EPISODE 3: THE TEST OF POWER

The silence in Luiz Fernando's apartment was profound, but his mind was in turmoil. He was determined to understand better the powers now inhabiting his body. Sitting in the center of the room, with the blue stone in front of him, he took a deep breath, focusing.

"I'll try to control it more, just a little more," Luiz Fernando thought, looking at a glass bottle on the table. He raised his hand, closing his eyes to feel the energy pulsing inside him. "A small test... I'll control 1% of my strength."

With a delicate movement, he directed the stone's energy toward the bottle, trying to guide it precisely. He imagined he could break the object without causing a disaster. The concentration was intense. The air around him seemed to vibrate, and suddenly the bottle began to glow with an intense blue light, as if it were absorbing all the energy he was trying to control.

Now!" Luiz Fernando mentally exclaimed, releasing the force.

The bottle didn't just shatter; it was disintegrated, with pieces flying in every direction. The power he released was so great that the wall behind it exploded with a massive hole, the vibration reverberating throughout the house. The sound was deafening.

He stood frozen for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. The hole in the wall seemed huge, and dust spread through the air.

Suddenly, a bright blue light illuminated the window, reflecting off the building across the street. Luiz Fernando looked outside, his eyes wide. Ted, his neighbor, was staring directly at his window, visibly intrigued.

"Shit," Luiz Fernando muttered to himself. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

Without wasting time, he rushed to the door, only to hear a firm knock at the entrance.

"Luiz Fernando! Are you there?" Ted's voice was strong and full of curiosity.

"Come on, Luiz, open up!" Ted insisted.

Luiz Fernando took a deep breath, forcing a smile as he quickly opened the door. "Hey, Ted! How can I help you?"

Ted looked at him with a concerned expression. "Did something happen just now? I saw a blue light coming from your house, really strong! What was that?"

Luiz Fernando, still dazed and trying to cover up the situation, stammered a little. "The... the light? Ah, yes, it was... a new lamp I bought, a 100,000-watt lamp. It gave off a strong glow when it turned on." He forced a smile. "The thing is, it burned out, and all this smoke came out, you know?"

Ted seemed skeptical, his eyebrows raising. "100,000 watts? I've never seen a lamp like that. Can I see it? I didn't know something like that existed…"

"Oh... no..." Luiz Fernando quickly responded, trying to stay calm. "It burned out completely. There's nothing left to see... really."

Ted looked around, still with a confused expression. His eyes landed on the hole in the wall, and he pointed with his finger. "And this hole in the wall? What happened here?"

Luiz Fernando looked at the huge hole, feeling his heart race. "Oh, it... it was my dog. He ran by here and must have bumped into the wall." He forced a nervous laugh. "This dog is big, really big and... angry."

Ted frowned, confused. "But you don't have a dog, Luiz…"

Luiz Fernando, now truly desperate, kept his composure. "I just got a really big and... angry dog. He must still be around here, and... Ted, you better go back home. He's unpredictable, and he might bite you if you're not careful. I need to lock him up."

Ted, still suspicious, thought for a moment before replying. "Oh, yes, of course. I'll go home. Be careful with that dog, Luiz."

Luiz Fernando forced a smile and waved. "Yes, yes, thanks, Ted. I'll take care of him."

Ted turned and left, but before disappearing around the corner, he paused for a second and looked back with a thoughtful expression. Luiz Fernando, for his part, quickly shut the door and took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.

"By a hair... so close," he murmured, his body still vibrating with the energy he couldn't control.

He looked at the hole in the wall, the blue light still burning in his eyes. The stone was inside him, and now he needed to understand how to deal with it before the situation got even more out of control.

TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE 4