The smell of burnt cinnamon and ozone still clung to the walls.
Kai stood barefoot in the hallway, staring at the spot where Ilia and Daemon had vanished. The air there shimmered faintly—like heat waves on pavement—but whatever doorway they used had long since closed. Gone without fanfare. No time for proper goodbyes.
He closed his eyes.
The power inside him stirred, coiling like smoke behind his ribs. The sigil on his chest pulsed gently, now overlaid with something new: a ripple, a second heartbeat.
Flame Echoes.
He didn't know what that meant yet. But it felt alive.
Ezra's voice broke the silence behind him. "Were they your... mentors or something?"
Kai turned. The younger boy stood awkwardly in a borrowed t-shirt, eyes still wide with too many questions. His green aura had dulled, calmer now—but it flickered occasionally, like a light struggling to stay on.
"They were... complicated," Kai said. "But yeah. They helped me survive this."
Ezra stepped forward slowly, glancing around the apartment. "So... what now?"
Kai sighed. "Now, I teach you how to not explode."
They started on the rooftop. Wind tugged at their sleeves, the morning sun painting the bricks with a soft gold glow. Ezra sat cross-legged while Kai paced in front of him.
"You feel that tension in your chest?" Kai asked.
Ezra nodded. "Like a balloon that's about to pop."
"Exactly. Your aura's misaligned. No foundation yet. We'll fix that first."
He knelt and tapped Ezra's sternum gently. "Center here. Focus on the breath. In, out. Count to three on inhale, seven on exhale."
Ezra raised a brow. "Why those numbers?"
Kai gave a small smile. "Because they work. And because it helps me stay sane."
As Ezra began the breathing, Kai circled him slowly, reaching out with his senses. The boy's spiritual energy was raw, but vibrant—like a forest after rain. No elemental alignment yet. But it crackled with potential.
"Your power's not flame," Kai said. "It's nature. Growth, maybe toxin. You'll know soon."
Ezra opened one eye. "You really think I have a chance at controlling this?"
Kai nodded. "I know you do."
Downstairs, Serena was on the phone with someone she trusted only halfway: Dr. Talia Mendel, a senior researcher from Columbia University's Mythology Department. Serena had met her during a summer internship program for gifted students two years ago. Talia had taken a liking to her sharp instincts and quick analysis, even occasionally sending her obscure research files under the radar. They hadn't spoken much since—until the world started to shift.
"Any updates on the pattern overlays?" Serena asked, clicking through a map filled with sigils.
The woman on the other end sighed. "Every major city's lighting up. We've had confirmed Awakeners in Berlin, Tokyo, Lagos, Mumbai. Spiritual phenomena are being tracked by half the world's governments now."
"And the myth resonance?"
"Cross-referencing still in progress. But you were right—eastern and western archetypes are surfacing. Promethean, Shinto, Orphic. Some of the new awakeners are mirroring divine paths that shouldn't exist."
Serena leaned forward. "Then it's not localized."
"No. It's systemic. Earth is remembering itself. And it's not subtle anymore. A mutated leviathan surfaced off the coast of Jakarta last week—sank a shipping fleet before disappearing into the deep. Buenos Aires was hit by a winged beast that leveled half a district before it vanished into the sky. And parts of northern Canada are entirely unreachable—frozen over by storms no satellite can penetrate."
Serena's hand tightened on her pen. "How many casualties?"
"Too many. And more are coming. The stronger beasts seem drawn to spiritual surges. Some cities are using awakened task forces. Others are... just evacuating."
Serena turned as something clicked outside the window. A crow landed on the sill, watching her. Its eyes glowed faintly silver.
Her skin prickled.
Elsewhere in the city, awakeners stirred.
Mara Jinsong sat alone in a Chinatown teahouse, stirring her drink without touching it. Around her, a dozen customers smiled quietly—each caught in a looped illusion of their happiest memory.
She didn't smile. Just watched.
Lia Moreno stood at the edge of a frozen lake in Central Park, her breath fogging in the crisp air. Crystalline snowflakes swirled around her, dancing to rhythms she couldn't fully control. Her fingertips glowed with a pale blue sheen as she extended her hands—part joy, part terror. Every time she tried to contain the storm, it only listened for a heartbeat before expanding again.
She closed her eyes, laughed shakily, and the ice cracked beneath her feet.
Ezekiel Stone walked the edge of an old fire site, his halberd resting across his back like a cross. His eyes glowed faintly, smoke trailing behind his boots. Children nearby played, unaware.
He protected this block.
Harlan Vesk stood in a warehouse as new followers trickled in—those who'd survived first contact with the awakening. Beasts, some of them. Men no longer fully men. He welcomed them all.
The storm was coming, and his army would be ready.
