The sirens had faded into the distance. The fight was over. The city night exhaled a weary sigh, and Ben was left with nothing but the weight in his chest and the words circling his mind.
Hadrian was alive.
But he hadn't woken up.
Ben stood outside the hospital doors, listening to the murmured voices of passing nurses and officers. They spoke of stability, of recovery, but not of certainty. The flickering red and blue lights reflected against the glass, painting everything in an eerie glow. The world was moving forward, but Ben was stuck in the moment, replaying everything over and over.
'Maybe I took too long…'
The thought settled like Hard ice in his stomach. The fight replayed behind his eyes, the madman's twisted grin, the hesitation, the moments he'd lost, standing still when he should have moved.
'If I hadn't hesitated in the first place…'
He clenched his fists.
Later that Night
Ben returned to the academy, but sleep never came. His mind replayed every moment—the madman's lifeless stare, the way Hadrian had collapsed. Every time he closed his eyes, the memories resurfaced, sharp and unforgiving.
By the time the first light of dawn crept through the windows, he had made his decision.
He needed to train. Standing around wasn't going to change anything.
The training grounds were empty. Just him, the cracked pavement, and the ghosts of fights past. This was where he'd faced Aria. Where he'd lost times and times again. Where he realized just how weak he really was.
He wouldn't let it happen a second time.
Ben steadied his breathing, extending his arm.
Three unarmed white humanoid robots escalated from a platform beneath him, their featureless faces reflecting the dim training lights. They were programmed to test his combat abilities, adjusting to his power level in real time.
The first bot lunged.
Ice crawled from Ben's palm, sharp and eager, coiling into shape. A clean, solid spear. He gripped it, bracing himself, then hurled it forward. It slammed into the robot's torso, shattering on impact, but the bot barely staggered.
Good. But not good enough. Again.
The second bot moved in, swinging its arm in a fluid strike. Ben ducked, rolling to the side as ice crackled beneath his fingertips. He summoned another spear and another and another.
Faster. Sharper. Stronger.
A few hours later, he felt drained, ice cracked beneath his fingertips and nails. His breath came short. He could feel the exhaustion creeping in; his body can't handle the cold anymore, but he shoved it back down, drowning it under the need to be better.
His attacks came quicker now, but the robots adjusted just as fast. Their dodging improved. Their counters came closer to hitting. The air filled with the sharp sound of ice fracturing against metal, shards scattering across the ground.
Another bot advanced, launching a calculated kick to Ben's ribs. He barely blocked with an ice shield, but the impact sent him stumbling back. His breath came short. His vision blurred at the edges. He could feel the exhaustion again, but he kept his mind focused.
'The cold isn't enough to keep me down. '
'No cold would ever be enough. '
"You're pushing too hard."
The voice cut through the night like a blade.
Ben turned, breathing heavily. Korin stood at the edge of the grounds, arms crossed, watching him like he had already seen this scene play out a hundred times before.
"Go away," Ben muttered, turning back to the shattered remains of ice littering the ground.
Korin didn't. "You need rest."
Ben burst out in a humorless laugh. "I need to get stronger."
"There's a time for everything."
"Not for me."
Ben took a step forward, another shard of ice forming in his grip. Korin sighed. He had the patience of a saint, but even saints had limits.
Suddenly, Korin was standing right beside him.
Ben's pulse stuttered. He hadn't seen him move. One second, Korin had been several feet away, and the next-
Right there.
Ben swallowed hard. He had never seen Korin use his powers before. Hell, he didn't even know what they were. But this? This wasn't normal movement.
Korin met his gaze, unblinking. "Enough."
It wasn't a yell. It wasn't even loud. But the weight of it crashed down like an avalanche.
Ben felt Korin's hand close around his wrist—not hard, not aggressive, just firm. A warning. A leash.
Ben tried to yank away his hand but couldn't move. Frustrated, he threw a punch out of reflex.
The punch wasn't meant to hurt. It wasn't even meant to land. Just a weak, frustrated motion, a desperate attempt to break free. But the second his fist moved—
Everything stopped.
The air shattered into silence.
And then the world froze.
Not just Ben. Not just the training grounds. The air, the ground, the very space between them. Frozen solid in an instant, like time itself had been encased in ice. Ben couldn't move, couldn't breathe—
Couldn't think.
Korin's grip hadn't tightened. He hadn't even flinched. He just stood there, looking at Ben like he wasn't trapped in something impossible.
Then, softly, evenly, he spoke.
"Power without control is just destruction. Figure out which one you want before you come back."
The moment shattered. The ice cracked, the air rushed back, and Ben staggered backward, gasping. Korin had already turned, already walking away, as if none of it had happened at all.
Ben stood in the aftermath, fists trembling at his sides, heart pounding against his ribs.
What the hell was that?
earlier in the morning
Ben came back to his room as the sun came up. He didn't stop shaking until he entered.
His head was still spinning. His thoughts were still clawing at his skull, fighting for space between the frustration, the shame, and something else... something dangerously close to fear.
He needed to get stronger. But this? Whatever had Korin just done? He wasn't anywhere near that level.
Ben exhaled sharply, dropping into the chair at his desk. His eyes flickered to the blank sheet of paper before him. The words had been forming in his head all night, ever since he heard about Hadrian's condition.
He picked up the pen. A short simple letter.
When he had time, he would leave it at the hospital with flowers. He wasn't sure why. Maybe he just wanted to make sure Hadrian had something waiting for him when he woke up. If he woke up.
His hand trembled.
Distracted, the pen slipped, and with a hand motion back, the edge of the paper dragged against his palm. A sharp sting. A small cut swelled up as a bead of blood formed.
Ben barely notices it. Not until the pen lifted off the desk.
It was slow. Subtle. Almost gentle. But there was no mistaking it.
It was floating.
Ben staggered back, his breathing ragged. He used it, the power to manipulate blood; crimson corruption, different essence power, This wasn't just ice. It wasn't his strength, and it wasn't just something he could ignore.
This was inside him now.
And if he didn't control it, it would control him. He didn't tell Korin. He didn't tell anyone.
In his eyes this power was evil; it took life, and no good can come out of this corrupted power.
But he must control it so it can never be used. When he walked through the doors of THOE Academy, he would be one thing and one thing only:
A boy who could wield ice.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.