Once Darius was sure no one could see him, he felt the slight pull in his gut as he teleported back to his hotel room, the soundless shift leaving behind only a faint rush of displaced air. His mind raced, thoughts darting from Phase’s narrowed eyes to the implications of being seen. ‘I’m overreacting,’ he reassured himself, though the tightness in his chest didn’t ease. ‘She has no reason to think I’m doing anything wrong.’ He sighed, staring at the ceiling. “So much for dinner on the town,” he muttered, exhaustion soaking into his bones.

Needing to ground himself, Darius pulled up the hotel interface in his Netacts and placed an order for the chef’s special, watching the holographic menu fade as the order confirmed. The waiting felt like an eternity, but soon the soft chime at the door announced his meal’s arrival. He retrieved the tray, lifting the cover to reveal a beautifully plated dish of seared duck breast drizzled with a rich plum sauce, accompanied by delicate scalloped potatoes and steamed greens. The scent was warm and comforting, momentarily erasing the tension. He ate slowly, each bite releasing bursts of flavor that soothed the jagged edges of his nerves.

After finishing, Darius sank into the plush armchair by the window, letting the city lights lull him into a stupor. The distant glow of neon signs cast a soft, colored light across the room, and the rhythmic hum of the traffic below merged with the ambient buzz of the Driftspire’s constant life. The exhaustion pulled at him until, eventually, he couldn’t fight it anymore. He crawled into bed and let sleep claim him.

Morning crept into the room, a pale light filtering through the curtains and spilling across the floor in golden streaks. Darius blinked awake, momentarily disoriented until his Netacts chimed softly, displaying the time—7:39 AM. He stretched, wincing at the stiffness that gripped his muscles. The previous day’s training had left a mark, both physically and mentally. He sat up, running a hand through his hair, and exhaled deeply. The events of the night before still sat like a stone in his chest, and he couldn’t shake the image of Phase’s calculating stare.

‘What exactly is today going to hold?’ he wondered, glancing at his training clothes folded on the chair. Wendigo’s methods were anything but predictable, and after last night’s close call, Darius felt the stakes climb higher. ‘Is today the day we tackle teleporting people?’ The thought sent a shiver through him, mingling anticipation with dread. He stood up, splashed cold water on his face from the en suite sink, and let the icy sting snap him fully awake.

The sudden knock at the door made him jump, a loud, authoritative thump that echoed in the quiet room. Darius’s heart kicked up as he opened the door, half expecting Phase or another Guardian. Instead, Ash stood there, arms crossed over his chest, the usual smirk playing on his lips but with an edge that sent a chill down Darius’s spine.

“Morning, Darius. I hope you’re ready to go,” Ash said, stepping inside without invitation. His sharp gaze swept the room, eyes lingering on the phone still on the table, his gaze growing sharklike. Darius cursed internally. “Routine testing. Nothing major. Just making sure you’re up to snuff.”

Darius swallowed hard, his pulse roaring in his ears. “Testing? Why now?” He tried to sound nonchalant, but the strain slipped into his voice.

Ash raised a manicured eyebrow, his smirk broadening. “Let’s just say Phase saw you out and about last night. Since you seem to have all this free time I figured I’d put it to use. Now hurry up, I don't have all day.”

Darius’s stomach tightened into a knot, and he resisted the urge to glance at his packed training clothes. Missing today’s session with Wendigo would be a setback, but refusing Ash’s ‘invitation’ wasn’t an option. He nodded, grabbing his jacket. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

They stepped out into the corridor, the sterile scent of the hotel’s hallway doing little to calm Darius’s nerves. The walk through Rosedale was deceptively calm, the city alive with the morning hustle. Market stalls lining the walkways were bustling with vendors shouting deals and commuters weaving through the crowds. The sea breeze carried the tang of salt, mingling with the scent of fresh bread and sizzling skewers from nearby food carts.

Ash walked briskly, his coat flaring slightly with each step, drawing the eyes of passersby. The sight of a Guardian in uniform always caused a stir, and Darius felt the weight of curious and wary glances. They approached the Guardian Facility, an imposing structure of sleek metal and glass. The reflective surface caught the morning light, casting dazzling shards of brightness onto the surrounding streets.

The entrance loomed ahead, flanked by armed guards whose stoic expressions barely registered Ash’s arrival. The automated doors hissed open, revealing the sterile interior—white walls embedded with faint blue lines that pulsed like veins, conduits of energy flowing through the building. The air inside was cool, tinged with the sterile scent of technology and faint ozone.

Ash led him through the maze of hallways lined with sleek, embedded screens displaying Guardian rosters and mission updates. The occasional Guardian passed by, some giving Ash a respectful nod while others cast curious glances at Darius. Each step echoed in the silence until they reached a room at the end of a corridor, marked only by a series of digits and an unassuming metal panel.

“Step inside,” Ash ordered, the casualness of his voice doing nothing to soften the tension.

Darius complied, his breath hitching as he took in the machinery. The center of the room held a cylindrical chamber surrounded by intricate consoles lit with holographic displays, data streaming faster than his eyes could follow. The hum of electricity vibrated through the floor, setting his teeth on edge.

Ash motioned to a technician, a man with sharp eyes and fingers that moved over the console like a pianist. “Power level test. Standard procedure,” Ash said, leaning against the wall with the air of someone who expected a show.

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Darius stepped into the chamber, the door sliding shut with a pneumatic hiss that felt final. The technician’s voice crackled over the intercom. “This will only take a moment. Hold still.”

The chamber pulsed with energy, threads of light weaving around him, probing, measuring. A low hum built in intensity, making his bones vibrate. Data streamed across the screens outside, the numbers climbing higher and higher. The technician’s eyes widened as he double-checked the figures, his brow creasing.

