"I suffered the pain of boiling water being poured into my spine for an entire hour. After that, despite the drug being administered into my bloodstream to keep me conscious, I could no longer handle the pain, falling unconscious. Subconsciously, I felt that the moment I fainted, the pain in my spine receded. I woke after 6 hours had passed, waking up to find my body shrivelled up, leaving only skin and bones, a trace amount of muscles between them." Heima said.
Feeling the strain on her body after sitting up for a couple of minutes, Heima rested her back on the bed, "I felt shocked, scared at my body condition. Instinctively, I could feel the presence of a foreign entity within my body. Immediately after I woke up, the nurse pierced a needle in my arm, injecting a nutrient solution that could help recover my body functions. Ten minutes later, I began to vomit. Even though there was nothing left in my stomach, I puked, vomiting out bile mixed with blood."
There was a hint of embarrassment in her tone, concealed by her fears, "I found that the bed I slept on had been covered with many bodily fluids—blood, sweat, urea, and feces. I behaved like a deranged person, blabbering incomprehensible words, my limbs not responding to my wishes. Only then did I realise that my heart was not beating voluntarily. My lungs too weren't expanding and contracting; it was like I had lost control of my body. It was the nurse who made use of the formless force to artificially pump my blood and regulate my breathing. Though, I felt some pain in my heart and lungs, possibly due to the repeated application of force by the nurse."
"At that time, the nurse used a small rod-like machine to scan my entire body. The machine scanned from the top to bottom, once, twice, thrice, many times. Fifteen minutes later, after having performed hundreds of scans, two digits appeared on a nearby monitor." Heima said with a puzzled tone, looking like she could comprehend its significance, but at the same time felt confused.
"Those two digits are the Sync Rate your teachers might have specified in your studies. It is what determines the strength of each individual and the height of development they can reach. Though, your mother and I hoped you would score a low Sync Rate." Hancent said with a sigh. The greater the Sync Rate, the greater the military would emphasise on their growth and development, and the greater the high-risk missions they would be allotted.
"So, that was Sync Rate. I remember it displaying the number 89." Heima said with a frown, "Is that high? Or is that low?"
"Let me give you an example," Hancent said, massaging his forehead in an effort to recollect his memories. "Your mother had a Sync Rate of 81%. After so many years of accumulation, she has finally become a Shifter. Shifters are on the higher end of the power scale. For warriors with a Sync Rate below 80%, it would be very difficult for them to become a Shifter throughout their entire life."
"It's for the best if you stop thinking about it for now. You will understand its significance in detail in the future. Your 1-year military training will start by the end of this month. They will impart upon you all the necessary knowledge in a comprehensive manner. So, get some rest for now." Hancent gently kissed her forehead, brushing aside strands of her hair that covered her eyes.
Heima closed her eyes, looking like a boulder had been lifted off her chest. After a momentary silence, she opened her eyes, gazing at Hancent with curiosity. "Dad, your powers are different from mine or Mom's. Was your Induction Ceremony different?"
"Hmm," Hancent was taken aback for an instant before flashing a wry smile, "Of the five phases of the Induction Ceremony, phase 3 and 4 were different for me. It is basically where the essence of the creature congregates."
He took a moment to compose himself as he noticed Heima listening with rapt attention despite her fears, "In our Central Nervous System, we can say that there are two major parts: Brain, and Spinal Cord. If the essence congregates into the Spinal Cord, it produces Warriors such as yourself and your Mother. But, if it congregates to the brain, then it produces an Esper."
Heima shuddered in fright, almost shouting, "T-Then, during the fourth phase, the pain you felt…was it in…"
"I felt the pain in my head," Hancent said, pointing a finger to his temples. "I can't remember exactly what happened but all I know is that I was mad for an entire month."
Suddenly feeling like he had an idea, Hancent sat up, "I have the video of my mad state recorded in a CD. It took me a lot of connections to get my hands on it to satisfy my curiosity. Do you want to see it?"
Heima shook her head, "T-Tomorrow. I'll watch it tomorrow. I want to mentally prepare for it; besides, I am feeling tired."
"Okay," Hancent said with a smile, happy that he had successfully distracted Heima from her apprehension and fear. On seeing her close her eyes and slumber in a matter of seconds, he kissed her forehead and rested. Closing his eyes, he thought about how to make Heima get accustomed to her modified body.
He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep; he dreamed about a closed room, a berth in the centre, a machine that whirred with beeping sounds, a nurse shouting hysterically as she rapidly pressed many buttons in a hurry, and a pair of arms that were mutating into a grotesque creature. The arms cracked into three, revealing a row of teeth beneath them, a pinkish-red tongue slithering out of it.
