my ears are ringing, i can't see anything, i can feel the rain but there's a faint metallic scent.
everything hurts and i can't remember anything.
"â˘â˘â˘hp low, entering "recovery mode"â˘â˘â˘"
i open my eyes and see a white ceiling
as i try to move i feel a intense stinging pain in my arm, i try to turn my head and while i was able to turn to the side it was painful
*clink*
a door somewhere out of view opens and i hear a pair of footsteps "of course not if i lied to you one of these patients will wake up today" a woman's voice rings out
'how long has it been?' not remembering anything exept a monotone voice and pain, i open my lips and try asking for help
"h-he-lp m e" i say, my throat hurt with every word while my voice came out raspy
*KYAAA*a woman screams in surprise, falling on her b*tt
"g-get t-the doctor" the supposed nurse says while i lay there
...
"are you sure?" a middle aged docter in his office asks a teenage nurse who looks not a day older then 16 "YES COME QUICK" she shouts at him "whatever. just let me finish this real quick" he says while waving her off
...
"come on derrick you been making me wait for half an hour" the teen says angrily
"ok lets go now" he says throwing the pen he was using lazily across the desk. 'lets see just what all her yammering is about' he thinks whilst putting on a white coat and walking towards the door
*clink* the door opens again and once more two pairs of footsteps walking .as they come to a stop a couple beds away from me the middle aged docter calls out "is anybody awake?" after that the room goes so quiet you could hear a pin drop
"y-yess" i rasp out trying to get his attention, after i answer he walks in between mine and somebody else's beds and look at the one to his right. after a couple seconds he turns to me and i blink twice fast, immediately he holds his index finger in front of me and starts moving it left and right.
i make sure to keep track whilst looking at him now and then to make sure he knows im awake
"holy s**t, you're actually awake" he says dumbfounded by the events happening "anna, make sure he has something to pay attention to so he doesn't go back to sleep. im gonna make a few calls" he says whilst pulling his phone out and walking towards the door out of view
" yes derrick, dont worry" she says cheerfully, pulling her phone out after helping my head back onto the pillow.
after showing me videos on you-time for a few hours
she points at my nose and declares "you owe me an apology for scaring me"...not knowing what to do i open my mouth and ask "h-how lo-ng?"
before she could even process what i ask the door opens and i hear more footsteps...alot more
"this is the kid?" an old man in purple robes asks from out of view. "yes sir, he woke up just over 5 hours ago" derrick states bowing to the old man in a suit "you're the first person too wake up from a mana comma kid, its been 8 years since you were found on the slums of lonnas city" the old man says in a calm soothing voice, almost as if he was talking to his own grandson
afterwards i was taken into a limousine via stretcher and taken to another hospital. this one was at least 5 stories. the instant the limo was parked a doctor approached the car and opened it "what have you done this time leo?" the doctor asked, "this kiddo is the first and only person to wake up from a mana comma" the old man says smugly whilst pointing at me
"lets get this kid to a healing pod then, and dont you dare cause any trouble" the docter exclaims calmly walking back to the hospital with me in his arms
"dont worry kiddo by the time you wake back up, everything will be taken care of" the old man says.
after waving his hand in front of me everything fades to black
"â˘â˘â˘host is afflicted with "induced sleep" status. duration:Âż?Âżâ˘â˘â˘"
*6 months later*
"how is he?" an old man in purple robes asks the docter at his side, "the restoration is slower then expected, but at his current pace he'll wake-up in about a week or so" the young doctor says with a whilst looking at his tablet
*beeep*[breach in sector 4, i repeat breach in sector 4. this is not a drill]
i wake up and im in some kind of slime or ooze, i can move but its like trying to move in mud or wet sand but i can breathe without problems thanks to a respirator mask
observing my surroundings i find a red lever, as for what it says i have no idea, i decide to pull it because i have nothing to do and im bored
*beeep*[breach in sector 4, I repeat breach in sector 4. this is not a drill]
as a loud warning goes off the capsule opens leaking ooze everywhere whilst i pull a respirator mask off, in front of me is a man wearing a white mask with two purple zigzags, one down each eye. he looks at me
"now what does a A-class government mage want with you?" the man asks curiously. after a moment he declares a
"im Bugad, and you're coming with me" as he walks to me. before he has the chance to pick me up a ball of fire hits him in the side, sending him flying into a wall
"oh my... so much for a week, right kiddo?" leo asks with his index finger pointing towards where the man was earlier "leo A-class mage?" i ask seeing him where the fire ball came from. "yeah kiddo, leo A-class mage" he chuckles
