Rain found himself in his dream space, ready to continue his training on the poison claw technique. But before that, he focused on another task—assembling the pendulum clock. He visualized each part in his mind, and with a simple act of will, the components began to materialize in his dream space, one by one.
Once all the parts of the pendulum clock were before him, he carefully manipulated them, guiding each piece to connect and merge seamlessly. Slowly, the clock took shape, the components clicking into place under his precise control. Soon, a fully assembled pendulum clock stood in front of him.
Rain started the clock, watching as it began to tick steadily. Now, with the clock functioning, he could finally measure the time difference between his dream space and reality. This knowledge would prove invaluable in managing his time more effectively during future training sessions.
Rain then began his training on the poison claw technique. He had already mastered the first four moves, but there wasn't enough time to practice integrating the fifth move just yet. Instead, he focused on perfecting the fluidity of the first four moves by working on their interchangeability.
Rather than always following the sequence from the first to the fourth move, Rain wanted —using the second move as the opener, then transitioning into the first as a follow-up, or making the fourth move the initial strike. His goal was to ensure that he could adapt and change the order of the moves seamlessly, giving him more unpredictability in battle.
To refine his technique, Rain conjured a copy of himself in the dream space. The moment it materialized, they began to spar. Rain focused solely on the first four claw moves, cycling through them fluidly, pushing his control and adaptability. He aimed to make every move a potential starting point, hoping to add more flexibility to his attacks.
As the battle progressed, however, Rain noticed a distinct difference in power and flow depending on which move he started with. When he began with the first move, his attacks felt balanced and powerful. If he transitioned from the first to the second, third, or fourth move, the power of his strikes increased with each one, as though they built on each other:
- First move: attack power felt steady at 1
- Second move: 1.25
- Third move: 1.50
- Fourth move: 1.75
But when he started his claw attacks with the second, third, or fourth moves, something was off. The power of his strikes dropped below 1, and the transitions between moves felt awkward and sluggish. This gave his copy—his opponent—ample time to react and block his attacks. Rain realized that starting with any move other than the first disrupted the smooth flow of energy in his technique. This imbalance was slowing him down, weakening his strikes, and giving opponents more opportunities to defend.
He knew that to make his claw technique truly adaptable, he would need to balance the attack power and smooth out the transitions, no matter which move started the sequence. Rain halted his fight with the single clone and summoned two more, pushing his control to the limit, though he couldn't manage a fourth clone due to the strain. The pendulum clock in his dream space ticked in the background, a constant reminder of the difference between dream time and reality.
Rain gave the clones a new set of instructions: to practice continuously until they could execute the second move as the first, the third as the second, the fourth as the third, and finally, the first move as the fourth. The goal was to become so proficient that he could start with any of the four moves, making his attack sequence unpredictable and seamless.
As the clones began their training, Rain joined them, his movements mirroring their precision. He moved through the claw technique, focusing on alternating the sequence of the four moves—sometimes starting with the second, sometimes the third, always pushing to smooth out the transitions and maintain consistent power. The challenge lay in making each strike flow into the next, no matter the order, and balancing the force behind each one so that none felt weaker than the others.
Rain felt his control growing sharper with every repetition. His muscles moved with instinct, but it was his mind that had to adjust the flow of energy, ensuring that no matter the starting point, the technique would be deadly. As he and the clones trained together, Rain felt the gradual improvement. He could sense the increasing fluidity in his strikes, the faster transitions, and the steady increase in the power of each move. The more they practiced, the more the sequences felt natural, as if the claw moves were no longer fixed in a specific order but rather interchangeable, like pieces of a larger puzzle.
Hours seemed to pass, though time in the dream space always felt different. The pendulum clock continued ticking, a steady rhythm in the background of his training, keeping pace with the strange time flow of this realm.
Suddenly, Rain felt a familiar sensation—the slight vibration of his BIT alarm, signalling that it was time to wake up. The vibrations grew stronger, pulling his consciousness back to reality, but before fully emerging from the dream space, Rain turned his attention to the pendulum clock. He carefully examined the time it showed, calculating how much had passed within the dream world compared to the real world.
Satisfied with the result, Rain let his consciousness ascend, the sensation of his body in the waking world growing more distinct. The training session was over, and as he opened his eyes, he saw it was 3:32 a.m.—just two minutes later than he had planned to wake. Reflecting on the pendulum clock in his dream space, he recalled that 13 hours had passed within it, indicating that the dream space operated at 1.5 times the speed of the real world. This was good news—he now had significantly more time to train. However, Rain knew the dream space held more than just a means to refine his combat techniques; it was a place worth exploring further, with abilities he had yet to fully unlock.
