Against all odds, Romeo had somehow managed to coax Lou out of his self-imposed exile.
Now, ninety agonizing minutes later, our car finally lurched to a halt in front of Romeo's...
What the hell did I even call this place again?
A mansion? No.
A stronghold? Closer.
A fortress? Yeah, let's go with that.
So, there we stood, the three of us inside his fortress, surrounded by what could only be described as the aftermath of a particularly unorganized yard sale.
My luggage.
It was everywhere.
I perched precariously on one of my many suitcases, wishing I could sink into the floor and vanish. My cheeks burned with a traitorous blush I couldn't seem to shake under the scrutiny of these two Flow-wielding witnesses.
Meanwhile, Romeo and Lou, the embodiment of contrasting chaos, rummaged through my belongings with equal parts amusement and utter bewilderment.
Lou, in all his deadpan glory, plucked a bulging sack of spices from the mess, holding it aloft like he'd just unearthed an ancient relic. His expression could only be described as... spice-confused.
"...Bug," he began, his voice flat. "My apologies once again. Compared to the sheer… volume of this luggage, your Flow seems almost manageable."
He scratched his head, making his already disheveled appearance somehow worse.
Romeo, ever the diplomat, chimed in—his voice laced with poorly suppressed laughter.
"For once, Lou, I find myself inclined to agree."
He trailed off, his eyes landing on something amidst the chaos.
Three.
Three empty backpacks.
Nestled among my far-too-many belongings.
His brow furrowed in mild concern.
"Why in the world would your parents pack three empty backpacks, Young Lady? Didn't you leave with one already?"
I groaned internally.
Seriously?
Of all the things my parents could have stuffed into my luggage to utterly humiliate me in front of fellow Flow users—
Random spices? Check.
Useless extra bags? Check.
Even soap?!
At this point, they might as well have packed a kitchen sink.
The unpacking had barely finished before those two whisked me away to a training ground.
A place I hadn't seen in… what?
The last time I was here, I had been three and a half, barely tall enough to reach the lowest training dummy.
Yet, stepping inside now, I felt it.
Familiarity.
Romeo hadn't changed a thing—not that he needed to. The place had always been perfect.
Lou, ever the stoic observer, wandered through the massive space, fingers absently raking through his hair. His sharp gaze flitted from one piece of equipment to another before settling, unsurprisingly, on Romeo.
"So that's where all my money's going," he muttered.
Romeo clicked his tongue. "Not your money anymore. I earned it fair and square."
Lou rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Good thing I could live here if I wanted to."
His tone was light, but something told me he wouldn't.
Then, shifting gears, Lou's voice dropped an octave.
"You tested her Transfer abilities, right?"
Romeo gave a sharp nod, reaching for a smooth blue glass sphere from a nearby pedestal.
"Transfer was successful," he admitted, tossing the sphere in the air before catching it again. "But the Exchange failed."
He tossed it to me. It landed in my palm with a weight that felt unnatural.
Lou's chuckle was devoid of humor.
"Of course, she wouldn't," he muttered, stepping closer, Romeo flanking him.
"Her circuits are overloaded. No room for Flow exchange."
Overloaded.
That word. Again.
I'd heard it from my parents, from Romeo, from that Marcus show. Over and over, people whispered it like a death sentence.
But if overload meant circuit destruction, instability, death...
Then why was I still standing?
A question, desperate and clawing, formed in my mind before it spilled from my lips.
"…If I'm truly overloaded, shouldn't I be… in danger?"
Silence.
Romeo froze, his gaze flicking between me and Lou.
Lou, however, didn't answer immediately. His eyes darkened as he studied me, stroking his breadless chin in thought.
Then, finally, his gaze met mine.
And what he said next unraveled me.
"Your brain..." His voice was softer now. Measured.
"Let's just say it's older than your body suggests."
The words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications.
I swallowed.
What the hell did that mean?
Lou exhaled, crossing his arms.
"In your case, 'overloaded' isn't the danger, Bug." His voice was calm, but it carried weight.
"It's simply a way to describe your circuits teeming with an extraordinary amount of Flow."
A sliver of relief wormed its way through me at Lou's explanation, but it was short-lived.
Romeo, ever the killjoy, cut in.
"Then the real question becomes," he said, gesturing toward the sphere in my hand, "what happens if you try manifesting the Flow into its true form?"
Manifest Flow?
The very concept felt alien, almost forbidden.
Yet… curiosity gnawed at me.
Romeo continued, his voice measured, "That sphere contains the Flow signature of water. Try materializing it. Though…" He trailed off, his eyes flicking to Lou for the briefest moment. A silent warning.
So, Flow dictates materialization?
Made perfect sense. But why was Romeo suddenly hesitant? Was it Lou's judging gaze making him clam up?
Ah.
I see your game now, dear uncle.
This wasn't just training. Romeo was parading me around like a World Cup trophy.
Not a bad strategy.
I tightened my grip on the sphere, its cool surface pressing against my palm.
A thought sparked in my mind.
Absorption was beyond my reach, sure. But what if each element reacted differently to Flow overload? Like… a unique fingerprint?
