Beads of sweat trickled down the sides of Alex's worried face and splattered rhythmically on the floor. Each one releasing a reverberating splash inside the deathly silent cave like rain drops.
With his utmost concentration, Alex started to channel Vis to probe what problem Zalan was experiencing right now. Starting with Zalan's head, Alex systematically did a wide spread sweep to pinpoint the damaged area so he could focus his efforts solely on it. From the top of Zalan's head to the tip of his toes, Alex's palm produced a yellow aura that spread throughout Zalan's body like Alex was turning Zalan into gold.
However, besides the nosebleed, nothing seemed out of the ordinary; Which was strange given the convulsing Zalan showed just moments ago.
'Is there a problem his core? Did I put too much Vis into him? Or did he do something himself' Alex thought while the yellow aura started to seep around them like a cloud of gas and slowly fill the room.
Now, even the light radiating crystals that lined along the ceiling reflected the yellow hue.
But Alex didn't even notice the it as he closed his eyes and focused on the sensing unusual fluctuations or signs of internal damage with his hand pressed against Zalan's chest. Feeling all the channels to have normal levels of Vis and the body having no abnormalities, Alex could only sigh and hope for his well-being.
"Please wake up soon Zalan". He said gently.
Setting Zalan down gently on the ground, Alex Kept his eyes glued to Zalan laying on the floor and stood up with the intention of placing the crystal back in its respective place. Alex took a few steps backwards but stopped abruptly when he turned and took notice of the yellow cloud suspended in the air blocking his vision.
The left over Vis Alex released to check Zalan with diffused into the atmosphere. But since they were inside an enclosed area, the Vis just stayed suspended in the air and slowly seeped back into the nearest mass capable of collecting it. In this case, the crystal and Alex himself.
The energy of the different crystals emitted different Vis levels based off of its colour. Same as soul colours, Vis concentrations and rarity of crystals increased the further away from red it appeared. And stronger crystals can help someone reach a higher tier faster if they absorbed a lot of it to rebuild their bodies and develop abilities.
However, they were incredibly expensive and so Alex only had a couple yellow ones in his entire stash. They were saved for situations like this where the technique required high amounts of Vis like completely checking Zalan's body.
Just as Alex was about to absorb it the Vis from the cloud around him, a small commotion below made him snap his head.
*Cough *Cough
Zalan's brown eyes opened slowly opened and was greeted by what seemed to be like a yellow room surrounding him. He had yet to notice Alex's worried figure standing over him with relief look over his face. Zalan could help but show his distaste.
"What the hell? Where am I now? First a black world with those devils and the white ball test, then one with a sun and forest inside my head, and now a yellow one!? When am I going to go back?" Zalan shouted after returning to his sense.
Suddenly a voice came from above completely startling Zalan.
"What are you talking about?" Alex voice out before asking a string of questions.
"Zalan are you ok? Did you hurt your head? Do you remember who I am?" Alex asked rapidly. His worry turning into wariness upon Zalan's crazy comments.
'What the hell? Why is he here?' Zalan thought, temporarily stunned. As a result, he could only muster a slight moan.
"Uhhh…. Uhhh.."
After a slight pause and an incredulous look appearing over Alex's face,
"Hi dad" Zalan decided to say first before laughing awkwardly with a wave.
Alex didn't pay attention to his antics and only sighed in relief when everything about Zalan seemed normal—aside from the comment at least.
"What happened here?" Zalan asked gesturing to the yellow cloud. He didn't notice it then, but the Vis levels in this room were now much higher than before. Zalan's body started reacting like a drug addict holding the substance in their hand. It was yearning for it.
"I used a yellow crystal to check your body. Your nose was bleeding and you were convulsing". Alex informed Zalan.
"Ok, so can I absorb—" Zalan asked but was interrupted by a sudden pain budding within his eyes. It wasn't as bad as what Aktatin put him through, but it certainly did alarm Alex and made Zalan wish he was still unconscious.
"AAAAAHHHH!" Zalan scream and simultaneously shut his eyes as tightly as he could to alleviate the burning sensation now making its way to the back of his head. Feeling like his ears were about to explode, Zalan clutch the side of his head tightly and subsequently could only faintly make out Alex's desperate screams in the background. From his throbbing head to burning eye sockets, Zalan experienced pain he wouldn't even wish on his enemies.
After what seemed like an eternity to Zalan, the pain subsided. Leaving only a sweating child panting on a mat with bouts of saliva scattered along the side and a panicking man with more beads of sweat forming along his forehead. The cave had returned to its eerie silence void of any human screams. However, Zalan was feeling anything but calm. The voice that caused everything was now singing, in all its glory, like a nightmare inside Zaln's head:
"Hey Icarus, I hope you liked my gift to you. Don't worry, I'm not here. I just implanted a will into your head to explain somethings to you. It will disappear after this message. Also, it wasn't just pain. It was a body restructuring technique that will allow you to reach your previous heights again. So you can take your rightful place and fight alongside me again. Although you seem to hate Chasm-Borns now, you'll know the truth about them soon. It's for you to discover what they truly are. Don't listen to the people around you and see for yourself."
There was a slight pause before the voice chuckled as if Aktatin couldn't hold in his laugh when creating this will.
"Hahah—about your power—-Hahaha! You'll get to know what it is soon—Hahaha! And to enter your consciousness space—hahahaha—-just imagine doing so—HAHAHAHA!!" In the end Aktatin couldn't hold it in and laughed for a while before the will finished its message and disappeared without a trace.
'What is so damn funny to him? And what is my power!?!' Zalan thought with a scowl. 'Also he said that all I had to do to enter my consciousness space was imagine it? Huh. I'll do it later. I think Alex is going to have a heart attack if this keeps happening.'
As if on cue, the panic stricken voice sounded like an alarm inside Zalan's head when Alex yelled out his name. Laying on the ground and not being able to find the the strength to lift his head, Zalan only turn wearily to glance at Alex. With Alex's body half hidden in the cloud of yellow fog, Zalan could only faintly see his silhouette approaching. However, when Alex noticed him and shuffled over, Zalan nearly had a heart attack upon seeing him up-close. Alex's body had turn grey…..