Even as the little squirrel was long gone, Lucien kept crouching, with the holding, grabbing position. His mind was in a daze, trying to comprehend and process all that had just gone down.
Using the viral appendage that was in place of his mutilated right arm, he absorbed not just the essences of the deceased little critter but completely took it. Despite the horrific nature of the action, the main thought that actually troubled him was a pretty simple one.
'Can this be considered eating the creature? Or what did I do? Merged with him? The system strictly says the term 'absorb' but I don't know… It feels pretty weird…' He lamented inwardly, while he cleaned up his view from the helpful, but disturbing messages.
His reverie was abruptly put to a halt when the bell-like voice of Sera rang out. She called out for the stoic, unmoving boy.
"Hey Lucien, are you feeling okay?" She asked with visible concern in her voice. Strangely, as the boy slowly turned around to look at her, she wasn't disgusted, horrified, or even surprised by the slightest.
She was donning the same compassionate, kind smile over her face, exuding an aura of calm as she continued speaking.
"This must have been your first, right? Master told me, that the first times can be quite hard to process and that you have to overcome the mental walls, barriers yourself. Still, despite that, if I can help you in any way… let me know, okay?"
"Huh?" Her words broke the last strands of his daze, Lucien looked at the blonde woman with surprise.
He creased his eyebrows, not truly believing his own ears. Did she suggest that she was already aware of his nature? Was his predecessor, her Master the same as him?
"What did you say?" He asked with an inquiring look, not sure of what response would he be truly hoping for. Would he want that she would be oblivious to the monster he truly was? Would he be happier to share this secret with someone and end up relying on and confiding in her?
He wasn't sure what would be the best.
Sera's smile curved slightly wilder, as she felt that once again, the distance between them slightly shortened. She hoped that this trend would only continue, and he would slowly begin to trust her. After all, being his guide, his trusted aide, was her mission. She wished for nothing more than to finally be able to stand by this youngster's side and be able to call him once again, for what he was… Her Master.
"I said, that if there is anything I can help you that would make it easier for you to accept what happened, let me know. I wish for nothing more than to be able to help you, Lucien." She responded to the question with a gentle, warm smile.
"You…How do you know about…m-" When he wanted to refer to the other, monstrous side of himself, he flinched. He felt it still slightly too difficult, too hard to refer to that side as 'me', so in the end, he corrected himself. "…the other one?"
Sera giggled at the troubled look of the boy before he responded.
"Yes, I do. Remember I explained that my Master, was your predecessor. Although he awakened to a different set of abilities, his way of growing stronger wasn't all that different from yours. Maybe slightly more… graceful, I guess." She explained as she began to scan their surroundings once again, searching, scanning for a critter of similar in size for Lucien to try.
Looking at her scanning the distance, Lucien got surprised when he saw her eyes began to emit a faint, colorless glow. A barely perceptible, thin layer of the same light slowly enveloped her body, giving her a thin, opaque film around her.
A couple of moments passed by with tense silence, as Sera continued to scan and search the forest before she found a lone, grey-white furred hare munching itself through the tall blades of grass.
With a shushing motion, Sera signaled Lucien to remain silent and pointed towards the direction of the not-too-distant east where she saw the little animal.
"There… about a yard to the east…" She whispered, pinpointing the exact location. "Squint your eyes and look where I am pointing. Can you see it?"
Following her directions, Lucien tried his hardest to find what she was targeting, but he couldn't see through the thick undergrowth of bushes that blocked his sight after a while. He sighed, helplessly shaking his head.
"No… I can't." He admitted with a slight frown. Was she this powerful? Or what his sight, not up-to-par? He actually felt that his enhanced senses ever since he 'awakened' were supernatural. Now he felt that compared to other 'Enhanced' beings, he wasn't all that special after all…
"Oh? Let me help you then." Sera whispered, with a face full of smiles. She stretched out her right hand towards the boy and nodded.
"Touch my hand. Let me share this gift with you." As she whispered the words, the palm of her hand began to radiate the same faint, hollow light that covered her entire body before. A wave of warmth could be felt radiating from it.
Seeing his hesitation, Sera didn't mind it a bit. It was actually quite understandable, the smile on her face stretched even wider, she gave words of reassurance.
"Don't be afraid, I will never hurt you."
Albeit still not entirely convinced, Lucien decided to once again, place his trust in the blonde woman and reached for the offered palm. His right arm convulsed expectantly as it felt the warm rays gently caressing it. The veins hastily darkened, and engorged, turning the white skin a shade darker by the time his palm interconnected with hers and their fingers clasped upon the back of the other's hand.
Looking at her expression, Lucien found it still surprising that the girl wasn't the least bit frightened, nor surprised. He now understood that what she was telling was truly the truth. The old man, his predecessor, her Master was truly a person with a similar fate as his. He shared the same… condition.
A moment later as he grabbed on her hand, he felt the warmth spread through his body. He felt the hungry sucking notion of his appendage, as it hungrily kept devouring the transferred energies from the woman.
In the next instant, the system's window came up once again. The dark, translucent screen slowly emerged, with a series of the eerie-looking blood-red texts appearing one after another, swiftly organizing themselves in an orderly line.
Soon, a new notification appeared in front of Lucien's stunned-looking wide eyes.
[…::: Through the transferred holy energies, a new skill has been synthesized. :::…]
[…::: The trait: Far Sight (Rank 1) has been created. :::…]
"What the…" Shocked, Lucien immediately took his hand away and kept looking at his own palm looking for signs of a scar or anything that help him understand what just happened.
However, there were no scars or any type of damages whatsoever. The black tendrils have returned to their original, hidden state, his arm regained its original color a second later.
"What did you do?" Finding no answers in his own hand, he turned towards the main culprit, Sera.
Unbeknownst to him, his original cold, distant attitude has slowly, naturally began to crumble down, he subconsciously began to step closer and closer to her.
Sera smiled at the aimed question for a brief moment, before she answered.
"I merely gave you a sort of welcome gift… I suppose. Interestingly though, I gave you the very same skill, my Master have gifted to me back then… Funny how things have come to a full circle…"
Seeing the confused look on the boy, Sera continued to explain with a bit more detail.
"What I have given you, will help you enhance your eyesight. Even though as you continue to accept and understand your 'other self or another one' as you referred to earlier, your senses will sharpen by themselves, making the skill I have gifted you obsolete."
She turned her attention back to the distance where the little hare was still munching on her breakfast, unsuspecting and oblivious to any threats aimed at its life.
"Right now though, it will help you overcome this predicament. Try looking at the direction I am pointing again. The skill I have given you should automatically activate and enhance your eyesight the longer you hone your vision to the same spot."
Lucien nodded at her words, following along and turning to the direction she was facing.
Before acquiescing to her instructions, he focused in his mind, bringing up the skill description page.
[…::: Skill Page - Far Sight
Category: Traits - Rank: 1 - Progress: 0 EP - єฬг - ???
Description: The holy energies courses through your veins, enhancing your senses. The longer you focus your sight in the same direction, the more you will notice. Your sight will gradually sharpen the longer it is focusing on the same spot, allowing the host to spot even the smallest, most minuscule of details eventually.
Mechanics: Focusing your gaze on a singular spot, your vision gradually clears, increasing the grade of magnification. Each magnification costs 0.1 Points of Energy.
Note: Traits are a special category of skill that requires no initial EP investment to materialize and create. :::…]