Kayn strode through the corridors of his home, the familiar hum of the advanced technology woven into its design following him. The workshop door slid open with a soft hiss as Kayn entered.
It was an expansive room, filled with high-tech tools, cutting-edge machinery, and shelves lined with components of various projects. The centerpiece of the space was a large workbench illuminated by soft, white light.
Kayn placed the Celestial Sun Crystal down gently on the surface, the energy within it glowing faintly in response to his presence. He could feel its warmth, an almost living entity, radiating across the room.
Kayn tapped a few commands into the console built into the workbench, activating a scanner that hovered above the crystal. The scanner began emitting a series of complex analyses on the Celestial Sun Crystal's composition, recording its energy output.
Although Kayn wouldn't be the one to use the Celestial Sun Crystal, it would still be beneficial to analyze it, to see if he could potentially replicate it in the future.
Kayn crossed his arms, watching the data stream across the holographic display. The purity of the solar energy within the crystal was astounding, a perfect symbiosis of light and power.
Just as he was mentally sorting through the designs, his watch buzzed softly, vibrating against his wrist. Kayn glanced down to see a familiar name flash across the screen, Kara.
He smiled to himself before answering the call, the holographic display shifting to reveal Kara's face. She was still at home, her blonde hair slightly tousled, dressed in casual clothing. There was an eager glint in her blue eyes.
"Morning, Kayn" she greeted, her voice playful. "You're not backing out of this training session, are you?"
Kayn chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Backing out? Hardly. I was just preparing some things on my end." He glanced at the Celestial Sun Crystal, its soft glow reflected in his eyes, "I hope you're ready. I don't plan to go easy on you, Kara."
Kara's smile widened, a competitive fire lighting up her expression. "Good. I wouldn't want you to."
There was a brief pause as their eyes met over the holo-call, a moment of unspoken connection between them. Kayn broke the silence with a mischievous grin.
"I'll swing by and pick you up," he said, leaning back slightly against the workbench. "You should consider that a bonus, I don't usually offer door-to-door service."
Kara rolled her eyes, though there was a hint of warmth in her expression, "Oh really? Should I be flattered then?"
Kayn raised an eyebrow, his voice dropping to a teasing, flirtatious tone, "Maybe. Not everyone gets that kind of special treatment from me. You're just lucky."
Kara laughed, shaking her head, "I'll be ready in ten. Don't be late."
As the call ended, Kayn stood there for a moment, savoring the interaction. Kara was tough, determined, and full of potential, but she also had a softer, more vulnerable side that she didn't show to many people. And he had no intention of pushing too hard on that front, not yet, anyway.
Returning his attention to the crystal for a final scan, Kayn stored it back in the system inventory, deciding to finish his analysis later. Right now, he had a Kryptonian to train.
---
Kara stood outside her house, the morning sun casting a soft golden hue over the quiet neighborhood as she looked around constantly, a curious expression on her face.
Kara tapped her foot very impatiently, her hands on her hips as she took a 3rd glance towards her watch, thinking. Kayn had said he'd pick her up, and while she had been half-joking about him being late, part of her was actually beginning to wonder if he had forgotten.
She couldn't see any vehicles driving towards her nearby using her X-Ray vision. The cool, warm breeze blew through her blonde hair, making it dance lightly across her face.
Kara brushed the hair aside, her mind replaying the conversation they'd had earlier as she smiled when thinking about Kayn. There was something about him, his confidence, the way he made her feel, he made her feel like she wasn't alone in her struggle.
His offer to train her had ignited a flame inside her, a feeling of anticipation she hadn't felt in a long time. Kara sighed, glancing up at the sky, half expecting to see him swooping down dramatically like he had during their first encounter.
But instead, something else caught her attention.
The sky… changed.
It was subtle at first, the light dimming, as if the sun had suddenly dipped behind a cloud. But there were no clouds.
