Chapter 69: Thoughts and Scents
Orion's form blurred as he shot forward, Trilayered Bursting Musculature tightening like a coiled spring.
His strike missed.
Again.
This time, when he landed, he felt it. The micro-tears in his hamstrings. The burn in his calves. He collapsed to one knee, panting like an animal.
Sylvie didn't comment. She walked forward slowly, eyes steady.
"If I were using the Varkren's trait," she began, crouching beside him, "I'd spend a month retraining my nervous system.."
Orion's eyes narrowed.
She continued. "The Varkren's speed isn't muscle—it's timing. Its spinal cord has triple the synaptic efficiency of ours. That's why its muscles burst—because its nerves are ten steps ahead."
"So I'm just... supposed to speed up my brain?" he muttered.
"Yes and no," Sylvie replied, her tone measured but firm. "You're not trying to speed up your brain—you're rewiring it. The Varkren doesn't think faster; it reacts without thought at all. Its nervous system operates on pure instinct, bypassing conscious decision-making entirely."
She tapped the side of her temple with one finger. "Your problem is that you're still relying on intent. You decide to move, then execute. But by the time your mind processes what's happening, the moment has already passed. To use this trait effectively, you need to eliminate that lag."