NOVEL NEXT Chapter 50: Speed
Jace's chest heaved as he faced the brute, the creature's hulking frame blotting out broken lights above.
Cracks ran along the tiles under its feet as it stomped closer, each step echoing like a drum.
"Zin, you said you wanted to try something," Jace muttered, tightening his fists.
[Yes. It's about your ability. You didn't just copy Eva's gift. You altered it. It matches hers, yes, but with key differences. I think we underestimated—]
The alien's massive arm blurred downward. Jace barely threw himself aside, the floor splitting open where he'd been standing. Dust and sparks filled the air.
"Zin," he hissed, rolling to his feet. "Kinda busy!"
The brute swung again, a backhand this time. Jace ducked under it, feeling the wind of the strike rattle his hood. His ribs ached from the earlier hit, but adrenaline kept him sharp.
[Listen, this is important. Eva's version of kinetic energy enhanced her body passively. Yours? It isn't bound by that. You're generating motion itself. That means—]
Another thunderous crash as the brute's knee came up, nearly caving his chest in. Jace twisted mid-air, blasting himself sideways with a burst from his palm.
The invisible shock launched him across the wrecked storefront. He landed rough, shoulder scraping concrete.
"Zin!" Jace snapped, coughing through the dust. "Can we not do a science lecture right now? Just tell me how to keep from dying!"
[Fine.] Zin's voice sharpened. [You can't dodge forever. Channel your energy inward, spread it across your body. Don't release it, hold it. That will amplify your speed and reflexes just long enough to keep up. You'll still get hit if you hesitate.]
The brute roared, swinging a toppled kiosk like a club. Jace's pulse thundered. He braced, energy gathering in his core.
"Details later," Jace growled, his balaclava slipping with sweat. "Right now, just keep me alive."
Jace dashed backward, keeping space between himself and the brute. His boots scraped against broken tiles, the distance buying him a few breaths to think.
"So what, you want me to spread it through my body, not burst it out? Wouldn't that fry me from the inside?"
[Trust me,] Zin's voice pressed in sharp and calm.
Jace grit his teeth, drawing in a slow breath. Ever since he'd taken Eva's ability, he had never really trained controlling the energy.
Bursting it outward came naturally, like pulling a trigger. He wondered if this would be the same.
But as soon as he focused, it was there.
The kinetic field thrummed in his chest, hot and restless, like a second heartbeat.
He dragged it across his body deliberately, layer by layer, through his arms, his legs, his spine.
For the first time, he felt the current not as a weapon, but as part of him.
It didn't burn. It flowed.
His muscles tightened, sharper and denser. Every nerve in his body seemed awake, alive. Even his breathing felt lighter, as though the weight of exhaustion had slipped away.
The brute roared and jumped, crashing through part of the roof. Concrete dust rained down as its hulking form twisted mid-air, coming down on him like a falling boulder.
Instinct told Jace to run. His legs moved before the thought finished, fast. Not blurring, not vanishing, but sharp and superhuman, like his body had suddenly shed the limits it always carried.
The brute smashed down where he had stood. The impact split the floor wide, walls shuddering, glass storefronts trembling and shattering.
But Jace was already clear, sliding to a stop several meters away. His chest heaved once, adrenaline surging, yet what he felt wasn't fear.
It was clarity.
He looked down at his own hands, shaking slightly with the pulse of energy under his skin.
Every sense was sharp, every movement light. For the first time since this fight started, he didn't just feel like prey.
He felt… amazing.
[Good,] Zin's voice cut in, measured but satisfied. [Now you're starting to understand what this body can do.]
The brute lifted its head from the cratered floor, dust and chunks of tile sliding off its shoulders. Its black eyes narrowed at Jace, lips curling into a snarl.
Jace's breath came steady now, but the energy humming inside his body was something else entirely. His muscles tingled, every fiber alive, like his veins were buzzing with lightning.
The alien stomped forward, each step cracking the ground.
Jace laughed under his breath. For the first time since this started, he wasn't afraid.
"Alright," he muttered, rolling his shoulders. "Let's see what this does."
He burst forward. Not a perfect blur, not lightning-fast, but faster than any human should've moved. His boots kicked up shattered glass and debris as he closed the distance.
The brute swung low, trying to intercept, but Jace shifted just out of reach, too sharp, too quick. His fist cocked back, the energy gathered in his body rushing into his arm.
The punch landed square in the alien's gut.
The impact cracked through the mall like a shotgun blast. Air pressure burst outward, rattling loose ceiling panels, scattering papers and trash.
The brute's massive body jolted backward, its feet grinding deep cracks into the tile as it skidded several feet before regaining balance.
Jace grinned beneath the balaclava, shaking out his fist. His knuckles stung, but the rush was worth it. "Hah! That actually worked."
[Good hit,] Zin cut in sharply. [But don't get cocky. You're fast, yes, but you're not practiced. You'll overshoot, stumble, or burn out if you don't control the flow. Keep your center low. Use the speed in bursts, not constant.]
The brute roared, shaking off the blow, then lunged again. Its arm came down like a hammer.
Jace darted to the side, too quick for the strike to follow. The floor shattered where the fist landed, concrete spiderwebbing out.
Jace countered instantly, driving his knee up into the alien's jaw with another burst.
The sound was sickening. The brute's head snapped back, teeth clattering against each other. It reeled, clutching its jaw, before smashing its forehead toward Jace.
He was late this time.
The headbutt clipped him, and his vision rang white. His body whipped sideways into a store pillar.
The impact split the plaster, dust raining as he collapsed to his knees, coughing blood.
[FOCUS!] Zin barked. [You can't trade blows. You're still flesh. Keep moving.]
Jace groaned, wiping blood from his mouth, but a wild grin spread across his face. His ribs ached, his head rang, yet he pushed back to his feet, fists raised again.
"Alright, big guy… round two."