Adam's eyes fluttered open to the insistent blare of his phone. The jarring ringtone sliced through his sleep, instantly irritating him. He fumbled for the device, sitting up in bed, and squinted at the screen. Tilda. "Why is she calling at this hour?" he wondered, noting the time: five in the morning. "Hello?" he answered, his voice still thick with sleep.

"Adam, you need to get here "now!" Tilda's voice was urgent, laced with a frantic energy that jolted him fully awake.

"What is it? What's going on?" Adam demanded, already swinging his legs over the side of the bed, reacting to the urgency in her tone.

"I can't say it on the phone. It's too important. Eddie and Kim are already here. You need to get here quickly," she said, her voice breathless.

"Okay, I'll be right there," Adam replied, pulling on a shirt. He didn't bother with shoes. With a burst of speed that defied the early morning stillness, he vanished from his room, leaving only the lingering scent of sleep and the faint echo of Tilda's warning.

In the blink of an eye, Adam stood before Tilda's house. He didn't bother knocking. He simply entered, finding Instructor Kim, Eddie, and Tilda in the living room, engaged in an intense conversation. Their faces were etched with worry.

"I'm here," Adam announced, his voice sharp with urgency. "What happened?"

"That was fast," Eddie commented, a hint of awe in his voice.

Instructor Kim's expression was grim. "I'm afraid I have some bad news," he said, his voice heavy. "It seems the Founders have accelerated the absorption process."

"What?" Adam's shock was palpable.

"I was surprised too," Eddie admitted.

Tilda's voice was low, tight with dread. "They're going to do it during the tournament."

"But... why?" Adam's question hung in the air, unanswered.

Instructor Kim shook his head. "I don't know for certain. All instructors and teachers received orders to prepare for the absorption process... next week."

"Next week!?" Adam's voice was incredulous, the gravity of the situation finally hitting him.

"Yeah, at first we had two months to prepare," Eddie said, "and we weren't even sure if that was enough time."

Tilda's face was pale, her eyes wide with a stark, familiar terror. The fear was raw, visceral, as if she were reliving some horrific memory. "At this rate, it's going to happen," she whispered, her voice trembling. "It's going to happen again. They're all going to die... because of me."

Adam turned to her, his gaze firm and reassuring. "Tilda, no," he said, his voice calm but resolute. "No one is going to get absorbed."

Tilda looked at him, her expression a mixture of desperate hope and lingering fear. "But how? How are we going to stop it?"

Instructor Kim spoke, his voice grave but determined. "I have an idea," he said, "but it's a very risky one."

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Eddie nodded grimly. "Any plan is worth trying at this point."

"Only one Founder would have been powerful enough to take on all of us if it weren't for Adam's new power," Kim said.

"What do you mean?" Adam asked.

"The orb they created can absorb any power-holder's power, but not yours. I think you already know the reason for that," Kim explained.

Eddie asked, "Are you talking about how his aura is now different from ours?"

"Yes," Kim confirmed. "During the tournament, I want you to activate your power."

Tilda protested, "What? But wouldn't that hurt him? He almost died after he activated it before!"

"Your forgetting the fact that he almost killed me in the process? Eddie thought, but remained silent.

Kim said, "I know, but he only needs to do it the way he did back then when I told him to show it to me."

Tilda started to object, but Adam cut her off. "I'll do it!" he declared.

"Yeah, but—" Eddie began, but Adam cut him off.

"It's the only way, right?" Adam said, his voice firm.

"Yeah, that's part of it," Kim confirmed.

"What's the whole plan?" Tilda pressed.

"Adam activating his power will buy us time," Kim explained. "The orb can't handle that kind of power. The Founders assumed they wouldn't need to build an extraction device strong enough to withstand that kind of aura. Creating it would have taken far more time and energy. And it would have required one more god-level power holder."

"How many god-level power holders are there exactly?" Eddie asked.

"One," Kim answered.

Adam was taken aback. "One? But I thought you said there were four god-level power holders."

Tilda explained, "That's the story we were told to tell all the other power holders."

