Eli was going to wait until the candle had burned out, which would take quite a while since it hadn't even started melting yet. But he heard a soft, weary voice calling him—it was Scott. He ran toward the forest, and after passing a tree, he found himself behind Mrs. Macall's house. Eli felt that strange sensation again, glancing back to see only the darkening forest.
Scott, finally seeing Eli, called out, "Hey! What are you doing out here? It's kind of creepy."
The next day, Eli was still quiet. He didn't want to go back to the hospital, even though his mother was there and his father was occupied with work. When they reached the hospital, Eli grabbed a water bottle and headed toward the Fox Detective. However, as he approached the hospital, he noticed the plant he had tossed through the window. Oddly, it had landed perfectly back in the pot, barely growing since it had fallen out. He picked it up and saw that all the plant's energy seemed to be concentrated in a small, newly-formed fruit on the cactus. Bringing it with him, water bottle in hand, he stepped inside the hospital. The moment he entered, nausea crept over him, and he thought he might vomit. Mrs. Macall noticed Eli wasn't following and looked back.
"Eli, are you okay?" she asked.
He replied, "I think I'm going to stay with the detective." Though she didn't want him to stay outside, she agreed, trusting that the detective would be there. Eli asked her to put his bottle in the fridge, and he went to the bushes that had hidden the cactus plant, sitting between them. He took off the fruit, and, strangely, the cactus turned to ash, leaving him holding a cactus fruit and an empty pot. Moments later, Eli spat out two seeds—he hadn't realized he'd eaten the fruit! One seed looked normal, but the other had a golden hue in Eli's eyes. He planted both seeds in the pot and waited, giving it about 30 minutes before he thought the water would be ready to move.
Finally, it was time to go inside. Pot in hand, he felt the oppressive hospital atmosphere as he took his first step inside. To everyone else, it was just another day at the hospital, despite the chaos that had erupted the day before. But Eli had to fight back nausea with each step. Walking to the nurses' break room, he took his cold-water bottle from the fridge and, a few moments later, prepared another potion.
This time, he found himself in a patient's room, with sage burning by the bedside and windows open. He felt slightly better but decided to try another test. He poured all the potion into the pot, and soon after, two green shoots emerged and twisted together, forming two small cactus balls. For a moment, he thought both would grow side-by-side, but seconds later, the more vigorous cactus enveloped the other, leaving one large ball-shaped cactus in the pot with two small fruits. But that wasn't all—its essence was a vibrant orange.
The rest of the day, Eli spent observing the plant. In the afternoon, Stiles and Scott arrived at the hospital. "What do you mean everyone died?" Scott asked.
"Yeah," Stiles replied, "well, not everyone—apparently two survived. One left town, but the other is here, in a coma."
Eli, curious, asked, "Do you know their names?"
Stiles stopped, thinking. A moment later, he raised his head and said, "The Halls. The whole family—just gone." He continued, "Hey, Eli, are you okay? You're not as lively as usual."
"I'm fine," Eli replied, though he felt strange. "Just a bit weird."
"Is it your condition acting up?" Stiles asked, watching Eli's expression.
Eli shook his head. Before Stiles could say more, Scott spoke up with a surprised grin. "Whoa! This tastes amazing—and I feel so warm," he said, clearly savoring something. Eli turned to see Scott holding one of the cactus fruits and taking a bite. Before Eli could stop him, Stiles grabbed the fruit from Scott's hands and polished off the rest with a mischievous grin.
"What's this, Eli? What are you hiding?" Stiles teased as he and Scott laughed, energized and almost glowing with excitement.
Eli threw a pillow at them, more out of frustration than anything. He couldn't believe they'd just eaten it without asking! But then something strange caught his attention: Scott and Stiles were acting overly energized, almost as if they were on a high. They wrestled playfully, bursting into laughter as they goofed off.
Eli studied their reactions carefully. Was this a side effect of the cactus fruit? When he'd eaten it earlier, he hadn't felt anything unusual. He glanced down at the ring on his finger, thinking back to its abilities. Maybe the ring had absorbed the effects before they could impact him. As he examined it, he saw the ring's energy indicators:
Durability: 222
Attack: 311
Oddly, the ring had absorbed less energy than Eli expected. Initially, he'd felt drained and assumed the sage burning in the room was helping him feel better. But after watching Scott and Stiles eat the cactus fruit and seeing how energized they became, he started to wonder. The ring must have absorbed some vitality directly from the fruit, although not as much as he'd anticipated. This observation led Eli to suspect that the fruit's energy-boosting properties were likely offsetting his usual exhaustion from using his powers—not the sage. Perhaps, he thought, the fruit could be a way to manage the toll his powers took on him.
Meanwhile, Scott and Stiles were rolling around, laughing and wrestling with an enthusiasm that struck Eli as both foolish and oddly revealing. The energy from the cactus fruit seemed to have an almost euphoric effect, as if it neutralized fatigue and boosted vitality—just as his ring might have done. Watching them, Eli began to wonder if this was another tool to offset the toll his powers took on him.
Elsewhere, Kate approached a figure standing in the shadows and said, "Good work, Mr...."
The figure gave a smirk. "You can call me Forge Master," he replied.
An older voice cut through the conversation, asking sharply, "What exactly are you?" Gerard, watching closely, had appeared without a sound.
The forge master chuckled. "I'm a witch—or warlock, if that suits you better."
Gerard scoffed, unimpressed. "Witches and magic died out long ago. Don't insult me with tall tales."
The forge master responded with a knowing grin. "Then let me serve as evidence that not all magic has been lost." He raised a staff and struck it against the ground, sending a wave of invisible energy through the air. Gerard, though silent, couldn't entirely mask his surprise.
"What do you want in Beacon?" Gerard demanded, his eyes narrowing.
The forge master's gaze grew sharp and focused. "I sensed something here. Something of mine that I intend to reclaim."
Gerard offered a wry smile. "Need any help with that?"
The forgemaster laughed coldly. "Don't flatter yourself, Gerard. Mortals as limited as you couldn't begin to assist. I'll manage without help."
Kate, sensing the tension, interjected. "Can we still expect a supply of your equipment?"
"For as long as you can pay," the forge master replied smoothly. "But once I've retrieved what's mine, I'll be moving on to better opportunities. Something in Beacon clouds my vision, so finding it may take longer than expected. But rest assured, I will locate it. And when I do," he added, his voice dropping to a chill, "I will be complete."