Mir felt physically self-aware, but with a lot of new, alien inputs running through his sensory nerves. The sunlight felt like a gentle massage rubbing out the kinks in his muscles and joints, releasing bursts of comfort that he wished would last forever.
"Mir, focus!"
This was the fifth time Murray had reminded him to not indulge in the sensation. Mir felt a little annoyed both with himself and at Murray. Gritting his teeth, he sacrificed the comfort of basking in the energy flowing throughout his body and began to help it be dispersed from his body.
Most of the viruses in his body came from mixed sources. Chances of him being able to use awaken a mutation from such a mixture was near zero. Of course, Mir would still have taken on those odds if not for the fact that the plan was yet to be tested by Murray. He didn't want to risk being harmed by a chaotic explosion of energy in case the mutation attempt failed.
So for now, he only observed the process of purification by the diary, mapping the pathway taken by the energy as the gaseous streams flowed out of his bloodstream, reached his pores and presumably got devoured by the diary. The outflow wasn't smooth at all, and if he didn't provide mental commands, it would have taken him a lot longer to be free from the useless energy.
A large portion of the total generated energy had already been absorbed inside his body, which must have made him temporarily capable of sensing the entire process.
"So far, so good," Mir commented as the alertness he was feeling began to die down. The soulful comfort provided by the energy streams left him feeling thirsty for more. He knew about this phenomenon. Rookies and elites alike often became drunk on this feeling, chasing purifications all the time. But too many purifications were naturally not a good thing, as it stunted a Transcender's potential, besides being expensive.
"Then we can call this one a success as well," Murray said with a satisfied nod as he marked the last command on their list as effective.
"With that delaying command to control the initiation of consolidation by the diary, we can absolutely hide from their eyes. I can confidently say now that we won't need any Energy Refinement Technique in the world, for any existing mutation!"
"Don't get so ahead of yourself," Mir muttered. "Maybe you'll discover that the Energy Refinement Techniques contain some crucial factors that mere mental guidance and biochemical reactions cannot copy."
"Damn, you had to ruin it for me, man," Murray groaned as he threw the diary back to Mir. "Come on, we've done enough experiments. It's time we went back and prepared for the main event– my mutation awakening. Father Vincent will be heading out to meet us any moment now."
That evening, the old priest took them to the Church. Mir had visited the massive building a few times in the past as a part of educational trips from school. So he noticed that the area they were being taken to today was restricted for the common visitors.
Despite the large size, the building was teeming with people, almost all of them low-ranked officials of the Church. Mir and Murray were guided to a remote corner, in front of a gated hallway guarded by two Deacons. There was a small plaque placed on top of the stone archway outside the gate, displaying a title: Hall of Blessings.
"Oh, Father Vincent! Are those your new apprentices?" One of them said in a tone that reeked of amusement, and not the positive kind.
"Neither seems to be a Transcender yet. What a shame! Is that why you've brought them here? To borrow one of our breakthrough chambers?" said the other guard.
A mocking sympathy was laced with his question. Their attitude, combined with Father Vincent's delayed response, made Mir wonder what else was happening behind the scenes. There seemed to be a story here.
"You two seem to have become exceptional at assessing those who visit the Hall of Blessings. In the next contribution evaluation panel, I'll be sure to explain to the Bishop that you're the perfect men for this job and this job only." Father Vincent spoke slowly, but the effect of the words wasn't slow. Both guards lost a bit of swagger, and despite trying to hide it, their voice shook when they snapped back.
"Yeah, doubt you'd still hold that position by then."
"Always thinking about harming others... Do you think retribution won't come for you one day?"
Flabbergasted, Mir looked at Murray and the priest for some context. But both seemed used to the treatment. One of the guards opened the gateway reluctantly, throwing venomous stares at Mir and Murray as they passed by him. Murray silently flashed him an obscene gesture that might have set the man off if not for his colleague dissuading him from the side.
On the other side of the hallway, automated doors opened to reveal a hundred meter wide, circular room, almost resembling a laboratory with the numerous coffin-like boxes hanging from the ceiling, some of them being attended to by technicians and doctors at the moment. The entry of three new people didn't even attract their attention. Only a pair of overseers came to greet Father Vincent and questioned their purpose there politely.
Soon, Murray was taken behind a curtain, from where he returned wearing nothing but a semi-transparent underwear. Mir really wanted to take a picture for absolutely no other purpose than to commemorate the moment, but a stern warning came from behind the moment he tried to take out his data terminal.
"Cameras are prohibited here, young man. Is this your first time here? Read the damn instructions on the wall!"
Father Vincent handed Murray's discarded clothes and other belongings to Mir. The pissed overseer kept staring at him the way a law enforcer looked at repeating offenders. Mir awkwardly stood close to Father Vincent and watched Murray being wheeled into one of the hanging coffins.
After a minute, one side of the coffin turned transparent, showing Murray standing inside nervously. The tube connecting the coffin to the ceiling was probably reflecting sunlight into the coffin, illuminating Murray with almost unnatural brightness, casting a golden glow on his skin.
The golden glow eventually gave way to red stripes just like the ones on Mir's body. A technician was observing several monitors attached to the coffin. He let out a surprised gasp and walked around to get a peek of Murray's appearance.
"Something wrong, Jean?" Father Vincent asked in concern.
"Not a problem, exactly," the technician answered. "It's just that your recruit is going through the steps a little too fast. It doesn't seem like his first time. The rate at which the viruses inside his body are dying is...incredible. Don't see that everyday."
Father Vincent looked a little unsure about how to respond. It didn't seem to be a bad thing, so he let go of the matter with a confused nod.
The transparent glass screen separating Murray from them was suddenly occupied by streaks of bright patterns. It appeared to be a digital projection, displaying a human body filled with criss-crossing arrays of glowing threads.
"That's the Energy Refinement Technique for the Spatial Pocket Mutation. The energy from the breakdown of virus bodies has already reached the ideal threshold now. He has to control it to the best of his abilities and channel the streams according to those pathways on the projection," Father Vincent explained to Mir in a low voice.
Mir subconsciously clenched the red diary hidden inside Murray's discarded jacket.