The following day, Ray led the children to the old stone chamber beneath the ancient tower. Yume, refusing to be left behind, followed closely as they descended into the cool, damp dark. The chamber was bathed in a soft, ethereal teal light emanating from the Hashi well at its center.

  Kenji sat shirtless on the stone floor, his eyes closed. Yumiko, in her humanoid form, knelt behind him. Her gentle hands rested on his back, her own eyes shut in deep concentration. Ray and the others watched in silence.

  After several minutes, Yumiko's fox ears twitched. She opened her eyes and stood, her expression a mask of profound confusion. Ray stepped forward, his worry deepening at her silence.

  She didn't speak to Ray immediately. Instead, she turned to Kenji as he stood and began pulling on the top of his hakama. She offered him a warm, soft smile. "Congratulations on your awakening, little cat."

  Kenji frowned at the nickname, but a grin broke through. "Thank you, Grandma Yumiko."

  "Go now," she said, her tone motherly but firm. "Play with the others while I speak with Ray."

  Kenji nodded and headed up the ancient stairs with Takahiro and Yume. As soon as their footsteps faded into the distance, Ray turned to her. "So? What did you sense?"

  Yumiko hesitated. "The Hashi flowing through him... it is immense."

  "I know it's a lot, Yumiko, but—"

  "No, Ray," she interrupted, her delicate eyebrows furrowing. "He has more energy than any human should possess at the Beginner stage. That child is the equivalent of a warrior with two fully refined cores."

  Ray's breath hitched. But Yumiko wasn't finished. "That isn't even the primary issue. His Hashi isn't flowing through veins."

  "That's normal for a Beginner," Ray argued. "The veins don't fully form until—"

  "It isn't just that," she said gravely. "The energy is being held within his muscles and marrow without any passive release. There is no overflow. It just... stays."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Ray paced the small circle of light. "Doesn't a core stop generating internal Hashi once capacity is reached? It should only trigger when the well is dry or lacking."

  Yumiko looked at him with eyes that seemed to see into another realm. "That is how a core works, Ray. But that child... he doesn't have a core."

  Ray stopped dead. "What?"

  "When I searched him, I found no center. His body is simply sucking in External Hashi and using it raw. There is no conversion process. He is taking the world's energy as it is—unfiltered and deadly—and pumping it through his body."

  The silence that followed was suffocating. In their world, a core was a filter. Taking in External Hashi without one was like trying to breathe underwater without lungs. It was a slow poison.

  "I would tell you to let him burn it off," Yumiko whispered, "but his body might just absorb even more to compensate for the output. He is a vessel that doesn't know how to close its mouth."

  Ray didn't respond. He turned and began to ascend the stairs, his movements stiff.

  "Ray? What are you going to do?"

  He didn't answer. He disappeared into the upper shadows of the tower, leaving Yumiko alone in the flickering teal light.

  The walk back to the village was strained. Ray walked ahead, his hands clasped behind his back, his silence a heavy weight. Kenji watched the old man's back, sensing a storm brewing in his teacher's mind.

  He turned to his siblings. Yume was chatting animatedly to Takahiro about the foxes—how soft their fur was, how cute their kits were. As usual, she ignored Kenji entirely, her world revolving solely around the golden-haired brother.

  Kenji didn't mind the exclusion, but as he watched them, he felt a strange, dark static. Looking at Takahiro's warm smile, Kenji didn't see kindness—he saw a flickering shadow.

  Huh? Why does he look... dark?

  Kenji fell into his own thoughts. He thought about the gap between him and Takahiro. He thought about the strength he needed. Then, his mind drifted to Lolan and the boys who had bullied him.

  I need to find that bastard.

  As the thought took root, a sudden, violent surge of imagery flooded his mind. He didn't just want to beat Lolan. He wanted to feel the boy's nose shatter under his knuckles. He wanted to hear the snap of ribs. He wanted to break them all—Lolan, his cronies, anyone who had looked at him with pity.

  Crush them. Break them. ALL OF THEM!

  A pair of hands slammed onto his shoulders, jarring his entire frame.

  "KENJI!"

  Kenji blinked, the red haze snapping away. He found himself nose-to-nose with Takahiro. His brother's emerald eyes were wide with alarm and concern, his grip on Kenji's shoulders tight.

  Kenji looked around, dazed. They were standing in the clear field behind their house. The porch was just a few feet away.

  "When did we get home?" Kenji whispered, his heart hammering against his ribs.

  Takahiro didn't let go. He just stared at Kenji as if he were looking at a stranger.