*thud* a piece of wall hits the ground as the man gets out "whats up with the kid? i didn't think the government was so desperate for a super soldier" the man sneers pointing at me"don't be ridiculous, he's even more important then that. he did the impossible and woke up from a mana comma" leo says as im suddenly pulled towards him "take him to the rehab center, i have some business to take care of" he states as i float into the arms of the doctor "sorry kid, i don't know magic so im just gonna do this the old fashioned way" *pow* right as he finishes speaking, a intense pain springs from my neck and everything fades black
i feel heavy and slow as i try getting up
i open my eyes and im in the middle of the street. i look around and see im newly clothed in a pair of jeans a white T-shirt and a black hoodie with red markings down the left arm. i also notice a chain on my chest roughly where my heart is, floating and moving almost as if its alive. with nothing better to do i follow the chain, 5 minutes turns to 10 which turn to twenty which turn to 40. after about 3 hours i arrive before a large building with a golden crutch and walk at it, though surprisingly when i go to open the door, i pass through it as if it was never there. i go to the receptionist and ask for help but she to ignored me
"its not gonna work kid, people who dont cultivate the soul won't see or hear you without a incredible amount of spiritual energy" i turn with haste to see an old man wearing a magenta kimono and a chain on his abdomen leading to his body resting on a bench at the waiting area "i wonder what happened that you're out of your body with such weak spiritual power? maybe you can enlighten me?" he questions, looking me up and down "im following my chain because i woke up like this a bit ago" i respond coldly and turn towards were my chain is waving "hey kid, here's some advice from an old timer. there's a shop couple miles east of here called mozu's blade, go to the clerk and tell her
"the blade doesn't kill, it conveys the intent of its creator" and she'll help you get you're bearings. now off you go you little rascal"
he finishes as he waves me off and retracts into his body, he promptly gets up off the bench and winks at me, afterwards i head to the room my body is in and see myself for the first time
toned but not to the point of being tan like a farmer nor am i pale like a prince, my brown hair is long, almost to my knee's, i have almost no muscle, looking like i only have enough to move and a brisk pace at most. despite that im wearing a pair of grey slacks some white socks and a loose blue t-shirt, i get bored of not being able to feel anything with my only sense being sight and the occasional tug from my chain, so i lay atop my body and as soon as i aligned with it i regained? consciousness and opened my eyes. there was a white cat on my right and the lanky looking doctor who knocked me out was sitting at my side on his phone, *shhh* i take a deep breathe of cold air to try calming my throbing neck " ah, you're awake" he says cheerfully "sorry about the neck, I did the best i can without magic but you're gonna have to get by for now, im gonna inform your caretaker that you're awake then I'll take my leave, also if Chloe wants to go out, its best you listen lest you die before you're caretaker arrives" he laughes as he walks outside the room "so you're chloe?" i ask as i try to pet the cat, she purr's heavily when i touch her head, it was soothing but after half an hour *click* " hi im andrew, I'm a D-rank hunter, my abilities lets me compose lists and create a healing aura, its slow but its proven effective." he greets enthusiastically sitting on the stool on the side of the bed "who's the old man in pink outside?" i ask curiously "him? he likes to remain anonymous but his hunter card said he's a soul practitioner"
"i know that, i wanna know why he was here"
"eh? how could you know that? you haven't left this room have you?" he asks concerned "of course not he came and we talked for a bit while i was unconscious" i responded matter-of-factly whilst sitting upright "so you're also a soul practitioner?" "nope not one bit, i dont even know how my soul got out of my body" "well thats kinda concerning, but at least you managed to get back in quickly right?" " no. i woke up on the street and followed my chain here where i met the old man" i respond with haste "and how long were you out of your body?" he asks whilst pulling a pen and clipboard "i dont know like three or four hours"i respond truthfully ok next question....
"ok im gonna counsel some fellow employees about you're health needs and I'll get right back to you" he says after handing me a lolipop.*click* the lanky doctor who knocked me out walks in "how did you do it?" "im sorry? do what?" "how did you pull my soul out?" "eh? what?" *click* "he didn't, you did" a familiar voice rings out "leo" he bows "i assume you took care of your business?" he asks respectfully "no, unfortunately it will have to wait till a later date" he said with a disappointed tone " how can i pull my soul out again?" "you can't, your spiritual power is to weak. you were only able to do it last time because the high energy level from my battle acted as a supplement for spirit energy, coupled with immense pain and a desperate will to survive. you body forced your soul out to facilitate faster regeneration and effective rest" he states calmly while looking down at his feet. "why a chain?" "thats a chain of fate. it connects you to your body, if it ever gets broken you will either have to find your body as fast as possible, or takeover someone else's body... and chould the chain's last link break, you will turn into a evil soul of malice and gluttony" he says with a lecturing tone.
