Will finally opened his eyes after what felt like an eternity. His vision was clear. So were his hearing and other senses. The terror that had embedded within his mind like a traumatic memory from a distant place slowly faded away as his mind quickly calmed down and tried to recollect how he ended up where he was now. Blinking a few times, Will got up and turned aside to leave the hospital bed he had found himself in only to see a few nurses enter the room. surprised expressions on their face. They rushed towards him and urged him to return to bed as the experts were called back to run comprehensive tests on Will's health.
It was only a day later that Will finally returned to his simple home near the Avery manor. The day of contemplation had allowed him to center himself and take stock of what happened to him. Apparently he had a terrible reaction to the Nanosynthesis gene potion he had consumed causing him to enter a near death coma. Added to this was a bizarre phenomenon he seemed to have displayed after being injected with the potion where a smoky mist emerged out of his body and dissipated. Even the medical experts weren't clear why Will had such a precarious reaction to the Gene potion.
Gene potions worked by replicating within the blood when injected and then acting at the cellular level to modify the DNA strands at very specific and complicated intervals. It is these changes, for example from the Nanosynthesis gene potion that would specifically allow the practice of the Nanosynthesis technique within the Realm of continuity. After Will had such a severe reaction from the drug, the medical experts analyzed his genetic markers and discovered that the resultant modifications at the genetic level were only a specific subset of the usual gene transfer from these potions. The doctors suspected that Will's body had perhaps failed to accept the gene potion's effects due to some underlying condition they were unable to figure out and as a result he might not be able to practice the Nanosynthesis technique. When Will heard their somber analysis, he did not show much of a reaction. A day of thinking had got him speculating on the possible scenarios that might have happened.
The bizarre calming feeling when he underwent the mental pressure test that seemed to have changed his body in some enigmatic manner followed by a bizarre reaction from the gene potion as well as the phenomenon of the expulsion of the mist. Combined with whatever bizarre illusion world he was trapped in during his coma with regards to that door, Will speculated that the doctors had probably gotten it incorrect. He felt like perhaps the gene potion wasn't as accurate as it could be and whatever that bizarre sensation that had changed his body had acted and expelled the so called impurities or useless traits out. Although his hypothesis seemed fantastical even to him, he intuitively seemed to have a really definitive opinion about it.
After returning home, the first thing that he wished to do was check his physicals. He had an inkling that something in his body had changed. He walked over to the physical testing machines and calmly began performing the tests for strength, speed and reflexes. After a simple bout of tests he gazed at the aggregate score and he sighed. He had not given his all when he performed earlier and the comprehensive score of 2.4 flashing on the screen was a direct improvement of almost 1 point without any effort on his part causing his eyes to flicker.
Some time later, Will carefully greeted the Family Leader Aldous Avery who had summoned him on learning that he had returned from the hospital. Aldous glanced at him and nodded before speaking.
"Welcome back. You've been asleep for two months. Are you doing better now?" He asked with a puzzled expression. He himself wasn't sure what exactly was going on with this boy's body to cause such a reaction to the Gene potion.
Will nodded. "I am doing fine now, Family Leader. Thank you for your care during my ill health."
"From what the medical experts have described, you don't seemed to have managed to correctly absorb the gene potion's effects. It is possible that you might not be able to practice Nanosynthesis. However, you can still attempt it and tell us if there are any results. Also you weren't able to choose a suitable weapon from our treasury as the second reward for the trial. You can go ahead and pick one that suits you now. You've lagged behind your peers because of your illness, I hope you will work harder and catch up to them." Aldous spoke thoughtfully before dismissing Will.
Will nodded and left the area, leaving towards the treasury as he was instructed to do. He couldn't wait to collect a new weapon and leave for the Realm of Continuity. He had tried contacting his friends in the city upon returning from the hospital. Apparently a few of them had visited him during his unconscious coma, but now they had all themselves entered the Realm of Continuity and he was unable to contact them.
He arrived in front of the treasury's gate and was surprised to see that the Elder guarding it was the presiding elder over the trial. The Elder also recognized Will and nodded in acknowledgement. "Looks like you've finally recovered. Let's head in and get you a weapon." Will smiled and followed the elder into the treasury. The two slowly walked through several corridors until they arrived at the Weaponry Pavilion which housed the family's weapons.
Entering the pavilion for the first time, Will observed that there were segregated sections for weapons, with each section having a placard emblazoned with a Grade. The Elder glanced at Will's curious expressions and explained. "Most of the higher grade weapons are apparatuses used by powerful monsters used within the higher layers of the Realm. These weapons are called Gears. They seem to manifest naturally within the Realm along with the accompanying monsters and often display special abilities or characteristics that augment beast souls."