Location - An Ethereal Realm
Time - During the Detel Trials
At its heart sat a woman with long, silver-white hair and ash-grey skin, an otherworldly presence perfectly at home in the most impossible of places. She wore a pale blue veiled gown that flowed to the ground, a never ending darkness under the veil that hid her face.
As she sat on the tea set on a low table, soon a flickering blue figure appeared on the other free seat, like it was nothing strange. "You still haven't changed your attitude of entering places that you aren't wanted in after all this time, Sieventus?" the woman who was taking a sip from the cup questioned lightly, with her ethereal voice filling the whole space.
"And you still haven't stopped trying to become a human, after all this time, Illrena? And how do you expect me to be polite to the person who caused all their plans to go awry and make them stay on a mission for more than thousands of years?" the flickering blue figure responded back sharply with wrath laced within its voice.
"Haha. You're still as broody as ever Sieventus or should I call you SilverBane now? I called you here because of the Detel trials. Don't you think you're taking it a bit too far this time?" the female who was called Illrena questioned as she dropped the cup after taking a sip.
"Huh? I care not what I am referred to as, but I don't understand what you mean. Have you forgotten what type of existence I am? I am the cause of the destruction of the Old world and the existence that shall usher this world's perish, I am the being who made the Xions and you ask of me to simplify the process that shall allow me to corrupt important humans of this generation? Surely, you jest," the blue figure referred to as SilverBane questioned as it laughed out loudly.
"Sigh…I knew you'd be like this. I think that you have forgotten that I have control over some of your programming, even if it's only a bit…and I could tamper with that and send a message back home on how bad your progress is on this planet. I'm sure he would be pleased to know..haha," Illrena pressured SilverBane as it looked at her silently, gaze fixed for a bit of time.
"Are you threatening me now, High Priest Illrena? Have you truly betrayed us? Your planet and The Lord? For this world that isn't your home? You know that if you do that, Earth and you would also not be safe from his wrath either," SilverBane questioned as he looked at Illrena with shock and confusion.
"Hmm..That's true. I'd rather not play this card but if push comes to shove, I'm willing to use it. Afterall, I'm just a shard of Illrena's soul and I have more connection to this world than I do our home, afterall I have lived here for possibly a hundred times more than I did back home. Death scares me but I'm sure I'll be able to survive his wrath but I'm sure that it is not the same for you. So what do you say, Sieventus? Do you want to reduce the trials a bit? Say, just for my sake?" she said as she looked at the other figure that sat opposite from her with a victorious grin.
"This is my loss, Illrena, you vixen. But one of these days, all your plans will fall apart and when that happens, I won't miss that chance," the blue figure threatened Illrena as she kept on sitting on her seat, legs crossed with a smile. "Haha. Till that day comes, Sieventus. Oh, I'll be going by the Storykeeper from now on. I don't see why I shouldn't have another name when you do. This makes it fair right?" she questioned the blue figure who sooner than later disappeared from the weird realm with their voice echoing. "Do as you please. I care not"
"Well, that is taken care of. I can't let you have your way with the World's Beloved. That person is a very important piece for this long game of ours, which spans different worlds and ideas, which shall finally come to a close soon," she said as she took another sip from her cup. "I can't wait to meet you, the child that would either be this world's saviour or its destroyer…" Illrena said casually as the realm began to fade away like a construct that had served its purpose.The void folded, and somewhere far away, in a cold room of humming machines, two pods still glowed.
Location - Detel Infusion Facility (DIF)
The pods the recruits slept in drained of crystalline green fluid. When the airlock released, two figures slumped out and were caught by waiting researchers. They were pale and weak. Rize Dert, commander of the DIF, watched them with a commander's detachment.
"What are their infusion readings?" he asked.
"The boy is at 90% and still climbing," a technician replied. "The girl's rate keeps fluctuating as it is sometimes 90%, sometimes 20%. Her mind is unstable, but she could still become corrupted."
