The training room was quiet when Kazimir entered—too quiet.
This wasn't the old arena where Xavier and Tojo sparred. This was new. Clean. Untouched. A high-tech chamber embedded with adaptive gravity fields, elemental regulators, and reinforced walls lined with energy-resistant runes. One of the only rooms in the world that could handle him.
He let out a long breath and tossed his jacket aside, revealing the black compression shirt beneath. His hand gripped the hilt of his katana—the one etched with silver streaks of his mother's lightning.
He drew it.
Sparks hissed against the air as the blade slid free.
Kazimir (to himself):
"If they see me as a weapon, then I'll train like one."
The chamber recognized his presence. Combat modules clicked into place overhead.
Voice Interface: "Welcome, Vandor Kazimir. Initiate Combat Mode?"
Kazimir: "Level Eight. Lightning sync. No Nullity. No restraints."
Voice: "Confirmed. Beginning simulation."
The air shifted instantly. Ten dummies blinked into existence—hardened constructs infused with speed, strength, and unpredictable attack patterns.
They lunged.
Kazimir's blade blurred in motion. Lightning erupted from his feet, launching him forward in a flicker of pure speed. His katana slashed clean through the first target, the momentum rolling into a smooth parry against the second. Sparks danced around his body like fireflies.
Kazimir (thoughts):
This is who I am. This is where I'm free. Not a hero. Not a symbol. Just Kazimir.
He flipped mid-air and slammed his palm down—a bolt of lightning surged from the ceiling and crashed into the enemy formation, short-circuiting three of them instantly.
Sweat beaded on his brow. His breathing was steady. Focused.
More drones came.
Kazimir dashed left—his blade spun with him, conducting lightning like an extension of his thoughts. He stabbed into the ground mid-spin, summoning a current that chained between targets, frying them in sequence. The floor beneath him cracked from the voltage.
Kazimir (thoughts):
I don't blame myself for their deaths. They chose to fight. Chose to be warriors.
But Gendai… she won't choose. She's afraid of herself. Still holding back.
He kicked a final drone into the air and threw his katana like a bolt of judgment. It pierced straight through.
Silence returned.
Only the hum of energy left in the air.
He stood there, chest rising and falling.
Then a voice from behind.
Lihanna: "You always train like that when you're pissed?"
He turned halfway, sweat on his brow, sparks still crawling across his fingertips.
Kazimir: "…No. Only when I'm thinking too loud."
She walked in slowly, her heels light against the tile.
Lihanna: "You scared us. You struck James… almost burned a hole through the balcony."
Kazimir: "He'll be fine. Just a little static shock."
She didn't laugh. Just looked at him. Not the Vandor. Not the weapon. But Kazimir—the boy who wore a blindfold to keep the galaxy from slipping into madness.
Lihanna: "You don't have to do all this alone."
He looked at her fully now, eyes serious.
Kazimir: "I'm not doing it alone. I'm doing it because no one else will."
A silence hung between them. Not heavy. Just… real.
Lihanna: "You're trying to make something better, I get it. But if you break yourself doing it, who's going to protect the thing you built?"
He looked away.
Kazimir: "…If she'd just let go. Face who she really is. Gendai could be stronger than all of them."
He picked up his blade and slid it back into its sheath.
Kazimir: "But I can't force her to stop being afraid."