Power

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I make my way to the street in front of our house and begin warming up for a jog. Once I'm done warming up, I attempt to do a medium-paced jog, but suddenly, I find myself dashing.

My brain is unable to process what my feet are up to as I find myself falling to the ground. I take a few seconds to get back on my feet, checking out my surroundings to see if anyone witnessed what just happened.

Relieved to see that there wasn't anyone, I think about the little incident from just now. I'm sure I attempted to move at a medium pace. Nonetheless, I found myself dashing, and not just dashing, but dashing at an absurd pace.

I prepare myself for another jog, this time wary of any complications that may occur. I move—no, I once again dash forward, this time managing to stay on my feet.

This is abnormal. I have no recollection of what a normal speed would be like, but I can tell that this isn't how it's supposed to be.

I take a deep breath and look around me. I look toward the west, where the fields are. I focus on a tree in the middle of the field. Suddenly, my vision blips, and I find myself staring at ants climbing a brown cliff(?). No, that's not it. I try to visualize something, and, the next moment, my vision 'draws back' and as expected, it was the tree and not a cliff. That confirms it. My vision and speed are both abnormal. Is that it, or is there even more to it?

I prepare for a full-speed run, marking the tree as my stopping point. I dash forward—no, I practically launch toward the tree, covering the distance between me and the tree, which was about one kilometer, in less than two seconds.

'What's going on?!' I exclaim within my mind as I find myself closing in on the tree.

The next moment, I shut my eyes, expecting a painful crash. Surprisingly, there is no pain as I didn't crash into the tree, but instead only felt something light being pushed away in my path, albeit with a very loud cracking noise. After a moment, I find myself in the air about to crash into the ground several hundred meters away from the tree.

I fall to the ground and roll for a short distance, coming to a stop after a short while. Unable to make sense of what just happened, I lay on the ground, staring at the cloudy sky.

None. No pain whatsoever—in fact, I feel way better now after having moved so much.

--

Finally getting back on my feet, I focus on where I want to be before dashing forth. In the blink of an eye, I find myself several meters away from where I originally stood.

Is this the sealed power that Janus spoke of?

I repeat what I just did several times, hoping to master it. Once I'm satisfied with the little mastery I've gained over dashing, I move on to sprinting.

This one was much harder to master, even if a little, compared to dashing. I fell about a dozen times or so before I finally could run without bulldozing the ground with my face after a few steps.

Aware of the abnormality of the situation, I frequently checked my surroundings for people while practicing. This, in turn, led to me understanding the basics of how my vision worked. Not only that, but I also feel like I have a little control over my perception now.

Controlling my senses, I feel the movements of a cricket in the field that isn't visible to me. Upon further focusing my senses, I notice several ants moving closer to the cricket.

It seems like everything about my physical body has been enhanced... It only serves to make me wonder just how much my strength and endurance have changed as well, if they have, that is.

I focus my vision on a distant building that is still under construction. I dash and sprint toward it, covering the distance in a little over three seconds. Coming to an abrupt stop in front of the building with a bit of effort, I proceed to check my surroundings through my enhanced senses and vision, making sure that no one is within the vicinity.

Once I'm sure that no one is near me, I raise my arm and slowly approach one of the walls of the incomplete construction. Standing exactly in front of it, I punch with as much power as I can muster at the wall. Striking it, I feel nothing on my hand, but everything around me shakes, and cracks form on the wall.

I feel the cracks through my senses and realize they're growing at an incredulous pace. Alarmed, I dash away from the wall, coming to a stop a good distance away from it. I then witness the wall collapse into rumbles, while making a great deal of noise.

Amazing… So much power and no injuries to my hand at all. It's like my flesh itself has been enhanced. This feels awesome.

All of a sudden, I detect an abnormality through my senses. I focus and realize that several men are running toward where I am. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, I sprint toward the fields, practically blinking away from where I was.

---

"This is astonishing. Are there any other enhancements that I have yet to find out about, Juno?" I question.

[You will find everything related to your body out on your own. My purpose is to guide you when necessary, not to tell you about your powers.]

Oh well, so be it. Nevertheless, I want to get even stronger. I wonder what it would be like to become so strong as to be unmatched?

"Is there a way for me to get even stronger than I am right now?" I ask, full of expectations.

[There are several. The most efficient one would be leaving the Rift and traveling to a Platform, where you can obtain more power easily.]

The Rift again. She keeps on mentioning it, but has yet to explain what it is to me.

[The Rift is a crack in the macrocosm that appeared several millennia ago. It has now become the linchpin of all existing Platforms, with the Mete being the only thing separating them.]

[Platforms are what you refer to as dimensions. The Mete is the space where you met me in my... spiritual form, and you are only able to exist 'spiritually', otherwise your body would break down after staying for an extended period of time. Anyway, to get to a Platform, the Mete grants you a body that is a copy of your original at the Rift, with a strong connection between the two.]

[If you die in a Platform, your soul should be able to return to its original body, albeit at a cost, depending on the conditions of your death.]

Hm… From the sound of it, I have a lot of exploration to do.

"How do I access these Platforms that you speak of?" I ask.

[Get to the Mete, from there, I will be able to send you off to a Platform.] She replies with a hint of fervor in her voice.

Juno said something about my body falling unconscious when I accessed the Mete... So, I suppose I should do this after lying down so that no one notices.

"Is there any Platform for me to access right now that will allow me to get considerably stronger within a short period?"

[There is one Platform that will let you attain power, no, abilities at a tremendous speed depending on the actions you take.]

[However, keep in mind that your existence is marked by Janus' aura, which binds the flow of predestined events to you. You will inevitably affect everything if you enter a platform, even if you simply sit by and do nothing.]

[Now that we have all that cleared up, get to the Mete as soon as possible; you're going to be going to a Platform known as-] a little pause [Project Charlotte.]