It is 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 23rd. The darkness of night begins to fade as four shadows run between the trees toward the cabin. Inside, a sleepy warrior gazes at the stars while yawning. He steps into his home and comes back out carrying a tray with four handleless cups, filled with a brownish liquid, along with several chocolate chip cookies. He finishes his own cup of tea just as his students arrive.
The teenagers begin creating their clones, finishing the process in about two minutes. They send the copies back to their homes, allowing the originals to finally remove everything they had packed in their backpacks. The master asks:
"Have you eaten breakfast?"
The black-haired girl and the two brown-haired boys shake their heads no. Jayden points to the tray with the four steaming cups. The three approach confidently, each taking a cookie and enjoying its rich flavor. Emily and the green-eyed girl stare at the cups nervously, worried about what they might taste—but their expressions quickly turn to horror when they see the dark-skinned boy casually take a large sip.
He freezes for a second, then sets the cup down excitedly.
"Master, this is the best hot chocolate I've ever had!"
"Eat and shut up," the adult replies dryly, noticing that the blonde girl is standing apart, staring at the sky.
Jayden takes the last unattended cup and five cookies and walks over to her.
"What are you staring at so intently?"
The blue-eyed girl looks at him and answers,
"It just feels so unreal that we're about to go to another planet—full of intelligent life, culture, and fauna. I still can't quite believe it."
The warrior smiles faintly, remembering a blond boy laughing while gazing at the sky. His expression turns serious as he hands her the hot chocolate and cookies.
"Eat. You'll need your strength for what's coming."
As he walks back into the cabin, he discreetly casts a murderous glance toward the forest, where a gray cat perched on a branch watches the youngsters.
Once the tray and cups are empty, the warrior returns carrying four gift-wrapped boxes, and in his other hand, a necklace with green orbs and much smaller blue ones. He tells the students to sit down and places one box in front of each of them.
"I was planning to give these to you at Christmas," he says, "but I think now is a better time. However, before you open them, I need to tell you something: from now on, I won't be teaching you anything else."
The four teenagers immediately interrupt in shock.
"What?! Why?!"
They are silenced by the adult's lethal glare. After apologizing for interrupting, he sighs in annoyance.
"Because I've already given you solid foundations. If I keep spoon-feeding you, you'll never develop something essential for any warrior: adaptability. The ability to take what you've learned and create something of your own. That's why I want three of you to create a technique using Fiu with what you already know."
He continues,
"Second, we're going on a mission. You won't have time for pure training, so teaching you something entirely new would be pointless. With your own techniques, you'll decide the limits yourselves."
Alexa looks confused. Jayden notices and laughs.
"Emily already did it—without me explaining anything. She figured out her own path. If you want to improve, you must adapt your knowledge to your environment. I only give you the seed. You decide what kind of tree grows from it."
The black-haired girl looks down, thinking, Create my own technique?
The boy with yellow-tipped hair smiles, while the blonde stares at her hands, then glances at the brown-haired girl, making her slightly nervous.
Jayden looks up at the sky and asks them to take the necklace he is holding.
"One more thing," he says seriously. "Under no circumstances are you to let go of this amulet while you're surrounded by green energy. Ever. Understood?"
The girls nod immediately. Only the dark-skinned boy dares to ask,
"Why?"
Jayden stares him straight in the eyes.
"Imagine this: the energy surrounding the bearer allows us to travel from point A to point D without passing through B and C. As long as you hold the necklace and channel Fiu through one of the green orbs, we become part of all the natural Fiu that exists. If you let go… your body stops being energy and ends up scattered between A, B, C, and D."
He pauses.
"For your own well-being, I hope that's clear."
The boy swallows hard. The necklace cannot be released until they arrive.
Jayden tells them to open the boxes. They untie the ribbons and lift the lids, finding full-body gray cloaks inside.
"Thank you, Master!" Tyron and Emily say with smiles.
Francesca looks at Alexa.
"Yes…" Alexa whispers. "They look like the ones worn by the person I saw in my vision."
"Put them on," Jayden says. "Then we leave. I hope you brought the amount of water I told you to."
The students put on their backpacks. The blonde checks everyone's supplies and nods.
"Yes, Master. We each brought six liters of water."
As they lift the cloaks, they realize something.
"They're heavy," Francesca says.
Jayden yawns.
"About five kilograms. Training while you wear them. If it's too hard to move, concentrate energy in your muscles until your bodies adapt."
With no choice, they put on the cloaks and pull up the integrated hoods. Jayden returns from the cabin wearing an identical cloak, his head covered.
"Remember," he says as they grab the amulet, "we are warriors. Shadows are our home. Avoid drawing attention. Forget your world's ethics and sense of justice. Where we're going has its own rules. Don't interfere. Understood?"
They nod.
The dark-skinned boy channels his energy into the amulet. Green smoke surrounds them, the world bursting into countless colors before settling into pale green. The energy fades—and they have arrived.
