Chapter 18: Quintessence
Gray, after reaching the warehouse, stepped into it, noticing the miasma still present.
'I wonder on what its purpose might be…' he pondered with great interest.
'Could it be a Nephilim's ability?'
Once his body completely entered the warehouse, he finally saw Casanova's figure, quickly noticing that the man was wearing an eyepatch on his missing eye.
He subconsciously touched his right pocket, feeling the presence of Dusk Catcher inside it.
"Good evening," Gray waved his hand.
"Good evening," replied Casanova.
He then went towards the man, put his hand into his own pocket, and gave him Dusk Catcher.
Casanova thanked him, repeating what he had said the last time they met.
"You should turn around—I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy this."
Gray immediately followed his orders.
Since he knew what was coming, he wanted to avoid seeing that disgusting action again.
After a moment, he started hearing bizarre squelching sounds that made his body cringe repulsively.
He did his best to immerse himself in his own thoughts, not wanting to pay attention to those sounds.
'He has severed the optical nerve, how is he going to see from the eye, now? Could it be one of his other Nephilim abilities? But how many does he have?'
'From what I know, he has an increased strength, Dusk Catcher, and a way to regenerate his injuries, maybe?'
'N-no, I'm wrong…'
'In my Apocalyptic dream, when he was fighting the mantis, his body was falling apart. I didn't see it regenerate in any way. However, since he was able to survive, it could be the sign of a new ability.'
'…Unless his ability of strength is instead caused by a general improvement of his body's abilities, thus allowing him to survive off injuries that might otherwise kill a normal human, thanks to the improvement of his vitality…'
His eyes widened, as it was something he had seen in action.
'His hearing! Before I've had the revelation depicting The Monolith, he could hear me from an incredible distance! My theory might be correct!'
"You can turn around," Casanova said.
The man wasn't wearing his eyepatch anymore. Furthermore, his eye looked normal, as if he had never removed it.
Gray was tempted to ask on how he could remove his eye and reattach it like it was nothing, but diverted from it.
The man wasn't going to expose his cards, after all.
Just as Gray was wondering on what to say, Casanova suddenly commanded,
"Do thirty pushups."
'Uh?'
"S-sure…?"
The young man tried to do his best to follow Casanova's orders, but failed—he was only able to do ten pushups—with a terrible form.
"Now, do a plank that lasts three minutes," the man commanded once more, a smile marked on his face this time.
"Yes…"
This exercise was the one Gray hated the most.
The burning sensation he felt inside his abs was hellish, and the fact that not even thirty seconds had passed made it even worse. His arms and legs kept on trembling while his face became extremely red; his vision gradually turning dark.
After some moments, he collapsed on the floor—in total, his plank lasted fifty-seven seconds.
"Wh-What's the point of this?" Gray began to pant.
"I have made my decision," Casanova said.
"I will train you."
Gray gazed at him wordlessly, unsure of what to say.
Seeing his reaction, the man raised an eyebrow.
"You want to protect Kathy, am I mistaken?"
Gray Montoya looked up, seeing Casanova's green eyes gleam in the darkness—quickly after, the man bent down slightly, extending his hand towards him.
He took his hand, and with great anguish, he replied.
"Y-Yes. If it's for her, I'll do anything. I just…" he stammered.
"I just can't live without her."
Even now, thinking of Kathy being in danger due to his failures, filled his heart and mind with sorrow.
…
Time stood still.
Drops of rain were suspended in the air, not to touch the ground ever again.
There were no sounds and no colors other than the never-changing, greyish tint.
The sky was a cacophony of stars, far-away planets, and other heavenly bodies, all drained from their previous state of glory.
They all formed an eternal, cyclopean eye.
Although it died countless eons ago, it wordlessly stared at the ground below.
From an hidden, concealed amalgamation of shadows within the lifeless world, an illusory voice resounded, freeing the world from its previous state of suspension.
Was it worth it, taking his hand on that day now so far away?
Was it the only option I had?
All of this was unavoidable, wasn't it?
Ever since that day, I've regretted many things—but the things I now regret the most are those peaceful days.
Oh, you who hail from the past, please cherish them all.
Cherish those memories—cherish all those people whose names I've long forgotten.
And maybe…Just maybe, you'll be able to shatter this future of yours.
…
"It's settled, then."
Casanova smiled. "Now, run around the warehouse until you vomit blood,"
"Alright…" Gray said as he wiped the dust off his clothes.
