Chapter 6

Zane's body felt unfamiliar, like he was thrown inside the body of someone else, someone filled with infinite strength. 

He opened his eyes and adjusted to the dim lighting of the chamber, the familiar stone walls reminding him that he was still in the Shadowhunter base.

He stood up and paused

"Am i taller?"

It was a very good bonus for almost dying actually, he had always wanted to be taller.

He walked towards a mirror, sometime during his sleep someone must have dressed him up, he had on a plain white shirt and a black joggers and something was attached to both his wrist, leather cuffs with some runes on it, raising his shirt up, a smile graced his lips as he chose to ignore the freaky set of eyes he had now, he would come back to that later.

8 packs, before he had 6.

He took off his shirt and his eyes widened as he looked at his figure in the mirror, his body was perfection, like it was made out of pure muscle and not the type that bulged everywhere like bodybuilders, the type that spoke off strength yet flexibility.

And now for down there, yes he could feel a different weight than what he was used to and so he looked at it.

"Yup definitely bigger, too bad there is no one to give you the attention you need little guy"

A voice broke his one sided conversation "Do guys usually talk to their private parts?."

Mia stood near the doorway, arms crossed. "Or was that just you being weird."

The funny part was that she seemed to be genuinely asking and not making fun of him.

He blinked at that. "Uhhh how long was i out for?" he chose the wisest route and changed the subject before she decided to know more about the male anatomy.

It seems as strong as Mia was she was a bit sheltered from sex which he admitted he kind of liked.

Her eyes narrowed but she still answered "A Day which isn't too bad considering soul injuries kind of result in death 90 percent of the time"

Soul injuries

Zane stiffened. He had no idea what that meant, but it sounded bad. Mia must have seen the confusion on his face because she elaborated. "Your body shut down to repair itself. Any normal Shadowhunter would have died. You... didn't."

"Lucky me," he muttered. His gaze dropped back to the cuffs. "And these?"

Mia hesitated, her usual confidence wavering for a fraction of a second. Something flickered in her eyes—something unreadable. She quickly masked it and exhaled. "An artifact from headquarters. Temporary. They're suppressing your natural body ability and aura until you can control them."

Zane tested them again; No give, though he didn't feel any suppression, in fact he felt better than ever so he wasn't too bothered yet. "Feels like overkill."

"You nearly destroyed the entire ritual hall by simply becoming a shadow hunter," she pointed out flatly then added. "And you haven't even gotten your runes yet"

He supposed that was fair.

An awkward silence stretched between them until Mia finally sighed. "Well, since you're awake, we might as well see how much your body has changed. Training?"

Zane's muscles still ached, but the prospect of movement sounded better than lying here like a caged animal. He nodded. "Fine."

Zane followed Mia out of the chamber, where the hallways were eerily silent. As they walked through the base, he noticed something strange, everyone gave him a wide berth. Some averted their gazes; others subtly adjusted their stances as if preparing to bolt should he move unpredictably. Even armed and armoured Shadowhunters acted wary around him.

He kind of liked being feared, after all he had always been disdained even after becoming a soldier.

Mia led him to a spacious underground training hall, the walls lined with enchanted runes that prevented damage. She cracked her neck as she rolled her shoulders, a smirk creeping onto her lips. "Alright, let's see what you've got."

This would be the second time sparring with her, he aimed to impress this time.

Zane got into a basic fighting stance, hands up, legs braced. But the moment Mia moved his instincts kicked in.

She dashed forward, aiming a sharp kick toward his ribs. Previously he would have definitely felt she was fast, but this time he felt he was faster, He brought up his hands and shifted his body weight catching the kick before shifting to sweep her other leg.

She seemed to be surprised and was actually swept of but she was an elite in her own right and reacted naturally, her two hands caught the floor to prevent her head from hitting the ground and suddenly with strength she had never shown him before her leg which he still held flung him to the other side of the hall.

He slammed the wall but barely felt it. He grinned as he got back into position.

She came at him again, this time way faster, but he could still react to her blows barely until he found an open and delivered his own

Mia barely had time to shift her weight. Instead of dodging fully, she redirected the impact, letting his strike slide past her with a twist of her torso. Using the momentum, she dropped low, sweeping his legs out from under him.