“Sir, these readings—” he started, only for Ash to push off the wall and peer at the display.

“Impressive,” Ash murmured, a sharp grin slicing across his face. His eyes flickered with something Darius couldn’t quite read—excitement? Fear? The moment stretched thin, a shiver running down Darius’s spine. The room felt colder, the sterile glow of the monitors casting an eerie light over Ash’s expression.

Darius’s heart thudded against his ribs, each beat resounding like a drum in the sterile, tech-filled room. The fluorescent lights above hummed with a relentless brightness that seemed to seep into every corner. Sleek metal surfaces glistened, reflecting the lines of data racing across the holographic panels that surrounded him. Each screen was a cascade of green, blue, and red, streaming vital statistics, heat maps, and diagnostic graphs that shifted and pulsed as the system recalibrated. Transparent tubes filled with an iridescent, neon liquid snaked along the walls, their glow creating an otherworldly ambiance that seemed both futuristic and unnervingly clinical. The gentle thrum of machinery provided a rhythmic backdrop, punctuated by the occasional beep of consoles processing new information.

Ash stood near a console, his fingers flicking the controls with practiced ease. The holograms projected before him expanded and contracted with his movements, the light casting sharp, angular shadows across his face. He smirked, eyes flickering with something that felt halfway between amusement and calculation. “Ya know, it’s too bad you pulled teleportation,” Ash continued, his voice laced with that infuriating mix of sarcasm and candor. The room seemed to hold its breath as if the machines themselves were waiting for his words. “Don’t get me wrong, you could have gotten worse, but with those numbers you put up…” He let out a whistle that resonated, hanging heavy in the sterile air. “Deathbeam didn’t even put up those results, and that guy can wipe out Breachers without breaking a sweat.”

The sheer magnitude of the statement made Darius’s knees feel weak. Deathbeam? The name alone conjured memories of news reports, video clips of sheer devastation. He’d always assumed his power was underwhelming in comparison, just a convenient escape route. The weight of Ash’s eyes on him pressed down, heavy with implication.

“But when life gives you lemons, what can you do?” Ash’s rhetorical question felt like a challenge, and before Darius could respond, Ash filled the silence with his own punchline. “…make lemonade. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, obviously.” He shook his head, a mocking disappointment etched across his expression. “Kids these days.”

Darius clenched his fists, a subtle irritation building beneath the shock. On one hand, being told he had potential beyond his wildest dreams was staggering. On the other, the way the Guardians kept implying teleportation was mediocre at best left a bitter taste in his mouth. Ash pivoted on his heel, his coat flaring slightly as he walked. “Don’t just stand there, we’ve got lots to do,” he called over his shoulder.

The finality in his tone silenced Darius, and they continued down the corridor in tense silence.

The next room was even more sterile, if that were possible. Large observation windows framed a pristine testing chamber where everything gleamed with surgical precision. Rows of machines stood like sentinels, their mechanical limbs poised and ready, glowing indicators flashing with a life of their own. Technicians bustled about in white lab coats, eyes flicking between data tablets and Darius with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. One of them, a woman with sharp eyes behind thin-framed glasses, nodded to Ash, who gave a curt nod back.

“Alright, Darius, step inside,” Ash said, motioning toward the chamber. The room’s metallic floor felt cold under Darius’s feet, even through his shoes. The walls seemed to close in slightly as the door slid shut with a hiss, leaving him in an artificial silence punctuated only by the low, steady hum of machinery. He focused on the technician’s voice, projected through an overhead speaker.

The technician's voice rang through the intercom, instructing him to teleport various objects about the room. They got up to teleporting seven objects at a time all to the same location before Darius reached his limit. Once again he was escorted out of the room and met with Ash’s smiling face, slightly mocking as always.

“You’re slow, that’s not a problem we usually encounter with teleporters. I figured that given your power level you’d be a lot faster.” Ash said, emphasizing the words ‘a lot’.

“Happy to disappoint,” Darius muttered as he followed Ash through the maze of sterile white hallways.

The polished floor reflected the soft white glow of ceiling lights, making the whole corridor seem endless, sterile, and suffocating. “How much longer will this take?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant but failing to mask the edge of fatigue in his voice. “I kinda wanted to get back to the hotel and get some sleep. I’m pretty beat.”

Ash’s response was immediate, laced with disbelief as he kept walking, eyes forward. “Mmhmm,” he murmured, not sparing a glance. “We took the liberty of moving your stuff from the hotel to this facility. You can feel free to sleep in your new room.”

Darius felt a shiver skitter down his spine. He froze mid-step, his breath caught somewhere between surprise and dread. “You said I had until Monday… What’s going on?”

Ash slowed, turning just enough for Darius to catch the glint of urgency in his eyes. “That was when we thought you were just an average teleporter. We’re accelerating the schedule to get you up to snuff. The Breacher threat is growing, in case you didn’t notice. We need all the help we can get.”

Eventually they reached a wing of numbered doors all in a line stretching down to the far end of the hallway.

“And this is you, I’ll see you around.” Ash said flippantly as he opened the door revealing a modest room with all of Darius’ belonging in it. Darius entered the room slowly.

Before he could gather his thoughts, Ash’s voice, smooth and casual, cut through the tension. “Before I let you go, I saw that phone in your room. Don’t think I don’t know you were up to something. We can talk about that later though” The corners of his mouth curled into a dangerous smile. With that, Ash strode out, the door sliding shut behind him with a sharp click and the ominous sound of the lock engaging.

Darius stood there, frozen, the silence pressing down on him like a weight. The walls of the room seemed to pulse with the quiet thrum of the facility, cold and indifferent. Whatever came next, he knew he wasn’t prepared.