The silence in the apartment was a physical weight. It had been two days since the recital, and the memory of shattering glass still echoed in Kaelen's skull. He stood by the window, his sharp-featured face pale with lack of sleep, his red eyes tracing the familiar, worn-out buildings of their residential block. The world outside moved on, oblivious.
His mother, Elara, moved through the room with a quiet, weary grace. She paused behind him, her hand hovering near his shoulder before she thought better of it and let it fall.
"Lira's resting," she said softly. "She's strong. She'll be okay." She whispered
Kaelen didn't turn. "She's strong because she has to be. Because I wasn't."He said, sadness and wrath filled his voice directed to him.
"Kaelen, that's not fair to yourself."She said
"What's fair, Ma?" he asked, his voice hollow. "That a stranger had the power to save her, and I just had a front-row seat?"he said, facing his mother.
Elara's worry was a palpable force. "Your father always said that seeing clearly is the first step to acting wisely."
"My father is gone!" The words were out before he could stop them, sharp and brittle. He instantly regretted it, seeing the flinch in her eyes. He took a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry. I just… I need air."
He fled into the corridor, the door sighing shut behind him, cutting off the stifling atmosphere of grief and helplessness.
---
He walked with no destination, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, his shoulders hunched. He strayed from the main thoroughfares into the shared courtyard of their housing complex, a concrete square dotted with struggling green patches.
It was here he heard it—the sharp, cruel laughter that was universal to bullies in any era.
"Come on, little null. Don't you have a trick? A little spark?"
Kaelen's eyes narrowed. By the central water fountain, three figures had cornered a fourth. The bullies were all around his age, their postures radiating a casual arrogance that came from powerful bloodtraits. He recognized the leader, Roric, a broad-shouldered youth who lived a few blocks over. His family traits carried the Stone-Skin trait, and faint, geometric patterns, like marble veining, were visible on his neck and hands. He cracked his knuckles, the sound like pebbles grinding together.
Beside him was a lanky boy, Jyn, whose fingers danced with tiny, controlled arcs of electricity. A Spark-Wright bloodline, minor but showy.
The third, a girl named Mira, had eyes that glowed with a faint, telekinetic aura. She wasn't lifting anything, but a ring of dust and debris gently orbited her boots. A Kinetic, like the one who had saved Lira.
Cornered against the fountain was a younger boy, maybe fifteen. He was slight, with wide, fearful eyes and no visible traits. A null, like Kaelen. He clutched a data-slate to his chest like a shield.
"My brother said your nulls' are just clutter," Roric sneered, taking a step forward. "Taking up space. Maybe we should clear some out." He smiled coldly.
Kaelen's blood ran cold. He saw the terror in the boy's eyes, a mirror of what he'd felt on that stage, what he has always felt and, how helpless he was. His own muscles tensed, a primal urge to step forward, to shout, to do something roaring to life inside him.
But the rational part of his brain, the part that saw everything with cruel clarity, calculated the odds. Roric could likely shrug off any punch he threw. Jyn could deliver a shock that would leave him convulsing. Mira could pin him to the ground without lifting a finger. He was latent. He was nothing.
His feet felt rooted to the spot, a statue of cowardice. Just like before.
He watched, helpless, as Roric snatched the data-slate from the boy's hands. "What's so important on here, huh?"
"Please," the boy whispered, his voice trembling. "It's my father's."
"His what?" Jyn laughed, a spark jumping from his finger to the slate, making it flicker. "His grocery list?"
Kaelen's fists were clenched so tight his nails bit into his palms. The injustice of it, was a fire in his gut. He wanted to rewind time, to pause it, to do anything but stand and watch. The desire was so powerful it was a physical ache, a scream in his soul for a power that wasn't there. He was so focused on his own internal turmoil that he didn't notice the faint, almost imperceptible shimmer in the air around his clenched fists, a heat haze of distortion that vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Le-let him go" Kealen's voice resounded, not filled with confidence, but audible enough to get to the ears of the trait-born.
Three pairs of trait-born eyes swiveled to him. Roric's marble-like face split into a contemptuous grin. "Well, look. Another null come to join the party."
Kaelen's heart hammered against his ribs. He had no plan, no power. But he had his voice, and he had the truth. "Give him back his slate." He said, not minding what they just called him
"Or what?" Roric took a step toward him, the ground seeming to vibrate slightly. "You gonna give me a nasty look?"
Kaelen stood his ground, his mind racing, his observational gift working overtime. He saw the slight imbalance in Jyn's stance, the way Mira's orbiting debris wobbled when she was distracted. They had power, but they were sloppy. He had none, but he saw everything.
It was the boy on the ground who broke the stalemate. While the bullies were focused on the slate, he scrambled forward, grabbed it from Roric's distracted grip, and bolted.
Roric snarled in frustration and turned to give chase, but Kaelen, acting on pure instinct, deliberately stepped into his path. "Forget it."
"What are you doing" Roic almost rored.
"Ar-aren't you ashamed of ganging on the defenseless boy." He said, maintaining his composure.
For a long, tense moment, Roric looked like he would plow right through him, before calming."Oi, this pesky brat is bold for a null." Roic said, his anger and frustration turning into laughter that echoed through the silent courtyard. "You've got guts."
"I do, unlike-uh" before kealen could complete his words, he felt a solid code-stone punch in his stomach, pushing him several meters away.
Kealin gritted his teeth and groveled helplessly as he felt like he had been hit by a truck. Blood trickled from his mouth, as he gasped and tried to get words out but none could be heard.
"Where's the confidence." Roic sneered, is stone-like face contorting. "isn't he meant to be strong enough to back up his actions" Mira scoffed. "Bloody nulls" Jyn muttered with anger and disgust in is voice.
"Just a single punch and he's already dying?Not worth the effort. Nulls stick together, I guess." He said, kicking the groveling kealen with a force of a shifting boulder, knocking the wind from him. Jyn and Mira followed, throwing him looks of pure disdain.
Kaelen laid there, his whole body aching though he was hit in the stomach, watching them leave. He hadn't won. He couldn't retaliate. He'd just been a distraction. A delay. The hollow feeling of powerlessness yawned wider than ever.
The rescued boy was long gone. Kaelen was alone again.
He managed to lift himself staggering, he turned his back on the courtyard and started walking, not home, but with a grim, desperate purpose. He knew where he had to go. The one place that held answers, the one person who might understand the legacy of a father who saw the world differently.
He was done being a spectator. Even if he had no power, he had to try. He needed to know if there was another way.