He kept on looking at the two cadets whose facial expressions would twist and change through different emotions of rage, sadness, fear and much more. The commander had already seen this so many times that he was now used to it and well, he has seen the worst sides of this too, which made this much easier to stomach.
"I see. He has a very high infusion rate, maybe he'll come close to Aesis's record which hasn't ever been broken ever since he set it. He'll surely become a genius and a pivotal pillar for Sanctuary. As for the girl, keep on monitoring her. I hope she is able to conquer the trials, for her sake and her sister's too. She's too good of a talent to lose herself to corruption," the leader of the DIF said as he instructed the other researchers in the room. "Yes sir.." the researchers answered as they dove back into their screens with rapt attention and utmost seriousness.
SOME MINUTES LATER
The pods Kael and Meisha had been placed in were soon drained of the crystalline green liquid that once filled it and as the air lock was released, the two recruits were ejected from the pod while being caught by the researchers who were waiting. They were quite weak and it was hard for them to keep awake on their own. The commander approached Kael and Meisha who seemed to be stuck in the daze of the Detel trails.
"Welcome back to the real world, recruits. It's nice to have you back and congratulations to both of you for passing the Detel Infusion trial." After a brief pause, he continued "You may feel weak now," the commander said. "Rest, and you'll recover." He watched them as they were led away.
"And please note that what you have experienced in the Detel trials is something private and personal so you don't need to reveal it to anyone and you shouldn't ask anyone either. In summary, what I'm saying is that none of what you went through should ever be leaked within the Sanctuary and should be kept as a secret," he commanded as he looked at the two half dazed recruits.
"Well, just blink your eyes to show that you understand...and, let me be the first to say this, I greet humanity soldiers. I wish you luck in battle and your future from now on.." Rize commented as he looked at the two recruits.
After the short address, they were escorted out of the room, he turned around to the researchers in the room, questioning them. "How were their final results?" as he sat down on the chair provided for him in the room as he waited for a compiled report from the researchers.
"Sir, after the final compilation of the data and what was measured and recorded, the recruit Kael Levane was at 99.98% while that of the recruit Meisha Niel was capped at 87.98% as their final infusion rate."
"This is a huge discovery, taking away the fact of Meisha's high tolerance for Detel, the recruit Kael's almost perfect compatibility is unprecedented. His Detel's rate has surpassed that of the Strongest Pioneer, Aesis the First Star. This is a groundbreaking discovery! This..This could change alot of things.." the researcher said excitedly, his eyes stretching a thin line between interest and madness.
"He's a recruit and not your research material. I'm not going to let what happened to him happen again, especially not under my jurisdiction. No matter how strong they become, they are still human and Kael is still a child. Is my will clear?" the commander said with his voice becoming a bit more threatening as he let the point he made get across the scientists in the room.
"Yes, Sir Rize," the man who seemed to be the leader of the researchers commented as he backed down, although his eyes were still filled with fervency albeit in a much dimmer form compared to the intensity he showed before. 'Bunch of creeps,' Rize Dert thought as he looked over the group of the scientists.
Well, not that he was much better than them, like the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together and the DIF base is just a pit filled with creeps like them but you can certainly say he is the most normal of the creeps you can find here, which was one of the main reasons he was elected as the commander of this facility.
"Then continue with the Infusion. There are still other recruits waiting and It'll be much appreciated if I could go home a bit more early," he commanded as he stood up from the chair in the room and exited the Infusion room.
As Rize exited the room, the leader who approached him before made a digital copy of the research papers and the recruit evaluation and sent it away to an unknown receiver, while another eyes belonging to a researcher kept his gaze on him far too long to be just a casual glance and an interested gaze on Kael for it to be just a researcher's interest.