"Why would they order you to say that?" Eddie asked, his suspicion growing.

"The reason is still unknown to me. But that's what they said," Kim answered.

Adam pondered this, then asked, "Wait, you said one of the Founders could defeat all of us combined. Aren't the other Founders just unique power holders like Tilda and yourself?"

"They are unique power holders, yes," Kim confirmed, "but I think you're forgetting the fact that they've been absorbing other power holders for quite some time now."

"Right," Adam acknowledged, the implications sinking in.

Kim continued, "The rest of the plan is that I'm going to have to bring back some people's memories and ask for their help. We're really lacking in numbers, and even if we stood a slight chance against the Founders on our own, the teachers and instructors wouldn't stand by and watch."

Tilda, however, remained unconvinced. "He's right, but I still don't understand why Adam has to activate his power during the tournament."

"If they see that Adam has..."Kim's voice trailed off, lost in Adam's preoccupied mind. The thought hung unfinished, swallowed by a wave of deeper concerns. "Should I tell them about Ragnarok? But he told me he would kill them if I did. He also said he could come out at any time, and I somehow believe that." A shiver ran down Adam's spine. He shook his head, pushing the unsettling thought aside.

Kim, oblivious to Adam's internal turmoil, continued, "Okay, since everyone's aware and knows the plan, I can head back." He started for the door.

"Wait, I didn't hear the whole plan. Why did I zone out during such an important conversation?" Adam thought, a jolt of frustration running through him.

Kim, already at the door, added, "Oh, and the academy is canceled for today, so the tournament continues, and the next phase is today. Be prepared." He closed the door behind him.

Eddie sighed. "He's always quick to leave after saying what he needs to say."

"Is it really going to work?" Tilda asked Adam, her voice laced with apprehension.

"I sure hope so," Eddie replied, his own expression tight with worry.

Adam frowned, lost in thought. "The next phase of the tournament is today. I wonder what it is?"

Tilda explained, "You're going up against the last nine people who succeeded in the first phase. You'll have to win."

"Wait, this is a free-for-all, right? At first there were fifty of us, each fighting individually. Now it's down to ten, and we'll all fight each other to win?" Adam said, the implications sinking in.

"Yeah," Tilda confirmed, her voice tight with apprehension. "This is going to be hard. The tournament was just yesterday. Are you... are you not exhausted?"

"I am a little, but I have no choice now, do I?" Adam said, a sigh escaping his lips. "I guess I'll just have to go back and rest. The sun hasn't even come up yet, so maybe I'll have regained some of my strength by then. I need to go and think about this." He exited the house, leaving Eddie and Tilda behind.

Eddie watched him go, then turned to Tilda. "Yeah, me too, you know. After this second phase, it might be you or me entering the next round of the tournament, right? So I guess we both need to prepare." Eddie also left, leaving Tilda alone in the house.

Adam arrived at his house, rubbing his dirty legs on the doormat before stepping inside. He went straight to his bedroom and sat on the bed. His heart was beating a frantic rhythm against his ribs. How could he sleep? He'd just heard the news – everyone might actually die in a few days; the tournament was today as well. He closed his eyes, sitting upright on the bed.

His back fell against the bed, the mattress yielding softly beneath him. He closed his eyes, focusing his mind, a deliberate attempt at a mental exercise he'd never tried before. Then, a disorienting sensation washed over him; he felt as if he'd sunk into the bed, yet he wasn't on it anymore. Opening his eyes, he found himself in absolute darkness, a darkness strangely familiar, a place he'd visited many times. In the distance, a faint luminescence pulsed, growing steadily brighter as he focused on it. There, suspended in the void, was the cube – the glass cube containing Ragnarok.

He began to move towards it, each step deliberate, his heart pounding a heavy rhythm against his ribs. Fear warred with a fierce determination, fueling his approach. Finally, he stood before the cube, his face contorted in a furious grimace, his breath ragged. He glared at the contained entity, his voice raw with emotion. "Ragnarok," he said, the name a growl in the echoing silence, "I'm here to make a deal."