Jayden tucks the necklace beneath his tunic. The moment the teenagers let go, they feel as if they're being crushed—or pulled violently toward the ground.
The blonde and the brown-haired girl watch the warrior walk away as if nothing is wrong. He didn't tell us gravity here is stronger, they think in unison.
The yellow-tipped-haired boy drops to his knees. The black-haired girl struggles, stumbles backward under her backpack's weight, and rolls toward the edge of a platform surrounded by Greek-style pillars. Before she can fall, Jayden's foot intercepts her—kicking her back toward the others and slamming them all to the ground.
Groaning, their muscles feel as if they might tear their bones apart.
"How much stronger is the gravity here compared to Earth?" the blue-eyed girl asks while standing slowly.
"Three times stronger," Jayden answers, heading for a staircase. "Don't go near the edges until you adapt."
"Why?" the dark-skinned boy asks.
With a sigh, Jayden lifts him by the back of his cloak and holds him over the edge.
"I get it! I get it!" the boy shouts in terror.
Jayden drops him back beside the others and walks on.
"Is it really that high?" Alexa asks.
The boy stares at the ground in panic.
"We're… floating above the clouds."
The girls exchange looks as they manage to stand. A whistle from the blue-eyed girl snaps them back to attention, and they follow their master—only to freeze in awe.
A massive floating landmass hangs in the sky—five or six times larger than their city. Francesca carefully descends the steps, eyes fixed on the colossal city built like a stepped mountain, crowned by a palace at its summit.
Four faceless, red-skinned creatures with rough hides and spines lining their backs point their heads at the five cloaked figures, letting the tallest pass first. Inside, the teenagers see beings similar to those at the entrance—and to Niter—but gray-skinned, dressed in rags, covered in dirt. Their homes look medieval, fragile, half-collapsed. The inhabitants are thin, starved.
Jayden notices his students' exhausted faces and pity-filled expressions. He leads them to a battered fountain stained with mud so they can rest briefly.
Their muscles burn just from walking. Emily drops her backpack. Alexa sits by the fountain, breathing heavily, watching the locals stare at them. Francesca remains standing, regulating her breathing. She notices a young alien girl in a sack-like dress being dragged by a taller, scrawny boy. The girl drops her straw doll.
Despite the pain, Francesca jogs over, picks it up, overtakes them, and hands it back.
"Don't drop it," she says.
The girl nods.
Tyron arrives last and kneels by the fountain, noticing a three-eyed, purple-furred canine drinking from it. Overheated, he reaches for the water—only for Jayden's hand to grip his shoulder.
"Don't."
Jayden dips his own hand into the fountain. The skin, muscle, and nearly bone melt away, revealing bloody flesh. He withdraws his hand, then coats it in transparent green Fiu, restoring it instantly.
No one touches the water again.
"Is everyone like this?" Tyron asks quietly.
Jayden looks toward the upper districts.
"I don't know much about the Oksilis. The grays are the lowest caste—weak psychic power. Reds are stronger, tougher, higher psychic potential. Blues share that power but have frailer bodies."
The blonde looks up toward the summit. Who lives at the top?
They continue walking. The black-haired girl whispers, "We're drawing too much attention."
"Then focus your Fiu on your foreheads," Jayden says. "It'll block mind readers."
A thunderous noise draws everyone's attention. Gray-skinned workers are being escorted by larger enforcers with red markings, riding bronze flying bikes. Among them is a five-year-old child who collapses to his knees and is forced back up.
The dark-skinned boy looks away, anger simmering. Francesca steps forward—but Jayden stops her. Alexa clenches her fists. The blonde studies the red symbols. A logo?
"Ignore it," Jayden says coldly. "This isn't Earth."
But when a red-marked guard strikes the children, something breaks.
Francesca grabs the enforcer's wrist and kicks him into a wall. Emily helps the little girl. Air spheres knock out two attackers. The black-haired girl leaps, spinning into a kick.
A red-skinned armored figure raises a strange spear—but Alexa slashes his shoulder and pins him, smiling.
"Don't move."
More guards arrive.
Jayden sighs. "Looks like I can't tolerate this anymore."
Chaos erupts. Tyron hesitates—then hears Jayden's voice.
"If you don't help out of fear, I'll punish you harder."
Smiling, Tyron steps forward.
"TAKE THIS!"
Lightning erupts, dropping twenty guards at once.
Red-armored elites surround them.
"Well done," one says. "You're under arrest."
Then the crowd kneels.
Jayden removes his hood.
"Tell your friends to back away from my students," he says calmly. "Or we'll have a problem."
"Yes, great Barrier of Power," the leader answers.
Jayden turns and smacks each student on the head.
"You idiots! I told you not to draw attention!"
Despite the scolding, he sends them to escort the children home.
They return to find the street praising Jayden as they head for the third sector—toward Niter.
Far above, an Oksilis businessman watches events unfold, unaware that something far beyond his control has begun to move.