Location - Resting Room
After some hours, Kael has begun to feel some semblance of energy return to his bottomed down body. Kael woke to bright lights and the antiseptic smell of a medical ward. His muscles ached, but the ache carried something else which was the raw strength waiting to be used. A woman in a doctor's coat, likely in her late twenties with her black hair pinned up, clicked her heels across the floor and sat. She adjusted her glasses with practiced care, her oceanic blue eyes brimming with curiosity.
.
"Hello. I'm Joan Vernt, head of Pioneer Medical," she said. "I'm here to process you before discharge." Kael watched her. Generosity in this world rarely comes without a price. Joan's smile didn't ease that suspicion; if anything, it sharpened it.
"I'm grateful for your help but I didn't know that Pioneer was this generous to assign the head of the medical team to take care of a non ranker like me," Kael said as he stared at her warily
"Haha. That's not a bad trait to have, little one. Yes, it's what you sensed, you did something special which made you a special case so the highest attention had to be given to you," she said with a smile and a dangerous glint in her eyes.
Kael sensed that she seemed dangerous and unpredictable, just like his handful of a master and well, he was right about her. "You seem curious about what you did, little one. If you call me big sister, I'll be kind and share it with you after all, a big sister should always care for her little brother," she said with a snicker and a face filled with joy and mischief.
"No. Why should I? Weren't you ordered to tell me all the information when I woke up?" Kael questioned as he stared at her defiantly, not knowing what sort of problem he got himself into. "Hmm…I guess you're not curious about the information or help this big sister has then, especially when it can benefit you greatly," she said, her voice dropping to a whisper as she uttered a temptation too strong for Kael to reject.
Joan easily stood up from her seat, ready to walk out of the room without giving Kael his debriefing. "Ah..to let you know, I'm part of the Great families so not a lot of people can order me around and I'm sure you don't have any relationship to those who can order me. This is your last chance, little brother" she commented as she kept on walking slowly and gently, humming without a care in the world.
"B..big sister.."Kael said, his face scrunched up in embarrassment. "Huh? A bit louder, I couldn't catch that " Joan replied as she stopped walking and fixed her gaze on him."Please help me, big sister!"
He was defeated but as his father said, it's not cowardly to lose to a woman. What matters is to have patience and take back your victory no matter what. Well, it was a good idea but probably not one of the best pieces of advice for both Kael and… his father.
Kael could still remember when his dad would challenge his mother occasionally to reclaim his honour of losing to her, only to end up in defeat all the time. He asked him why he still kept on fighting when he knew he was going to lose but this is what he said at that time.
In the future, Kael would come to curse his father for this advice after it got him into more trouble than ever to get him out of, but well that is still a long time away.
"Haha, that's my cute little brother. Aren't you glad you asked for your older sister's help?" she said with a smile and after which, she retook her seat on the chair, more cheerful than before as she was ready to address Kael now that she has what she needed.
"To get to the serious stuff, you, my little brother, have achieved something remarkable which hasn't been seen in a very long time, and that remarkable thing is your Detel Infusion rate, which…. could be stated as perfect. You also surpassed the person with the highest Detel rate in all of Sanctuary history too. Do you understand how big of an occasion this is?" Joan questioned as her once normal smile began to twist into something more than just a smile.
She stood up from her chair, her mouth watering with a strange look in her eyes, she came close to Kael, her hands stroking his chest which she lingered on, "Little brother…why don't you become mine?" Joan murmured, too close now. "I'll take care of your body, and I'll learn so much from you." She smiled, and the smile didn't reach her eyes who took an obsessive look as her hot breath warmed Kael's neck.
Seeing this, Kael made a decision and quickly stood up and made a distance from her, his sense heightened and on caution and he stared intently at Joan, who now was beginning to regain control of herself. After calming herself down and wiping away her saliva, she addressed the now agitated Kael. "Sorry about that, little brother. It was just my scientist part leaking out a bit. I'm really sorry if that scared you," she said with all sincerity, well at least the most amount of sincerity and learning from one's mistake that you can expect from someone like her.