Back on the rooftop, Kai stepped back as Ezra's aura finally began to settle. The boy was sweating, shaking—but his energy no longer lashed out. It pulsed. Steady.
"That's it," Kai said. "You just took your first step."
Ezra smiled weakly. "So what now?"
Kai looked toward the skyline.
"Now, we find the others before someone else does."
Ezra's training continued into the afternoon. They stayed on the rooftop, bodies moving through slow drills Kai remembered from a life he'd lived as a god. At times, Kai's voice was calm, patient. Other times, sharp as a whip crack.
Ezra learned quickly, but there were moments—flashes in his eyes, tremors in his hands—when something darker clawed at the surface. His powers weren't just awakening—they were remembering something.
"Keep your focus!" Kai barked, stepping in front of a lashing vine that snapped from Ezra's palm. "It's not about suppressing the energy. It's about communicating with it."
Ezra panted, sweat rolling down his neck. "What if it doesn't want to listen?"
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Then make it."
From the doorway, Serena watched them with crossed arms. Her phone call with Dr. Mendel still echoed in her head. Reports of awakened beasts, rogue awakeners, governments scrambling to form containment teams.
She tapped her notebook, flipping to the page where she'd sketched out the seven known Mortal Realms. The first step—Awakening—was spreading like wildfire.
Later, they regrouped in the apartment, all three of them exhausted. Serena was rereading a newly posted global alert.
"Another breach in southern Italy," she said. "This one had wings. A fire-type Awakened neutralized it, but half the village is gone."
Kai clenched his jaw. "The stronger beasts are coming faster than we thought."
Ezra sat up. "So there are others like me."
"Plenty," Serena said, scrolling. "Some stable. Some not. A girl in South Korea sings and puts people into comas. A guy in Prague grew crystal wings and flew into orbit. We don't know where he went."
Kai ran a hand through his hair. "Then we need to move faster. I need to start pushing into the next stage soon."
Serena raised a brow. "Didn't you say rushing things is how people die?"
He nodded. "Yeah. But doing nothing is worse."
They were quiet a moment. Then Serena said softly, "We need allies."
Kai stood. "Then we go find them."
By early evening, the sky had turned the color of rusted copper. The city below buzzed with strange frequencies—car alarms short-circuiting without reason, streetlights flickering in erratic patterns. Something in the world's rhythm had shifted, and New York, for all its noise, was holding its breath.
Kai moved fast. They needed to track down other awakened individuals before they became problems—or victims. The energy signatures were erratic but traceable, especially now that Kai could feel them more clearly, like static dancing along his spine.
"Two uptown," Serena said, pulling up a digital map laced with aura heat signatures. "One in the Bronx, near the warehouses. And another further south—possibly Lia Moreno."
Ezra leaned over her shoulder. "What about the one near Chinatown?"
Kai's jaw tensed. "That's Mara. We leave her for now."
Serena raised an eyebrow. "You know her?"
Kai didn't answer.
They split up.
Kai headed toward the Bronx with Ezra trailing close behind. Serena took the southern track to verify the blizzard signature—Lia. They agreed to reconvene in three hours, unless something went wrong.
Kai and Ezra found the warehouse easily. The doors had been torn open like tin foil, and the interior reeked of sweat, blood, and incense. Inside, they spotted claw marks along the walls and symbols painted in chalk—beast runes.
Then: a low growl.
From the shadows, a massive figure stepped forward. Not fully human. Not fully beast. Harlan Vesk.
Kai stepped in front of Ezra. "We're not here to fight."
Harlan sniffed the air. "You're too early. The real war hasn't even started."
Ezra muttered, "Comforting."
Harlan's eyes glinted. "Tell your kind this—if they try to leash us, we bite back." Then he turned and vanished into a back exit, his presence like a fading wildfire.
Back on the other end of the city, Serena reached the lake just as Lia lost control again. The storm swirled tighter, faster—like a vortex trying to erase the air itself. But Serena didn't flinch.
She stepped into the storm's edge and shouted, "Lia Moreno!"
The girl's eyes flicked toward her. The wind paused, just for a breath.
"Breathe," Serena said. "Three in. Seven out."
Lia blinked. The air calmed slightly. Not much. But enough.
It was a start.
And far above them all, unseen and untouched, something vast opened its eyes across the skyline. Watching. Waiting.
Back in the Bronx, after Harlan vanished, Kai stood still a moment, listening to the silence Harlan left behind. The warehouse creaked as if exhaling. Ezra looked up at him.
"That guy was…"
"Not our enemy," Kai said. "Yet."
They exited carefully, and once back on the street, Kai glanced over his shoulder again. "He's planning something. I don't know what, but it involves more than just brute strength. That rune chalk wasn't just for show."
Ezra hesitated. "Do you think… do you think he has others like him?"