Or at least, she tried.

Her leg struck his ankle, but Zane barely budged. Mia's eyes widened in the split second before he moved.

Zane reacted on instinct—his arm shot out, gripping her by the forearm. Before he even thought about it, he pivoted and flung her backward.

Mia's body sailed through the air, but unlike his graceless attempt when flung, she handled it better and simply turned her body in the air so that her legs hit the wall before she jumped right back at him with ghastly speed.

Zane blinked. "Shit."

He braced for impact but was still thrown off his feet and landed on his back.

Still he got up.

This was turning out to be fun.

He decided to take the initiative this time and ran at her aiming for a kick which she easily dodged but he was expecting that and followed with an elbow strike which he somehow changed at the last milli second catching her of guard.

Still it seemed he put in too much strength as the girl slammed against the walls again but harder this time

Mia slid down the wall but didn't stay down, she wasn't even shaken up. Instead, she started laughing as she started hoping from foot to foot.

Not the reaction he expected.

A slow grin spread across her face as she wiped a trail of saliva from her lip. "That's more like it."

Zane barely had time to register her words before she launched herself at him again.

This time, she was faster.

Her fist shot toward his jaw. Zane tilted his head just in time, the strike grazing past. He countered with a knee strike, but Mia twisted mid-air, bringing her elbow down toward his exposed ribs.

His body moved on its own again. He raised his arm to intercept, and the impact cracked like a whip through the hall.

For a few seconds, the two of them exchanged rapid blows. Mia weaved through his attacks with precise footwork, her body fluid yet controlled. But Zane's speed and reaction time were unlike anything he had ever experienced. Every time she struck, he countered. Every time he countered, she adjusted. The fight escalated, limbs collided,and ghastly sounds rang out from the hall.

Then Zane made a mistake.

He overextended on a punch, and Mia capitalized instantly. She spun inside his guard, delivering a powerful knee to his stomach. He stumbled, and in that moment, she twisted behind him, locking an arm around his throat and hooking a leg behind his knee.

A submission hold.

Zane's first instinct was to panic, but something in him refused to.

Before he could think, a surge of power exploded through his muscles.

The runed on his wrists glowed violently as his strength surged. He flexed, and Mia's grip shattered.

He grabbed her wrist and twisted—too hard. Mia flipped through the air with insane speed, but instead of crashing down, she did something that seemed to affect the atmosphere, he had felt something move to her and she caught herself mid-fall, flipping gracefully and landing in a crouch.

"Great reaction i even had to use my runes, so i guess i lose this round"She seemed happy with her loss, in fact he noticed that the more the fought the more she seemed to be warming up to him.

He grinned, he was already comparable to a physical type d-rank even with the suppression on, how far would he go by the end of the trial?

Zane was breathing hard, heart hammering in his chest. But he wasn't exhausted. No—he felt alive.

"Want to go for another? Or are you tired of being trashed yet" He teased

She laughed playfully as she switched back to her jumping posture alternating from her right foot to her left, he wasn't sure what technique that was but it looked flawless when she did it "The baby hunter wants to fight, guess i can finally stop restricting myself but don't worry i won't use my runes"

Suddenly she was in front of him, her fist closing up on his nose.

That speed!

The ground beneath them cracked as he brought his hands to block at the last seconds, he succeeded miraculously but still he was thrown back a couple of steps as he awkwardly found his balance. 

"Still i don't think i need my runes to teach you a few things" she added as she suddenly was behind him launching another strike.

Blow after blow, strike after block and before they knew it two hours had passed yet they still felt the excitement of the battle.

And then a voice cut through the chaos.

Zane knew that in skills and technique she had him beaten hands down, in strength and speed too he could come close but he was resilient and his reaction time was greater.

"Enough."

The air in the room instantly grew heavy.

Alaric had arrived.

Standing at the entrance he was back in his normal black leather armour which looked far better than anyone he had seen. His gaze swept over the destroyed training room—the cracks, the energy lingering in the air, the way the teenagers stood with a slightly wild look in her eyes. He exhaled.

"I said, enough."

The pressure bearing down on the room made it clear he wasn't making a suggestion.

