After watching the doctor and nurse leave, Korede sat up from the bed and properly examined his surroundings. He saw that his teammates were also in the ward with him. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that everyone was alright even though they were still in a coma. As he decided to get off the bed, the uncomfortable feeling of change in his body washed over him again, only this time it was stronger.
He sat back on the bed and examined himself. While every other part of his body looked okay, his right arm was wrapped in a bandage up to his shoulder. He removed the shirt of his patient wear to have a better look. He noticed that his torso was now riddled with small scars.
Although due to the rigorous training he had to undergo as part of the Ancestral Training regimen 'Oro Akogun', Korede had some scars on his body, they were not this much on his torso. He had only about four. Now, however, he counts about twelve more scars on his torso. He figured they were caused by shrapnel from the explosion. Fortunately, these new scars were only skin-deep and were smaller in size compared to his old ones. They were scratches in comparison.
He turned his attention to his bandaged right arm. He moved it a bit and didn't notice much discomfort, only the stiffness you would expect from not moving the arm for some time. He removed the bandage.
As the bandage came off, he was perplexed by what he saw. His right arm was covered in a 'burn mark/scar'. However, it was unlike any burn he had ever seen or heard of. The bottom of his palm, around his thumb to his wrist, was wrinkled as you would expect when the skin is exposed to very high temperature. The scar extended to the back of the hand along the thumb. That was where things started to get strange. From his knuckles to his wrist, the skin had been 'peeled off' as one would see in a hot water burn. However, the 'peeling' of the epidermis was not as severe as that of a burn. The skin around the area was merely lighter as if one used a bleaching cream. The scar extended to his shoulder but becomes fainter as it moved up from the wrist. By the elbow, it had become so faint that it can only be described as illusionary. As if this wasn't weird enough, the 'scar' took a noticeable shape… A Flame(1)
If he didn't know better, Korede would argue this wasn't a burn but a VERY artistic tattoo of a flame.
As he continues to stare at the scar on his arm, he heard a gender-neutral voice from nowhere.
[You are finally awake, Host.] said the voice.
Korede looks around but couldn't determine the source of the voice. As he did so, he heard the voice chuckle and say
[No need to look around, I'm inside you. Only you can hear me.]
Korede was stunned. Then, he remembered something he had overlooked.
'I was in an explosion. So, how did I survive?'
His pupil contracted as he finally recalled what happened. During the explosion, the meteorite that they were to recover shattered as he made a deal with an unknown being to host an entity trapped in the meteorite. A realization dawned on Korede
'Don't tell me… '
[Correct, Host. I am the entity in the meteorite.]
"You can read my mind?" Korede asked out loud, shock visible on his face.
[Your surface thoughts, Yes. Anything deeper, No. We are now one after all. I have seen from your memories available to me how much your species value privacy, so allow me to put your mind at ease. As time goes on and our bond gets stronger, you will be able to choose what to share with me and what not to share. However, I don't see the point. I can never betray you anyway.]
Korede heaved a sigh of relief. He was still in doubt about what the entity said but his intuition told him the entity was trustworthy.
He found that weird though. For something he just met, his intuition was already saying to trust it after a few sentences. The key here was trust. Not just that the entity was telling the truth but also to trust whatever it says. Though weird, since his intuition had never been wrong all his life, he decided to do so.
"So what are you?" Korede asked
[You don't have to speak. You just need to openly think it and I will know. Well, unless you want people to think you are mentally ill and are talking to yourself since only you can hear me.]
Korede's face changed a bit. He instinctively looked around only to find no one else aside from himself and his comatose teammates.
'You could have told me earlier' Korede complained in his mind.
[i did. Anyway, to answer your question. I can't tell you exactly what I am yet but you can think of me as a Symbiote.]
'What do you mean you're a Symbiote? Why can't you tell me what you are?'
[It's exactly what you know it is. I got the word from your memories after all. Symbiote from symbiosis. You provide me shelter and energy, and I give to you my abilities. As for your second question, I can't tell you about myself because you and our bond are too weak. The laws of the universe will not allow it.]