ă3 months lateră
" bye, dont come back too soon" andrew waves with a smile *dun* "why did you choose to take care of him personally director?" a woman with a black cloak asks. "because he had high soul strength despite his weak spiritual power. i mean i could feel his soul half an hour before he arrived here.
"so kiddo, ya got a name i can call ya? i cant just call ya kiddo you're whole life or mine for that matter" he laughes "i cant remember my name so... i picked alma...alma nueva" i stated calmly "kiddo just when did-ja learn spanish?"
"i didn't. i just know it" "so you're telling me without learning it, you just know spanish?" "yeah. that is infact what im telling you" "whatever, not like im one to pry. oh and by the way starting tomorrow at 6am i will officially be you're grandfather, i asked my son to look after ya till ya become a D-rank hunter and thus an adult. ok kiddo?" "ok, i see no problems with this situation, except you of course" a say jokingly "you little rascal, just dont grow up to fast will ya?" "sure gramps" "oh but before that lets get you some real clothes, that way ya dont look like ya been living the rehab center." "i want to look like my soul" ok well when ya get strong enough to force ya soul out I'll happily getcha a similar outfit" *sha* "there. when can i get the outfit?" "holy sh*t kid, one accidental soul expulsion and ya can already do it?" "well i had some practice" "let me getta good look atcha kiddo" i
slowly turn lifting my hoodie and whatnot to make sure he gets the details "ay ya know theres a marking on ya back right?" "how would i have known that? mirrors cant reflect souls" "well it looks like a bone mask and its got a blue diamond on its forehead" "ok I'll make sure to get that" "not till yer an adult ya dont" we park at an apartment complex and he gets out first "ya need a hand?" "im fine gramps" i retort as a get out and close the door
"go and take this thing back, i did my part so im gonna spend time with my grandson" he says to the driver, who promptly nods and drives away
we walk to the second floor of the apartment complex and arrive at door 24 where he stops and knocks on the door "gimmie a minute will ya?" a mans voice grumbles, muffled by the door. *click* "oh its you, i thought you said you'd come on friday" the tall lean man with dark hair and darker circles under his eyes says upon seeing leo "but it is friday, and i also have someone for ya, remember the favor?" he answers slyly "let me guess. you want me to adopt this kid who came off the streets, without notice or any prep on my part. is that right?" he asks, clearly frustrated "for the most part yeah, tho if ya wanna, i could just ask for money but...how much would that be? 5 maybe 6 million? i know you make alot but not 5 million credits alot" he threatens *sigh*" ok fine, he can sleep on the couch till i get a proper bed. he can go in the kitchen, laundry room, guest room, living room, and bathroom, but you're getting him basics like clothes, a phone, hunter gear, and tutoring" he replies sternly. i eject my soul and walk through the apartment "hey kiddo you should warn sombody or at least lay down first, if you get knocked out your spirit body will be harder to move, and dont just leave whenever, because if sombody is powerful enough and has bad intentions he cause severe your chain and corrupt you're spirit body and your mind" he lectures holding my body. "so the kids a soul practitioner?" "nope. the kiddo can just do that. its a bit strange that he can project his soul with such weak spiritual power, though it might be possible because his soul strength?" leo suggests.
"no, soul strength is irrelevant in this. it might be a passive for his unawakened abilities" the man states. "hey kid come back now" the man calls out into the apartment "what?" i ask getting set down by leo "tomorrow were going to the hunter association to get your abilities awakened, its average to awaken 2 or 3 abilities, i awoke the abilities of hyper cognition and speed burst, one lets me think faster and comprehend things faster while the other lets me speed up any part of me momentarily but their both costly to maintain so i need 10 hours of sleep and at least 6k calories a day, if i use speed burst that number can go up to 14 hours and 12k calories a day, which is costly so i tend to not use it if i dont have to, now add you to the mix and i can use speed burst once every 2 months so dont go raiding my fridge like you haven't eaten in years" he says before turning to leo "and you better make good on you're word" he says to leo "of course, if i didn't keep my word with my own son how could i face the rest of my family?"leo replies slyly ands pulls out his phone "im going back to my workshop, dinner will be done by 8. i wont bother you till we have to go to the exam, so try not to miss dinner" he says taking out a keycard and walking down the hall
i spent my time practicing soul separation and found out i can stay out of my body for 2 hours before my soul chain pulls me after another hour it feels painful, like somebody's trying to rip my chest out, i saw my chain start to pull out from my chest so i stopped resisting and slammed heavily into my body.
