The room was silent, save for the low hum of tension. Code stood with his fists clenched, heart pounding hard against his ribs.
"Ready?" Van asked, voice calm—almost disinterested.
Code gave a shaky nod. "Y-yeah."
Van didn't move from his crouch, elbows resting on his knees. "We're done with the thread test. Now for something deeper."
He gestured to the floor. "Sit. This isn't about strength. It's about what's inside you."
Code hesitated, then slowly lowered himself to the wooden floor. Cold bit at his skin as he sat cross-legged across from Van.
Without a word, Van produced a black shard of metal and tossed it into Code's lap. It landed with a dull clink.
"Focus your tenzen into that," Van said.
Code turned the shard in his palm. It looked ordinary—lifeless.
"…Isn't this just metal?"
"Tenzen flows through everything," Van replied. "But it rejects instability. That shard will react—violently—if you're not in rhythm."
Code exhaled, shutting his eyes. He pushed his energy outward.
His body began to hum. A current danced through his veins, sharp and electric. But just as the energy neared the shard—everything halted.
"Uh…?" Code's eyes fluttered open. "What was that feeling?"
Van's voice reached him, low but clear. "You felt it? The tenzen flow?"
"Yeah," Code replied, breathless. "It felt like… electricity running through me."
Van nodded. "That's the first phase. The Flow Phase."
"Phase?" Code raised an eyebrow.
"There are four phases in sorcery," Van explained. "Flow, Emission, Manipulation, and Rebirth."
Code blinked. "So I just completed the Flow Phase?"
"You've just stepped into it," Van said. "The Flow Phase is when you first sense how tenzen moves inside you—through your blood, bones, brain. It sharpens your senses, strengthens your body. You're faster, stronger, more aware."
"Then what's next?" Code asked.
"The Emission Phase," Van said. "Where you release your tenzen into the world. Nara, for example—he's a fire-style wielder. In the Emission Phase, he releases his tenzen as flame into the air."
"Whoa… so Nara's in the Emission Phase?" Code asked, eyes wide.
"Correct," Van nodded. "Manipulators can bend their own tenzen and external elements to their will. Domain users, illusionists—those who shape space or perception—they're in the third phase."
"And the fourth?" Code leaned in.
"Rebirth," Van said, voice heavier. "A rare state. When the soul and tenzen become one. Your body dies, but your sorcery lives on—reshaping you."
"Cool…" Code muttered. "So what phase are you in?"
Van chuckled, low and dry. "If there's a Fifth Phase… that's where I stand."
Code stared, breath caught. "…Can I move to the next phase?"
"You can try," Van said. "But for a Zero like you, Emission will be brutal. Your core is unstable."
Code clenched his jaw. "No matter what I've gotta do, I will get stronger."
He reached out and gripped the metal shard again. His eyes shut. This time, he let the tenzen flow through his chest, through his veins, through every nerve in his body.
"Don't let it overflow," Van said. "Concentrate it into your hands, then emit."
Suddenly, the world changed.
Code stood somewhere else.
The air was heavy—quiet.
Below his feet, a sea of deep red liquid stretched endlessly. Still. Reflective. Cold.
He stood on its surface.
Van's voice echoed distantly in the background, muffled—like a whisper trapped beneath water.
Then—reality snapped back.
The shard quivered in Code's hand. A faint glow crawled along its edge.
Then—
CRACK.
A jolt ripped through his palm like lightning.
Code cried out and flung the shard as if it had come alive.
He collapsed forward, gasping. His fingertips burned. Blood trickled down his hand, fine cuts laced across his skin like spiderwebs.
He raised his palm.
The blood didn't fall.
It gathered.
A single crimson orb lifted from his skin, hovering—trembling with unseen force.
"…What the hell…" Code whispered.
Van's voice was grave. "That's your blood trying to stabilize your core. Your tenzen's clashing with Aidra's anti-tenzen."
Code's breath caught. "So I am a freak."
"No," Van said. "You're a fuse box with two storms inside."
The orb shimmered.
Then—
POP.
Blood sprayed the room in a fine red mist.
Code winced, eyes wide. "Why did it explode?!"
"You're not balanced yet. If your anti-tenzen dominates, your body devours itself. If your tenzen wins, you short-circuit. And if they meet without rhythm—"
"…I explode," Code finished.
Van nodded once. "Exactly."
Code stumbled to his feet. His knees shook, but he stayed up. "What is this power…?"
Van stood as well. "Blood sorcery. A body that contains both forces—natural and cursed."
"I… saw something," Code said. "A vision. It was red water. I stood over it. What does that mean?"
Van went still, bringing a hand to his chin.
"…That must've been his realm," he said at last.
The words hit harder than the feedback.
Code's legs gave out.
And then—everything went dark.
***
TBC