Training

“Toma, wake-up call!”

The voice came out of nowhere like a siren in his skull.

“What the heck?! Where am I?! Who's yelling in my ear?!”

Arlen’s sleepy face peeked into view. “It was Inspector Carter—he just woke me up.”

“Good morning, Toma!” came Carter’s cheery voice.

Toma blinked at both of them, still half-dreaming. “Arlen? Inspector Carter? What are you doing in my room this early in the morning?”

Arlen pointed directly at Inspector Carter.

“He has a spare key to our rooms. Besides, he’s the one who woke me up.”

Toma sat bolt upright. “What? You too?! But it’s still pitch black outside—what time even is it?”

“It’s five in the morning.”

“WHAT?! Why the hell are you breaking into my room and waking me up at 5 a.m.?!”

“To start training on time,” Carter said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Now get cleaned up—I’ll handle breakfast!”

Toma groaned but dragged himself toward the bathroom.

***

Fifteen minutes later, he emerged, hair damp and eyes still adjusting to the light.

“Finally!” Carter waved him over. “Breakfast is ready!”

Toma’s stomach growled in betrayal. “I’m coming, I’m starving.”

He sat down and stared into the bowl placed in front of him. “What... is this gray goo? It doesn’t look very appealing…”

Carter smiled suspiciously.

​“Trust me, it tastes a lot better than it looks!”

“But seriously, what is it?”

“Mostly bananas, eggs, and protein powder.”

“I don’t even own any protein powder.”

“I brought it,” Carter grinned. “Made the whole thing myself.”

“You ate this too, Arlen?”

“Yeah,” Arlen shrugged. “It’s actually good. Just try at least one spoonful.”

Toma sighed, closed his eyes, and took the plunge.

A moment later, his eyes shot open. “Whoa—Inspector Carter, this is really good!”

“Exactly! But don't eat it too quickly,” Carter laughed.

“It’s great! It’s heavenly!”

“You already finished it?” Arlen blinked.

***

Once breakfast was demolished, they headed out. Down the elevator, through the lobby, and out onto the quiet city streets.

“Your task is simple,” Carter announced. “Keep up with me. But I’ll be speeding up as we go.”

Without another word, he jumped onto the roof of a house and took off like a bullet, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

Toma’s eyes widened. “He’s jumping like some rooftop ninja—how high can he leap?!”

“Let’s go!” Arlen said, and they took off after him.

They raced behind him, chasing his silhouette across the rooftops.

“We’re doing pretty well, huh?” Toma called out. “I think we can handle this!”

“Time to speed things up,” came Carter’s voice from above.

And suddenly, he ran straight up the side of a nearby skyscraper.

Both boys stopped dead in their tracks.

“WHAT THE HELL?! The guy runs up a roughly 1,000-foot-tall skyscraper with effortless ease?!”

​“How the hell are we supposed to follow him up that?!” Toma blurted out.

“Blast yourself up with Blue Nova!” Arlen yelled and dropped into a fighting stance as flames erupted from his palms. “Just imagine you're a rocket, and the Nova energy surging from your palms propels you high into the air!”

Toma swallowed his fear. “Alright. Let’s do this!”

Blue light flared from his palms as he rocketed upward.

Shit—this is so high! Don’t fall, don’t fall… just look forward!

The building loomed all around them like a tower in the sky. Wind rushed past. His legs trembled—but somehow, he kept rising.

Arlen’s voice came through the wind. “Just keep going! Focus on the goal!”

And with one final burst of energy, they made it—feet landing hard on the rooftop edge.

Inspector Carter was already there, arms folded.

“Not bad, but if this is the best trick you’ve got, you’ll never be able to catch up to me.”

Toma caught his breath. “How does he do that? He’s not even using the same technique.”

“You think your powers can only come out of your hands?” Carter smirked. “Every part of your body should be alive with it!”

He stepped back... Then he leapt from the top of the skyscraper, straight into the abyss below.

"How are we supposed to jump from here?" Arlen’s voice wavered slightly.

"I don’t know — we can’t see the ground because of the clouds below. But let’s try it like skydivers!"

"But we don’t have parachutes… We could die!"

"Then Inspector Carter will catch us. But remember what he said — our entire body needs to feel the power… So I say we try channeling the energy into our legs!"

"Alright, let’s do it!"

With that, they jumped.

“This is insane!” Toma yelled over the roaring wind.

“Keep your head in the game, Toma! Focus!” Arlen shouted back, his voice barely cutting through the gales.

The ground is rushing up too fast! Toma thought, his heart hammering against his ribs.

I have to shift the Nova energy into my legs right now!

It flows easily into my hands, like turning on a faucet and letting water pour out… but I need to open that faucet for my whole body. Let the energy flood through me!

No — I’m already so close to the ground! It’s too late! I have to succeed! A blue beam of light has to surge through my entire body!

And then—they hit.

"Whoa. Didn’t realize we were getting meteor strikes today too," Carter muttered, standing casually as two enormous craters burst open in the middle of the road.

In one lay Toma. In the other, Arlen.

"Arlen, we did it!"

"Yeah, we actually made it!"

"You guys completely destroyed the road!" Carter stepped forward with a raised eyebrow. "I didn’t think you’d even break through the concrete like that when you landed."

"We didn’t think so either! But more importantly, we managed to let the energy flow through our whole bodies!"

