THE F-RANK THAT BUILDS ABILITIES

Donnie didn't sleep that night.

Not even a little.

He sat against the far wall of his dorm, sketchpad open on his knees, Trace Band blinking steadily. The message hadn't changed.

> Trace Thread Surpassed 30%

Hybrid Detected: Break Arc (Early Stage)

ALERT LEVEL: RED

Response Team En Route – Arrival in 72 Hours

The word "response" echoed louder than any alarm ever could.

They were coming.

He didn't know what form they'd take—agents, instructors, or worse—but it didn't matter. Seventy-two hours was all the time he had left to prepare.

He flipped the sketchpad to a blank page.

Then he began to draw.

Not movement charts this time.

Not mimic stances.

This time, he designed his own.

A true Break Arc—not a copy, not a blend. A pattern with his rhythm. His flow. It looked unstable even on paper. Too sharp. Too steep. Too aggressive. But that was what he needed now.

Something unpredictable.

---

The next morning, he didn't go to class.

Instead, he headed straight for the underground West Yard. Lora and Kaito were already waiting. Trace Zero arrived shortly after, face tense.

"You saw it?" Donnie asked.

Zero nodded. "Red alert. They're moving fast."

"Who are they really?"

"Officially? They're part of the Disciplinary Oversight Bureau."

"And unofficially?"

"They're the clean-up team. If you're lucky, they just revoke your trace access. If you're not…"

Zero let that hang in the air.

Donnie clenched his fists.

"I'm not going quietly."

"You won't have to," Lora said. "But if you plan to stand against them, you need more than the Spiral Surge."

"That's why I'm here."

Trace Zero gestured to the mat. "Then let's see what you've drawn."

Donnie took his stance.

It was sharp. More angular than anything before. The pivot came earlier, the second step extended, and the follow-through combined a rising arc with a collapsing downswing. The result was raw, fast, and hard to trace.

The energy formed.

But it fought him.

The fire tried to overtake the motion, breaking control twice before stabilizing for less than two seconds.

Donnie fell back, panting.

Kaito winced. "That'll eat your stamina fast."

"I need it to hold," Donnie said.

"Then stop trying to guide it like a student," Lora snapped. "You're not here to make it perfect. You're here to make it dangerous."

Donnie stood again.

He reset his stance. Cleared his mind.

And let the flame build without restriction.

This time, it didn't spark or arc.

It exploded.

The motion finished in one sweeping surge—cleaving the air in a jagged L-shape. The energy flickered violently but obeyed.

The mat beneath him cracked.

Everyone stood still.

Trace Zero finally spoke.

"That was the first real Break Arc."

---

Over the next hour, they refined it.

Donnie named it Shatterstep—a movement that collapsed under its own velocity unless managed correctly. He worked it in stages. First the launch. Then the directional turn. Then the final strike.

Each piece felt foreign in his body, but familiar in his instincts.

By the time he finished his fifth clean attempt, the band issued another message:

> Pattern Registered: Break Arc – Shatterstep

Recognition: 11%

Flag Level Escalated – Response Acceleration Confirmed

Estimated Time of Arrival: 48 Hours

Zero's jaw tightened.

"They've accelerated."

Lora turned to him. "You said we had seventy-two."

"I did. Looks like they're nervous."

Kaito kicked at a rock. "Good. That means it's working."

Donnie took a long breath.

"I want to learn how to fight them."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"

"If they're coming for me, I need more than technique."

Trace Zero gave a slight nod.

"Then we prepare you for what's next."

---

That night, Donnie returned to his room only to find a note tucked beneath his door.

It wasn't signed.

But it didn't need to be.

> "Training Grounds locked for your safety. Do not engage in trace without clearance.

Any unauthorized activation will be flagged as hostile behavior.

— Ridgewood Oversight"

He crumpled it and threw it across the room.

They were closing in faster than expected.

And they were already trying to control the narrative.

He opened his Trace Band again. The red marker was still blinking. Only this time, a new icon had joined it.

A white triangle with an eye inside.

That wasn't Ridgewood.

That was the Guild.

---

The next morning, Veera found him in the courtyard.

"You skipped again," she said, tossing him a sealed bottle.

He caught it.

"Can't go back. They've already warned me."

"I figured. The admin office sent a scan request to every instructor. Even Crane looked unsettled."

Donnie nodded.

"They're not going to wait for me to break rules. They want to catch me before I can."

Veera sat beside him.

"Then break something before they do."

He looked at her.

"You're not afraid?"

"I am. But I'm also done watching this place decide who deserves to evolve."

Donnie looked down at his sketchpad, then back up at the sky.

"I need one more day."

She tilted her head. "To do what?"

"To finish something impossible."

---

In the abandoned yard, Donnie stood alone.

This time, even Trace Zero had left—preparing fallback options in case the response team came in heavy. Lora and Kaito were off-grid. Donnie was the only one exposed.

He looked at the mat.

Then, without hesitation, he began.

Shatterstep.

Spiral Surge.

Ascending Spiral.

He performed them in sequence, again and again, refining transitions, letting instinct shape the path. Sweat dripped down his face. The air around him shimmered with trace residue.

He was pushing too far. Too fast.

But he had to.

> Pattern Sync – Hybrid Layer Detected

Conversion: Flame Chain / Variant Level: Adaptive

Development Level: 31%

Trace Output – Temporarily Unreadable

He stumbled, knees nearly buckling.

But he caught himself.

And rose again.

Then a shadow moved behind him.

He spun—

—and found Crane standing near the gate.

For a moment, Donnie said nothing.

Crane walked closer.

"You know they're coming, right?"

"I know."

"You could still stop."

"I won't."

Crane looked away for a moment.

Then, quietly: "I didn't come to stop you."

Donnie stared.

"I came to say goodbye. If things go wrong, I don't want to be on the record as your handler."

Donnie's throat tightened. "Why tell me that?"

"Because you deserve the truth."

Crane turned.

"But you should know something. When they arrive, they won't come in uniform. They'll come as evaluators. Inspectors. Maybe even students. You'll think you have time."

Donnie's fists clenched.

"I don't need time. I need to be ready."

Crane looked over his shoulder one last time.

"Then finish what you've started. And don't let them name what you've built. You name it first."

Then he left.

---

That night, Donnie wrote one final name in his book.

> Break Arc Class

Trace Style: Vanta-Type

Signature Path: Spiral Surge → Shatterstep → Collapse Edge

He closed the sketchpad.

There was no fear now.

Just fire.

© Anthony Osifo 2025 – All rights reserved.