He got out of bed, quickly freshened up, and prepared a simple breakfast. By the time he finished eating, it was 4:27 a.m. He had planned with Siobhan to leave by 4:45 a.m., so he still had a few minutes to spare. Rain decided to spend the remaining time in meditation.
As soon as Rain settled into a meditative posture, the disharmony in his genetic energy became more apparent. This imbalance, which had been lingering since his earlier training, now surged to the forefront of his awareness. With a clear mind, the disruption felt more prominent, demanding attention. Deciding to address it before the mission, Rain closed his eyes and turned his focus inward, slipping into his soul space.
Inside his soul space, everything sharpened. His perception heightened, allowing him to feel the intricate flow of his genetic energy more clearly. The disruptions within it, once subtle, now pulsed vividly. He could sense the friction between his body's natural energy and the energy from the new genetic chain of the super healing lizard, which was causing the imbalance.
But just as he was about to resolve it, he felt a subtle tick-tick sensation—the pendulum clock in his dream space. A connection tugged at him, drawing his consciousness there. Overjoyed, Rain realized he could now enter his dream space at will—no sleep required. This was a breakthrough. He could enter the dream space whenever needed, opening up new possibilities for his training and exploration.
However, this was not the time to explore that revelation. Rain returned his focus to the present task, pulling his awareness back into his soul space. With his enhanced perception, he could now fully grasp the disharmony within his genetic energy. Every thread of energy became clear to him, revealing the conflicting patterns between his own body's natural energy and the newly integrated genetic energy from the super healing lizard.
As he concentrated, Rain felt the subtle blocks preventing the two energies from fully merging into a cohesive whole. There were four distinct blocks, acting as barriers, preventing the seamless fusion of the two energies. He recalled reading about how such blocks often formed due to a genetic conflict, where some genes from his own genetic chain and those of the super healing lizard clashed.
He began working to remove the blocks, understanding that these barriers existed because certain genes were constantly merging and competing for dominance. In some areas, the genes from the super healing lizard, particularly those responsible for its powerful self-healing ability, were superior to his own genetic traits. His subconscious had instinctively chosen to retain the stronger genes, causing the weaker ones to be rejected. However, since the weaker genetic material couldn't fully remove itself from his body naturally—it was a slow, ongoing process—it remained, causing blockages that disrupted the merging of his genetic energies.
Rain realized he had to manually clear these blocks. While the two genetic chains could eventually merge on their own, the natural process would take far longer than his lifespan. By actively dissolving the blocks and correcting the disharmony in his genetic energy, he could accelerate the merging process. Training his control over his genetic energy helped him detect these disharmonies and refining that control would indirectly speed up the full integration of the two genetic chains.
As he started dissolving the first block, he felt the energy slowly untangle, the disharmony beginning to ease. Just as he was deep in concentration, he heard a knock at his door. Snapping out of his focus, he glanced at the clock—4:45 a.m. It was Siobhan. He halted the process and stood up, making his way to the door.
When he opened the door, Siobhan stood there, her long blue hair flowing, and her combat uniform clinging to her body like a second skin. For a moment, Rain's eyes lost focus, and his thoughts drifted. Siobhan always had a way of distracting him, catching him off guard even at the most unexpected times.
"Rain, what happened?" Siobhan asked, her voice pulling him back to the moment.
Rain quickly cleared his thoughts, responding with a curt, "Nothing." Siobhan's face remained calm, her expression neutral, as if she truly had no idea what had momentarily distracted him. But Rain caught the twinkle in her eye and the subtle curve of her lips—a knowing smile. She was well aware of why he had faltered.
"Alright, then," she said, her voice light, "let's go meet the others."
Rain nodded and turned to close his door, falling into step behind her as they made their way to the police headquarters' gate. He found himself walking behind her, his eyes straying to places they shouldn't, lingering where they didn't belong. He shook his head to clear the wandering thoughts, reminding himself to stay focused. The mission ahead required his full attention, and there was no room for distractions.
Quickly, he adjusted his pace, catching up to walk side by side with Siobhan, determined to keep his mind sharp for the mission ahead. They soon reached the meeting point at the front gate of the police headquarters, where Rain spotted Sky, Lily, and Damian waiting for them. In front of them stood a vehicle that resembled an armored car from his previous life, except for one notable difference—it had no wheels. Like all vehicles in this world, it hovered above the ground, powered by advanced electromagnetic field technology.
Rain and Siobhan greeted the group, and their teammates returned the greeting. Without wasting time, they all climbed into the hovering vehicle. As they settled in, the vehicle started moving automatically, smoothly gliding forward, taking them toward their next mission.