Mia—who had been practically vibrating with excitement—suddenly looked… embarrassed? She coughed into her fist and nodded. "Yeah, alright. Got a little carried away."

Zane raised a brow. "A little?"

Mia shot him a glare, but Alaric cut through their banter. "We still don't understand the extent of your strength. If you lose control, even for a second, you could destroy more than just walls."

Zane sobered at that. Sure Mia was very tough and it was very unlikely that he was going to beat the girl but what if he actually hurt her seriously by accident, he didn't think he would forgive himself.

Alaric sighed and rubbed his temple. 

"We've received a message." His voice carried the weight of something serious. "From Lilith."

That got Zane's attention. He straightened slightly. "The same one from the collapsing building?"

Mia scoffed. "Obviously."

Alaric ignored her and continued, "She's offering to help us track the demon king's movements but she request that you will be the one to discuss the details with her."

It was strange but Zane could swear the man's finger was pointing at him.

Zane blinked, processing. "...Me?"

Alaric nodded. "She was specific. She wants to meet alone."

That felt… off. Zane wasn't the most knowledgeable about this world, but even he knew this wasn't normal. He rubbed his jaw, thinking back to the first time he saw her. She had healed him, saved him even. Risked her own capture in the process. It wasn't the kind of behavior he expected from an enemy. "That's suspicious as hell," he admitted. "But… I don't get the feeling she wants to harm me."

Mia clicked her tongue. "That's because you don't know their kind."

Zane turned to her, raising a brow. "Enlighten me."

"They're chaotic," Mia stated, arms folding across her generous chest that instantly took his attention. "Born from demons and humans. They think differently than us. Some act harmless and more human than most, but warlocks don't need a reason to do anything. They could help you one moment and burn you alive the next just because they felt like it."

Alaric nodded. "Mia's right. The reason she saved you? It could be anything. Amusement. Curiosity. A game. Or she's simply waiting for the right moment to use you, in fact you could be correct, and she doesn't plan to harm you" His expression hardened. "But still desist from whatever notion you have in your head that she's trustworthy."

Zane exhaled through his nose. He didn't argue, but he wasn't entirely convinced either. "Fine. I'll be cautious."

"Good." Alaric relaxed slightly. "Now, let's talk about the mission. The demon king has kidnapped multiple Shadowhunters. While it's true that we're very difficult to kill, that doesn't mean it's impossible. The longer they're held, the less chance we have of getting them back."

Zane leaned forward, interest piqued. "And we're going to get them back?"

"That's the plan."

Zane nodded slowly, considering. "Then what's the next step?"

Alaric exhaled. "Before anything else, you need to be runed."

Zane frowned. "Why? I've been fine so far."

"Because you won't last without them," Mia cut in. "Shadowhunters rely on runes. They enhance our abilities, protect us, and heal us. Right now, you're running on raw physicality. That won't be enough when you're facing something stronger than you."

Alaric gave a short nod of approval. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't care what you did. Before today, you were just another Shadowhunter recruit. But now, things have changed."

Zane tilted his head. "How so?"

"You don't have the strength of a high-ranking Shadowhunter yet, but your potential for growth is the strongest we've seen." Alaric's eyes locked onto his. "And that means we can't afford to be reckless with you."

Zane absorbed that information in silence. He wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it. On one hand, he wasn't keen on being treated differently, but on the other hand… it meant they saw something in him. Something rare.

He decided to focus on something else for now. "Alright. Then how do Shadowhunters grow stronger?"

Alaric's lips twitched upward slightly. "That's something Mia can explain. I have a report to write, a punishment to decide, and an apology to issue." He met Zane's gaze directly. "For what Leo did to you."

Zane blinked. Of all things, he hadn't expected that. He waved a hand. "Don't bother. As long as he stays out of my way, I don't care."

He really didn't sure it could have gone worse but it could have also been way better.

"Regardless, it's being handled." Alaric turned to Mia. "You'll handle the rest. Explain what he needs to know and take care of his runing—if he's comfortable with you doing it."

Zane shrugged. "Sure."

Mia squinted. "That fast?"

He smirked. "What, were you hoping for resistance?"

Mia rolled her eyes. "Forget it. Let's go."

And with that, the briefing was over. Things were only going to get more intense from here.