Episode 12 — Stillness

There was no authority in the word.

But Agira followed it anyway.

The training didn’t begin with power.

It began with stillness.

“Breathe,” Kaito said.

Agira almost scoffed.

“I didn’t come here to—”

“Then leave.”

Silence followed.

Agira stayed.

Minutes passed.

Then more.

Nothing happened.

No energy.

No reaction.

Just breath.

And then—

his control slipped.

A faint distortion flickered around his hand.

Small.

Unstable.

Agira immediately tried suppressing it.

The energy pushed back harder.

Kaito didn’t move.

“Again.”

The next attempt was worse.

The distortion exploded outward, cracking the ground beneath Agira in a violent burst.

Agira pulled back instantly.

“That’s what I’m dealing with,” he muttered.

Kaito finally responded.

“No.”

Agira looked up.

“That’s what you think you’re dealing with.”

Silence settled again.

Heavy.

Intentional.

“You’re trying to control it,” Kaito continued.

“Like it belongs to you.”

Agira’s jaw tightened.

“It’s inside me. What else would it be?”

Kaito’s gaze remained steady.

“That’s your first mistake.”

Something in Agira paused.

Not doubt.

Recognition.

The sessions continued.

Day after day—

if time even moved the same way here.

Sometimes the energy responded.

Most times, it didn’t.

There were moments of precision.

Brief.

Sharp.

Controlled.

And then there were moments where everything failed at once.

He learned quickly:

Stillness helped.

Emotion didn’t.

Force made it worse.

But nothing made it stable.