"W-what do you mean?" Adam, who was usually never bothered about these things, found himself flustered under her bright stare.
Arden kept both her hands pressing against the floor on either side of his face. She maintained her cheery smile and said, "I mean, these eyes of yours, do they do anything special? Or are they just pretty?"
Adam calmed his racing heart and answered, "Well, I doubt it's related to my eyes, but I do have another ability that enables me to see things that would be otherwise impossible."
"Oh?" Arden had asked out of sheer curiosity, but she hadn't been expecting such an answer. "Just how many powers do you have?"
"Just those three." Adam answered, still laying flat on the ground.
Arden pondered for a moment and raised her upper body. She asked, "You said you can see things that would be otherwise impossible, what things exactly? Do you mean ghosts?"
Adam shook his head. He said, "It more or less gives me a bird's eye view… seeing things from odd angles, someone else's perspective… something like that."
Arden's mouth hung open. She quickly placed her right hand behind her back and asked, "Can you see how many fingers I'm holding up right now?"
Adam fell silent for a moment. His gaze appeared unfocused and he nodded. "Four," He said.
"Brilliant!" Arden exclaimed, her excitement evident on her face. "Can you see with your eyes closed?"
Adam nodded. He explained, "It feels like I have an extra, invisible eye following me around. Then, I can grasp the details of whatever that invisible eye sees." He had been experimenting with it ever since meeting that horned beast again.
"Does it have a range limit? Can you see through walls? Gasp… can you see through clothing?" She bombarded him with questions, and wore an apprehensive look when she asked the third.
Adam felt rather uncomfortable. However, he was already getting used to her personality, so he sighed and answered, "I haven't calculated the range limit yet, but it should be around…" He pointed to the edge of the expansive training room, "That."
"As for seeing through walls, I can't do that." Then, he cleared his throat and muttered in a low voice, "As for clothing, I haven't tried."
"Really?" Arden was surprised. "That's good, that's good. You shouldn't use your powers in such a way." Her attitude was similar to that of a mother lecturing her child. She finally rose and helped him to his feet.
Adam sighed and chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"You must think I'm useless… having such a power, yet still utterly poor in combat."
"What do you mean?" Arden frowned. "It's actually better If you don't implement that third eye whenever you're in a fight. At your current level, your reaction speed is too slow. Seeing from another perspective could be effective in grasping your opponent's manner of attack, but do you have the necessary speed to act on it? No."
"Like I mentioned earlier, you're fast. But you're sluggish. You have a high travel speed, but when it comes to reaction, you're slow. So, for now, don't try to use it in a fight– it'll only get in the way."
"I see," Adam nodded in thought, feeling like there was sense in what she said.
"Come on," Arden slightly raised her chin. "Let's continue your training."
Adam nodded solemnly, "Alright."
…
Arthur Azrael stood on a protruding platform on the exterior of the main building, protected by metal railings. From here, he could see the activities going on in the open space littered with hundreds of teenagers garbed in military khaki.
They were currently going through an obstacle course, and Arthur watched with slight amusement as many of them failed over and over again. However, there was someone who caught his attention.
"Hm," He muttered and leaned on the metal railing, trying to get a better view. It was a girl. She had raven-black hair that was tied into a bun and a slim figure.
Arthur watched her for a long time, and it reached a point where the trainees had to duel one another. The girl was pitted against a rather burly guy, and Arthur immediately felt like the matchup wasn't fair.
However, to surprise, the girl overpowered the guy a few minutes into their battle.
One of the Senior Enforcers watching over them praised her and asked her to take a rest, as she had finished the day's routine excellently.
"She's quite the fighter…" Arthur nodded, intrigued. A faint smile formed on his face as he watched her move around the open field.
At that moment, the girl suddenly paused in her tracks. She turned and stared at the main building, and her eyes rose till they stopped on Arthur.
Arthur couldn't see her pupils from that distance, but he could feel her lifeless expression. He suddenly felt an intense chill emanating from her blank gaze. It made him tremble slightly and he quickly retreated back into the building, a subtle frown on his face.
"Who is she?" He muttered.
…
Nina withdrew her gaze from the person that had been observing her. She settled on the field and wiped the sweat that had formed on her forehead. Her progress so far had been great, and there was a high chance she would be amongst the twenty teenagers that would be picked at the end of the training camp.
As she thought about this, her mind suddenly drifted to her sister. She had called Nana the previous night, and they had a long talk about Nina's decision to join the Overseers.
They finally cleared the air, and Nana agreed to help them in any way she could. Nina explained to her sister how they needed to study the Bible, and find clues as to whatever danger humanity would be facing and possibly the origin of Adam's powers.
They eventually agreed to meet in the Metaspace by nightfall.
Nina sighed and looked into the distance. The artificial sun was gradually descending the horizon.
..
Overseer Headquarters.
Marshal Mathew Bates walked into the building and merely waved at the officers who saluted him. He arrived at a certain office and knocked once. Then, he pressed on the doorknob and walked in.
Inside the office were three figures, one of which was his friend, Ijvesta.
"Have your seat, Marshal. We have a lot to discuss."
Mathew Bates looked at the man who had just spoken and dutifully sat next to the other two Marshals.