A Spark of Power

Exhaustion hit Luke like a tidal wave. Every muscle ached, and his mind spun, struggling to process everything that had happened. His body felt like it had been through a war, his muscles sore in places he didn't even know could be sore. He sank onto his bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to process everything.

Lila floated nearby, arms crossed, watching him with an amused expression.

"Lila, do you sleep?" he asked, his voice already groggy.

"No, not really," she replied. "I suppose I could if I wanted to, but now that I'm here, I think it's more important that I watch over you while you still have to sleep."

"Weird," he muttered, blinking heavily. Then, something about her wording stuck in his sluggish brain. "Wait… while I still have to sleep? Are you saying I won't always need to?"

Lila smirked slightly. "That's right. You're one of Heaven's Knights now. Eventually, you'll begin developing abilities beyond what you can imagine right now. Rest will still be necessary, but sleep? Not in the way you're used to. You'll learn how to recover energy without closing your eyes for eight hours."

Luke wanted to ask more—his curiosity had been ignited—but sleep was already creeping over him. He tried to fight it, but his body wasn't cooperating.

"I… really wanna know more about…" his voice trailed off as unconsciousness overtook him.

Lila chuckled softly, the sound like a quiet chime. "Sleep well, Luke Hale. Sleep well."

The next morning, Luke woke up feeling… different. His body felt charged, almost vibrating with energy. He flexed his fingers, watching the subtle shift of muscle beneath his skin. He felt... powerful. But was this really him? Or was he just borrowing something he hadn't earned? It was as if something inside of him had been unlocked, a reservoir of energy he had never tapped into before.

He rolled out of bed and shuffled toward the small bathroom, still groggy. As he brushed his teeth, he glanced up at the mirror—and immediately froze.

His shirtless reflection was… not his reflection.

"What the crap?" he muttered through a mouthful of toothpaste.

His shoulders were broader. His arms looked denser, more defined. His chest, once just average for someone who went to the gym a couple of times a week, was now sculpted with visible muscle. Even his stomach was different—what had been a slight layer of softness was now gone, replaced by the faint outlines of a six-pack.

Luke spat out the toothpaste, rubbing his face aggressively, as if clearing his eyes would change what he was seeing.

"Are you going to stare at yourself all day?"

Luke jumped, nearly falling over in shock. "Lila!" he shouted, whipping around to see her floating casually in the doorway. "Are you seriously just going to sneak up on me like that?"

Lila smirked. "It's not sneaking. I float. You were just too distracted flexing at yourself to notice."

Luke opened his mouth to argue but quickly realized that would only make things worse. Instead, he turned back to the mirror, frowning.

"This isn't normal," he muttered. "I didn't look like this yesterday."

Lila drifted closer, resting her chin on her hand as she inspected him. "Well, yeah. You've been marked by the Covenant Seal now. It's expected that your body would start adjusting. Your strength, endurance, and reflexes will begin adapting to match your new potential."

Luke blinked. "Wait. You're telling me I get stronger just for accepting?"

"Of course." Lila shrugged. "The Covenant Seal is a bridge between what you were and what you're meant to become. It doesn't just give you power; it restructures you so that you can handle power. What good would it do if you had access to immense strength but your body shattered under the strain?"

Luke exhaled sharply, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is insane."

Lila grinned. "Welcome to your new reality."

He turned away from the mirror, realizing suddenly that he wasn't wearing a shirt. The self-consciousness hit him all at once, and he instinctively crossed his arms.

Lila raised an eyebrow. "What's that look for?"

Luke groaned. "Can you not just hover in doorways while I'm half-dressed?"

Lila snorted. "We're not even the same species, Luke. Trust me, I'm not interested."

Luke turned red as she drifted away, laughing.

He shook his head, grabbing a T-shirt from his closet and slipping it on. It fit differently now—looser in some places, tighter in others.

This was going to take some getting used to.

Lila had seated herself in midair, legs crossed like she was sitting in an invisible chair.

"How are you doing that?" Luke asked, watching as she casually floated with no apparent effort.

"What?"

"You're sitting in an invisible, floating chair."

Lila rolled her eyes. "It's just how I move. Gravity doesn't apply to me the way it does to you."

Luke shook his head. "Yeah, sure. That makes sense."

Lila chuckled, then stood—well, hovered—and began pacing around the room. "Alright, now that you've accepted the Covenant, it's time to take your first step in training."

"Finally," Luke said. "What do I do?"

Lila turned to him, her golden eyes glowing faintly. "You need to learn how to sense mana."

Luke frowned. "Mana? Like… fantasy novel mana?"

"Yes, mana," Lila said flatly.

"You're serious?"

"Luke, out of everything that's happened in the last twenty-four hours, this is the part you're questioning?"

He exhaled sharply. "Fair point."

"Good," Lila said. "Because this is crucial. Mana exists all around us—it always has. It's been on Earth for eons, though only in small quantities. Some people throughout history have even learned to sense and use it, though only to a certain degree as far as I know."

Luke was quiet for a moment, letting that sink in.

"Alright," he said finally. "How do I sense it?"

Lila smiled. "Sit."

Luke sat cross-legged on his bed, resting his hands on his knees.

"Close your eyes," Lila instructed. "Breathe in deeply. Slowly. Pay attention to what you feel—not just with your body, but beyond it."

Luke inhaled through his nose, focusing. He stretched his awareness outward, trying to perceive something—anything.

At first, there was nothing. Just the quiet hum of his dorm room, the distant sounds of campus life outside. Then…

A flicker.

A spark, like static before a storm.

Luke's breath caught.

"There," he muttered.

Lila's voice was steady. "Describe it."

"It's… small," Luke said. "Like a flicker of electricity. Like a spark jumping between wires."

Lila's expression shifted. "That's fast. You're already picking up on it. Good job, kid."

Luke opened his eyes. "Kid? I'm pretty sure I'm older than you."

"Oh yeah, how old are you?" She asked.

"I'm 20," Luke said.

Lila laughed loudly, "Well, I'm like 2000," she said through her fit of laughter. When she calmed down she said, "Something like that anyway. I lost count a few hundred years ago." 

Luke gawked. "You're two thousand years old?"

Lila grinned. "Give or take a century. After the first thousand, I stopped keeping track. Time moves differently when you're waiting for your Knight to finally show up."

Luke smiled slightly, unsure whether or not to believe her, and closed his eyes once more. "Now what?"

"Now," Lila said, "you have to connect to it."

"How do I connect to it, then?" 

"Eh, you'll figure it out," she said nonchalantly. 

"Wow. Thanks. That's really helpful."

Luke took a slow breath and closed his eyes again. This time, he focused on that spark, reaching for it—not physically, but with something else. He willed it closer.

The moment he touched it, a jolt ran through his body.

Electricity snapped through his nerves, sharp and overwhelming. His muscles tensed, his heart raced, his breath hitched.

Lila crossed her arms, watching him struggle. "Come on, Luke. You're acting like you're trying to catch lightning in a bottle."

Luke gritted his teeth. "Well, excuse me if I don't have two thousand years of experience!"

She laughed. "Alright, fair. Try again. But this time—don't chase it. Let it come to you."

A few more moments passed with Luke struggling. Then, heeding Lila's voice, he relaxed and tried to just let it come to him. Then, suddenly, the sensation faded, replaced by something else.

Energy.

It filled him, humming beneath his skin, pulsing in his veins like a rhythm he had always known but never heard.

Luke's eyes snapped open.

"I did it," he whispered.

Lila grinned. "Well, maybe you are even more special than I realized, Luke Hale."