Thea’s gentle breathing calmed the storm raging in my head. The noise softened, my vision returning to normal.

But the sights remained.

The fall of my planet, etched into my mind, never to fade. My people’s regrets, their terror, everything they lost.

I sat there, suffocating under the weight of it, before forcing myself to stand.

Beside me, Thea stirred, her fingers catching my wrist. “Peter?” she yawned groggily, voice thick with sleep.

“Just using the bathroom,” I murmured. “Go back to sleep.”

I placed my hand over hers, a brief reassurance. She nodded, releasing me without hesitation.

I stepped outside, squeezing past the tents, the cool cavern air biting against my skin.

My vision went white.

A sudden flare of sensation exploded in my mind, my breath hitching as my internal force surged to life. My body locked up, muscles tensing instinctively.

Something inside me had changed.

Something new existed where nothing had before.

The realization struck me with a jarring certainty. I was at the center of it. A radius. A sphere of awareness stretching six feet, two meters, on either side of me.

Even with my eyes open, I could see it.

Every crevice in the rock. The canvas of our tents. The pulsing red glow of my friends’ life forces, warm, steady, unmistakable.

The world had no edges anymore. No boundaries. It all bled together. Sensation and sight and something deeper, something raw.

The cavern breathed around me, pulsing, every shift of air whispering against my mind like it was alive.

I flinched as I felt Thea shift in her sleep.

I staggered, gripping the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes shut, but the sight didn’t vanish.

It wouldn’t stop.

My mind lurched, trying to process two versions of the world at once, one seen, one felt, and for a moment, it was unbearable.

This… this was my trade.

Billions of lives, given for this.

The noise in my skull grew louder.

I exhaled sharply, pushing forward.

Before I knew it the blue grass was beneath me, shimmering with a faint red glow, its presence undeniable. Most of the trees showed nothing in my sight. Just silent, unmoving shadows.

Except for one, another creature pulsing with a red life.

Its pink flowers glistened, as I approached.

The shift was immediate.

Creaking. Twisting. The grotesque sound of transformation.

Before it could lunge, before it could even finish reshaping itself, my hands lifted on instinct. Power surged.

A blast tore through the air.

Wood splintered. A shriek of agony pierced the silence as its glow flickered then vanished entirely from my sight.

I inhaled, my chest expanding as the pressure in my skull finally loosened. My breathing steadied, my heart slowing.

“What the hell are you doing!?”

Elric’s voice crashed into me like a tidal wave, echoing from above.

Before I could even turn, I sensed them. Several objects hurtling toward me from behind.

Easily visible.

A gift from the Precursor Energy.

I moved away quickly, but just as I did, the sphere flickered. A searing heat exploded in my skull. My breath hitched as I clutched my head, my legs carrying me instinctively toward safety until they failed me.

I stumbled.

Elric caught me just before I hit the ground.

The sight was gone. The red glow. The sphere. All of it, vanished in an instant. But the pain, it burned hotter, unbearable, hammering against my skull, threatening to drag me into unconsciousness.

"Peter, are you insane?!" Elric’s voice echoed, laced with frustration and worry. He hauled me onto his back, his grip steady despite my weight. With measured steps, he climbed toward our mini campsite.

The pain clawed at me, growing worse by the second. I clenched my teeth, shutting my eyes, forcing my focus inward.

There.

A disturbance in my core.

A flickering strand of violet fire, twisting, burning, writhing at my focal point like a living thing. It wasn’t my internal force. It was something else. Separate, taking no space, ethereal even.

I steadied my breath, isolating it, preventing my energy from flowing around it.

Immediately, the pain eased. The nausea faded, leaving behind only exhaustion.

I opened my eyes just as Elric climbed the final bit and set me down.

The others were emerging from their tents.

Lyra was the first to reach me, her gaze sharp with concern. "Did you get injured?" She knelt beside me, scanning me with practiced efficiency. Sia and Elric hovered close, waiting for an answer.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

I shook my head. "I’m fine."

Thea appeared next, pushing past them, her eyes locked onto me. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t stop. She dropped to her knees beside me. "What happened?"

I met her gaze. My lips parted then stalled.

"Everyone is dead…"

The words barely escaped. Barely felt real.

"He showed me."

Silence.

For a moment, she didn’t react. None of them did. Thea’s lips parted slightly, but no words came. Her brows knit together, confusion, disbelief warring in her storm-gray eyes.

Then she shook her head. "Peter, it was just a bad dream. No one could do something like that in a few hours."

A bad dream.

I could’ve yelled at her. Told her she was wrong. That I saw it. That I felt it. That I watched it happen in real time, the screams, the blood, the devastation, all of it.

But if I hadn’t seen it, hadn’t lived through it, wouldn’t I have thought the same?

My fingers curled into the fabric of my tunic. "No," I said, voice hollow. "He spoke to me. He used his own power to show me… everything."

My voice sounded wrong. Empty.

Elric crouched beside me, his expression unreadable. "Can you explain, Peter?"

His voice was careful. Measured.

"I don’t want to push you," Elric continued, his voice steady, unwavering. "But I can’t help if I don’t understand."

I let out a hollow laugh, one without humor. One that sounded foreign, even to me.

"There’s nothing to help," I said, my voice barely my own. "My world is gone. Billions of lives, wiped out in minutes. By a cruel god we pissed off."

Silence.

Lyra and Sia looked frozen, their expressions locked in disbelief. A number that vast, so incomprehensibly large, seemed impossible. Fantastical in the cruelest sense of the word.