i found out how to make my body maintain its position when i leave, which surprisingly also lets me stay out for an extra half an hour. i went around the apartment till i heard the nice man call "wake up its morning". i look around and to my surprise everything was black and white, 'how could i see the purple kimono then?' i wonder as i reel myself to my body like how i was forced earlier. "sorry i missed dinner" i say sitting up feeling refreshed from my body resting while i trained "just eat breakfast to make up for it" he says whilst lighting a cigarette "thank you" i nod as i sit down and look at the plate that had scrambled eggs, toast, and cornbeef hash assembled neatly. after that i trained my soul abilities, well more like i tried to see what i can do to my soul. i can slightly alter my size and can extend my limbs slightly, and i can make a bubble of soul energy around myself to sense anything in it, but its range is just outside my reach and i have to be entirely focused, when a small beetle walked by i could only sense it for a second before it broke my concentration on the bubble and it dissipated. afterwards i got on a basic pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, the hoodie was expected to come within the week but i just left it for now
...
after he confirmed his reservation test we waited for them to prepare the stuff, which took a couple hours, during that time i tried using my bubble in my body, it was more difficult then when out of it and i could only make it about half as big but i made it a quarter as big so i wouldn't have to focus so hard on it, "alma please this way" a burly man in a suit called waving at the genral waiting area "can i come?" leo's son asks curiously "sorry but only the one being awakened and overseers are allowed during the process, you can however come to the demonstration room if he allows it "i dont mind" i respond as i get up and walk to the man. "after you enter the room head to the middle of the awakening formation and wait for it to be powered" he says stoping at the yellow line roughly 3 meters from the door, when i walk in i see a giant formation of symbols and lines, the closest thing to a magic circuit board, in the middle is a circle with only one symbol connected to the formation at four ends, as i walk to the center of the formation it glows where i stepped and when i was in the middle after a moment a slow glow crept from the edges, swirling toward me like molten metal, after a minute it started filling the center formation and once all of it was filled.
*BAM* *CLANK* *CRASH*
in a instant i was pulled from body which smashed on the ground, knocking my body unconscious. my chain almost immediately after broke from my body and chattered when it touched the ground, the only part left was the part connected to me and half a link left from what didn't hit the ground, immediately afterwards a searing pain appeared in my chest, i looked down and saw the the chain was quickly eating? itself, within 10 minutes it was almost at my chest, it stopped every minute but only for 30 seconds before it continued gnawing itself to dust.
â˘â˘â˘in the oversight roomâ˘â˘â˘
"looks like he's taking the separation of the chain of fate quite well, usually they start screaming from the pain of it dissipating, especially when its speeding up the process to only 15 minutes" an old man in a purple kimono states amused "we should disable the soul awakening formation before his chain of fate eats itself. only rarely does anybody survive a soul corruption" a well built man in a blue and white kimono says concerned, "i agree, if he was a cultivator he would have slowed the chain down to at least 20 minutes, just the fact that its only one stop from the final phase is proof enough that he's a physical or mana awakened" a slim woman in a green and yellow kimono says in agreement, "i say if he can make use soul sense without soul separation then he can awaken soul powers" a pale woman wearing a pink and red kimono says confidently " fine but the instant it goes wrong you're dealing with it- *CRACK* before the man in blue and white could finish his sentence the glass protecting them all started cracking along the middle "damn, he's got quite the soul power" the slim woman says letting out a whistle.
back in the room i the last of the chain eats itself and falls to the ground, i start screaming almost immediately afterwards due to the intense pain, my vision is blocked by some white substance and i feel pain from every fiber of my being, it feels almost like im being blended from the inside out, not to mention the pain on my face feels like acid has been injected into it. i screaming and wail for what feels like hours then, nothing, absolutely nothing, its pitch black and i can't feel the pain anymore. before i know it im standing on a white platform above the clouds and a white clone of me stands in front of me with a bone like mask in his right hand and a sword with a simple blade and a blue diamond shaped guard in his left, " which one will protect you?" he asks his emotionless voice seemed to come from everywhere as he spoke "pick carefully" he says as i stand infront of him, the blade radiates an aura like it wanted to kill without restraint, i only felt this once, it was like a weaker feeling of leo when he pulled me with his power, the mask didnt radiate any aura but it had a weird vibe, like it was a piece of who i am, i tried using my bubble and to my surprise with minimal effort i could make it stretch and expand like it was second nature, i then encompassed the mask and sword with my bubble, the sword lightly trembled after it was encompassed but the mask shook violently, once i tried felling the intent of the items i noticed immediately,
the sword felt like a child being adopted from a orphanage, exited and emotional, but the mask felt like going to a graveyard and talking with a long gone family member who you haven't gotten over the loss of.