Just like that time the Earth Flow exploded.
Ignoring the expectant silence of my Flow-wielding peanut gallery, I channeled a surge of Flow into the sphere.
The reaction was immediate.
It vibrated in my palm, a tremor of impending chaos.
Lou let out a low, delighted rumble, and even Romeo cracked a rare smile.
So I was onto something.
I pushed my Flow just a fraction further.
The sphere pulsed—
—and then—
POP!
Instead of a violent explosion, a wave of cool water erupted from the shattered glass, soaking me from wrist to elbow.
I blinked.
Well. That was… unexpected expected.
A slow grin spread across my face.
"Guess I'm not just a walking reservoir of Flow after all," I mused, shaking off the excess water.
Hehe. I was simply amazing, wasn't I?
I had every right to puff my chest in triumph.
"Unexpected, indeed," Romeo conceded, his initial surprise settling into a slow, measured nod.
Lou, on the other hand, wore a grin so wide it threatened to split his face in two.
"The usual practice," Romeo continued, folding his arms, "is to absorb the Flow from an object and then manifest it through our own bodies."
Absorb it?
Yeah, that was clearly out of the question for little me.
"Seems you had a different approach, Bug," Lou chuckled, his gruff voice tinged with amusement. "Overloading the sphere forced the Flow to manifest on its own, bypassing the absorption stage entirely. And to grasp that concept on your own?" He let out a low whistle. "You're a quick study."
A surge of pride warmed my cheeks, but I wasn't about to let them off easy.
"Actually," I interjected, a mischievous glint dancing in my eyes, "I figured it out two years ago!"
Both men stilled. Surprise flickered across their faces, quickly replaced by something sharper—curiosity.
"It was just like the Earth Flow, right? Does every Flow signature have its own materialization state?"
Lou's chuckle grated on my nerves. He reached out, ruffling my hair in a way that felt more intrusive than playful. My jaw clenched, but I forced a smile, enduring the unwelcome contact.
"To get that much from your first attempt at Flow exchange?" he mused, his tone laced with amusement—or something else. "You really are something, Bug. Maybe I won't be wasting my time watching you train after all."
Romeo shot Lou a pointed look, one that silenced his amusement just enough. Lou, with a shrug, withdrew his hand.
With a sigh, Romeo started shedding light on the topic.
"The elements—Nature, Water, Earth," Romeo began, "their Flow can be materialized. But the others?" He shook his head. "The rest of the Flow signatures typically remain in their purest form—that thick mist you know of. Putting the Morphblade aside, No one's ever successfully transformed them into something tangible." A pause. "At least, not that I've heard of."
Lou let out an exaggerated sigh,loud enough to cut Romeo off.
"Enough of that—too much boring intel." His sharp gaze turned to me.
"Bug… You're aware that you can't perform Flow Exchange, right?"
I nodded.
"You're also aware that youcan't control external Flow, or borrow power from anything outside your own circuits?"
Another slow nod.
"Then you get it, right?" He crossed his arms. "It's all about your own Flow. No external support, no shortcuts. Just you."
I shrugged, then lifted my chin. "Frankly, I don't think I need all that."
Lou's amusement returned, a spark of interest flashing in his eyes.
He ruffled my hair again—but this time, it didn't feel so intrusive. This time, I didn't flinch.
"You really think you can keep up," he said, his voice carrying the weight of a challenge, "without borrowing the power of external Flow?"
I met his gaze, unwavering.
This wasn't about following their methods.
This was about surpassing them all.
"I will," I declared, my voice ringing through the room like an unshakable vow.
"I will surpass all of you—even without external Flow!"
For the briefest moment, silence stretched between us.
My declaration hung in the air, thick and suffocating.
I had expected amusement—maybe even mild disbelief.
Instead, Lou's expression twisted into something feral. His usually sharp gaze darkened with fury, his silver Flow flaring to life in a violent surge.
The air itself crackled, thick with his raw, unchecked power.
It didn't take form, didn't manifest into anything visible—it just was. Denser. Heavier. Unshakable. As if his very existence had been magnified, forcing the world around him to acknowledge its presence.
How?
It didn't materialize into anything… It simply expanded, as if the concept of control didn't apply to him.
Romeo stumbled back, shielding himself against the oppressive wave of Flow. My own legs screamed at me to collapse, to yield under the crushing force.
But I didn't.
A different instinct—older, deeper, from a past life I remembered far too well—kept me rooted to the spot.
Lou took a step toward me. The room trembled.
"Arrogant Bug!" His voice boomed, reverberating through the training ground like a war drum. Each step he took carried the weight of inevitability, his Flow crackling, threatening to suffocate everything in its wake.
"You think because we took you in, so you can belittle us?" His voice edged toward a snarl. "You think you understand the power you defy?"
Romeo kept shaking his head, his wide eyes fixed on me. A warning. A plea. Asking me not to trigger him anymore.
Just stay there, Romeo.
Lou wasn't going to do anything. This was a test.
And if that was the case… I had no reason to fail.
I swallowed past the dryness in my throat. My body trembled from the sheer pressure bearing down on me, but I forced the words out anyway.
