The rain returned that night, hammering the windows of Dorm Sector 13 with the quiet insistence of a world that never truly rested. Lightning flashed across the reinforced glass, illuminating the dim corridors in bursts of pale light.
Kael sat in the common room, slouched on the old sofa, legs stretched out, a steaming mug of rehydrated tea in hand. He watched droplets race each other down the window. A quiet competition with no winner.
His body still buzzed with residual tension from the calibration trials. Not pain exactly—more like his nervous system was waiting for another order. His heart beat just a little too fast. His thoughts flickered just a little too sharp.
And the hunger hadn't gone away.
He'd eaten twice since returning from the testing facility, but it felt like he hadn't eaten in days. His body devoured calories like fuel for a fire no one else could see.
He could feel something coming.
And that scared him more than anything.
Lira entered, hair slightly damp from the rain. She tossed a towel onto a chair and gave him a tired glance.
"You haven't slept yet."
Kael shook his head. "Too wired."
"You need to rest."
He looked at her. "You think I can rest when I feel like I'm crawling out of my own skin?"
She sat beside him without asking, drawing her legs up beneath her. "You've changed, Kael. Even since the simulation last week. I don't mean your fighting—I mean you."
"I know."
He took a slow sip of the tea. It did nothing to calm the heat beneath his skin.
"I feel like I'm… accelerating," he said finally. "Like every time I fight, I move further away from who I was."
Lira glanced at him. "Is that a bad thing?"
"I don't know," Kael admitted. "But it doesn't feel like I'm in control."
She leaned her head back against the wall, eyes half-lidded. "I envy you, in a way."
He blinked. "Why?"
"You're moving. Growing. Evolving. Me? I've hit my ceiling. My ability's strong, but I'm starting to realize it's limited. I can predict, calculate, counter—but that's it. My numbers never change."
"You think you've peaked," Kael said softly.
"I know I have," she whispered. "And it terrifies me."
They sat in silence for a moment.
"I don't think there's a peak," Kael said finally. "I think there's just pressure. And what you do with it."
She gave him a small, tired smile. "That's either incredibly wise or deeply naive."
Kael shrugged. "I'm sixteen. I get to be both."
Dane appeared a few minutes later, carrying a large tray of protein bars and energy pouches. His expression was blank, which for Dane, was unusual.
Kael raised an eyebrow. "Late-night grocery run?"
"Sort of," Dane muttered, dropping the tray on the table. "Kitchen was restocking. Figured we'd need it."
"Planning for a siege?" Lira asked.
Dane didn't answer right away. Instead, he sat down across from them and unwrapped a bar with more force than necessary.
"I saw the faculty logs," he said finally. "Someone's flagged Kael for containment-level review."
Kael's jaw tightened. "You're sure?"
"I heard two support officers whispering near the observation deck. They used your name. And Ryce's. They're tracking your growth logs, scanning every fight, running DNA drift models."
Lira swore under her breath.
Kael's fingers tightened around the mug. "They think I'm dangerous."
"You are dangerous," Renna said, entering the room so silently that none of them had heard her until she spoke. She settled into a chair beside the window, expression unreadable.
"But that's not why they're scared," she continued. "They're scared because you're something they can't predict."
Kael turned to her. "And what do you think I am?"
She met his gaze. "A rupture. A crack in the system. And sooner or later, something's going to pour through."
The common room fell quiet after that.
They shared food, traded jokes, played a few muted rounds of a strategy sim on the holotable. For a little while, it felt normal. Not like they were part of a broken experiment. Not like they were being hunted from behind mirrored glass.
Just cadets.
Just people.
And Kael found himself wondering how long this fragile peace would last.
The next morning, Kael woke early. Too early.
His body hurt—but not like soreness. More like his muscles were trying to rearrange themselves in real time. His bones ached. His skin felt hot.
He stumbled into the dorm bathroom and stared at the mirror.
His reflection startled him.
His face was sharper. His jaw more defined. The faint outline of his ribs and collarbones had been replaced with lean muscle. Even his shoulders had broadened overnight.
What the hell…?
He stepped back, pulse racing.
This wasn't just growth.
It was recomposition.
Every part of him looked like it had aged a year in a single night—but not in wear, in refinement. Like his body had recalibrated itself into a more efficient version.
He grabbed his uniform.
Too tight.
He could barely get the jacket to zip.
He stepped out into the hallway just as Lira exited her room. She stopped mid-step and stared.
"...Whoa."
Dane rounded the corner with a yawn, stopped when he saw Kael, and blinked. "Dude. What did you eat?"
Kael rubbed his face. "I think I'm going through a growth phase."
"This isn't a phase, this is a mutation," Lira said, stepping closer. "Your eyes—are they always that gold?"
He checked in a wall panel reflection.
His irises shimmered faintly under the lights, like metal catching sunlight.
"I didn't ask for this," Kael said.
Renna appeared behind them, quiet as always. "Doesn't matter. It's happening."
By the time they reached the training field, cadets had already begun to stare.
Even the ones who ignored Kael yesterday now couldn't help but look. A few upperclassmen took note. One even whispered something to their squadmate and disappeared through a side gate—likely to report to a superior.
Kael moved through warmups slower than usual, trying to suppress the buzzing in his limbs. He was stronger—he could feel it—but it wasn't stable yet. His body was ahead of his instincts.
Instructor Breshk approached from across the field.
"Vire."
Kael straightened. "Sir."
Breshk scanned him with a narrow-eyed expression. "You hit a spike."
Kael nodded. "Woke up like this."
"You're not the first cadet to evolve," Breshk said. "But you are the first to do it without a known catalyst. You've officially crossed a threshold."
"What does that mean?"
Breshk leaned in slightly. "It means they'll stop treating you like an anomaly… and start treating you like a weapon."
Kael swallowed hard. "What do I do?"
"Whatever you have to," Breshk said. "But do it faster than they expect. Or you won't make it to year two."
That night, Kael skipped dinner.
He sat alone in the dorm stairwell, legs pulled up to his chest, pendant in hand.
His body felt foreign. His appetite was out of control. Every cell burned with restless energy.
But it wasn't the pain that scared him.
It was the ease.
How natural it felt to change.
How right it felt to leave behind who he'd been.
And part of him wondered if there was a limit.
If I keep evolving like this… will there be anything left of who I used to be?
He heard footsteps.
Lira sat beside him without a word.
They didn't speak for a long time.
Then she said, "You still feel like yourself?"
Kael looked at her. "I don't know. I think so. But I'm afraid that one day, I'll wake up and forget what that even means."
She nudged his shoulder. "Then I'll remind you."
He blinked. "Why?"
"Because someone has to," she said. "And because despite the golden eyes, scary muscle upgrades, and the weird glowing thing you call a pendant—you're still Kael."
He let out a quiet breath. "Thanks."
She stood, offering a hand.
"Come on. We saved you a tray."
Kael took it.
The warmth of her hand reminded him he hadn't completely slipped away.
Not yet.