Elric grabbed my shoulders, grounding me. His hands were firm, steady, his gaze piercing. "I can’t imagine what you’re feeling, Peter," he said, his tone softer now. "But I wasn’t talking about helping them." He gave my shoulders a slight squeeze. "I’m talking about you."

He paused, letting the words settle. “You’re my friend. My brother."

The lump in my throat swelled.

"But you need to stop doing things alone." His grip tightened, grounding me, anchoring me. "What can you do to him, that monster, if you die?"

I stared at him.

Lyra and Sia sat beside me.

Lyra reached out, her fingers wrapping around my hand, her warmth cutting through the cold, hollow space inside me. "I’m so sorry, Peter," she whispered. "But we’re here for you. Don’t shut us away."

Something cracked inside my chest.

I had held it back for hours.

Sia’s hand landed atop Elric’s, gripping my shoulder. "We’re in this together anyway," she said, voice firm, resolute. "Criminals and traitors. Together." She met my gaze, unwavering. "If you want to burn something to the ground, you don’t have to do it alone."

The stinging behind my eyes intensified.

Thea’s arms wrapped around me from behind, her embrace warm, steady, anchoring me further. "Don’t leave alone, Peter, please."

She added, "Or do you really want me to follow you every time you use the bathroom?"

I let out a single, involuntary laugh. Small. Brief.

And it was that, the smallest break in my armor, that shattered me completely.

A single tear slipped down my cheek, burning hot against my skin.

My chest tightened, too much, too fast. Like something inside me clenched into a fist. I tried to swallow it down, force it back, but the stinging only sharpened.

A sob, Raw and unbidden.

Tearing through me, breaking past the dam I had desperately tried to hold.

Arms tightened around me. A weight pressed into my back. My sides.

I was surrounded.

Tears came in waves, spilling freely, soaking into my sleeves as I clutched at myself, arms wrapped tight around my middle, like if I let go, I might fall apart completely.

But I wasn’t alone.

I never was.

Warmth surrounded me. The steady, unwavering weight of my friends, my family pressing close, their arms encircling me.

Thea’s presence behind me, her embrace unshaking. “It’s okay, Peter,” she whispered, voice soft, reassuring. “I’m here.”

I kept going until exhaustion settled deep in my bones.

And yet, the fear still lingered. Curling in my chest, gnawing at my ribs. The fear of closing my eyes again. Of falling asleep and seeing it all over again.

Thea must have felt the way I trembled.

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” she murmured. “I promise.”

A fresh wave of emotion swelled inside me, but this time there was something steadier.

Elric shifted beside me, looping an arm around my back, guiding me gently upward.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you to bed.”

My body felt impossibly heavy, drained from everything, but I let him lead me. Thea stayed close, her warmth never leaving my side as we made our way back to our tent.

Lyra moved ahead, pressing her hands together. A soft glow bloomed from her palms, washing over me in a gentle, soothing warmth.

It settled into my skin, weightless, hazy, like a lull in a storm.

Sia smirked as we reached the tent. “Get some sleep, Peter,” she said. “Tomorrow, we burn this garden together.”

I exhaled a weak laugh, barely able to keep my eyes open now.

I let myself sink into the bedroll, Thea’s presence still beside me.

I closed my eyes.

And let myself rest.

…

I woke up feeling refreshed, but I didn’t want to open my eyes just yet.

The stillness of the moment was comforting.

I lay there, breathing in the quiet, until Thea, still in my arms, sweetly interrupted it.

"Peter… I’m bored."

I let out a sigh. "What’s the plan?"

"Get up first," she stated matter-of-factly. "Body Refinement, then burn some trees and blue grass if necessary."

I opened my eyes just as she started shifting against me, squirming free from my grip and standing.

"The others are already outside," she said, bending down to stretch, touching her toes with an easy fluidity. "How’d you sleep?"

"Fine. Just normal. Dreamless," I replied, sitting up and lifting my arms in a long stretch, feeling my back loosen with a satisfying pop.

"Good," she said, sounding genuinely pleased. She turned to head for the tent flap, but just as she passed me.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her down.

A short, startled yelp escaped her lips as she landed beside me. Before she could react, I leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

"Thank you," I murmured.

She squeaked…actually squeaked, her ears turning red before she scrambled away, nearly tripping over herself as she hurried out of the tent.

I smirked, taking my time stretching one last time before getting up.

Now, it was time to see the limits of Body Refinement at our current stage.

When I stepped outside, Elric, Lyra, and Sia were already sparring. Sia and Lyra were working together against Elric, both of them sporting the telltale red skin of Body Refinement, though the glow was already dimming.

"You think they’re ahead of us?" I asked, stepping up next to Thea.

She crossed her arms, giving me a mock-critical glance. "Thanks to your sleeping? Probably."

Her teasing was light, but before she could say anything else, her stomach growled.

I grinned as she instantly stiffened, her confidence vanishing as embarrassment crept up her face.

"Food first, I think," I said, turning toward the bags.

She nodded silently, looking like she wanted to bury herself.

Unfortunately, breakfast was nothing special, just dried rations. The others soon finished sparring and joined us, their skin returning to normal as they caught their breath.

Elric sat down across from me, rubbing his chin, his usual curiosity sparking in his expression. "Sooooo, how did the Precursor Energy affect you?"

The others perked up, waiting for my answer.

I thought for a moment. So far, I had only one real change, one ability that stood out. I needed a name for it. Something fitting.

A smirk tugged at my lips.

"Precursor’s Sense."