Kai didn't answer directly. "We'll find out soon."
Serena and Lia sat on a nearby bench after the storm passed. Lia's eyes were still glossy, her breath uneven.
"I didn't mean to hurt anyone," Lia said quietly.
"You didn't," Serena replied. "But if you don't learn to control it, someone else will try to."
Lia's fingers clenched her jacket. "What is this? Why me?"
Serena took a long breath. "Why any of us? It doesn't matter. What matters is what you do with it."
Lia looked up. "Are you… like me?"
"No," Serena said. "But I believe in people like you. And I know someone who can help."
She sent Kai a quick message. 'Found her. She's scared but stable.'
Kai's reply was fast: 'Bring her. Things are moving.'
The group reconvened just after midnight.
The apartment felt quieter than usual, as if the city itself had taken a breath it wasn't ready to let go of. The ticking wall clock echoed too loudly in the stillness. Ezra sat on the floor, legs outstretched, vine tattoos faintly pulsing under his sleeves. His breathing was steadier now, but his eyes darted—still alert, still bracing for the next thing.
Lia curled up on the armrest of the couch, a blanket wrapped around her like a barrier. Her hair was still damp from the melted frost, her fingertips red from cold. She hadn't said much since arriving. Not fear exactly, but uncertainty hung around her like a fog.
Serena stood by the table, flipping through her notebook, pages heavy with ink. Sigils, aura patterns, notes from calls and encrypted forums. She paused on one particular sketch: a crescent-shaped rune they'd found burned into the wall of an abandoned subway station near Harlem.
Kai leaned against the wall, arms crossed. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were moving—taking in everything, everyone. Measuring the weight of the room.
"You both handled yourselves well," he said finally.
Lia looked up, unsure. "Even with the storm?"
Kai gave a short nod. "Control isn't immediate. You didn't hurt anyone. That's more than most manage."
They let that hang for a moment.
Serena cleared her throat. "I ran a cross-reference. Every time there's a resonance spike—mutated creature, weather phenomenon, whatever—an Awakened either appears nearby or experiences a breakthrough. It's not random."
Kai nodded. "Pressure reveals potential."
"And it breaks people too," Serena added, voice quieter.
Lia clutched the blanket tighter. "So this... this awakening—it's not just us."
"Not even close," Serena said. "There's a girl in Russia who controls shadows. A kid in Nairobi who can make stone animals move. People are waking up all over."
Kai pushed off the wall. "And there are groups watching them. Governments. Private entities. Some want to recruit, others... not so nice."
Ezra tilted his head. "How do you know so much about this already?"
Kai paused, gaze distant for a second. "Because I've seen this happen before. Just... not here."
Serena watched him carefully. "The other world?"
He nodded once. "There are patterns. The myths we think are stories? Most of them are echoes—of cycles that played out before. And they're starting again."
Lia whispered, "Then what are we supposed to do?"
Kai looked around the room—at the cracked paint, the scattered books, the warmth of the light bulbs barely hiding how broken the world outside had become.
"We prepare. We learn. And when the next surge comes, we're not running—we're ready."
Serena snapped her notebook shut. "Then training starts tomorrow. Properly. Structure, meditation, combat. And research—I want to understand what those rune symbols in the warehouse actually meant."
Kai nodded. "We'll also start unlocking your Flame Echoes."
Lia blinked. "Our... what?"
Ezra grinned. "Sounds like a heavy metal band."
Kai smirked. "It's what lives inside your power. What makes it yours. You'll understand soon."
The room fell into a brief silence. Comfortable this time. They were tired, but something stronger than exhaustion bound them now—purpose.
Outside, the wind shifted.
Meanwhile, on the upper west side, a crow landed on a windowsill. Its feathers shimmered briefly before vanishing into the dark. A man in a grey suit watched it fly, fingers tapping on a tablet loaded with aura scan data. His glasses reflected the city skyline.
"Subject Alpha confirmed," he said into a headset. "The fire echo has awakened. So have the others."
A pause. Then a voice crackled through. "Continue surveillance. We move at Phase Two."
The man turned away from the window. Below, the streets pulsed with unaware life.
Back in the apartment, Serena began laying out makeshift beds while Kai stepped onto the balcony. The night was cool. Too quiet for New York.
Ezra joined him. "Think we'll find more like us?"
"We already have," Kai said, nodding toward the sky. "We just haven't met them yet."
Ezra hesitated. "And what if they're not like us?"
Kai's answer came without delay. "Then we make sure we're strong enough to stop them."
Far across the city, a child dreamed of lightning. A woman carved symbols into the skin of her arms. A subway musician played a melody that made the ground hum beneath his feet.
The gods were not back yet.
But the world was listening.
And it would not stay silent for long.