The rain had stopped by the time Dante reached his street.
Water continued dripping from the rooftops while shallow streams moved along both sides of the road.
The dark clouds had begun breaking apart and allowed thin rays of sunlight to shine across the wet neighborhood.
Dante slowed near his house when movement in the yard next door caught his attention.
Victor Frankenstein was playing fetch with his dog Sparky.
The energetic bull terrier raced across the damp grass with a rubber ball clenched between his teeth before returning to his owner with his tail wagging wildly.
Victor took the ball and prepared to throw it again.
Dante remembered the red balloon that had disappeared into the storm clouds and decided that every child in the neighborhood needed to be warned.
“Victor.” The boy turned toward him while Sparky sat at his feet.
“There’s been a dangerous man dressed like a clown around this neighborhood,” Dante said.
“He targets children.
Go straight home if you see a clown, a red balloon, or anything else that feels strange.” Victor’s excitement faded when he heard the warning.
“Okay, Dante.” “Don’t follow anyone into the woods or near the storm drains.
Tell your parents if you notice anything.” Victor nodded seriously before looking down at Sparky.
“I’ll keep Sparky with me.” The dog barked as though agreeing with him.
Victor threw the ball again and Sparky raced after it across the yard.
Dante watched them for several seconds.
Victor was intelligent and cautious for his age, but Pennywise was skilled at discovering a person’s deepest fear or desire.
A child wandering alone would always be vulnerable.
He finally turned and entered his own house.
“Dante!” Carrie hurried into the hallway as soon as she heard the front door.
Her face brightened at the sight of him, and the confidence in her steps was noticeably stronger than before.
Dante removed his jacket and examined her carefully.
“How are you feeling?
Did you have any problems after using your power against Ghostface?” Carrie shook her head.
“Marquis said I released too much energy at once.
I fainted because I exhausted myself.” She smiled with quiet pride before gesturing toward the living room.
“I practiced all day yesterday.
I can make a teacup float now.” “That fast?” Dante followed her into the room.
Carrie placed a teacup on the coffee table and sat several feet away from it.
Her expression became serious as she concentrated.
The cup trembled before slowly rising several inches from the table.
Carrie kept it suspended for almost ten seconds.
The cup wobbled twice but remained under her control until she gently lowered it.
Dante gave her an approving smile.
“You’re improving much faster than I expected.” Carrie’s cheeks turned pink.
She looked down while trying to hide how pleased the praise made her feel.
“I still can’t move anything heavy.” “You don’t need to rush.
Control matters more than weight.” Carrie nodded and looked back toward the teacup.
The power that once terrified her had become something she genuinely wanted to understand.
Dante left her in the living room and headed upstairs.
He found Marquis sitting inside Lily’s bedroom while flipping through one of her schoolbooks with a bored expression.
She immediately closed it when Dante entered.
“Master.” Dante shut the door behind him and lowered his voice.
“Marky, something dangerous has appeared in Derry.” Her eye twitched at the nickname, but she managed to suppress her irritation.
“What kind of danger?” “A creature disguised as a clown.
It hunts children and feeds on fear.” Marquis’s playful expression vanished.
She leaned forward and listened with genuine interest.
“That sounds somewhat similar to me.” “It is much older and far more dangerous.” Dante crossed his arms.
“It can change its form, create illusions, influence reality, and return after its physical body is destroyed.” Marquis frowned.
“What did you do to attract its attention?” “I stopped it from dragging a child into a storm drain.” A trace of admiration entered Marquis’s eyes, though she quickly hid it.
“Did you fight it?” “I destroyed one of its bodies with Purification.
The real creature escaped.” Marquis understood the seriousness of the situation.
Any entity capable of surviving Purification and rebuilding its physical form could not be treated like an ordinary demon.
Dante’s gaze became stern.
“Watch Carrie, my parents, and this house whenever I’m gone.
Tell me immediately if you see a clown, a red balloon, or anything that behaves unnaturally.” Marquis lowered her head.
“I understand, Master.
I’ll protect them.” “Don’t try to fight Pennywise alone.” The name made her look up.