He then took off running.
"Do I have to run as fast as I can? Or do I have to keep my stamina?" he yelled while panting.
He never was the athlete-kind. He never hated exercise, he just preferred avoiding it. Especially because he and Kathy never had the funds to practice an hobby.
As long as Gray had a book or any form of entertainment, he was happy.
Since his mother had an extremely large collection of books, Kathy didn't have the need to buy them.
After she died, her library soon became a way for him to know her more.
For months, he hadn't been able to open any of the books that belonged to the library without shedding tears, but now that he was older, he was able to enjoy the books with a smile on his face.
…
Rosano, years ago.
The small Gray sat on his mother's chair, his legs dangling over the edge.
With a book in his hands, he couldn't help but think about her.
"Did mom ever read this book, Did she like it?"
…
He did so again and again; it was a second-nature to him, by then.
"Mom, this page is so interesting! I hope you've read this!"
…
Now, Gray was a little older, at the point where his legs didn't dangle off the edge anymore.
"This book is really sad. I can't help but wonder, did she feel the same emotions I feel right now?"
…
Rosano, five months ago.
He closed the book, putting a bookmark inside the last page he had read.
"This book about mankind's belief is incredibly entertaining! It's as if—It's as if you knew that I would read it one day."
He smiled.
"Thank you, mother. Thank you for all the books you gave me."
…
"I'm teaching you how to run from an enemy you cannot possibly defeat."
Casanova chuckled.
"Who would run for their lives at a moderate pace?"
Since the miasma was already slowing him down, Gray had to focus even more.
Just then, he realized of how today he had ran more than he did in months.
In turn, he mocked himself inwardly.
When he was tired, he slowed down to gain more stamina, and when he felt more energized, he began picking up his pace once more.
He did his best to run as fast as possible, and after 5 minutes of repeating this cycle, he collapsed on the ground once more.
"Do I have to do something… else." Gray asked, panting on the floor.
Casanova shook his head. "You can rest now."
He was satisfied that the young man was determined enough to keep training—although his body was screaming at him for a moment of rest.
"Thank you." Gray replied, assuming a sitting position.
After he gained some of his energies back, he coughed dryly. "So, what did you mean by Emanation of Power?"
Casanova nodded, beginning his speech.
"Everything is this world…is connected and intertwined. All of its phenomena are related, and constructed by the one eternal, purest form of matter. The oxygen you breathe, the food you eat, and the people you love are all formed by those same bricks of creation."
"But in those cases, it has molded into a new form, facing the price of losing the ability to revert to its most primal state, cursed to change its form eternally without regaining the blessing of that original purity and limitless potential."
"Its name is Quintessence, and every single one of our species has been blessed by it. Thanks to it, we can utilize it for our means."
'Is this the true Arkhè that all those philosophers were trying to find?' he thought, recalling the words of Thales and his professor.
"Every Nephilim, even those with the weakest abilities, possesses a unique fragment of pure quintessence attached to their souls that aliments their abilities and emanates over reality."
Seeing Gray's confused face, he decided to help him further.
"I'll make an example so you can visualize it:"
"Those who can shoot lightning from their hands emit pure quintessence from their Fragment, and subconsciously, they utilize its limitless potential to transmute the quintessence into the form of their ability—a lighting."
"However, while the quintessence is the base for anything, they can only transmute it into the form of their unique ability."
"Like the name implies, the 'engine' of our abilities is broken, incomplete."
"A long time ago, some believed that our Fragments were the product of one endless and eternal mass of quintessence that split for reasons we cannot comprehend, creating the reality we live in."
Gray, resembling a student who listened to his teacher's lesson with extreme attention, couldn't help but be amazed at the knowledge he was hearing.
After he had found out about his identity as a Nephilim, he thought that the abilities resembled the mutant gene like in X-men.
However, now he truly understood the idiocracy in his way of thinking.
Immediately after hearing the man's explanation, he couldn't help but fall in deep thought.
'Th-this is amazing. How many things exist of which I'm unaware of? What else is this world hiding?'
"Is it possible for me to know of how my Fragment operates? I can't understand what form would the quintessence morph into…" Gray scratched his hair.
"Those with the ability of dream divination—called Onironauts, are able to encase a small part of their souls with the quintessence; and then, once the quintessence links their souls with the dimension encasing all the dreams belonging to the collective consciousness of all living things, they are able to navigate a part of it—the part they need the most at the time."
