pletely out cold. Atlas had pushed her hard during training the previous day, and it showed

only her bra and undergarments, her body rising and falling steadily with each breath. For a

th a roaring T-rex printed on the front, its fierce head turned to the left. Paired with that,

ed by the weight of responsibilities I hadn't yet fulfilled. My hands moved on autopilot as I brushed my teeth for a solid five minutes, then rinsed with water cupped in

s rules-I couldn't help but notice how dark my eyes looke

d the silence of the early morning filled the house. The sky was tinged with the faintest

rises gave me a sense of hope-a reminder that no matter how dark

I wasn't. Instead, my chest felt heavy, weighed d

haven't

I set out to do. For all my progress, for all the wins I'd stacked up aga

or. Atlas had been pushing me harder lately, and it was paying off-I was getti

he sky in soft pinks and golds. It was beautiful, a

m.

ence hadn't dulled one bit. If anything, it had sharpened. I wanted so badly to tell her about my pro

coul

s the Universe, he believed she was in a better place. He didn't mean Heaven or Hell-those were just dimens

hing, he'd said. F

here he taught me to manipulate time, fate, and death. Time manipulation had come easily enough; fate manipulation w

friends. When he first mentioned Fate, I'd been intrigued. He described it as a

had said, his voice low and reverent. "It ta

rful than anything I could currently comprehend. But

w," he said simply. "Focus

iosity under hours of sweat and pain. But now, standing

ng me? Or was I just anothe

ee Flora, her hair messy from sleep, but her eyes bright and alert.

she said, her vo

plied, managin

rising sun. For a while, neither of us spoke. The silence wasn't unco

after a while, her vo

," I

firm but comforting. "You'll get there," she said quietly. "I

ook at her, seeing the unwavering belief in her eyes.

my voice thick with emo

s alone, you know. You have me. You have Atlas. And one day... you'll have everyone e

chest didn't fully lift. Still, he

allowed myself to hope. Maybe she

aybe, Fate was wa

id with a playful smile, but it didn't take lon

s, looking peaceful as her breathing evened out. I kissed her forehead and wa

everything away before grabbing my usual glass of apple juice and staring out at the horizon. The sun was rising

lt like I was falling behind. I hadn't defeated Kai, hadn't avenged my mother, and desp

ast expected it. But even his words couldn't fill the void in my chest where grief still linge

ce. "It's never wrong, even when it seems crue

elieve him, even

created solely for our training. It existed outside the normal flow of time, so no matter

for what was ahead. Flora wasn't there yet-she deserved the extra sleep after achieving

he said casually

olling my shoulders to loosen

ly. "You're sixteen now. Let'

tepped forward. This wasn'

ly as I loaded three yellow plates-each weighing 500 yottagrams-on either side of my back. I started with a wa

intly with an otherworldly energy, their colors signifying their intensity:

plates and loaded the purple ones. Ten plates t

first 80 reps came easily enough, but by the 90th, my muscles bur

f, my voice barely audible o

g with exhaustion. Atlas didn't say a word. He didn't need

y vision blurred, and for a moment, I thought I might black out. Bu

down at me with a faint s

ne of these days, Atlas... I'm gon

ply. "Now get up. W

f to my feet. There was no

hand combat. By the time I emerged from the basement, I was drenched in sweat and

he asked, a teasin

admitted, grabbing my ow

er expression softening. "You'

ker of something other than exhaustion. A flicker of hope. She went back upsta

low, the sodium was reasonable, and it packed around 2,000 milligrams of calcium, which was decent f

, moments later, I heard her shuffle to the bathroom, the soft sound of running water signaling her first trip of the morning. Flora

, the scale: 197.4 pounds. Good. My weight was steady. Then, height: 6 feet, 5 inches. No change. I didn

y fat, muscle mass, biceps size. Seven percent body fat. Twen

her eyes half-closed, and she mumbled something incoherent. I smiled at the sight-it was rare to see her this unpolished. She

opped down, barely awake, and started eating mechan

rom his morning inspection,

d, setting Flora's empty bowl

nger. It's not looking good for you. You won't clear all of Africa, A

sleep, perked up sl

ntly stronger, it won't be a matter of if th

ried. "We'll figure it out. Besid

ng for a moment. Then his tone softened

untly, not quite in th

an expression that was hard to read. I watched him go, briefly wondering what was go

g. Her arms wrapped around my waist, and I couldn't help but return the embrace. Her w

ing each other. Eventually, she pulled away, fully awake now,

, she looked effortlessly stunning. She never wore makeup-she didn't ne

decent to watch. Of course, nothing good was on, so we settled for carto

and, a habit she'd picked up over the years that was as weird as it was ende

phone rang, shattering the peaceful moment. I hes

Flora muttered, pouting as I

ed, walking over to the

" I asked, m

e on the other end was f

ed cautiously.

is voice was panicked, and I could hear him running. "General

, the wet crunch of flesh being torn apart. The scientist

hone, my expres

lora asked, her

aid flatly, placing the

reated me and Flora. They had their powers, their zombie

s searching mine for a hint of what

said, sitting back down beside h

ainst my shoulder. For now, we had eac

e familiar hum of laughter and lighthearted animation filled the air. For a moment, it felt like

ared, stepping back into our view, looking dirtier than any human should ever have to. His cl

I asked, squinting as I

with excitement. "I've been working on a project for over a year now, and I

ly, curiosity starting to gnaw at the edges of my mind. Flora no

t for yourself," he said,

es and yawning, and made our way outside into the crisp morning air. The breeze was cold against my skin, and the trees danced

a glowing portal-a swirling, luminous gateway shimmering with a faint golden hue. Atlas stepped through firs

ne and metallic objects scattered about. Standing eerily still like statues, a dozen Atlas clones awaited our arri

s clones standing at attention behind him. "This is where you'll train to become stronger-stronger than sparring with

scattered across this strange, unnatural landscape. They looked decepti

early collapsing under its pressure. My muscles groaned under strain as I barely

alm as if this was entirely normal. "About two hundred thousand yottagr

t understanding. "Wait, there are units ab

g smile. "We've got notatagramme, magonagramme... all so

ace. I already felt like my body was on the verge of giving out. "Interesting,"

d into the excitement of the moment. "Looks like

sive two-hundred jottagramme bags onto me. My body immediately co

panic creeping into my voice as I felt as

said smugly, arms crossed as he surveyed me strugg

ntorted into a mixture of incredulity and sympathy as she

e back a little," she

imed in, eyes sparkling with sadistic

d tried again. I pushed with every ounce of willpower. My body felt like it was disintegrating, but so

a time, muscles screaming in protest, until finally,

eigning excitement. "See?

the ground. Flora laughed this time as I collapsed, but she didn't m

w," she said, voi

pressed forward again. My body began to

heavy, black boxing bag. "Hit that.

mbled as I wondered if I had it in me. The b

do this," I admitte

satisfaction, taunted me:

: "If you believe in something, that will happen. Just believ

clarity that I'd clung to in moments of despa

ugh my knuckles. I hit it again and again, until finally, the sound of impact m

on swam, and I collapsed to my knees, everythi

muttered, giving me a

d at every nerve in my body. My hand throbbed, broken but a

voice resolute, "and I'll beat Kai. I'll tear

t moment,