Chapter 5

Ria was blushing as Zain spoke. She couldn't even remember how or when she decided to sit down, but as she listened to Zain explain how he was able to hear her during his time in solitude, Zain watched Ria as he sat comfortably on the couch.

"Well, I couldn't remember everything you told me, but I do remember most of the things you shared, like how you like to eat junk food or how a boy asked you out on a date."

Ria's cheeks turned red. "How could you even remember that? And how are you so tall?"

The last time she saw him, he looked so fragile and young, but now he looked—well, he looked cute. Ria, what are you thinking! You are a princess, so don't think of such things.

Ria's cyber screen began to ring shortly afterward. She bent forward to look at the screen. The cyber screen itself came in many sizes and shapes, but the most common one was the transparent screen, which came with a bracket that you could carry when walking around. It displayed a hologram that used motion sensors. She was currently using the one with the transparent screen.

Ria answered the call. "Yeah… I forgot about the time; I will be there soon." Ria glanced at Zain and looked away. "No, don't pick up; I will be there." Ria then cut the call.

"Hmm… I see you are late," Zain smiled.

"Yes…" she answered.

"Is he coming to get you?"

"No, he is not. And how did you know I had a boyfriend…?"

The sentence upset Zain for some unknown reason; he felt hurt. Zain stood up and walked across to where she sat. Ria instinctively stood up, and as Zain drew closer, she felt the air around her begin to change.

Zain looked straight into her eyes and spoke, "Alright, princess, time to go…"

At that moment, Ria felt a chill run down her spine. "But how…?"

It felt like a dumb question to ask, but she was inclined to ask it.

Zain smirked. "I will use spatial movement."

She looked at him, dumbfounded. For a moment, Zain's unassuming nature made Ria forget he was an SS-rank—a living myth. At that moment, Zain just touched Ria's shoulder, and a second later, they were at the academy gate. Zain bent over to catch his breath.

"This was my first time carrying someone of your rank, so I just need to catch my breath."

Spatial movement was not an innate ability but a passive ability that anyone could learn if they had speed abilities. Unlike teleportation, which was an innate ability and didn't consume energy, spatial movement did. Spatial movement consumed a lot of energy and demanded a lot of mental fortitude to master it. But that came easy for Zain, who was an anomaly.

At that moment, as Zain was catching his breath, a stray baseball was headed in his direction at tremendous speed. Even without looking at the ball, he stopped it with his left hand while crouching.

This amazed the bystanders who watched.