Adam : From a man to a God

“I passed the test?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, well, the test was to see if you could lift any of these weights around here,” Instructor Gabriel replied, glancing at those who struggled and those like Adam who lifted with ease.

“Lemme give it a try,” Eddie said, approaching a weight. He crouched down, groaned with effort, but managed to lift it quickly. He set it down, panting. “Phew, guess I passed,” he said.

“No,” Gabriel replied.

“What? Why?” Eddie asked.

“You didn't lift it all the way,” Gabriel said, nodding towards a girl who hoisted her weight skyward, straining.

“Wait, but Adam didn’t—” Eddie began.

“Are you gonna be bested by that girl?” Gabriel interjected.

“No,” Eddie replied quickly. He picked up the dumbbell again, lifting it high. He set it down gently. “There, I passed, right?”

“No,” Gabriel replied. “Throw it in the air and catch it three times,” he said, smirking.

“A dumbbell? Seriously?” Eddie asked.

“I’m just messing with you. You passed.”

Eddie sighed in relief. “Okay, go on to that door over there.” Gabriel gestured to a black door in the corner. Adam and Eddie entered, finding a dark-skinned young man, likely their age, with frosty white hair standing on a square metal platform embedded in the ground. His eyes glowed faint blue, and the room grew chilly.

Their breaths condensed into visible mist. Mary, in her lab coat, was typing rapidly at her standing desk, eyes locked on her monitors. “Cool, your temperature dropped below 0 degrees fast. It’s actually negative 20. You passed,” she said with enthusiasm. Turning to Adam, she looked surprised. “Adam, you’re here! Joining the tournaments?”

“Yeah,” Adam said.

“Who’s your friend?” she asked, eyeing Eddie.

“Oh, this is Eddie. Eddie, meet Mary,” Adam introduced.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” Eddie said.

“Okay, let’s not keep the others waiting.” The boy stepped off the metal, exchanging an odd look with Eddie before leaving.

“Okay, Eddie’s first. Step on that platform, okay?” Mary instructed. He stepped on the metal.

“Activate your elemental power,” she said.

“You mean use fire?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

Eddie’s eyes glowed orange. Adam felt a powerful aura emanating from him. Eddie’s brown hair tinged with red, standing on end as his body was enveloped in flames. His clothes remained unscathed, flustering lightly. Adam stared in awe; Eddie looked transformed, his eyes a fiery orange.

“Like this?” Eddie asked, glancing at Mary, who was equally amazed. She never tired of seeing flame power holders transform.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, turning to her monitor, fingers flying over the keyboard. “Okay, you can stop now.”

Eddie’s eyes returned to their normal hue, his fires extinguished. He smoothed his hair. “Great, your temperature was 1200°C. It’s a pass,” Mary said.

“Wow, I didn’t know you could do that,” Adam said.

“Come on, dude, every superior flame power holder can do that if they want,” Eddie replied. Adam wanted to respond, but Mary called him over.

Adam stepped onto the dark metal. “Whenever you’re ready,” Mary said. Adam’s hands and feet ignited, his eyes glowing faint red. Eddie was quietly surprised; only unique flame power holders had red eyes. Mary was intrigued too, but not by his eye color. Adam’s temperature was just 900°C—lower than Eddie’s. He needed to reach 1000°C to pass.

“Um, Adam? You need to turn up the heat a little bit. Try to become hotter,” she advised.

“Hotter?” Adam asked.

“Yeah, maybe a sexy pose will make you hotter,” Mary joked with a smile. “Huh?” Adam said, confused. Eddie chuckled.

“Raise your temperature,” Eddie encouraged.

Adam looked at his flaming hands, recalling when he caught Terra’s dagger and intensified his flames to melt it. “Okay, like back then.” He closed his eyes and sighed. The flames on his hands and feet intensified, though his body wasn’t fully engulfed like Eddie’s. His hair remained unchanged. He imagined his hair dyed red, like Ragnar's.

“Well, your whole body isn’t on fire, but you’ve met the requirements. Your temperature is 1111°C. You’ve passed,” Mary said with a smile. “I wish we could catch up, but I’m busy.”

“No worries,” he replied. “I think you should go through the door the other guy went through,” she said.

“Oh, thanks. Bye, we’ll meet again,” Adam said.

“Definitely, I still owe you an explanation,” she said, leaning against her desk. Does Adam have a thing with her? Dude hit the jackpot, Eddie thought with a smile. More participants entered as Mary returned to work.

“I could’ve sworn this building wasn’t this big. Do we keep stepping into pocket dimensions?” he wondered, approaching the door. The aqua power holder they saw earlier opened it, pausing to look at Adam. He wore a bored expression, his gray t-shirt slightly dirty.

“Can you step out of the way, please?” he asked, voice mild but firm.

“Sorry,” Adam said, stepping aside. He was surprised to see a vast room with a high gray ceiling, wide rough floor tiles, and horizontal lights embedded in the walls. There were no windows, just small vents. The walls appeared cracked, and some floor tiles were broken.

Eddie noticed a man on his left, wearing a short-sleeved red shirt with blue flowers, matching shorts, and slippers. “How long are you going to stand there?” the man asked. His voice wasn’t deep, though he seemed older.

