Dinner that evening was surprisingly normal.
Mom had made rice porridge with vegetables, some steamed fish, and pickled radishes. Simple food, but it tasted amazing after a day of training and accidentally achieving continental-destruction powers.
Kai ate carefully meanwhile, Taylor was chattering about her day playing with the neighbor kids. "—and then Mira fell in the pond! It was so funny! She was covered in mud and algae and—"
"Taylor, don't talk with your mouth full," Mom said automatically.
Dad was quieter than usual, occasionally glancing at Kai with this weird mix of pride and concern. Like he couldn't quite figure out what to do with a genius son who'd mastered sword techniques in literal hours.
After dinner, Kai helped clean up—carrying dishes to the kitchen, wiping down the table. Normal kid stuff.
Then he went upstairs to his room.
And that's when the real training began.
The Night Training Begins
Kai closed his bedroom door and sat cross-legged on his bed.
