'Haa, now I got to babysit this dude. If only I could somehow test out my powers. Should I try using him?' Arion wondered if he would be able to change his appearance into that of the boy.
He rolled his wheelchair forward and grasped his leg to touch it against the feet of the boy.
Seconds passed...few minutes passed…
'Damn it! Why??' Arion inwardly shouted, highly feeling disappointed that he even lost his only special ability that he was proud of. Usually, he only needed physical contact for a few seconds, and he would be able to take on the appearance of his target, at least for a while.
But even after touching his feet against the boy's feet, nothing happened. He was still looking like himself when he looked at the mirror in the room.
His physical morphing ability had helped him a lot and saved his life many times. Although he could only copy appearances, it was still more than enough for him. However, it was mostly limited to faces only, and he could not copy the body structure of other people.
That's why if he tried to impersonate somebody else, he found it hard to do it perfectly and would mostly get himself seen as a suspicious person if someone knew the target personally.
After all, they could easily notice the differences in the body structure even if the face looked the same. So, if necessary, he would look for people having similar body structures and build since it would be easier for him to impersonate them.
But now, not only was he a disabled person, but even his only ability seemed to have been lost.
Still, he clearly remembered the pain he felt when Aldress' Origin Blood entered his body and the reaction his body had.
He felt as if his whole body was slowly being devoured and disintegrated from the inside. In fact, not only his body but he also felt as if his very soul was being devoured as well.
After reincarnating, he felt that maybe Aldress was indeed a powerful dragon and that his Origin Blood might be the real deal, though he had no idea what benefit he should get.
He then remembered that he already had a Pranic Heart and only his inability to connect with Prana made him a cripple.
'I just have to try connecting with the Prana in my body!' Arion knew from his memories that all living beings inherently contained Prana inside their bodies.
So, the elementary step one should take to walk the path of becoming a Defier was to first connect with the Pranic energy in one's body, which was mainly concentrated in their heart.
Arion closed his eyes and remembered Mei's teachings. She would always encourage him to try connecting with Prana, no matter if he fails or not. She said that if he consistently keeps on trying, one day, he would be successful.
And this was the main reason why Arion never gave up and even always went all the way towards the Golden Monolith to train himself.
The Golden Monolith could help one connect with Prana faster and even improve their ability to synchronize with it. So, it was quite popular among people or kids who were aspiring to become a Defier.
For now, Arion just wanted to test whether he could at least sense the Prana in his body.
He closed his eyes and silenced his mind. His mind quieted down, and his awareness turned inward till he could clearly hear the sound of his heartbeat as he focused on his heart.
His concentration became deeper as he continued to focus on his heart until he reached a state where he could not feel or sense anything outside the world. It was as if he was completely shut out from the outside world.
He had no idea of the passage of time, nor could he feel any of his surroundings. All he could hear was the sound of his heartbeat and the blood flowing through his veins.
It was a surreal experience since he felt that he had never felt these kinds of sensations before.
But suddenly, he felt a tingling sensation all over his body, especially in his heart. As he tried to focus on that feeling, he felt a chaotic energy field that seemed to shroud his whole body in darkness.
Even when he tried to open his eyes out of excitement, all he could see was pitch black darkness. He couldn't even see his own body or anything!
Even the sound of his heartbeat magically got silenced.
Arion started to panic, but then he tried to calm himself down, thinking that this might have got to do with him finally connecting with the Pranic energy in his body!
Thinking about it, he felt excited that he still had a chance to recover and become a Defier!
From his memories, he could see how much he desired to become a Defier, and those feelings still carried over to his present self as if it were his own.
The darkness seemed to twist and encircle his whole body. But because of this, he suddenly started to feel his darkest emotions and his darkest memories...memories where he saw his parents being murdered by his own relatives...memories where he was chased and hunted by his parent's murderers.
His anger, hatred, and resentment that rested in the deepest depths of his heart began to surface. He could also feel his blood beginning to tingle as well.
A malevolent and bright spark began to emerge from the surface of his blood.
But before his emotions could aggravate further, the darkness that was covering him suddenly dissipated away.
The turbulent emotions that emerged from his heart receded like a tide before feeling his tranquility returning back.
His body no longer tingled. Only the sound of his heartbeat seemed to echo in his body. He felt his senses returning to him slowly, including the subtle sensations on his skin and hair.
But...
"Hrrrkk!" Arion suddenly choked when he felt a hand clutching his neck. He opened his eyes in shock, only to see the handsome boy gripping his neck with a wary gaze.
'What the fuck!'