The clear blue sky was being slowly replaced by something else, something cosmic. Kara's heart skipped a beat as she looked up, wide-eyed.
The soft blue of the sky had shifted to deep indigo colour, streaked with swirling nebulae and glowing stars. A vast array of galaxies, swirling like distant pinwheels of light, stretched across the heavens above her.
It was as if the very fabric of reality had peeled back, revealing a dimension far beyond Earth, it was as if the fake sky had shattered like glass, and the true sky had revealed itself to her.
"What…?" Kara whispered, her voice lost in the sheer magnitude of what was unfolding above her.
Suddenly, she felt a tug, not physical, but as if something was pulling her toward the sky. Before she could react, the ground beneath her seemed to vanish, and her body was lifted effortlessly into the air.
She gasped, trying to regain control, and fly away, to hold herself back onto the ground but this wasn't her flight, she could resist the intense pull.
Something far greater than herself was guiding Kara, lifting her higher and higher, past the stars, past the planets, and into a real Kara could barely comprehend.
Finally, Kara finally felt herself stable, feet on the floor. She slowly regained her bearings, blinking around as her breath was caught in her throat as Kara found herself surrounded by an endless expanse of Cosmic wonder.
Instead of a regular human world, all around Kara were shimmering nebulas, casting vibrant, intense colors across the sky like a painter's dream.
Bright, distant stars twinkled in the void, and rivers of cosmic energy flowed between galaxies, pulsating with raw power. She felt both tiny and immense at the same time, like a single spark within an infinite flame.
"What is this place?" she murmured, turning in every direction, trying to make sense of the celestial expanse.
Then, her eyes were drawn to a distant glow, growing brighter as she drifted closer. At the heart of the swirling galaxies and the glowing stars, a massive throne sat, carved from what seemed like the very fabric of the universe itself.
The throne shimmered with cosmic energy, radiant and awe-inspiring, surrounded by a faint glow that pulsed like a living heartbeat.
And there, seated upon it, was Kayn.
He sat calmly, his form bathed in the light of the cosmos, his eyes glowing faintly with power. The cosmic energy around him seemed to bend and flow in response to his presence, like he was the center of gravity in this strange dimension.
His expression was relaxed, almost amused, as if he had been waiting for her to arrive all along.
Kara's breath caught in her throat. She hovered in place, staring at him in awe and confusion, her mind racing to understand what was happening. This was a side of Kayn she hadn't seen before, something far more powerful, more mysterious than she had ever imagined.
He looked both regal and untouchable, as though he commanded the very stars themselves.
"Kayn…?" Kara finally managed, her voice uncertain, but filled with curiosity.
Kayn's lips curved into a knowing smile, his eyes meeting hers with a playful gleam. He tilted his head slightly, as if inviting her to come closer, the cosmic energy around him pulsing in sync with his heartbeat.
"Welcome, Kara," he said, his voice resonating through the celestial expanse, warm and calm. "I've been waiting for you."
Kara stood frozen in awe, her mind still reeling from the sheer magnitude of the cosmic realm surrounding her. Kayn's voice, calm and welcoming, resonated through her senses, but before she could respond, something stirred behind him.
Kayn stood up slowly from the throne, his movements deliberate and graceful, like a celestial being in full command of the universe. As he rose, the cosmos behind him shimmered and pulsed, the energy intensifying as if answering his unspoken command.
And then, from the swirling nebulae and the vast expanse of stars, a colossal figure began to emerge, a Celestial Dragon's image, its form majestic and vast, the eyes of the dragon glowing casting a golden light across the realm.
Just its arms, made of swirling galaxies and shimmering stars, stretched out infinitely into the cosmic horizon.
Kayn, standing before the celestial image, glanced over his shoulder at the dragon, then back at Kara, his expression still calm, yet now imbued with a deeper intensity. The playful gleam in his eyes had shifted into something far more focused, more serious.
"Time to begin your training," he said, his voice echoing through the celestial expanse.