“You know the creature’s true name?” “I know more about it than it realizes.” Marquis studied him with renewed curiosity.
Dante often displayed knowledge he should not possess, but the invisible collar prevented her from investigating him in ways he had not permitted.
She lowered her head again.
“I’ll remain cautious.” Dante left the room and returned downstairs.
Carrie was still practicing with the teacup, though her control had begun weakening from fatigue.
He approached and lowered the cup before it could fall.
“Take a break.” Carrie relaxed and rubbed her temples.
“My head feels a little heavy.” “That means you’ve reached your current limit.
Continuing now will only make your control worse.” Dante sat across from her and placed the cup back on the table.
“Telekinesis is like exercising a muscle.
Strength will come naturally as long as you train consistently.
Your first goal should be moving something exactly where you want it to go.” Carrie listened with complete attention.
“When you focus on an object, imagine your mind touching every part of it.
Move it a small distance and observe how the power responds.
Then adjust your effort before trying again.” Carrie looked toward the cup.
“So I shouldn’t try to force it?” “Not unless you have no other choice.
Fear and anger can give you more power, but they also make that power difficult to control.” Dante remembered how the volleyball had nearly struck Chris and how Carrie had crushed Ghostface against the wall.
Her emotional outbursts created tremendous force but left her physically exhausted afterward.
“Build a connection between thought, movement, and correction,” he continued.
“Decide what you want the object to do.
Feel how it reacts, then make small changes until it obeys.” Carrie slowly nodded.
“The real measure of strength isn’t how much you can destroy.
It’s whether you can stop your power at the exact moment you choose.” She repeated the final idea under her breath as though committing it to memory.
“Stop when I choose.” Dante smiled.
“Exactly.” Carrie looked up at him with trust shining in her eyes.
“I understand.” Dante returned to his bedroom and changed into clothes that allowed him to move freely.
He had tested Telekinesis EX during the cave collapse and used it to fly through Derry, but he still had no clear understanding of its limits.
An isolated area outside town would provide enough space to experiment without attracting attention.
Dante informed Carrie that he was going out and reminded Marquis to remain alert.
He then left the house and headed toward the forest beyond Derry.
The woods were peaceful beneath the returning sunlight.
Water dripped from the leaves while birds moved between the branches.
The storm had washed away most footprints and left the air smelling of wet earth.
Dante traveled deep enough that no houses or roads remained visible.
He eventually found a wide clearing surrounded by thick trees and large stones.
“This should work.” He stood near the center and closed his eyes.
Telekinesis EX expanded through the clearing like an invisible web.
Dante could sense the weight of the stones around him.
He felt the roots beneath the soil and the smaller branches trembling in the breeze.
His attention settled on a thick tree near the edge of the clearing.
The leaves began shaking.
Dante increased the pressure around the trunk.
The ground cracked as roots tore free from the wet soil.
A deep wooden groan echoed through the forest.
The entire tree rose from the earth.
Mud and broken roots fell from its base while the trunk floated several feet above the ground.
Dante had expected the weight to create resistance, yet holding the tree required no more effort than lifting the hotel glass.
He moved one hand to the side.
The tree followed the gesture and swept through the clearing.
Its branches scraped against nearby trunks and sent several startled birds flying into the sky.
Dante rotated his wrist.
The uprooted tree turned vertically before flipping upside down.
Telekinesis EX allowed him to control every movement with surprising precision.
The tree did not wobble unless he deliberately made it do so.
He lowered it beside the clearing and turned his attention toward several boulders.
Five heavy stones rose at once.
Dante arranged them in a straight line before stacking them into a tower.
He separated them again and formed a circle that rotated around his body.
The stones moved faster with each revolution.
Their speed soon produced a low whistle through the air.
Dante closed his hand.
Invisible pressure crushed all five boulders at once.
Cracks spread across their surfaces before the stones shattered into hundreds of fragments.
Dust erupted through the clearing and briefly hid the surrounding trees.
Dante raised his other hand.
Every piece stopped in midair.
The dust froze alongside the stone fragments and formed a suspended cloud around him.
Dante slowly spread his fingers and caused the debris to fall in a perfect circle.
