“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?”

  “He has a spare key to all our rooms. Woke me up too.”

  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…”

  “Don’t judge food by its appearance—it can still be delicious!” Carter chimed in.

  “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?! He just ran up a 200-meter building?!”

  Toma panicked. “How the hell are we supposed to follow that?!”

  “Use your Blue Nova energy!” Arlen shouted, already backing up. “Put your hands behind you and blast upward! I’ll use my fire too!”

  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!”

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  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,” he said with a grin. “But if that’s your best trick, you’ll never catch up.”

  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 leapt straight into the air.

  "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 as the wind howled around them.

  "Yeah, but Toma, stay focused!"

  "Okay!"

  I’m almost at the ground. I just need to channel the energy into my legs...!

  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 police. Could you two stop that car coming toward us?"

  "Sure!"

  But before either of them could move, a car came barreling toward them at full speed, horn blaring furiously — and the driver clearly hadn’t expected two boys and a pair of craters blocking the road.

  "Hey! Are you guys bandits or something? Why are you blocking the road?" The driver’s voice rang out, clearly annoyed.

  "Sorry, sir — you can’t go any further," Toma said firmly, stepping forward. "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."

  "Toma, don’t worry about that right now — let’s just move as fast as we can," Arlen said, keeping pace beside him. "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.

  "Toma, Arlen — you're late! It’s 6:32, so you’re two minutes behind."

  "What?! You never told us we had to be here by a specific time!"

  "I know. But I wanted to be here at 6:30. That’s alright though — this just shows how weak you still are."

  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, trying not to break the focus, "do you feel anything?"

  "Nope, nothing at all!"

  "What are you doing!? Not like that!" Carter’s voice cut through the morning calm like a whip. "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 slightly. I understand what Inspector Carter is saying… I need to relax, take a deep breath, and concentrate. My power is Blue Nova — blue light energy flowing inside me all the time, and I just never noticed it.

  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’m in control of every part of my body all at once!"

  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. "Damn it… I have to catch up!"