The spectators' breaths stilled.
It was as if the world itself held its breath, marveling at the moment.
In a grand assembly where representatives of every planet gathered, the representative of the Blue Planet allowed a sly grin to cross their face.
Anthony's parents, however, were truly astonished.
They had braced themselves for any display of Anthony's capabilities, yet even they hadn't anticipated this.
They were well aware of his affinity for illusions, having witnessed his skill during the Academy's infamous "Impossible Mission." But this... this was beyond expectation.
The timer, perched ominously on the wall, began its final countdown.
The seconds ticked down from twenty, each one echoing like a drumbeat of anticipation.
Anthony and Lucian, in perfect synchrony, had ascended from the first floor to the hundredth in precisely one hundred seconds, an extraordinary feat.
One second per step.