The result left him smiling.
His power was not limited to moving large objects.
Telekinesis EX could also control hundreds of smaller pieces without sacrificing precision.
Dante next focused the ability inward.
An invisible field covered his body from head to toe.
He reinforced it until the psychic force felt like a second layer of skin.
Small stones began rising from the ground around his feet.
Leaves and broken twigs floated alongside them as the pressure beneath Dante increased.
His shoes slowly left the earth.
Dante rose several feet before becoming unsteady.
His body tilted to one side while the telekinetic field struggled to correct his balance.
He extended both arms and forced himself upright.
Flying required a different form of control from lifting an outside object.
Dante needed to move his entire body while constantly adjusting direction, balance, and speed.
He rose above the trees one careful foot at a time.
A gust of wind struck him and pushed his shoulder backward.
Dante compensated too strongly and spun halfway around in the air.
He stopped himself before losing control completely.
“This is harder than it looked.” Dante lowered himself until his feet nearly touched the treetops.
He practiced moving forward and backward while keeping his body upright.
The first few attempts were awkward.
He moved like someone learning to stand on ice and nearly turned upside down twice.
His control improved with every correction.
Dante eventually leaned forward and pushed against the air behind him.
His body accelerated above the forest.
The sudden speed caught him by surprise.
Trees blurred beneath him as he shot toward a rocky hill.
Dante tried to stop but applied force in the wrong direction and began spinning.
The hillside rushed closer.
Dante flailed his arms before remembering that physical movement was not necessary.
He forced his mind to focus and created a powerful field in front of himself.
His speed dropped at the last possible moment.
Dante passed close enough to the hillside for his shoes to scrape across the dirt.
The impact kicked up a cloud of dust before he rose back into open air.
He hovered above the trees and looked down at the mark he had left.
“That could have gone better.” Instead of becoming discouraged, Dante returned to the clearing and began again.
He practiced short bursts of movement before increasing the distance.
Each attempt taught him how much force was needed to accelerate, stop, or turn.
He learned to wrap the telekinetic field around his body in layers rather than pushing from only one direction.
His movements became smoother.
Dante climbed like a hawk before dropping toward the trees.
He slowed during the descent and floated like a falling leaf.
He turned between tall branches and used brief bursts of force to change direction.
Several mistakes nearly sent him crashing into the forest, but Telekinesis EX responded quickly enough to save him each time.
An hour passed without Dante noticing.
Flying eventually became as natural as running.
He shot above the forest and released an excited shout while wind rushed past his face.
“Woohoo!” Dante climbed higher and higher.
The woods beneath him transformed into a vast green landscape while distant roads appeared as narrow gray lines.
Mountains stretched along the horizon.
Rivers curved between the trees and reflected the sunlight like bands of silver.
Dante stopped several thousand feet above the ground.
He remained upright without any visible support while the open sky surrounded him.
Nothing blocked his view.
The freedom of standing in the air filled him with an excitement that no car or airplane could match.
Dante extended one arm in front of himself and placed the other against his side.
The pose immediately made him resemble Superman flying over the city.
“Up, up, and away!” He accelerated and shot through the clouds.
A commercial airliner passed at a safe distance from his path.
Dante did not notice the passengers staring through the windows as he flew past.
Inside the cabin, Alex Browning pressed his face closer to the glass.
His eyes widened as he watched a human figure moving freely through the sky.
“Clear!” He grabbed Clear Rivers by the shoulder and pointed toward the window.
“Look!
There’s someone flying out there!” Clear glanced outside but saw only clouds and blue sky.
Dante had already disappeared above the plane.
She looked back at Alex with concern.
“You need to get some sleep.” “I know what I saw.” “You’ve been anxious about this trip for days,” Clear said.
“Rest for a while.
We can explore Paris after we land.” Alex looked through the window again.
The sky appeared empty.
He slowly leaned back in his seat but could not dismiss the uneasy sensation growing inside his chest.
For one brief moment, he had seen a young man flying without a plane, parachute, or any visible equipment.
Outside the aircraft, Dante climbed through another layer of clouds and laughed as the entire world opened beneath him.