***
"Promise me hon, promise me that you'll become stronger, stronger than me, stronger than your dad. Promise me that you'll become strong enough to protect those you love and cherish"
"I promise mom, I...promise on house Dixon, that I'll be strong...."
There was a long eerie silence.
"...and I'll take revenge on those who did this."
***
'Huh?' Jack felt something rough and moist scratch against his nose. It was kind of ticklish but Jack realized that he wasn't laughing or even happy in the slightest.
Instead he was feeling sad, he felt bitter. He also realised that he was lying on the floor. He sat up and slowly took in his surroundings. There was shattered glass on the floor and he was in his kitchen, but what happened.
His mind was in turmoil and his memory was hazy. Jack tried to sit upright. His whole body was a wreck and he found so much difficulty in finishing such a simple task. After a desperate struggle he managed to stand.
Despite all the pain he persisted. Jack had a mild temperament and a cool, sadistic and cynical head on his shoulders, he never took impossible for an answer and this was what kept him going most of the time.
After what seemed to be an eternity of struggle he managed to stand on his feet. Sweat was glistening on his forehead reflecting the serene night light.
"Huh?" Jack groaned. 'Shit, how long was I out for?' He cursed inwardly. There was shattered glass on the floor and he was shocked at how despite lying in the middle of it he was unscathed. There was no trace of sunlight in the sky, implying how long the sun might have been gone for.
"Meow."Jack looked to his feet and noticed Cat was rubbing itself against his leg. He wanted to bend and give it a gentle stroke but erred against it as he felt he would topple over if he did.
Still standing, Jack decided to make way towards his bedroom so he could rest as his body was currently strained.
He took a step, then two and suddenly he saw himself tilting towards the floor. He tried to right himself but his legs were unresponsive.
He hit the ground with a solid thud and winced at the pain. He cursed inwardly-again. Planting his outstretched palm on the floor just right besides his chest Jack collected himself from the floor as he had done a million times in the past.
He managed to sit, not willing to punish his body further. He took in a deep breath and winced feeling a sharp pain slice at his heart.
"Fuck that parasite." He gritted through his teeth. "No one told me Xeron had devastating negative effects." He winced again as a sharp pain sliced his heart. Almost on instinct he closed his eyes and calmed his breathing, focusing all his senses to perceive inside of him, to feel his core.
This wasn't something new to him. He had practiced it until he got so sick and tired of it. He practiced it so much that he could see his inner self almost immediately after he closed his eyes.
Gradually he saw all colour drain from his body leaving behind a translucent shell, a silhouette of himself. He urged his senses to probe deeper. Beneath the translucent layer he saw two waves of radiant liquids permeate around his body, clashing furiously as each wanted to gain control.
'Great now I have two parasites to worry about.' He thought. Jack was shocked by what he saw. In the center of his chest right above his diaphragm lay a radiant ball of energy.
He was so happy he almost lost concentration. Almost, but he managed to focus just in time. Jack recognised the radiant green ball- a quin core- he had been trying to form it for the past seven years but to no avail.
'It seems Xeron gave me the nudge I needed.' He rejoiced.Jack was so happy, happy to the extent he broke into a small grin before his perfectly practiced poker mask covered his face again. But alas it was short lived.
The radiant ball was dim and it was riddled with cracks all over its surface which as far as Jack knew was supposed to be smooth.
The quin core was green in colour, at least the part was normal. From the ball flowed rivers of energy which circulated through his body in rough defined pathways similar to blood vessels - quin vessels.
Jack frowned in annoyance noticing that another parasite- in the form of the radiant liquid -had been added to his already leached body
The purple energy which seemed to be different from the green one he knew of but at the same time so similar was turbulent and seemed to be seeping out of his core and was also trying its best to devour his quin.
Whereas quin nourished him and strengthened his body. This new energy drained him. It starved his cells of their nutrients but at the same time restored them into their prime condition. It was confusing at best and scary at most.
Scary because this meant he would be needing way more food in order to put some kind of lease on this foreign energy.
His body already had its fair share of parasites and if he could he would have ripped its source out of his body but once again reality proved to be a cruel warden.
He urged his senses to probe further into his core as this alien purple energy was flowing out from his cracked core. Inside his quin core which encompassed his heart, he saw the source of the purple energy.
Jack had hope and he had a lot. Now that he had formed a quin core he could at least uproot this parasite but nothing was ever easy. His hope was short lived and crushed mercilessly but reality.
The source of the purple energy was his heart.
'The fuck?' Jack thought. Right in the center of his heart was a crystalline solid producing a constant stream of this new and foreign purple energy.
Things were clearly out of control as Jack did not know how to rid himself of this crystal without killing himself.
Everytime his heart beat, the purple energy would surge through his body and fill his cells with energy, urging them to come alive. The purple tried to subdue and suppress his quin.
Jack focused his breathing and calmed his body down. Using his knowledge and experience with quin Jack gathered all the purple energy that permeated his body and will it to be directed towards his heart and sealed into the crystal.
The feeling was low-key exhilarating- forget low-key, it was straight up intoxicating. A singular primal urge that beg him, commanded him to just let go and circulate the purple energy within his body in a never ending cycle.
Experience they say is the best teacher, had Jack not felt this before he would have given in. The feeling was very similar to when he was first exposed to quin and so he was easily able to suppress the urge.
After a while he was able to seal his purple energy within the crystal and urged the quin to take over again and revitalise him. The cracks which had formed on his core was slowly starting to mend and most closed healing form their previous gaping state to simple hairline fractures.
Jack let out a sigh after a while as feeling slowly returned to his legs. He was exhausted physically, emotionally and ... energily... hmm energy wise or what ever the word was.
All that mattered to Jack was that he was utterly spent. Mustering what little strength he had left he headed to his room and threw himself on his bed all whole thinking of only one thing.
Sleep.
Immediately his head hit the pillow his mind went blank. That was a new development but Jack wasn't even conscious to notice.
Usually he would toss and turn for about an hour and sometimes even more.
It was during this point that all sorts of weird, bizarre narratives and stories would pop up into his head weaving themselves into intricate tales of far and near, tales of both holy and abominable things.
Tales that would carry him to another world,only to be forgotten the moment he closed his eyelids succumbing to the sweet embrace of sleep.
***
***
Jack woke up almost immediately. Another unusual but welcomed change. The sun was starting to rise and it's rays, natures own paintbrush, brought colour into the city of Kneuman.
Something had jolted him awake but he forgot what it was. He looked up at the ceiling waiting for orientation to set in and for his senses to align.
"Arghh." Jack moaned as a blinding pain seared through his chest. "Bloody parasite."
Focusing on his activities for the day Jack soon forgot about the pain and set out to what was needed to achieve strength.