Alex placed a hand on Adrian's shoulder—firm, not aggressive.
"Let's move."
Darkness swirled around them and the two shot upward, Alex flying effortlessly while Adrian clung awkwardly to the shadows below him. Alex didn't slow down; he simply adjusted the shadows so the kid wouldn't fall.
They landed smoothly on a nearby rooftop.
Alex raised one hand.
A dark eye appeared above his palm—then split open like a scanner, bathing Adrian in a faint purple glow.
Adrian tensed.
"Wh-what is that?"
"Sit still," Alex said. "I'm checking your condition."
The eye finished scanning. Complex demonic symbols flickered in Alex's vision, information flowing rapidly.
He clicked his tongue.
"…Damn."
"W-what?" Adrian asked nervously.
Alex looked at him fully.
"You're not just some random kid who got lucky," Alex said. "You have inhuman genes."
Adrian blinked in confusion. "Inhuman…?"
Alex nodded.
"Your DNA was dormant. Sleeping. That blood crystal you touched acted like a Terrigen catalyst. Instead of killing you like it would most people… it awakened what you already had."
Adrian's eyes widened. "So… I was always meant to have powers?"
"Something like that," Alex replied. "The crystal didn't give you abilities—it just triggered the transformation your genes were waiting for."
Adrian tried to speak, but Alex continued:
"But the demonic energy you're using?
That doesn't belong to you."
He pointed two fingers at Adrian's chest.
"That darkness is residue from the blood crystal. It's not yours. It's just… stuck inside you for now."
Adrian swallowed. "S-so… will it go away?"
Alex nodded.
"In about three days."
Adrian froze. "Three days…?"
"Yep," Alex said. "After that, the borrowed demonic energy will fully burn out. What you'll have left…"
He checked the readings again.
"…is whatever your real Inhuman ability is."
Adrian stared down at his hands.
"So… all the darkness powers… they'll disappear?"
Alex sighed.
"Were you even listening? I said the blood crystal awakened what you already had. The demonic energy isn't your power at all. Think of it like this—right now, you're a wet puppy. The water on your fur isn't part of you. It's just clinging to you. And it'll dry out soon."
Adrian blinked. "So… I wasn't actually using demonic energy?"
"No," Alex said bluntly. "You were never using demon power. It was just sitting inside you, doing nothing. What you were actually using…" he pointed at Adrian's chest,
"…was your own shadow ability. Your real Inhuman power. The darkness just made it look more dramatic."
Adrian just stared at him, completely overwhelmed and unable to process everything.
Adrian just stared at him, completely overwhelmed, unable to process anything.
He opened his mouth—then closed it again. His thoughts were a tangled mess of fear, confusion, and the lingering rush of power he didn't understand.
"W-What… what am I supposed to do now?" he finally asked, voice small, trembling. "If all that darkness wasn't really mine, then… what do I even have left?"
Alex didn't answer right away.
Instead, he stepped closer, placing a hand on Adrian's shoulder. The readouts on the hovering holo-screen flickered as it tracked the unstable energy inside the young man's body.
"You don't need to understand everything tonight," Alex said quietly. "Your real power is still developing. And yeah—it's going to take time to stabilize. But that's normal."
Adrian swallowed hard, eyes glossy.
"So I won't… lose everything?"
"No."
Alex shook his head. "You're not losing anything. If anything, you're finally becoming what you were meant to be."
Adrian's knees weakened. The emotional weight hit all at once, years of fear and uncertainty crashing through him. His eyes dropped, and for the first time, tears slid down his cheeks.
Alex said nothing.
He simply moved forward and pulled Adrian into a steady, grounding hug—strong enough to anchor him, gentle enough not to break the kid who was falling apart in front of him.
Adrian buried his face into Alex's chest, shoulders trembling as he cried.
"There you go," Alex murmured. "Let it out. You're not alone in this."
The shadows around Adrian flickered, soft and harmless now—like they were exhaling with him.
Alex's grip tightened just a bit, protective.
"We'll figure out your abilities together," he said. "I'll teach you everything you need. Hero training, control techniques, form stabilization—you name it. You're not going through this blind."
Adrian nodded against him, still shaking.
"Okay…" he whispered.
Alex lifted him gently, supporting his weight as the kid sagged into him.
"Rest for now," he said. "We'll start fresh tomorrow."
Alex held Adrian steady for a moment longer, then exhaled.
"Alright," he muttered. "Tomorrow it is."
Darkness rose around them again—calmer this time, no longer wild or unstable. Alex lifted Adrian with one arm as if he weighed nothing, stepped backward into the shadow, and the rooftop vanished.
"This is my home," Alex said, looking up at the massive building.
Adrian's eyes widened, taking it all in.
"You live here?" he asked.
"No. I own it," Alex corrected flatly as he guided Adrian across the front yard and into the estate.
Inside, Mygrath—Alex's butler—was already waiting.
Tall, composed, and dressed in a sharply tailored suit, he bowed slightly.
"Welcome back, my lord. And… who is this?"
His eyes narrowed as he quietly sensed the demonic residue clinging to Adrian.
Alex waved the concern away.
"I'll leave him in your care. Just teach him how to use his powers. Only teach him how to use his powers—nothing more."
Mygrath nodded once, accepting the order.
Alex gave Adrian a single pat on the back and walked away, leaving the boy standing alone in the grand hall with the handsome, silver-haired butler staring down at him.
"H-Hello, sir…" Adrian said nervously.
Mygrath raised an eyebrow.
"How old are you, child?"
"I'll be seventeen in three months," Adrian replied quietly.
"Good," Mygrath said. "Because you look like someone who could get kidnapped by a stiff breeze. I will send word to your family so they do not panic when you disappear."
Adrian blinked. "Uh… thank you?"
Mygrath turned, motioning for him to follow.
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