"Mostly," he said. "Depends on how interesting you make it."
'Wow, reassuring.'
He pointed at me. "You, Mercer—center circle."
I stepped forward, feeling the floor vibrate faintly under my boots. The glowing pattern from yesterday flickered to life again, pale blue lines crawling outward like veins.
Ryu leaned against a pillar, arms folded. "Alright. Breathe. Feel it."
"Feel what? Regret?"
He grinned. "Energy. Everyone's got it. Most people never notice it. You, though—you've touched it already. You're just an idiot that doesn't know how to grab it."
"That's comforting," I said, "in a terrifying way."
"Good. Now focus."
The lights in the circle brightened. My skin prickled. The air thickened around me—electric, alive, pushing down on my shoulders.
My breath caught.
"Don't fight it," Damian said from the console. "Channel it."
"Into what? My early death?"
"Into control," Ryu called back. "Come on, kid. Show me something."
Something deep in my gut twisted.
I exhaled, palms out, trying to grab the invisible current I'd felt yesterday. For a split second, something sparked between my fingers—a faint flicker of light, white-blue and fleeting. Then gone.
Ryu's grin widened. "There it is."
Jade tilted her head slightly. "Beginner's luck."
Damian checked the readings on the monitor. "He's responsive, but unstable."
"Story of my life," I muttered.
Ryu clapped once. "Alright. Warm-up's over. Time for the real fun."
"Oh, fantastic," I said. "Because that was super chill."
He motioned for Jade and Damian. "Pair up. We're running team drills."
"Wait, team what—?"
Too late. Jade vanished—literally blinked out of existence—while Damian slammed a button on his wrist device that I hadn't noticed until now. The gravity in the room doubled in an instant. My knees buckled.
"Hey—what the hell!" I wheezed, trying to stay upright. Every step felt like pushing through concrete. "What is this?!"
"Training," Damian said calmly. "Adapt."
"Adapt?! My spine's negotiating peace talks here!"
A shimmer appeared beside me—Jade, flickering back into view, her blades crossed just inches from my neck. "You're dead," she said flatly.
I froze. "Fuck! That was fast."
"You blinked," she said simply.
Ryu's laughter echoed from the platform. "Oh, this is gold. You might actually survive after all."
"Remind me to haunt you if I don't," I shot back.
"Noted."
–––––––––––
The drills continued. They pushed me through obstacle runs, reflex tests, simulated combat—all of which translated roughly to "watch Ken die in new and creative ways."
Every time I caught my breath, Ryu found a new button to press, making something explode, tilt, or try to stab me.
"Keep up, rookie!" Damian shouted, vaulting over a platform as if gravity didn't apply to him.
"Easy for you to say, Mr. Anti-Physics!" I yelled back, slipping on what I hoped was training foam and not spit or puke.
Jade reappeared beside me again, calm as ever. "You move too much. You'll waste energy."
"I'm trying not to die!"
She looked unimpressed. "Try harder."
Ryu clapped again, sending a ripple of lightning across the floor. "Good advice. Try harder, rookie!"
"I hate all of you!" I shouted.
"Aw," Ryu said. "He fits right in."
–––––––––––
Hours—or maybe decades in my thoughts—passed. My muscles screamed. My lungs burned. I was covered in sweat, bruises, and possibly existential despair.
"Okay!" I gasped, bending over with my hands on my knees. "Time out! Time—out!"
"No breaks," Damian said, voice maddeningly calm. "Monsters don't pause."
"Yeah, well, I'm not a monster, I'm just emotionally damaged!"
Jade's faint smirk returned. "He's not entirely wrong."
Ryu twirled his sword lazily, electricity sparking from its edge. "Fine. One more drill."
I groaned. "Please tell me it's nap-related."
He ignored me. "Everyone ready?"
Damian adjusted his gloves. "Always."
Jade gave a curt nod.
Ryu turned to me. "Alright, Mercer. Final test of the day—survive for two minutes."
I blinked. "Survive what?"
He smiled. "Us."
"Oh, come on—"
The word barely left my mouth before Jade disappeared again. A flash of silver streaked past my cheek—close enough to slice a few hairs. I stumbled back just as Damian raised his hand, and the floor tilted. I went sliding straight into Ryu's waiting grin.
He swung—just enough for the blade to graze my sleeve, sparks flying.
I yelped and rolled aside.
"What the hell, man?!"
"Lesson one," he said, voice calm amid chaos. "Control isn't power—it's survival."
"Lesson two," Damian added, voice somewhere behind me, "don't turn your back on an opponent."
A gun clicked. I dove. A gravity burst cracked the ground where I'd been standing.
"Holy shit!"
Jade appeared right behind me, blades crossed again. I barely ducked, feeling the rush of air as steel cut through the space my head had just been.
Two minutes. I just had to survive two minutes.
'You can do this,' I told myself. 'You've survived cafeteria lunches worse than this.'
I dodged, ducked, stumbled, cursed. Lightning flashed, bullets hummed, shadows danced. Somewhere in the chaos, something inside me snapped—not physically, but deeper. The same pulse from before surged again, stronger this time.
I threw up my hands on instinct. A bright, raw wave of light burst outward, shoving everything back.
For one second, the everyone froze.
Jade reappeared mid-step, eyes wide. Damian's gravity field flickered. Ryu blinked, his grin fading into something almost impressed.
Then the energy sputtered out like a dying candle. My knees gave way. My vision swam.
"Well," Ryu said, laughing softly. "Guess we found something he can do."
"Barely," Damian muttered, scanning the readings. "That output was unstable."
Jade crossed her arms. "Or accidental."
"Details," Ryu said. "He's alive, isn't he?"
"Barely," I echoed, dropping onto my knees. My chest heaved, lungs on fire. "You people are insane."
Ryu crouched beside me, still grinning. "Welcome to Hell's Gym."
"You said that already before," I mumbled before everything tilted sideways.
The last thing I felt was the taste of dirt on my tongue and Ryu's amused voice above me.
"Somebody drag him out before he stains the floor with his mouth fluid."
None responded, unsure of responding to his order.
"Oh? You are having second thoughts?" Ryu raised a brow, laughing at their shocked expressions.
"Fine, I'll do it myself."
Then, hands grabbed my arms, hauling me across the ground like a dead fish. The world spun lazily as exhaustion hit me like a brick.
And just like that—
I, Ken Mercer, rookie of Code Seven, who had dropped face-first into the dirt was dragged off by Ryu like a ragdoll.
Everything hurt.
And weirdly enough…
I couldn't wait to do it again and get back at this black haired bastard.