Hancent abruptly sat up, feeling his body drenched in sweat while his heart beat like crazy, showcasing his intense stimulation. He looked to his left and found Heima sleeping, her face eyebrows knitted into a mild frown. To his right was the sleeping figure of Jyorta, one of his legs placed atop Hancent.
It took a couple of minutes for Hancent to calm down, his mood turned placid. He thought back to the contents of the dream, remembering the surroundings in stark contrast, 'Have you already developed to such an extent?' He thought to himself, not expecting any response.
Jyorta slept like a log, the blue soul carefully listened to all the sounds in silence, carefully analysing the details. Using the content of their conversation as the keywords to jolt Jyorta's memory, the blue soul gained some paltry knowledge, possibly due to Jyorta being ignorant in such matters.
'The sister character turned 16 last month and had to experience the Induction Ceremony this month. Something was inserted into her body, and judging by her conversation with the father character, it was likely a genetically modified organism that was voluntarily planted. Moreover, it seems that everyone would have to undergo that process at some point in their life. Does that mean Jyorta would have to face such a situation too?'
Kaushik, the blue soul thought in wonder, trying to further jog the memories of Jyorta before resuming back to invading his soul. He had discovered that even though Jyorta's soul was growing in strength and turning murky as days passed, after chanting the verse of the Creepy-Haired man, he had managed to gain another method to invade faster.
Two tendrils appeared around the blue soul, filled with blue markings that looked a direct manifestation of knowledge. The blue soul controlled them, slapping Jyorta's murky soul, scattering away bits of the murky mass on its outer surface. After a single attempt, it grew tired; it then absorbed some of the energy from Jyorta's soul, replenishing its exhaustion.
6:45 AM, Hancent woke up at the sound of the alarm, checking the condition of Heima, heaving a sigh of relief after she appeared normal. He woke up, washed himself, and went to the kitchen. He grated some vegetables, prepared a bowl of dough, ghee, oil, and some condiments. In the span of 30 minutes, he had finished making breakfast.
Walking toward the bedroom, Hancent found Heima waking up, looking tired. Noticing him, she raised her hands to the air, facing his direction, pouting. Hancent let out a laugh, his mind easing up on seeing the familiar behaviour as he approached her.
"Morning," Hancent said as he picked her up. Heima stuck to him like a koala bear, wrapping her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck. She didn't seem fully awake, acting spoilt as she gave a sound of acknowledgement. Hancent carried her towards a bathroom, gently dropping her at the entrance, walking back to the kitchen after ruffling her hair.
Entering the kitchen, Hancent placed his hand on his back, bending a little to the back, his face filled with a strained expression. Followed by a soft sound akin to the pop of a bubble, Hancent let out a relieved expression.
'My back! I just carried her for less than a minute.' Hancent clenched his fists, feeling the meagre strength in his muscles. He sighed as he arranged the breakfast on a plate and set it up on the dining table.
7:30 AM, Jyorta woke up, looking at the buzzing alarm. He just thought of silencing it when he saw Hancent walking past the door, a plate of food held in his hands. Switching off the alarm, Jyorta sat on the bed for a couple of minutes, getting off once his mind cleared up. He went to the bathroom, twisting it to find it locked, faint sounds of water coming from inside.
Jyorta walked out of the bedroom, walking to another room beside it and using the empty attached bathroom there. He hurriedly freshened up and emerged out, a towel draped around his lower half, his hair dripping with water. He wore his uniform, packed his school bags, and walked out, watching Hancent take out a towel after seeing his wet hair.
7:50 AM, Jyorta ate breakfast alongside Heima who appeared to be more lively than the previous day, a trace amount of rosiness in her complexion. After their breakfast was completed, Hancent motioned for Heima to watch some TV to pass the time as he walked out of the house, Jyorta in tow.
The two boarded the metro train, travelling towards the 1st Academy where he dropped Jyorta. Boarding a return metro train, he arrived at Sector 12, Baker Street. Looking at the towering skyscraper belonging to the Bone Family, he entered it, directly boarding the lift to reach the topmost floor.
He saw many people huddled around a round table, seated around it as they discussed various topics. Noticing his approach, one of the seated men beckoned for a nearby servant and murmured some instructions. The servant bowed and walked towards Hancent, motioning for him to follow.
"Madam Henrietta is undergoing treatment below," The servant said, passing through a flight of stairs that lead down. Hancent followed in silence, noticing the passerby and their expressions.
'It seems many family members recently managed to breakthrough?' He thought as the servant led him into a room. He saw Henrietta seated on a bed, sipping a cup of coffee as she engaged in a conversation with Hubert.