Anessa stepped down from the koi pond's edge.
"I won't be using my Word," she said simply, brushing a fleck of water from her finger.
Lina tilted her head. "You're... what?"
"No Word. No whispers. No tongue-twisting laws of reality this time."
She smiled, eyes glowing faintly. "I want to stretch a different part of myself."
The wind died.
Even the faint rustle of leaves seemed to hesitate.
Fang, still mute, glanced toward Lina with panic bleeding into his expression. The rest of Lina's group took cautious steps back.
Confusion flickered in Lina's eyes for a moment—then narrowed to suspicion.
"…You're handicapping yourself?" she asked.
Anessa gave a lazy shrug. "Not quite. Just choosing to play with a different toy."
That's when it clicked.
Lina's eyes darkened. "You have a second Gift."
The air tensed.
Behind her, one of her team cursed under his breath. Another whispered, "Impossible…"
No, not impossible.
But incredibly rare.