“It’s one at a time,” the man said.

“One at a time?” Eddie replied.

“Yeah, or is she letting in pairs now?” the man asked.

“We didn’t know. I’ll head back and let him take the test first,” Adam said, holding his backpack.

“Wait!” the man said. “I’d like to start with you first,” he pointed at Adam. “Your friend can leave the room.”

Eddie left, closing the door. Outside, he saw Mary typing while a girl with glowing white eyes created a small gust of wind.

“Okay,” the man said, handing Adam four silver metal bracelets with droplet designs. Adam took them effortlessly, surprising the man, as each bracelet weighed a quarter of a ton.

“What do I do with these?” Adam asked.

“Put them on your hands and legs,” the man replied.

Adam did as instructed. “Now step over there,” the man said, pointing to the room’s center. “I need you to dodge five of my strikes and counter three with your powers,” he explained.

Before Adam could respond, the man stomped, sending a tile flying with a spinning kick. It hurtled towards Adam’s chest. Instinctively, Adam sidestepped, narrowly dodging as it tore his t-shirt. The tile shattered against the wall.

“That was close,” he thought, turning back to see three more tiles airborne. They launched simultaneously. Adam sprinted forward, sliding under the first. The second aimed down, but he used his left hand to lift himself, spinning aside. Standing, he saw the last tile coming. He dodged, turning to face its direction.

The three tiles he evaded circled back. Adam’s eyes glowed faint red, and he front-flipped, creating a fireball mid-air. He launched it, causing an explosion. Landing amid debris and smoke, he heard another tile whooshing. He raised his hand to shoot, but another tile was behind him. Both aimed to collide, trapping him. The instructor smirked, thinking Adam was cornered. Suddenly, Adam’s skin glowed red, releasing a fiery explosion that obliterated the tiles, filling the room with smoke.

The instructor coughed as the smoke was sucked into the vents. As it cleared, Adam stood in the room’s center, eyes dimly glowing red. “Red, those aren’t the eyes of a superior power holder,” the instructor thought.

“Hey, what’s your name?” the man asked.

“Adam,” he replied.

“Adam, you’ve intrigued me. This isn’t part of the test, but I want you to try and hit me.”

“Hit you?” Adam asked, surprised.

“Yes, but don’t worry. As I said, this isn’t related to the test. You’ve already passed the final one.”

“Final test,” Adam muttered, removing the bracelets and dropping them to the ground. “It’s okay if I take these off, right?”

“What? Are you afraid you’re gonna hurt me?” the man said with a sly smile.

Adam’s feet and hands burst into flames. He felt a thrill at the challenge, a grin spreading across his lips as he raised his fist. His feet gripped the ground, cracking the tile beneath him. He leaped forward, launching his fist at the man. Though surprised by Adam’s speed, the man knew he was faster. He casually sidestepped, and Adam’s fist collided with the wall, shattering it with multiple cracks.

“What’s going on in there?” Mary muttered calmly, asking a girl whose hand had turned to stone, “How much do you weigh?”

Adam withdrew his hand from the wall, using it as leverage to propel himself back toward the man. He roared with effort, slamming his fist into the ground. The impact lifted tiles and rocks into the air, leaving a small crater. The man jumped back, slightly surprised.

Adam had an idea. He channeled power through his legs, causing an explosion that obliterated his shoes, propelling him forward at 3100 km/h. As he neared the man mid-air, he prepared another punch.

“He probably thinks he can just dodge this,” Adam thought. As his fist closed in, a spark appeared, transforming into a fiery ball. With a grin, Adam launched it.

“What the—” the man stammered as the fireball struck his belly, causing a small explosion. Adam’s feet skidded to a halt, digging into the floor, but he still went face-first into the wall before landing on his back.

He felt only a slight pain, sitting up to see the cartoonish imprint of his body on the wall.

“Hey,” a soft voice came from behind. He turned to see the instructor with an annoyed expression. Adam stood up.

“You cheated. You used your powers,” the instructor said, brushing dust off his shirt.

“You never said I couldn’t use them,” Adam replied with a smirk.

The instructor smiled slightly and sighed. “Well, you can go out now. We don’t want to keep the others waiting.”

“Ah, damn it, I destroyed my shoes again. Good thing I have the spare in my backpack,” Adam thought as he exited the room, shirt slightly ripped and barefoot. “I passed,” he announced with a smile that sent chills down Eddie’s spine and through the room.

**Atlas, Outside World**

In the assassins’ building, a stark, utilitarian room with high concrete walls absorbed sound, creating an oppressive silence. Dim, strategically placed overhead lights cast harsh glares on a cold metal table at the center, surrounded by two mismatched chairs.

A narrow window set high in the wall offered only a sliver of the bustling streets of Atlas below, beads of condensation blurring the view. It let in a small pool of light, illuminating dust motes floating in the air.

The polished stone floor barely reflected the two people inside. The building was their secret hideout, yet it lay in the city’s heart. With three stories and a vast underground layer, it was where Anna endured gruesome trials.

A person entered, finding Zee and Victoria eating at the table. They tossed an envelope onto it, some documents slipping out. One file showed a bald man with a beard and glasses.

“Well, looks like it’s time for Vicky’s first mission,” the woman said with a small smile.