emotional but caring, forgotten by most but not lost to time, it felt so strong i started shedding tears, then i realized the feeling was coming not from the mask but from the me im facing, i tried to embrace this version of myself but before i could a barrier surrounded me and he said "which one will PROTECT YOU" sounding mad and full of emotion that wasn't there the first time he asked, the barrier dropped and i answered "you, you can protect me" full of sadness i never knew, like never being able to say goodbye to a friend before they pass. i feel a intense pain in my chest, i look down and see the sword stabbed halfway through me"w-why?" i ask tears flowing freely down my eyes as he pulls out the sword "because you left me. YOU ABANDONED ME" he yells slashing me deep in the shoulder,
the pain went away almost instantly and was instead replaced by heavy feeling of guilt, like mourning the death of a friend when you feel like you could've helped whem one way or the other, i just stood there slash after slash building the guilt like a mountain crushing me, i fall onto my knee's and listen to myself for hours how i felt when i was shut out and forced to the deepest parts of my mind to how i waited for so long without answer, and how betrayed i felt that i couldn't even remember my own name and abilities. after my body was riddled with slashes and stabs and i was laying face first from the guilt that felt like i was holding the universe on my back. "im sorry, im truly sorry," i say tears flowing like a river, i have been crying for hours both me and the clo- part of me have been, the white platform was black in a circle around me and my fragment and about half of it was red from my blood and all of it was wet from hours of tears, after that i was lifted up from the ground and my fragment embraced me with a strong hug put the mask on my face he let go and when he did the guilt i felt lessened but never went away, my fragments eyes were now black and yellow and he said "i am you and you are me" when he said this a ball of red was at his finger now pointed at my chest "i wont forgive you until you forgive yourself. only i can protect myself, and i trust you to make good on that promise" as he finished saying that the ball of energy fired leaving a gaping hole in my chest, and everything faded to black again. i woke up feeling the pain from earlier and realized this feeling, it was guilt, the instant i felt it it dissipated but it was still weighing me down, then i look around and im on one knee with a group of people holding various unique shaped swords pointing at my throat heart and head, i see the old man from the rehab center and slowly get up off my knee, i look towards him again and bow "the blade doesn't kill, it conveys the intent of its creator" i say respectfully, "just as the blade can go dull so can ones mind and skills, every aspect must be polished and refined to match the needs of the wielder" he says pointing at my chest, i instinctively look down to see a mask in my right hand and the blade with a blue diamond guard in my left and a gaping hole in my chest, i put the mask on and almost instantly afterwards a rush of knowledge on soul energy usage and how to "hollowfy" and "embody" i also knew how to use the blast move called "cero",as i unembody everybody's faces shift from fear to curiosity to amazement *tak**tak*tak*tak* a wooden rain sounded out, i looked down and saw chunks of white material falling off my body, i see arm and chest pieces mostly but near the part where it would fall of my face, two horns fell they were like a demon horns, thick long and curved, resembleing a antelope the edges were jagged and chipped liked they were used for years without rest "what the hell? i looked like that?" i ask seeing the horns and i pull the mask off, the whole face piece comes off at once, black lines barely on both sides, and a blue diamond on the forehead, the top had holes where the horns went, and the lower jaw locked tightly to the top, i then set the mask lookalike i had with the sword down and put the shell on, it was like i was at the most calming and comforting place ever, everybody pointed their swords at my head again afterwards but then i felt an urge at the back of my mind 'killing intent ' i thought, then i pointed to the old man and gathered pure energy from the air, the next moment it all gathered at the tip of my finger and the old man smiled "lets take this to the demo room shall we?" "ok, i dont mind" i respond as i absorb the spirit energy at the tip of my finger, "sorry for the late introduction my self given name is alma nueva but my true name is "Xeventh" i bow "uhh not sure if anybody else could say the second one but its a pleasure to meet you alma, im rey" the burly man bows, "its an honor" i say not realizing that my true name came out as a low rumble with clicks and chirps