'Laws of the universe? I am too weak?' Korede scoffs in disdain 'Though I know there're many people stronger than me, saying I'm too weak is too much, don't you think? Just say you don't want to tell me.'
[Now this is surprising. The Childe of one of the supreme laws of the universe is denying their existence. Don't you think that's a joke, Childe of Time?]
Korede's entire body shook. 'Childe of Time'. Something he was called only in the dreams that haunted him. The same dreams he had been denying all these years. He could not accept the reality of it. For if it was true, something far greater than him awaits on the horizon.
'Don't try to scare me. You must have seen the dreams in my memories.' Korede replied in denial.
[Dreams? What are you talking about? Like I said before, I can only read your surface thoughts and memory 'shown' to me. Deeper thoughts and memories you hardly remember or choose not to remember like dreams or suppressed memories will never be shown to me. I know who you are because your soul carries the Mark of Time. It wasn't an accident that you became my host. The Mark of Time made it so.]
'What do you mean?' Korede asked, confused.
[The reason I was in that rock was that I lacked energy and a host. So think about it, the very same energy source I used, was right in front of me and so were a lot of potential hosts long before you arrived. So, why didn't I absorb the energy and choose a Host before you picked up my rock and the energy source?]
'Energy source? You mean the radiative material?'
[Yes. The radiation might be harmful to your species but it's food to me. Let's not digress. The reason I didn't was because you were close. Or rather the Mark was close. Using the Mark as a beacon, time froze for me. It was only when you picked up my rock that time continued. Even if the explosion didn't happen, you would still be my Host because Time had deemed it so.]
Korede received a lot of overwhelming information during this short period. He silently processed them. After a while, he looked out the window.
'It seems I can't deny it anymore. Reality is in front of me. Well, might as well embrace it.' Korede thought, coming to a life-altering decision.
Unbeknownst to him or even to the Symbiote in him, at that moment of acceptance, a small golden 'waterfall' appeared above him and its 'water' poured down his body. His body glowed in a slight golden tint before the 'water' was 'absorbed' into him and the waterfall disappeared. All this happened quickly. Or perhaps the time had stopped. Whatever the case, nobody noticed it.
Suddenly, Korede felt his body was lighter and refreshed.
'Acceptance is the road to recovery and progress' He thought as he chuckled.
'Alright. Let's say I believe everything you've said. Tell me this. What is a Childe of Time? What is the Mark of Time?'
[I'm sorry. I can't answer either question. The same reasons apply. You are too weak to know. However, I can tell you this. The Childe of any Supreme Law is that Law's chosen one. The title is not given lightly as it represents the acknowledgement the Law has for that person… Its 'love' for that person. It also shows that the person can represent and act on behalf of the Law. Whether it be Mark or the title of Childe, they are only given to the strong. It isn't something you should have.]
'Alright… Then if it's as you say… if I'm too weak to have them… then why do I have them?'
[That, I do not know. However, I can venture a guess for the Mark. Unlike the title of Childe, the Mark can be transferred to a worthy person. It's possible that the Mark was transferred to you by someone… But then again, that person would have to be very strong. So strong in fact that a low-energy planet like yours can't produce such a person.]
'Low energy planet huh'. Korede mumbled and fell into contemplation. 'Long story short if I want to know more, I have to increase my strength, am I correct? So, can you at least tell me how?' Korede asks.
[Yes. Only with the right amount of strength will you gain the right to know somethings. To become stronger, to improve our bond, to get the answer you want, and most importantly, right now, to wake your allies, you must improve your WILL]
"Wait! What? What do you mean by 'to wake my allies'?"
[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion really matters to me.]
AUTHOR'S NOTES
1 This paragraph was challenging. It made me realise that I might have a problem with descriptions. Well, I hope you are to get it though cuz this is the best I can do for now. Ahhh more things to improve on.
[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion really matters to me.]