Saturday morning arrived far faster than anyone wanted.
Especially for teenagers forced to wake up before sunrise.
The massive underground base remained active as always, humming with mechanical life beneath Area Verdancy.
Transport rails moved silently through tunnels.
Maintenance androids crossed metallic pathways carrying equipment crates.
Distant mech frames shifted behind reinforced glass walls like giant sleeping beasts preparing to awaken.
And somewhere within all that activity…
The newly formed Superhuman Unit dragged themselves toward their first official training session.
The main training hall was enormous.
Far larger than any sports arena Damien had seen before.
The ceiling stretched several stories high, layered with reinforced black alloy panels and massive white light strips running across the length of the chamber.
The floor itself looked strange, made from some dark metallic material divided into enormous geometric sections.
Several holographic systems floated around the walls displaying environmental controls, energy readings, and simulation settings.
There were even visible blast marks scattered around certain areas of the hall.
Which honestly wasn’t comforting.
At exactly 6:00 AM, both squads stood lined up across the center of the room.
Or at least…
Something vaguely resembling organized lines.
Some people looked awake.
Others looked spiritually disconnected from reality.
Jack yawned so hard it looked painful.
Bobby stood beside Damien stretching lazily.
“I hate mornings,” Bobby muttered.
“You say that like it’s a personality trait,” Damien replied.
“It is.”
Nearby, Sylvia looked perfectly awake somehow.
“That’s because your sleep schedule is catastrophic.”
Bobby pointed accusingly.
“You people who naturally wake up early scare me.”
Ria stood at the front of Squad Eclipse calmly, already fully dressed in fitted black training gear provided by Verdancy earlier that morning.
Meanwhile on the opposite side…
Adrian looked absurdly energetic for six in the morning.
“Nobody appreciates my dedication enough,” he declared dramatically.
Sasha stared at him.
“You woke up early because you were excited.”
“Yes.”
“That’s insane behavior.”
Drew stood nearby rubbing one eye tiredly.
“He spent twenty minutes fixing his hair before training.”
“It’s called maintaining standards.”
“It’s called narcissism.”
“Those overlap.”
Silver quietly stood behind Sasha half asleep while Graham silently observed the room with his usual calm expression.
Prince looked ready to collapse.
James actually was half asleep standing up.
Kyle looked confused about life in general.
The moment the massive training hall doors opened—
Every conversation died instantly.
Dr.
Frost entered the room.
And somehow…
The entire atmosphere shifted immediately.
The silver-haired man walked calmly toward the center of the hall wearing black combat attire beneath his white lab coat this time.
Thin blue lines of Aether energy occasionally flickered beneath parts of the material like hidden circuitry.
He stopped between the two squads.
Then slowly looked across all sixteen Superhumans.
Everyone unconsciously straightened slightly.
Even Adrian.
Which honestly impressed Damien.
Dr.
Frost clasped his hands behind his back.
“Good,” he said calmly.
“At least none of you failed to arrive.”
Adrian raised his hand immediately.
“Hypothetically speaking, what would happen if someone overslept?”
Dr.
Frost looked directly at him.
“Hypothetically speaking?”
“Yes.”
“I would drag them here personally.”
Adrian lowered his hand immediately.
“Understood.”
Drew snorted quietly beside him.
Dr.
Frost continued.
“First and foremost…”
His voice echoed lightly through the giant hall.
“…feel free to ask questions if you fail to understand anything.”
The holographic systems around the room activated softly.
Energy readings began appearing across floating displays.
“Today,” Dr.
Frost continued, “I will teach you how to access Aether…”
Before he could continue further—
Adrian interrupted immediately.
“Wait.”
Several people sighed already.
Adrian pointed directly at Dr. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Frost.
“How can you use Aether?”
That instantly caught everyone’s attention.
Because honestly…
Everyone had been wondering the same thing.
They just hadn’t asked yet.
Adrian smirked slightly after realizing he successfully hijacked the lesson.
“Are you a Superhuman too?”
The room focused entirely on Dr.
Frost now.
Even Damien looked curious.
Because Adrian had a point.
Someone capable of teaching them this much about Superhumans and Aether probably wasn’t ordinary either.
Dr.
Frost remained silent for a few seconds.
Then smiled faintly.
“You could say that.”
The answer immediately annoyed several people.
“That’s not an answer,” Sasha said.
“It technically is,” Drew replied.
“It’s a terrible one.”
Adrian crossed his arms.
“What’s your ranking then?”
The shamelessness of the question almost impressed Damien.
Ria pinched the bridge of her nose quietly.
“You really have zero survival instincts.”
Dr.
Frost looked entirely unbothered.
In fact…
He almost looked entertained.
“I’ll leave that,” he said calmly, “up to your wonderful imagination.”
The sarcasm in his voice was almost elegant somehow.
