Tobi knew something was wrong before the bus reached the junction.
He just couldn’t explain what.
It began as a dull pressure behind his left eye.
Then came the nausea.
Not the ordinary kind that followed eating questionable roadside food. This was different.
It felt like standing at the edge of a staircase in darkness, knowing there was another step beneath your foot, only to discover there wasn’t.
He gripped the seat.
"Kade."
His friend was staring through the window.
"What?"
"Something’s wrong."
Kade glanced at him.
"That narrows it down."
"I’m serious."
"So am I. We’ve been chased by a woman throwing invisible fishing lines."
Tobi didn’t smile.
His attention had settled on the windscreen.
Traffic crawled ahead.
A danfo conductor argued with a motorcyclist. A woman selling plantain chips moved between vehicles.
Everything looked ordinary.
That made the feeling worse.
"Kade, tell the driver to slow down."
"Why?"
"I don’t know."
Kade studied his face.
Then leaned forward.
"Driver, abeg, slow down small!"
The conductor turned.
"Wetin happen?"
"Just slow down!"
The driver muttered something unpleasant but eased off the accelerator.
Three seconds later, a delivery truck burst across the junction.
Its horn blared.
Tyres screamed against asphalt.
The truck struck a roadside barrier, throwing metal fragments across the road.
A motorcycle crashed into its rear.
Passengers shouted.
The driver slammed his brakes.
Kade grabbed the seat in front of him.
The bus stopped several metres from the wreckage.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then the shouting began.
Tobi stared through the windscreen.
His hands were trembling.
He hadn’t seen the truck coming.
He hadn’t heard it.
But somehow, he’d known.
They left the bus at the next safe stop.
Kade guided Tobi toward a concrete bench outside a closed shop.
"Sit."
Tobi lowered himself onto the bench.
His headache had become a sharp, pulsing pain.
Kade crouched beside him.
"How did you know?"
"I didn’t."
"You told the driver to slow down."
"Because something felt wrong."
"What felt wrong?"
Tobi pressed his fingers against his temple.
"Everything."
Kade frowned.
"That’s not very helpful."
"You think I don’t know that?"
His voice came out sharper than intended.
Kade fell silent.
Tobi exhaled.
"Sorry."
"It’s fine."
"No, it’s not."
He looked toward the road.
"I can’t explain it. One moment I was sitting there, and the next I felt like something terrible would happen if we kept moving."
Kade considered that.
"Has this happened before?"
Tobi hesitated.
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"Small things."
"Like?"
"Choosing a different route home for no reason. Knowing a teacher was about to call my name. Sometimes I get a bad feeling about a place."
Kade waited.
Tobi shrugged.
"I thought everybody experienced that."
The System flickered.
[UNUSUAL SPIRITUAL FLUCTUATION DETECTED.]
Kade froze.
"Analyze."
[SOURCE: TOBI BALOGUN.]
[PHENOMENON: PROBABILITY SENSITIVITY.]
[CONFIDENCE: LOW.]
[MECHANISM: UNKNOWN.]
Kade stared at the message.
Probability sensitivity?
He looked at his friend.
Tobi was rubbing his forehead.
A thin line of blood appeared beneath his left nostril.
"Tobi."
"What?"
"Your nose."
His fingers came away red.
"Oh."
Kade handed him a tissue.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Tobi attempted a smile.
"At least I saved us transport money."
Kade frowned.
"How?"
"We got off before our stop."
"We already paid."
"Then I saved the driver from carrying two corpses."
Kade didn’t laugh.
Tobi noticed.
"Don’t look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like I’m becoming one of your supernatural problems."
Kade sat beside him.
"You’re not a problem."
"Good."
"You’re still an idiot."
Tobi smiled faintly.
"Better."
They found temporary shelter inside a small tutorial centre.
Tobi knew the caretaker from his secondary-school days.
A little persuasion and a promise to replace a broken padlock earned them permission to use an empty classroom.
The room smelled of chalk dust and old exercise books.
A ceiling fan turned lazily overhead.
Kade lowered himself into a chair.
His injured ankle had swollen enough that removing his shoe became a painful exercise.
Tobi examined it.
"That’s bad."
"Thank you, Doctor."
"I’m serious."
"So am I. Your consultation fee is too high."
Tobi found a first-aid box.
He cleaned the scrapes on Kade’s arm and wrapped his ankle.
Kade winced.
"Careful!"
"Should have considered that before jumping out of windows."
"Are you ever going to stop mentioning that?"
"No."
When they finished, Tobi stretched across three plastic chairs.
Kade leaned back and summoned the System.
