The world outside was chaos.
But inside his apartment, Liam found stillness.
He closed the door behind him slowly, listening for the echo of danger — a scratch, a breath, a growl — but none came. The apartment was quiet. Only the soft creak of settling wood and the distant sirens from the ruined city beyond reminded him that this was no longer the world he knew.
Dust floated lazily in the air. Furniture had shifted from the quakes; his shelves were overturned, dishes shattered. But compared to what lay beyond the broken streets of Osaka, it felt like a sanctuary.
He took a deep breath and walked toward the center of the living room.
His body was different now. He could feel it. Not just in the ache of his muscles or the fading pain from the encounter earlier — but in the pressure beneath his skin. The **ARC energy** wasn't idle anymore. It stirred with every breath, pulsing like a second heart.
He needed to understand it.
Now.
---
Out on the back alley behind the apartment complex, the quakes had dislodged part of the sidewalk, and in the chaos, a **concrete bollard** — used to block cars — had broken free and rolled into the courtyard.
Liam stepped outside, scanning the area first. No movement. No sound beyond the wind and far-off, distorted city noise.
He approached the **bollard**, roughly **75 kilograms of solid reinforced concrete**, stained with dirt and cracks.
Last week, this would've taken two people to even budge.
Now?
He exhaled, focused the ARC energy into his **right arm**, and reached down.
It responded immediately. The energy surged down his shoulder, muscles tightening, bones humming under pressure. His veins shimmered faintly — like blue-glowing threads under his skin — as he gripped the rough concrete.
He lifted.
Effortless.
His body remained steady, posture controlled, the bollard held up like a bag of rice. His expression didn't even twitch.
He stared at it in disbelief, then slowly lowered it to the ground.
No. Not disbelief. **Confirmation**.
He really had changed.
---
Back in his apartment, Liam stripped off his jacket, sweat soaking through the thin shirt underneath. He stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, watching his reflection closely.
He looked the same — mostly. Black hair, slightly messy. Sharp, observant brown eyes. Lean frame. But behind the familiarity, something shimmered. Not physically — **energetically**.
He focused the ARC energy into his **eyes**.
The world snapped into sharpness. The cracked wall across the room was suddenly high-definition. He could make out the individual threads in his shirt's fibers. Outside the window, a bird gliding three blocks away seemed just a stretch of his hand away.
A single blink ended the effect. He staggered slightly, disoriented.
"Too much," he muttered, steadying himself.
Next, he focused the energy into his **ears**.
And instantly regretted it.
The flood of sound crashed over him: the low hum of a fridge motor still cycling, the wind between apartment buildings, the clink of shattered glass as a mutated rat stepped over debris two floors below. His own heartbeat thundered in his skull.
He cut the energy off, gasping. Pressure released like a valve snapping open. It left him dizzy but awake.
Each organ, each limb — the ARC energy could **strengthen** it. Wherever he focused it, the effect intensified dramatically. But it wasn't infinite. It wasn't easy. Prolonged focus created fatigue — **mental** fatigue more than physical.
---
He returned to the living room and sat cross-legged on the wooden floor, wrench nearby, journal open.
He began writing down experiments:
* **Lift Test** – Confirmed. 75kg bollard lifted with ease. Potential limit unknown.
* **Sensory Test** – Vision and hearing enhancement possible, but overstimulating.
* **Kinetic Output** – Try discharging force via focused intent.
* **Multi-Limb Control** – Can I strengthen more than one area at once?
* **Fatigue Rate** – How long before ARC drain affects alertness?
At the bottom, he added a final line in capital letters:
* **MENTAL EFFECT?**
*Craving violence. Thrill in battle. Is ARC altering instinct?*
Because something had changed in him when he fought that mutated dog. The ARC didn't just strengthen him — it **reacted to conflict**. It **fed** on the moment.
And part of him **liked** it.
---
He stood and moved to the center of the room again.
Hands out. ARC energy flowing. This time, he tried something new.
He gathered the energy into his palm — just like before when it had lashed out instinctively. Now, he wanted to see if he could recreate it intentionally.
Focus. Pressure.
Pulse.
A compressed shockwave blasted outward from his hand. It wasn't loud — but it sent a ripple of force across the floor, knocking over a chair and scattering loose paper. The air shimmered faintly where the force passed.
He smiled.
This wasn't just strength. It was **utility**.
**Weaponization**.
He was starting to grasp it.
---
Hours passed in training, testing, failing, and refining.
By nightfall, his body ached in strange ways. Not from strain — but from **overuse of energy channels**. The ARC energy was like circuitry: force too much through too quickly, and it overheated. Burned.
Balance was key.
As he finally sat back in the shadows of his dim apartment, Osaka's horizon pulsing faintly with flickers of light from distant fires, Liam closed his eyes.
The world was still changing. Creatures were evolving. Land was rising. The sky cracked like glass.
But now, he wasn't just a survivor.
He was **changing with it**.
And tomorrow, he would test his power further — beyond lifting, beyond perception. He needed to fight again. Not for violence. Not for thrill.
But because the **ARC wanted it**.
And part of him… couldn't deny that call any longer.
---