Adrian clicked his tongue.
“That means ridiculously strong.”
“Or ridiculously weak,” Bobby pointed out.
“No,” Adrian replied immediately.
“Weak people don’t do mysterious one-liners.”
“That might be the dumbest logic you’ve used so far.”
“Thank you.”
Dr.
Frost raised one hand slightly.
The floating holograms around the room shifted instantly.
A human figure made of glowing yellow energy appeared rotating slowly above the center of the hall.
“Now,” Dr.
Frost continued calmly, “we can return to the main topic.”
The yellow figure pulsed.
“Aether.”
The room quieted again.
“Aether,” Dr.
Frost said slowly, “is the energy of the universe itself.”
Streams of glowing yellow energy began flowing through the holographic body.
“Its applications are functionally infinite.”
The energy streams shifted shapes.
Weapons.
Barriers.
Movement enhancements.
Environmental distortions.
Healing structures.
The projections changed so rapidly it almost became difficult to follow.
“However,” Dr.
Frost continued, “those applications depend heavily on output.”
The hologram split into V I, V II, and V III energy structures.
“Still, most baseline applications are accessible to all versions.”
Dr.
Frost slowly looked around the room.
“And today…”
The holographic projections vanished instantly.
“…you will learn the first step.”
The training hall lights dimmed slightly.
Silence filled the room.
Dr.
Frost’s voice became quieter now.
More focused.
“First,” he said calmly, “you must feel the Aether within your bodies.”
Several people shifted slightly.
“How exactly are we supposed to do that?” Grace asked.
Dr.
Frost pointed toward his chest.
“Visualize.”
The room remained focused.
“Imagine Aether as a flowing stream moving throughout your body.”
His hand moved slowly downward.
“Through your muscles.”
Then upward.
“Your nervous system.”
Then toward his head.
“Your mind.”
The hall became so quiet that even breathing sounded noticeable now.
“You are not creating Aether,” Dr.
Frost continued.
That sentence settled deeply inside the room.
Dr.
Frost closed his eyes briefly.
“And once you feel it…”
Suddenly—
A yellow aura exploded around his body.
The entire training hall illuminated instantly.
Energy flowed around him like living light, swirling softly through the air in golden streams.
The pressure alone made several people instinctively tense slightly.
The aura wasn’t violent.
But it felt powerful.
Ancient somehow.
Like standing near controlled lightning.
“This,” Dr.
Frost said calmly from within the glowing aura, “is the most basic manifestation of Aether.”
Several people stared openly.
Even Adrian looked genuinely impressed.
“That,” Bobby muttered quietly, “is insanely cool.”
“Focus,” Sylvia whispered.
“I am focusing.”
“You’re admiring it like a child seeing fireworks.”
“Correct.”
“Now,” Dr.
Frost said, “try.”
The room fell silent again.
Then everyone closed their eyes.
At first…
Nothing happened.
Only the quiet hum of the training hall remained.
Damien stood still.
Breathing slowly.
Visualizing.
A stream.
Energy flowing beneath his skin.
For a moment he felt ridiculous.
Then suddenly—
Something moved.
Not physically.
Internally.
Like warmth spreading quietly through every part of his body.
His senses sharpened instantly.
The air.
The floor.
His heartbeat.
Everything became strangely clear.
And then—
Yellow light erupted around him.
At the exact same moment—
The entire room exploded with Aether auras.
Golden energy surged everywhere.
Some weak.
Some stable.
Some flickering wildly.
But everyone succeeded.
Every single person.
Adrian opened one eye immediately after activating his aura.
Then grinned.
“Hah.”
His aura flared brighter proudly.
“Told you I was talented.”
Sasha’s aura ignited beside him seconds later.
“You literally activated yours half a second earlier than everyone else.”
“Which still counts.”
Drew activated his aura smoothly afterward.
“I hate that he’s technically right.”
Nearby Silver looked shocked at her own glowing hands while Graham calmly examined the energy surrounding himself with analytical focus.
Across the room, Squad Eclipse had also fully awakened their Aether.
Ria’s aura looked smooth and controlled immediately.
Sylvia’s was similarly stable though slightly sharper visually somehow.
Bobby stared at his glowing arms like someone discovering superpowers in real time.
“This is officially the greatest day of my life.”
Jack nodded beside him.
“Agreed.”
Even Damien noticed his own aura felt… strange.
Denser somehow.
Heavier.
Though before he could analyze it further—
Dr.
Frost spoke again.
And instantly killed the excitement in the room.
“I expected you to achieve at least this much.”
The glowing auras around the room flickered slightly.
Dr.
Frost’s expression remained calm.
“Otherwise…”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“…you would have been designated defective.”
The room went completely silent.
And then Dr.
Frost added calmly:
“That would not have been particularly pleasant on your end.”