Barton awoke still with the shock Mr. Alistair imparted on him lingering in his heart.
It was a sudden madness that enraptured the soul, and even after he had chosen his Path traits, he could not forget. The image of Mr. Alistair's three fingers was extremely clear in his mind.
His brain trembled, his spine tensed.
Compared to the secrets described by Dark Cloud, the mere words that caused discontent with the Path of Authority, Mr. Alistair had personally shown him what it meant to "Transcend."
—I indeed am not yet qualified.
Feeling somewhat lost, Barton thought as he became fully awake. There are things he wanted to do but couldn't... by now, he had long understood such things.
But it was fine.
He climbed out of bed, switched on the room's electric light, and looked toward the mirror to his side.
There, a youth that appeared to be only thirteen or fourteen years old.
