Chapter 130: Lesson One: Control Your Power. Lesson Two: Hide Your Phone.

I watched the monolith of ice loom over us, catching the morning light and fracturing it into a thousand tiny rainbows across the gym walls. Natalia still panted, her breath forming small clouds in the frigid air. Her eyes hadn’t left her creation—that jagged, crude monument of frozen power. I could see the hunger in them, the realization of potential unlocked.

My hand rested on the small of her back, feeling the heat of her body contrasting with the chill air around us. There was something intimate about this moment—watching someone discover a part of themselves they never knew existed.

"It’s magnificent," she whispered, "but..."

"But it’s just brute force," I finished for her. "Raw power without control."

I raised my hand, index and middle finger extended, and aimed at the massive spike. With a thought, I activated [Sever], sending an invisible blade slicing through the ice.

KRAK-TINKLE!

The spike exploded into a thousand glittering fragments that rained down around us like diamond dust. Natalia gasped, her hands flying up instinctively to shield her face, but I stepped closer, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"How... how do I do it again?" she asked, voice trembling with excitement. "How do I control it?"

I moved to stand behind her, my chest against her back, my mouth close to her ear. "What you just did was a scream. Raw, beautiful, uncontrolled power." I placed my hands on her shoulders, feeling the tension there. "Now, you learn to sing."

She tilted her head back, looking up at me. "Sing?"

I moved my hands down her arms, guiding them into position. "Your power is an extension of your will. Command it like a queen, and it will obey."

Her lips quirked into a smile. "Queen? I like that."

"Now, try again," I said, stepping back.

I crossed the gym to where we kept the training dummies—reinforced with metal plating to withstand Natalia’s telekinetic assaults. I dragged three of them to the center of the room, positioning them at varying distances.

"Hit the closest one first," I instructed. "Focus on creating a single spike, about the size of your forearm."

Natalia took a deep breath, centering herself. She extended her hand, fingers splayed. The air around her palm shimmered, and a chunk of ice formed—misshapen and lopsided. It shot forward with considerable force but shattered against the dummy’s chest plate with a dull THUD.

"Shit," she muttered.

"Again."

Her second attempt was better—more aerodynamic, but still too brittle. It broke on impact.

Her third try produced a spike that actually stuck in the dummy’s shoulder, but it was too shallow to cause real damage.

"You’re getting there," I encouraged. "Remember, ice is just structured water."

By her seventh attempt, something clicked. The ice formed into a perfect, needle-like projectile that shot forward with a high-pitched SHING and embedded itself deep in the dummy’s throat.

"Yes!" Natalia’s face lit up with triumph.

"Now the second dummy," I said. "Two spikes this time."

She was a prodigy, no doubt about it. Within an hour, she’d progressed from clumsy chunks to sleek, perfectly formed projectiles that could hit multiple targets in rapid succession. THWIP-THWIP! The sounds had changed from dull thuds to sharp, piercing impacts that would have been lethal to any normal living target.

"You’re a natural," I said, genuine admiration in my voice. I sometimes forgot just how talented Natalia was. Her telekinesis had always been impressive, but adding this elemental dimension elevated her to another level entirely.

"I think I’m ready for something more challenging," she said, wiping sweat from her brow despite the cold.

I nodded, walking to the center of the gym. "Let’s try combining our abilities. A real combat scenario."

Natalia’s eyes lit up. "You mean, like, fighting together?"

"Exactly. In a real Gate situation, it won’t just be about your power or mine. It’ll be how they work in tandem." I pointed to a fresh dummy. "I’ll open, you finish."

I approached the dummy, focusing on [Sever]. My hand blurred as I slashed, the invisible force cutting a clean line across the dummy’s chest plate. SHHIIING! Metal parted like paper, revealing the padding beneath.

"Now!" I called.

Natalia was already moving. Three ice spikes materialized and shot forward, impaling the dummy’s exposed "vitals" before the metal could even fall away. THUNK-THUNK-THUNK!

"Perfect," I said. "Now we reverse. You create cover, I exploit it."

She nodded, understanding immediately. With a sweeping gesture, she caused a jagged wall of ice to erupt from the floor, blocking one side of the room. I used the momentary cover to circle around, coming at another dummy from its blindside. I activated [Ember], a concentrated burst of flame incinerating the dummy’s head.

"How’s that?" I asked, turning back to her.

Natalia stood with her hands on her hips, a small, satisfied smile on her lips. "Not bad for a former Zero."

It’s terrifying how fast she’s adapting

, I thought, watching her create another ice barrier with a casual flick of her wrist.

She’s not just following my lead anymore; she’s anticipating it. We’re not even speaking, but we’re moving as one. This... this is what true power feels like.

"Alright," I said, walking back to her. "Lets keep this up!"

By the time we finished, the gym looked like a warzone. Shattered ice and destroyed dummies littered the floor. We stood in the center of the destruction, both of us panting, sweat-soaked, and grinning like maniacs.

"Satori, this is... we’re... we could take on anything!" Natalia turned to me, her face flushed with excitement, her eyes shining with adoration.

She stepped closer, and I could feel the heat radiating from her body. Her hands came up to rest on my chest, and she leaned in, clearly intending to kiss me.

PING!

We both glanced over to where I’d left it on a workout bench. The screen had lit up, displaying a preview that was perfectly clear:

Emi Aoyama:

"So excited for our study session this afternoon! I made flashcards! ❤️"

The atmosphere in the gym instantly plummeted twenty degrees. The triumphant, passionate energy vanished, replaced by a sudden, glacial cold. Natalia’s hands dropped from my chest, and she took a half-step back.

Her expression became a perfect, neutral mask, but her eyes were like chips of ice. The adoring queen was gone. The possessive, territorial predator was back.

"You should answer that," she said, her voice as cold as her new powers. "Wouldn’t want to keep your little cinnamon roll waiting."

"Natalia—"

"No, I get it." She turned away, brushing ice fragments from her clothes. "The plan, right? The big picture. Build the kingdom. Add more pillars." She glanced back at me, her smile not reaching her eyes. "Just remember who made you king in the first place."

She headed for the door, her movements stiff with suppressed anger.

"Where are you going?" I called after her.

"To shower. Alone." She paused at the doorway. "You should get ready for your... study session. I’m sure it’ll be very educational."

The door closed behind her with a soft click that somehow felt more final than if she’d slammed it.

I sighed, running a hand through my sweat-dampened hair. The phone pinged again—another message from Emi.

"I found some really cool diagrams! Can’t wait to show you!"

I picked up the phone, thumbs hovering over the keyboard as I considered my response. After a moment, I typed:

"Looking forward to it. Need me to cook anything?"

I gazed around at the ice-covered destruction of the gym. In just a few hours, Natalia had become semi proficient an ability that would have taken most Hunters weeks to control.

But as powerful as Natalia was becoming, I couldn’t afford to put all my eggs in one basket. Emi’s healing Aspect was essential to our future success. I needed both of them.

The challenge would be keeping both of them happy while serving my own agenda. A delicate balance, but one I was becoming increasingly adept at maintaining.

I slipped the phone into my pocket and headed for the door. I’d give Natalia some time to cool down—both literally and figuratively—before attempting to smooth things over. In the meantime, I had a study session to prepare for.

After all, a king needs more than one pillar to support his kingdom.