From the far reaches of space, a beam of light entered the Milky Way Galaxy. The light emitted a soothing harmonious sound, seeking the missing piece that would complete its cosmic noise. The gemstone on Earth, nestled in that tree, sensed that something grand was approaching. It sensed a kindred frequency, subtle, similar to its own. Behind that frequency, a voice: the princess’s wish.

The gemstone pulsed once more, emitting a frequency so powerful that it could serve as a beacon, a homing device to guide the cosmic sound. The princess’s beam oriented itself toward Earth. The cosmic sound that called it rippled through Kevin’s home city like a silent whistle, undetectable to both humans and animals. It reached the stadium, where Kevin was, where music blared, and the crowd buzzed with excitement. Family and friends of the racers sat under tents on the sidelines, unaware of the cosmic frequency in their midst.

Inside the locker room, the muffled thump of that same cheering and chattering crowd filled the room. Kevin and Johnny were just finishing suiting up when the frequency arrived. Kevin retrieved his helmet and gloves from his locker and then closed the metal door. As he was about to lock it, he heard a voice …

“We need your help.”

He froze. The female voice was so loud it seemed like it was right next to him. He glanced around, expecting to see a girl who had accidentally wandered into the men’s locker room. Instead, he only saw Johnny.

“Hey, did you hear that?” he asked his friend.

Johnny cocked his head. Why was Kevin asking if he could hear the crowd outside he thought. “Yeah, everyone seems pumped. This is going to be great.”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Kevin said softly. “I could’ve sworn I heard someone calling for help. A … girl.”

“Hey!” Johnny yelled jokingly, humoring his friend. “Any girls trying to take a peek better come out before I call security!”

Kevin laughed nervously. Johnny shrugged and walked toward the exit. “Sorry Bro, we gotta get moving.”

Kevin nodded and followed. Surely, Johnny was right. It was just his imagination. He’d been having a weird week anyway.

Unbeknownst to him, in the dark recesses of his subconscious, was the void. Inside, a humanoid being was asleep in darkness, floating, bound by chains from its feet to its neck. One by one, glowing white runes began to appear over the chains, emitting the same high-pitched sound from that of the stone. The noise woke the being, and its eyes began to glow with blue energy.

“We need your help,” the princess’ voice echoed in the nothingness.

Though the being heard those words, it made little sense, but the being understood one thing: intent.

“Protect, we must protect,” it said in Kevin’s voice.

Even deeper within Kevin’s subconscious was a chamber, resembling a dungeon. A figure knelt there, its arms hoisted to either side in a crucifix-like pose. It too was bound by chains, and it appeared weak. Its form was held up by four energy rods, which adorned its back. Beneath it, a large glyph meant to imprison the being, glowed purple in the midst of a collection of white glowing runes coming off the chains. The princess’s wish, and the high-pitched frequency, reached this being as well.

“Grant us the power to defeat our foes,” the Princess’ voice rang out.

The being heard this voice. It awoke, its eyes glowing violet.

“Is it power you seek?” it hissed in Kevin’s voice.

Both entities could sense distress and urgency in the princess’s voice. Their shared desire to help grew, giving them strength. The first being radiated an aura of blue energy, and the other ignited in purple and black. Their powers were shaky at first, as though they were muscles that had been left unused for years. Still, they reached outwards, hoping their host would answer their plea.

“You must choose!” the two shouted in unison.

When it happened, Kevin stopped mid-step. When the beings spoke the words, the sound boomed in his head. A heavy pressure pressed on the left part of his chest. It shocked him so hard that he dropped the items in his hand. He felt like he was going to collapse.

He caught himself on a nearby wall at the last minute, clutching his chest. Up ahead, Johnny turned around. His expression immediately became one of panic.

“Yo, Kev, are you okay?” Johnny shouted with concern. “What’s going on?”

Before Kevin could reply, the pressure was replaced with a searing warmth. The heat spread through his body like wildfire, moving beyond his chest and into each of his limbs.

“It-it burns,” Kevin said through gasps. “I’m burning …”

Beneath his uniform, a glowing white glyph appeared.

Johnny noticed it before Kevin did. After the first one emerged, even more symbols spread over Kevin’s body. They quickly covered his hands and face, and Kevin seemed to be in more pain the more symbols there were.

A part of Johnny wanted to run—he had never seen this before—but he had to do something to help. Kevin mentioned burning. Perhaps dousing him in water would help?

“I got ya, bro,” Johnny mumbled. He lifted Kevin’s arm over his shoulder and guided him back into the locker room, toward the shower stalls.

Kevin felt the heat inside his body increasing. He couldn’t keep from screaming. “Burning… I can’t-”

The runes on his body glowed brighter. Johnny could feel Kevin’s body heat rise as if he were a space heater. He tried to tamp down the panic he felt for his friend, but it was difficult.

“Hang on, we’re almost there,” Johnny encouraged, though his voice shook.

Sparks of blue, purple and black energy surged through Kevin’s body. Johnny managed to reach the center of the shower stall before the heat from Kevin’s body became too much even for him. He let go of his friend, and Kevin fell to his knees, grasping his body and writhing in pain. Like lightning, blue, purple, and black energy bolted in random directions. Some of the nearby tiles shattered upon their impact with the energy, and the closest set of metal lockers got dented.

Johnny stepped back in fear, but he wasn’t fast enough. A bolt struck him hard in the chest. His body catapulted backwards, out of the shower stall and into a wooden bench.

He tried to catch his breath. Another blast came toward him, and he recovered in time to dodge it. The bench just behind him shattered. The whole moment felt like some horrible déjà vu from the other day, with that guy at their school.

The intense heat in Kevin’s body continued to burn. Kevin felt the center of the heat travel toward his hands. When he looked down, his palms were glowing with weight and blue energy.

He had to get rid of this somehow. He found himself thinking of Stewart, who had released his energy upward. What if he projected it into the ground? Perhaps the cold tile floor would absorb the heat and impact, keeping himself from hurting anyone.

He placed his hands flat on the cold tile floor, but to his dismay, the tiles were slick with water. Johnny could get hurt, electrocuted even. He tried to slow the energy down, to stop it some other way, but he knew he was unstable. He had to act fast. He yelled at his friend, pupils glowing blue with energy.

“Johnny! Take cover!”

The words and the blue glow of Kevin’s eyes sent a chill down Johnny’s spine. But he obeyed. Just as Kevin blasted the energy into the floor, Johnny leapt onto a wooden bench.

The surge of energy spread from Kevin’s body, across the floor, and up the walls. The pure force of it twisted nearby lockers, fried electric wires, and burst all the lightbulbs overhead. Johnny covered his head, just as shards of glass showered from above. A crater formed beneath Kevin, breaking the stone of the floor and showing the dirt beneath the building’s foundation.

Meanwhile, in the forest, the gemstone detected the escalation of power. It altered its tone, broadcasting a warning.

The large glowing glyph over the left side of Kevin’s chest, turned from white to red. The runes all over his face and body followed suit. The beings within Kevin’s void heard the sound, and the runes on their chains glowed crimson as well.

Within seconds, the beings were drained of their powers. The runes dulled, and the beings fell back into their long slumber. As their energy ebbed, the aura around Kevin dissipated. His body cooled. The gemstone slipped back into silence.

The worst was over.

Kevin watched the runes disappear from his arms, breathing heavily from exhaustion and shock. He could no longer hear the girl’s cry for help. He no longer felt like he was burning from the inside. He only heard the sound of the crowd above, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“Thank God,” he whispered, overflowing with relief.

“You’re a … Jin,” Johnny said. His tone was quiet but shocked, sharp, scared.