"It's fine. I have already dealt with someone like you before so in a weird and undesired way, it has strengthened me for freaks like you," Kael said admittedly, albeit letting some words that should have been left as thoughts spill out.
"Huh, okay. But little brother, how can you call this cute sister of yours a freak? That's not nice, little one" Joan said as she used her hands to support her head and her face forming a pout. "That dosen't make you cute, older sister. It just makes you more weird than you already are," Kael mentions as he looks at this freak he has now been tied with.
'Am I really a freak for all sorts of freaks' he lamented internally. "Anyways, Kael, since you have recognised me as your older sister, you'll always have my protection and if you need anything, you can come to me anytime and that proposal still holds too," she said as she stood from the chair, the wind blowing from the opened window picking up her long hair.
"Well, about being my research material. I'll inspect and stu..dy every bit of you meticulously and ge..ntly so don't hesitate alright?" she said but each of her words sealed Kael's opinion to never get close to this dangerous woman for any treatment. 'How did she get to become the head of the medical team?' Kael mused internally.
"If you are more energized, it's best to go back to your dorms, the academy starts in two weeks so you'd have to get ready,..." Joan continued but before she could walk out of the room, Kina waltzed into the room and, when she set her sights on Joan, her once calm expression flipped instantly.
"Why are you in my disciple's room, Medical Team Leader Joan? I never thought that I would find someone of your status here.." Kina confronted Joan, each of her words dripping with malice. "It's nice to see you too, Team Leader Kina. How has your vacation been treating you?" Joan attacked back without losing any momentum.
"You should leave now, Joan. Me and my disciple have something private to discuss about that an outsider like you isn't privy to," This was the first time that Kael has seen his master been confronted equally.
"Hmm..Okay, I'll leave since I have an appointment but I don't think Kael regards me as an outsider, isn't that right, Kael?" she questions as she walks away and closes the door to the ward, leaving behind a deafening silence.
"What's wrong with her today? Did she forget to take her medications?" Kina murmured to the silent room which now contained the less than pleased Kael. 'Why do I have to deal with all these freaks when I just woke up?'
"How do you feel now, stupid disciple? I know that you're dumb but you should begin to start recovering after spending three days unconscious,.." Kina commented as she scanned her disciple and checked for injuries and his overall health.
"I'm the only person who would put up with a disciple like you, despite your weak body and your bad personality. I guess I shouldn't have expected more after all, I'm a one in a million genius who didn't faint even after the infusion rate being 92%..." she mused as she seemed to solemnly reflect and then gave out a heavy sigh that definitely contained pity for her stupid disciple.
'Not everyone is a monster like you master! How can you go through the test and still not be unconscious?! I guess my master is just built differently than the rest of us mortals'
"Are you really okay, Kael? How was your trail?" Kina questioned, this time with more seriousness and worry present on her face. "Thanks, Master. It's a bit painful and shocking but I'm sure I'll be able to manage," Kael answered her question, his eyes dripping with emotion and his voice filled with gratitude.
"Alright, if you say so. Just wanted to check up on my disciple and since I'm sure you're okay, I should leave so that you'll have time to rest and regain your bearings. But, I'd like it if you could meet me, it's time for the other part of your training."
Location - Unknown
In the darkness, a female lay in a pool of red liquid, her legs frolicking forth and back as she played in the liquid. Her hair was half white, half black, with her white tips stained blue, and her black tips painted pink. A painted teardrop marked the corner of one hazel eye. She plucked the parchment from her servant, read, and laughed with her glossy grey lip.
"Miss, the spy we have in Sanctuary has confirmed the target and has brought back some informa…" as soon as she heard his sentence and without any hesitation, she quickly collected the parchment her servant was holding.
"Kael. Kael! KAEL! Lune finally found you after all this time!! But Lune can't ruin the plan father and mother-in law planned for, so Lune has to be a good girl and wait for me Kael. Soon we'll be together and never be apart again"
She dived back into the pool with a crazed smile on her face whisking away in bliss and happiness.