"In this infinite space, the past, the present and the future dreams of all creation are united, causing it to become unimaginably dangerous, unsafe, and unpredictable."
"If you were to enter inside one of the incomprehensible and completely alien dreams belonging to the oldest, most terrifying, and eerilie intelligent creatures, nobody would be capable of helping you."
After seeing Gray's horrified expression, he was able to know his worries.
"It won't happen, don't worry."
"You can only navigate a part of it; you are locked inside your dream, not capable of accessing the ones belonging to the others."
'For now, at least,' Casanova thought, interested by the young man's bizarre ability.
After some moments, Gray suddenly remembered about his search for information about the Nephilim.
"I searched for the word 'Nephilim' on the internet and found out that the word originally came from The Bible, does this mean that the Vatican and the Church are aware of our existence? Should I avoid going in those places?"
'I already don't go there, but it's better to be careful…' he thought.
"You shouldn't worry, their knowledge is regarded with the highest degree of secrecy. A normal church in Rosano wouldn't know anything of the truth," Casanova shook his head.
"That's good…" Gray sighed.
"Speaking of Bible, more specifically the Book of Genesis, I've read in the past about Cain and the mark he'd been given by God—the one where it would increase the damage he took by sevenfold—are you familiar with it?"
"Could it be considered as a Nephilim's ability?" he asked with curiosity.
This wouldn't have helped him in any way, but he couldn't help but ask regardless.
"It could. But remember—you can make the same point for every legend depicting people achieving superhuman feats."
"Only because it was written that a man was able to defeat one hundred enemies with his bare hands, it doesn't mean that all of those legends belonging to folklore were right."
"While some could be true, it's nigh-impossible for us to know of which one depicted real facts."
"I understand…" Gray replied with shame, not aware of just how dumb his question sounded.
"Do you have any more questions?" Casanova inquired.
"No, I don't think so," said Gray.
"Start running, then," he commanded.
"Y-Yes, sir," replied the young man, knowing he had to train even if his body felt extremely tired. Nobody was going to wait for him to get his energies back.
Since he never trained, never having to care about his survival, the gap between him and the other Nephilim was immense.
Because his ability wasn't combat related, it made his condition even worse.
Whilst running, he heard his phone buzz inside of his pocket, causing him to slow down.
He unlocking it, he noticed that his sister was calling him.
"It's Kathy!" he yelled to Casanova, informing the man of his reasons to stop.
He then proceeded to respond her call.
"Did something happen?"
"No, not at all. I just wanted to warn you—today I'm going to come home late. There isn't enough staff, I have to work overtime. Take some money from my room and order a pizza, I'll eat something quick here." Kathy said, seeming slightly annoyed.
"Alright, I'll leave some slices for you," Gray then added, "And remember to be careful."
Even though his sister was inhumanly strong, he still felt the need to advise her.
"Where are you right now? Why is there an echo?" inquired Kathy.
'Time to lie once more…' he sighed.
"I'm in the villa next to us—the one where Casanova works, he's showing me how the job is done."
Kathy then blurted out with happiness, "You got the job?!"
Once Gray confirmed her questions, she immediately started talking about all of the work injuries involved with building houses.
"Wear an helmet, always! It doesn't matter if you aren't inside a dangerous place. Everything could fall down as soon as you aren't paying attention! And ask Casanova to lend you reinforced boots!!!!!"
After hearing her speech with his perfect hearing, Casanova couldn't help but chuckle lightly.
Once his sister was finally done, she said her goodbyes, ending the call.
Inside the red painted break-room of Rose Rosse, Kathy, while wearing her patterned apron, couldn't help but smile wholeheartedly
She tried to calm down multiple times, but that smile of hers was unable to stop.
"You've grown up so much…Mom would be proud of you!" she murmured softly.
…
After working out with Casanova, lay down on his sofa, his body aching everywhere.
'I'm tired…'
He then took his phone out, called the pizza place, waited thirty minutes, gave the money to the food delivery guy, went inside, ate his pizza, left two slices for Kathy and then, once it was late at night, he went on his bed.
'Doesn't eating a pizza after a workout make all the exercise you've made useless…?!
'N-no, wait, I'm skinny. I have to put some meat on my bones…'
After some minutes, Gray finally fell asleep.