"I dare."
The defiance in my voice shattered the silence like glass.
Lou stilled.
The world narrowed to the space between us—his raging storm of power, and the unyielding spark of mine.
"I'm not challenging you, Lou."
I took a step forward, matching his intensity with my own unwavering gaze.
"I'm stating a fact."
Romeo's breath hitched. Lou's eyes sharpened.
"I will surpass you—" I inhaled deeply, letting the final words ring out with undeniable truth—
"Even without manipulating external Flow."
We locked eyes.
An invisible battle of wills waged between us.
Lou's Flow, that overwhelming shimmering silver cage, pulsed with barely restrained power. Every inch of my body screamed under its weight, muscles aching from the pressure.
Seconds stretched into an eternity.
Then—just as suddenly as it came—his Flow subsided.
Gone.
The suffocating force dissipated like mist under the morning sun.
Huh?
I nearly stumbled from the sheer whiplash of relief.
Then—laughter.
Not just a chuckle, not a restrained smirk—loud, raucous, tear-streaming laughter.
I stared.
Lou was doubling over, clutching his sides, howling like I had just cracked the funniest joke in existence.
I turned, bewildered, toward Romeo. Maybe he had an explanation?
Nope. His face was as lost as mine.
"Ha! Ha! That's the spirit, Bug!" Lou wheezed, wiping at his eyes. "That's exactly what I was hoping for!"
Romeo finally found his voice. "Lou," he said cautiously, taking a step forward, "perhaps a gentler approach—"
Lou waved him off without missing a beat. "No, Romeo. Let the little bug learn to stand the heat." His grin turned wolfish, eyes glinting with something unreadable.
"Besides," he mused, "wouldn't it be interesting to see just how far an anomaly like this little firecracker can go?"
I blinked.
How far I can go?
Wait… Was he saying—was he actually interested in seeing my growth?
A heavy silence fell.
Then—clap!
Lou smacked his hands together, the sound echoing through the training hall. "Alright, alright! I've made up my mind."
He pointed at me, still grinning like a cat about to pounce.
"Consider yourself lucky, Bug. You just snagged the greatest Flow instructor on this side of the world. Me!"
...Huh?
My brain stalled.
Romeo, usually composed to a fault, looked just as gobsmacked.
Did Lou just… volunteer to train me?
Romeo recovered first—and immediately exploded.
"No, no, NO! Don't tell me you're actually serious about this!" His hands flailed, as if physically trying to stop the madness. "You can't just waltz in and hijack her training!"
Lou rolled his eyes, unbothered. "That's literally what I just said, Romeo. Jeez, Were you napping with your eyes open?"
Romeo practically vibrated with frustration. "I've been waiting for this moment! Years of planning! And you just—snatch the opportunity right from under me?! Are you insane?!"
Lou sighed dramatically, running a hand through his hair. "Relax, Romeo. My methods are far more effective than yours. You can't deny that."
He even had the audacity to chuckle.
I snapped.
"Excuse me, gentlemen!"
Both men froze.
I folded my arms, irritation bubbling to the surface. They were arguing like I was a sack of potatoes, not an actual person with a say in the matter.
"Wouldn't it be nice to, you know, consider my opinion?" I huffed. "I'm the one who needs training, remember?"
Both Lou and Romeo whipped their heads toward me, momentarily stunned into silence.
Finally. My chance.
I straightened my posture, clearing my throat. Time to assert myself.
"Actually," I began, my voice firm, "before we discuss who gets to train me, I'd like to go over my training plan—"
Lou, of course, had other ideas.
Completely ignoring me, he turned to Romeo with a sudden look of urgency.
"Hey, uh… Romeo," he stammered, pointing a lazy finger at me. "You have a bed ready for the Bug, right?"
Romeo's brow furrowed. "What? Of course she does. The maids should've finished setting up her room by now. Why are you asking?"
Lou's smirk widened way too much for my liking.
"Why? What do you mean 'why'?" His gaze flickered back to me, voice dripping with mock concern. "Even a prodigy like her can't resist the aura of a Sponsor from the very beginning, you know."
Huh?
Was he seriously dismissing me?
Tsk. I really needed to grow stronger and faster so I could knock that smug grin off his face.
I mean—sure, I felt the remnants of that suffocating aura he'd unleashed earlier, but I'd shrugged it off just fine.
Right?
…Right?
A faint pulse of unease throbbed at the back of my skull.
Wait—hold on a sec—
Why were my legs suddenly jelly?
My vision swam, the edges of the room distorting like ripples in water. My head throbbed, the sensation growing sharper, like a vice tightening around my skull.
A wave of dizziness crashed into me, stealing the air from my lungs.
What… the hell?
I could barely keep my eyes open. My body refused to move, the floor tilting under my feet.
No way.
Had I really—actually—been affected this whole time?
The realization struck just as my knees buckled.
Before I could even process the betrayal of my own body, darkness swallowed me whole.
The last thing I heard was Lou's smug chuckle.
Tch.
Maybe… just maybe… I should have a little more respect for the Sponsors after all.