"Well done, Toma and Arlen! But this is a highway — it can’t stay like this. ​I’ll call the municipality to deal with the damage,” Carter said, pulling out his phone. “In the meantime, stop the car heading toward us before it drives into the crater.”

Toma ran ahead, waving his arms as a sedan’s headlights swept over the ruined asphalt. The vehicle screeched to a halt just inches from the edge of the pit. The driver leaned out the window, pale and furious. “Are you crazy?! What the hell happened to the road?!”

“Road hazard ahead, sir!” Toma called back smoothly. “Police and maintenance are already on their way. Take the detour!”

At that very moment, another car came to a screeching halt in front of Toma and the others. "Hey! Are you guys bandits or something? Why are you blocking the road?"

Toma confidently stepped forward toward the driver of the car.

"Sorry, sir — you can’t go any further. There was an explosion, and the road’s impassable. Could you wait here for the police and warn any other drivers who come this way?"

"Of course! But what happened here?"

"There’s no time to explain!" Carter interrupted. "The police will be here in ten minutes. Now come on, boys — let’s move!"

Without another word, Carter, Toma, and Arlen took off, leaping onto the rooftops of nearby buildings.

So this is what full flow feels like… I did it! Now I’ll be able to keep up with Inspector Carter! Toma thought, energy pulsing through his body.

"Well done, guys!" Carter shouted back with a grin. "I’m going ahead now — just keep moving straight until we meet again! See you!"

And then, just like that, he vanished — shooting forward at near light-speed, disappearing into the distance.

"How does he do that!? It’s like he’s teleporting!" Arlen cried, eyes wide.

Arlen’s right… Toma muttered under his breath, eyes scanning the empty sky ahead. But Carter isn’t teleporting. He’s just that fast… Still… no matter how much I think about it, I can’t figure out how he does it.

Arlen tried to encourage his friend.

"Toma, don’t worry about that right now — let’s just move as fast as we can! Carter said if we go straight, we’ll run into him."

"Right — let’s do it! We’ll be out of the city soon anyway!"

As they pushed forward, the towering buildings began to thin. Before long, they broke free of the city limits and found themselves racing across vast, empty fields under a wide-open sky. With nothing around them but open land, they pressed forward, following the direction Carter had given.

And eventually, far off in the distance — they spotted him.

"Inspector Carter!"

"Here we are at last!"

But Carter didn’t look impressed.

​“You’re two minutes late!”

“You didn’t even give us a time limit!” Toma panted, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Carter shook his head.

“No excuses! A real warrior is always two minutes ahead of schedule!”

Arlen stepped forward. "But we managed to reach the full flow."

"Of course you did — because you were in a life-or-death situation. Without even realizing it, you both entered a flow state to save your own lives."

Carter paced slightly as he explained.

"Flow is a mental state where you focus solely and intensely on a specific goal, completely blocking out everything else."

"So shutting everything else out and focusing only on the goal... that’s what flow means," Toma repeated, trying to fully grasp it.

"Exactly, Toma! We came here, far from the city, because there’s enough open space to train freely. This week, you’re going to learn the perfected form of full flow. At the academy, this technique would take you two years to master — but I’m going to teach it to you in just one week!"

Toma’s eyes lit up. "Alright, let’s do it! What’s the first step?"

"Good question, Toma! Today, I’ll teach you how to summon the full flow state at will — as easily as blinking. But there are several steps. The first is meditation."

Carter’s voice shifted into something calmer, more serious.

"Meditation is crucial. Make it a part of your daily routine — just 10 to 15 minutes a day!"

"Got it!"

Without hesitation, Toma and Arlen dropped into cross-legged positions on the grass, sitting upright as they closed their eyes.

​“Hey, Toma…” Arlen whispered, his eye twitching under his closed eyelids. “Do you feel anything yet?”

“Not a single thing,” Toma muttered back.

“What did I just say?!” Carter’s voice cracked over them like a whip, making them both jump. "The key is not to talk, and not to think about anything. Focus only on the free flow of your inner energy through your body. Feel nature — the soft breeze, the warmth of the sun — and become one with your surroundings. The energy comes from within you; it flows through your body. You just have to become aware of it."

​Toma straightened his back, letting his posture settle.

I get it now. I need to relax and stop forcing it. He took a slow, measured breath, turning his senses inward. Blue Nova isn't something I have to summon from nothing—it’s already flowing inside me.

But where does my power actually come from? How do I activate it? I’ve always focused the energy into my hands… but how do I channel it through my entire body?

I’ve got it! I just have to imagine it constantly flowing through me! A blue energy that moves through me and surrounds me… something I can summon whenever I need it… and I need it now!

His breath steadied. Yes—that’s it! I can feel it!

"Toma, you've already done it—amazing!" Carter’s voice lit up with genuine praise.

"This is incredible, Inspector Carter! I can feel the flow inside me, like I can control the energy throughout my entire body!"

A few feet away, Arlen sat rigidly, fists clenched in frustration.

"Toma’s already done it… and I still haven’t!? Damn it!"

But Carter turned toward him. "Arlen — how did I know Toma succeeded?"

"...How?"

"Good question. The answer is simple: I can sense Toma’s Aima."

"Aima? What’s that?"

"It’s the power — the energy that flows through those who possess abilities. Your Aima is fire, Arlen. Toma’s Aima is Nova."

"I see… so this is my Aima," Toma whispered, absorbing every word.

"Exactly, Toma! That means we can move on to the next level. Arlen, keep meditating until you get there!"

Arlen lowered his head. "Fuck… I have to catch up!"