The morning after combat training, my entire body felt like it had been hit by a truck. Several times.

I groaned, rolling over in bed, only to regret it instantly. “Ouch…”

A loud knock on my door made me flinch. “Wake up!” Sym’s voice boomed from the other side. “If you don’t get up, I’m calling the dragons to fetch you!”

I squinted at the clock. “Sym… it’s too early for your weirdness. Give me five minutes.”

“There’s no five minutes! If you’re not out in two, I’m breaking down this door.”

With a dramatic sigh, I forced myself up, wincing at the soreness in my limbs. Dragging myself to the bathroom, I freshened up, pulled on my Academy uniform, and stumbled out into the common area. Rue was already there, sitting at the dining table, eating a slice of toast like some kind of emotionless robot.

“You don’t feel anything, do you?” I muttered, plopping down across from him. “You don’t even look tired.”

He shrugged. “You’re just weak.”

Sym snorted. “Wow, that hurts. Good morning to you too, Rue.”

Before I could throw my toast at Rue’s face, a notification buzzed on my tablet. The schedule for the day flashed on the screen:

• Advanced Combat Training – 8:00 AM
• Ability Synchronization – 11:00 AM
• Tactical Strategy Class – 3:00 PM
• 
  

I groaned again. “What’s Ability Synchronization?”

Sym grinned. “Ah, that’s the activity where we find out if we’re compatible with each other.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why does that sound like a dating app feature?”

Rue let out a sigh and stood up. “If you two don’t start moving, we’ll be late.”

We arrived at the training grounds just in time for the first session. Instructor Navarro stood at the center, arms crossed, eyes sharp as ever.

“Today’s lesson is simple,” he began. “Pair up and show me how well you can fight together. Strength alone is useless if you can’t work as a team.”

Sym immediately threw an arm around my shoulder. “Of course, Sue and I are a team! Best duo right here!”

Rue raised an eyebrow. “That’s dangerous. Sue might die from annoyance before the enemy even attacks.”

I swatted Sym’s arm away. “I don’t even know how to use my ability yet, and you want to team up with me?”

“Exactly!” Sym grinned. “It’s more fun when it’s a surprise.”

Tammy, who had been standing nearby, smirked. “Let’s see if that’s actually fun.”

Instructor Navarro clapped his hands, signaling the start of training. “Alright, first pair to step forward—Sue and Sym. Let’s see what you two can do.”

Sym shot me a wink. “This’ll be easy. Just follow my lead.”

I took a deep breath and stepped into the training ring. Across from us, another pair of students prepared themselves. One had the ability to manipulate shadows, while the other seemed to be radiating heat from his hands.

“I really hope I don’t get burned,” I muttered.

Sym laughed. “Then you’ll look like burnt toast.”

“If I had powers that could turn you into a frog, I would’ve done it by now,” I shot back.

“If I were a frog, at least I’d still be cute.”

Before I could retort, the instructor gave the signal. Our opponents wasted no time—shadow tendrils shot toward us, while the other student launched a wave of heat.

“Dodge!” Sym shouted, grabbing my wrist and pulling me aside just in time. “Sue, try something!”

I focused, trying to tap into whatever ability I had. My mind flashed again—like a scene from a dream—and suddenly, I saw different versions of what could happen. If I moved left, the tendrils would miss. If I ducked, the heat wave would pass above me.

The shadows coiled toward me like hungry snakes. I twisted to the left, barely escaping their grasp, feeling the air shift as they sliced past where I had been. A split second later, heat surged toward me—a shimmering wave of scorching energy. I dropped into a low roll, feeling the heat graze just above me, close enough to make me break into a sweat.

Sym didn’t waste the opening. He lunged forward, hands crackling with energy, and shot a pulse of raw force at the heat user, sending him stumbling back. “Sue, cover me!”

I barely had time to think before the shadow user recovered, sending tendrils snaking toward Sym. I saw a flash—one possibility where Sym got caught, another where I intercepted just in time. My body moved on instinct. I dove forward, slamming my foot into the tendrils before they could reach him, disrupting their movement.

“Nice one!” Sym grinned before launching another wave of energy at our opponents.

The heat user countered with a fiery blast, the force knocking Sym back. I saw another vision—a future where Sym got hit full force and lost the fight. I couldn’t let that happen.

Gritting my teeth, I focused. The moment flickered—Sym staggered back, but instead of getting overwhelmed, he regained balance, just as I had seen. I had changed something again.

Across the ring, Rue watched me closely, his expression unreadable. He had never seen me use an ability before—because I had never used it, not like this.

The match ended when Sym managed to land a hit on the heat user, and Navarro finally called a stop. My legs felt weak as I stepped out of the ring. My breathing was unsteady, my mind racing.

Rue approached me, his voice low. “Sue… what did you do?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. It was like… I saw what was going to happen before it happened. And then… I changed it.”

His eyes darkened. “That’s dangerous.”

Sym nudged me playfully. “Dangerous and awesome. Sue, you might have one of the strongest abilities in the Academy.”

I didn’t know if that was a good thing—or a very, very bad one.

For the rest of the day, the thought wouldn’t leave me alone.

I had the power to rewrite events. But if I could do that… what were the consequences?.