[HOST STATUS]
[ASE CORE: ABSENT]
[SPIRITUAL ENERGY: 19 UNITS]
[ACQUIRED ABILITY: NIGHT SIGHT]
[AVAILABLE FUNCTIONS: DEVOUR, ANALYZE]
[PHYSICAL CONDITION: IMPAIRED]
[FOREIGN INSTINCT ACTIVITY: LOW]
Kade studied the information.
Nineteen units.
One acquired ability.
No Core.
No cultivation realm.
He’d survived several supernatural encounters, but survival wasn’t the same as progress.
He couldn’t keep depending on narrow escapes.
"How do I become stronger?"
[HOST DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS INCLUDE PHYSICAL TRAINING AND COMPATIBLE SPIRITUAL ABSORPTION.]
"Can I cultivate Ase?"
[CONVENTIONAL CULTIVATION REQUIRES AN ASE CORE.]
Kade sighed.
"Of course."
Tobi opened one eye.
"Talking to your invisible landlord?"
"Trying to understand my options."
"Any good news?"
"Apparently, I need exercise."
Tobi looked at his bandaged ankle.
"Excellent timing."
Kade dismissed the interface.
Then glanced at his friend.
"Tobi, I want to try something."
"No."
"I haven’t said what."
"That’s why I’m refusing early."
"Nothing dangerous."
Tobi considered him.
"Define dangerous."
Kade picked up three pieces of paper.
He drew a circle on one, a cross on another, and left the third blank.
Then folded them.
"Which one has the circle?"
Tobi stared.
"Are you serious?"
"Just choose."
"Middle."
Kade opened it.
Cross.
They tried again.
And again.
After twelve attempts, Tobi had guessed correctly four times.
No better than chance.
Kade leaned back.
"Nothing."
Tobi spread his arms.
"Congratulations. I’m ordinary."
Kade wasn’t convinced.
Whatever happened on the bus hadn’t been something Tobi could summon whenever he wanted.
The System’s confidence had been low.
He needed more evidence.
But he wasn’t willing to put Tobi in danger to get it.
"Let’s stop," Kade said.
Tobi nodded.
"Best decision you’ve made today."
An hour later, someone knocked.
Three ordinary knocks.
Kade looked toward the door.
"Yes?"
A man’s voice answered.
"Maintenance. There’s an electrical problem."
Kade glanced at the ceiling fan.
It continued turning.
He began to stand.
Then Tobi caught his sleeve.
"Wait."
Kade looked down.
Tobi’s expression had changed.
"What?"
"I don’t like this."
"The maintenance man?"
"I don’t know."
Kade studied him.
"Another feeling?"
Tobi nodded.
But this time, there was no certainty.
Only a faint pressure behind his eye.
It might have been fear.
It might have been nothing.
Then the System activated.
[SPIRITUAL SIGNATURE DETECTED.]
[SOURCE: BEYOND DOOR.]
[CLASSIFICATION: HUMAN CULTIVATOR.]
[REALM: VESSEL.]
Kade went cold.
The knock came again.
"Open up."
Kade remained silent.
The voice changed.
"Kade Adeyemi."
Tobi slowly stood.
The man continued.
"We need to ask you some questions."
Kade looked toward the window.
Second floor.
A narrow ledge.
A courtyard below.
His ankle throbbed at the thought.
He remembered the previous fall.
The pain.
The helplessness.
He couldn’t afford another injury.
But the door had only one lock.
And the person outside was a trained cultivator.
"Analyze the door."
[OBJECT: WOODEN DOOR.]
[STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: MODERATE.]
A pale line appeared beneath it.
Metal snapped.
The lower hinge fell away.
Kade grabbed a chair.
Tobi stared.
"What are you doing?"
"Finding another exit."
He smashed the window.
Glass scattered into the courtyard.
Below, discarded cartons lay beside a concrete wall.
Not a safe landing.
But there was no time to search for another.
Kade pushed the chairs toward the door.
They wouldn’t stop the cultivator.
They might buy seconds.
The upper hinge cracked.
Tobi climbed onto the window ledge.
Then hesitated.
"Kade, your ankle—"
"I know."
"You can’t jump like this."
Kade looked down.
He was afraid.
Not of the height.
Of landing badly and being unable to run afterward.
Behind them, the door began to fall inward.
Kade took Tobi’s arm.
"Go first."
Tobi swallowed.
Then jumped.
He struck the cartons and rolled awkwardly across the concrete.
Kade followed.
As he fell, the classroom door crashed open.
And a man’s voice called after him.
"Running won’t change what you are."
Kade hit the ground.
Pain exploded through his injured ankle.
He bit back a scream.
Above him, a shadow appeared at the broken window.
The hunter had found them.