room shook. The ground shattered as the shockwave spread across the surface.
The whole base trembled. Debris flew everywhere.
Tachi immediately raised both arms, creating two protective wind barriers, one in front of Sōsuke and one surrounding Akyo.
'How is that possible? That much power without using his godly strength…'
He placed his right hand toward the ground and lifted his left upward. Akyo and Sōsuke gently floated into the air as all the debris slammed back down to the floor. Then the entire room reassembled itself.
Akyo stared at the floor in awe, speechless.
Sōsuke looked thrilled, pressing his face against the edge of the air bubble containing him.
When the room returned to normal, Tachi gently lowered both boys and landed as well.
Akyo looked up at him. "How is that possible?"
Sōsuke rushed over. "That was fucking awesome! How did you do that?!"
Tachi, not really sharing his excitement, asked, "Are you sure nothing happened while you were asleep?"
Akyo didn't answer. He seemed lost in thought.
'Why isn't he telling the truth?' Tachi wondered, then sighed. "Forget it. Follow me. We're going to the lab."
The greek god stood up and followed him, still quiet.
Before leaving, Tachi turned back. "You coming, Sōsuke?"
"Will that weird scientist from last time be there?" he asked while standing up.
"Yes, she'll probably be there."
"Then no thanks. I'll train."
"Do as you please," Tachi said before exiting.
—---------------------------------------------
They walked to the lab.
"Do you have any idea what's happening?" Akyo asked.
"Not really. But if your strength without powers has multiplied, then something physical changed."
They arrived in the scientific wing of the base. Tachi led Akyo into a room he had rarely seen before.
Several soldiers were inside, shirtless, covered in different patches, performing intense physical tests.
Tachi greeted a woman in a white lab coat who seemed to be expecting them.
"What's going on here?" Akyo asked.
She shook his hand.
"These soldiers are taking their mandatory aptitude tests. Every six months, the Foundation requires individual physical evaluations to determine whether a soldier can remain in that role or should be reassigned."
"And you're going to test me?"
"More or less," she replied. "Take your top off."
Akyo complied.
She placed various patches on his body. "These are sensors. They'll allow us to detect any unusual muscular activity."
She finished attaching them to his biceps, chest, and other upper-body muscles. Then she pointed at a computer screen behind them displaying various data.
"It's simple. You'll punch straight ahead as hard as you can three times. That'll give us precise data."
Akyo hesitated. "I already punched the training room floor, I'm not sure that'll go well."
"Don't worry. I'll put a barrier in front of you," Tachi said, creating an air shield with a sweep of his arm. "You're good to go."
'These patches are itching,' Akyo thought.
When the scientist signaled him, he began punching forward into the air.
He waited a few seconds between each strike, the force of the blows made the walls tremble. He then delivered the third and final one before turning back to them.
But they were both staring at the screen.
"So? What does it say?"
They turned around. Tachi was stroking his chin, thinking, while the scientist began explaining.
"Good news. Tachi was right. The change is muscular." She stepped aside so he could see the screen.
"You see, humans never truly use the entirety of their strength. The brain places limiters on it to prevent injury. An average person performing physical effort usually operates around 70% of their muscular capacity. In extreme situations, those limiters can break, granting 'superhuman' strength, rarely without consequences. That's a simplified explanation, but you get the idea."
She pressed a button, and the data began replaying. "Look closely at your muscular output with each punch."
Akyo watched the gauge carefully.
20% — 100% — ERROR
20% — 100% — ERROR
20% — 100% — ERROR
20%
He frowned, and she noticed. "Unlike humans, gods have slightly different bodies. Your blood is thicker, you barely experience muscular fatigue, your hair grows faster, and your skeletal structure is monstrously durable. Most importantly, your muscles are far denser, which naturally gives you phenomenal strength."
She pointed back at the gauge.
"As you can see, you're reaching 100% of your muscular capacity, which, even for a god, isn't normal. But that's not the worst part."
Akyo kept staring. "What does the error mean?"
"I was getting to that. The error message indicates that you're exceeding 100% of your muscular capacity."
He looked down at his hands. "How is that possible?"
"I have an idea. At first, I thought your divine energy was activating naturally once you reached 100%, but it makes no sense that the sensors would detect that, and Tachi would have felt it. I believe that when you strike, your muscles compact and densify further. Imagine I punch you with my hand half open, then with a tightly clenched fist. The compact fist will naturally hit much harder. Think of it like that."
Tachi, who had been listening carefully, asked, "Do you know whether this ability is unique to Akyo, or rather Kratos, or if it's common among all gods?"
She turned toward him. "I can't tell you that for sure. But with all the different gods in the Foundation, we likely would have already seen a similar case if it were common. So unless proven otherwise,"
She looked at Akyo, who lifted his head, looking directly in her eyes, "He has just unlocked a new aspect of his divine abilities."