Chapter 32 The hunt begins (part 2)
Chapter 32 The hunt begins (part 2)
“Tsukia, did your eyes change or am I delusional?” Jasmia leaned in closer, squinting as if that alone would force the truth to surface.
“Ain’t no way… they look so real,” she hissed under her breath, still holding Tsukia’s gaze like she was trying to solve a puzzle written in her irises.
“To be honest, I don’t really know how I got them either,” Tsukia replied calmly, her voice steady despite the strangeness of it all.
“Maybe it’s a side effect from how much mana I released yesterday.”
Jasmia finally pulled back slightly, nodding as if that explanation was enough to settle her nerves, even if it clearly didn’t erase her curiosity.
Tsukia reached for a piece of toast from the table, while the others had already gone out to buy supplies. After what happened yesterday, they had agreed, to stay quarantined for a while, specially for tsukia.
Lori had insisted they stay inside until the investigation around Jamana settled down, until things stopped feeling like the world was watching them too closely.
“Do you think the police will come here?” Jasmia asked after a moment, her voice quieter now as she sipped her morning coffee, the warmth doing little to ease the tension in her shoulders.
“Who knows?” Tsukia answered without looking up.
Jasmia let out a small sigh, the kind that carried more worry than sound, her mind clearly running through all the possible outcomes she didn’t want to face.
Tsukia, on the other hand, remained oddly composed, calmly eating her toast with cream cheese as if nothing in the world had shifted out of place. But beneath that calm exterior, her thoughts were already elsewhere...deeper, sharper and focused on one thing.
Strengthening her mana core, refining it until she could control her power without hesitation, without restriction, without the risk of losing herself in it again.
She exhaled softly and flicked her hand in a casual motion toward the coffee maker.
In an instant, as if an invisible thread had wrapped around it, the machine lifted from the counter and glided through the air. It tilted smoothly, pouring a cup without spilling a drop, as if the act itself was as natural as breathing.
Jasmia watched in silence, her earlier anxiety fading into something softer, something almost proud.
“I remember when you’d get a massive nosebleed just trying to move a vase,” Jasmia said, a small smile forming as nostalgia crept into her tone.
“Look at you now. You don’t even have to try.”
Tsukia chuckled lightly, taking the floating cup and sipping from it as if she hadn’t just bent reality a few inches to her will. Noticing Jasmia’s empty mug, she gave another small flick of her wrist, and the coffee pot responded immediately, drifting across the air to refill it without a single touch.
“You could literally do this every day,” Jasmia muttered with a soft laugh.
Tsukia only smiled, faint but satisfied, like someone quietly acknowledging how far they had come without needing to say it aloud.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
The sound cracked through the quiet house like a warning bell.
Jasmia set her mug down almost instantly and moved toward the door, assuming it was Lori and Nightshade returning.
“Coming!” she called out, quickening her pace as she reached for the handle.
Tsukia didn’t move, only watched from where she sat as the door swung open.
But the moment it did, everything in Jasmia’s expression collapsed. The brightness in her eyes disappeared instantly, replaced by something sharp and fearful.
It wasn’t Lori.
It wasn’t Nightshade.
It was the police.
Jasmia’s hand twitched toward the door as if she might close it again, but one of the officers stepped forward immediately, blocking the motion with a firm presence.
“Do you live here?” he asked.
“Yes,” Jasmia answered, forcing her voice to stay steady.
“Alone?” he pressed, eyes narrowing slightly.
Before she could respond, his gaze shifted past her, taking in the scattered shoes by the entryway, silent evidence that there were more people inside than she was admitting.
“I assume you don’t live here alone, do you?” he added, tone sharpening.
Then, without waiting for her answer, he turned and shouted back toward his unit, “Sir! We found a residence here!”
Panic surged through Jasmia’s chest. There were more of them outside than she had expected far more. Her heart began to pound as she tried to think, to act, to warn Tsukia without giving anything away.
And then, Tsukia was suddenly there.
She stepped forward quietly, placing herself between Jasmia and the officers, her presence calm but unmistakably firm.
“We’re the only ones who live here,” she said smoothly, her tone controlled, deliberate.
The officer nodded once. “We’re only here to inspect the area and ask a few questions. I’m sure you saw what happened in the sky yesterday?”
Tsukia tilted her head slightly, feigning ignorance before giving a slow, careful nod.
“We found traces a few miles from here, near the forest and river,” he continued. “The trees were heavily damaged...that no ordinary human could cause, that led us here.”
Tsukia didn’t flinch. “And what does that have to do with us?”
Her tone was even, but firm enough that it didn’t invite argument. Behind her, Jasmia stood frozen, silently hoping Lori and Nightshade would return before this spiraled further.
“This house is the closest residence to the impact site,” the officer explained. “We just need to know if you’ve seen or felt anything unusual.”
“We saw the sky,” Tsukia said simply.
“That’s all. Nothing else.”
Jasmia quickly nodded in agreement.
The officer studied them for a moment longer before finally speaking again.
“Very well. One last thing.”
He reached into his uniform and pulled out a small circular device, something between a bracelet and a scanner.
“We’re going to test your Potential. Both of you. Please cooperate.”
He moved first toward Jasmia, who stepped forward without hesitation, silently insisting she go first. The officer clipped the device onto her wrist, where it tightened instantly as if it had recognized its target.
A rhythmic beeping filled the room, sharp in the silence. A few seconds passed, then the sound stopped.
A glowing screen lit up.
\[✓ Potential Holder: Awakened Healing\]
“Next,” the officer muttered, turning toward Tsukia.
Tsukia didn’t move, but her mind sharpened instantly. She kept her expression steady, controlled every breath, every micro-reaction, knowing full well that even hesitation could be enough to raise suspicion.
The device locked onto her wrist.
And this time, the beeping didn’t settle.
Seconds stretched.
Then a minute, then more.
The sound continued without resolution, growing heavier in meaning with every passing moment until the entire room felt like it was holding its breath with it.
BEEP.
The screen flickered violently.
\[Potential: N/A
Error…
Holder: Unknown\]
Confusion rippled through the officers as the device continued to glitch and hum. Their attention locked onto Tsukia.
“Do you have a Potential?” one of them asked, abandoning protocol.
Before Tsukia could respond—
Lieutenant Ferguson arrived.
The entire atmosphere shifted the moment he stepped in, followed closely by his subordinate, Jesmyah Miller. Soldiers snapped into attention instantly, salutes sharp and automatic.