Chapter 54: Elias Hale’s Training Session

Dr. Naomi Wells stood in the observation room, her eyes narrowing slightly as she watched Elias Hale step into the training chamber. She had reviewed his reports countless times before, marking his technical skill and the way his powers had steadily evolved under the Academy’s supervision. But there was something about Elias that kept her attention—his attitude.

Inside the chamber, Elias took his usual position in the center of the room. His stance was casual, bordering on dismissive, as though the task set before him were an afterthought. The equipment laid out for him—a series of dense metals and crystalline structures—was the same as any other session. He’d been asked to manipulate their molecular structure into new forms, an exercise that should’ve required focus.

Elias raised his hand lazily, and without looking at the objects in front of him, he flicked his fingers. One of the steel blocks floated into the air, twisting slowly under his control. The movement wasn’t calculated or deliberate—it was careless, as though he was showing how little effort it took him to perform what should’ve been a challenging feat.

Naomi made a note on her tablet, keeping her eyes on the screen. His control of molecular manipulation was undeniably strong, yet there was something about the way he approached these tasks that stood out to her. He wasn’t pushing his abilities to their limits—not because he couldn’t, but because he didn’t want to.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

As the block spun lazily in the air, Elias let it drop with a dull thud, watching it hit the ground as if he couldn’t be bothered to finish the exercise properly. He folded his arms across his chest, waiting for the next prompt, but his eyes wandered toward the observation window. Even though he couldn’t see Naomi through the tinted glass, his gaze lingered just long enough to suggest that he knew he was being watched—and he didn’t respect them.

The next object, a crystalline structure, floated upward at a slow, deliberate pace. Elias tilted his head slightly, his expression bored. His fingers twitched, and the crystal began to fracture. But instead of stopping the process as he was instructed, Elias continued to push, watching as cracks spider-webbed across its surface until it shattered into dust. He hadn’t followed the Academy’s instructions—he’d simply done what he wanted.

Naomi tapped her pen against the edge of the tablet, feeling a knot of guilt rise within her. Elias always performed, technically. But his methods had become more destructive, more unpredictable. He was following the bare minimum, challenging the Academy in his own quiet, rebellious way.

He was playing their game, but only just enough to avoid more punishment.

The chamber door slid open, signaling the end of the session. Elias didn’t look back at the damage he had caused. He didn’t need to. As he stepped through the door, his eyes flicked upward once more toward the observation window. For a split second, Naomi thought she saw a smirk tug at the corner of his lips, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

She watched him exit, the data feed still processing the results of his session. Technically, everything was within the parameters set for the exercise. The results were acceptable, but the behavior? The growing disregard for the Academy’s rules, the way Elias had shattered the crystal, as if to make a point—that was harder to quantify.

Naomi finished typing her notes, making sure the reports were clean, free of any overt observations. If there was one thing she had learned during her time at the Academy, it was that certain things couldn’t be spoken about openly.

She gathered her things and left the observation room, her mind lingering on the figure of Elias as he disappeared down the corridor.