It had been five hours since Willow ingested Nex-9. Her body still lay on the floor, trembling violently, her face locked in a grimace of pain. Minutes dragged on before she finally went still.
Navian rose at once, crossing the room. He crouched beside her, placing two fingers under her nose.
"She's still breathing." He nodded to himself and returned to his chair.
The moment he sat down, her body spasmed again, sweat slicking her skin, guttural groans forcing their way out of her mouth.
"He..lp me." Her eyes cracked open, glassy with unshed tears.
But Navian didn't move. Not when he would ruin everything if he actually touched her or helped her in any way. The entire process was meant to be excruciating.
For the next two hours, Willow was in complete pain, groaning and screaming, every muscle quivering as though she were being torn apart from the inside.
The pain was like nothing else. Her cells strained to accept the Nex-9, mutating at a pace no human body was meant to endure at such age. It was like every part of her body was tearing themselves apart and knitting together again in a vicious cycle.
Suddenly, her body went still again, her eyes closing as she passed out.
Navian rose again, approached her, and checked her breathing. Once he was sure she was still alive, he returned to his chair and pulled his phone from his pocket.
He sent a quick message to one of his informants. 'Pull up everything you can find on Willow Sterling.'
'Yes, sir,' came the almost instant reply.
Navian slid his phone back into his pocket. "Willow... Sterling."
His silver eyes narrowed, drifting back to Willow's shuddering form as another wave of spasms overtook her.
"He...lp me! Please!" She let out a loud, painful groan that made him pity her.
Truthfully, Navian already knew what she was trying to do. He had figured out that what she stole from Ezrik was Cyro cells. After all, it was one of the main materials used to create Codex-Z.
Codex-Z was a mutation serum given to every two-year-old child to mutate their cells and turn them into what was now called mutants. Those whose bodies rejected the serum became what society called Dregs.
A human had to be exactly two years old to survive the transformation. But Navian had seen plenty of people attempt it at older ages just as Willow was doing now.
In almost every case, their cells self-destructed, the body developed an aggressive cancer, and they died within two hours.
He knew Willow was smart enough to be aware of this. What he couldn't understand was why she still risked it.
She was unpredictable. Fascinating. And he was genuinely impressed that she was gambling on herself.
The others he'd seen try had been forced into it. They were unwilling test subjects. So, for Willow to do it to herself… that was a different kind of courage.
His phone vibrated again. He pulled it out to see a new message from his informant.
'This is the surface of what I dug out, sir. I will send the rest to you as soon as I get all the information.'
Beneath the message was a picture of a stiff and frowning Willow. She looked looked like it had been taken against her will.
"Name: Willow Sterling. Sex: Female. Age: eighteen years. Dreg. Ranger. Orphan. Sibling: older brother Hector Sterling... a new recruit in the governmental military…" Navian read aloud, then scoffed, shaking his head. "she's Eighteen years old?"
His gaze drifted back to her motionless body. "How can an eighteen-year-old ranger have such advanced knowledge? I don't believe this information."
He shoved the phone back into his pocket, stood, and approached her again, checking her breathing. She was still alive though her breath was slower now and blood ran from her nose and ears... a terrifying sign that her attempt might fail.
Navian stepped back. "You'd better succeed, princess. Don't waste my time and stain my floor for nothing. Do not fucking die in my room."
As she heard him, Willow began trembling violently again, groaning in pain.
Navian sighed and returned to his chair, watching her for hours. It was midnight, but he didn't feel like sleeping not with a maybe suicidal girl spasming in his living room.
Again and again, he checked her breathing half-expecting to find it stopped. Half-relieved each time it hadn't. She was already surviving far longer than anyone else in her condition.
No one had ever survived this long while mutating at her age.
She was a breakthrough. If anyone heard of this, they would abduct and experiment on her.
Just the thought made Navian's face darkened.
By the time it was nearly dawn, five a.m. to be exact, Willow had stopped trembling.
Navian rose to check her breathing again, and this time it was steadier. A small, surprised smile touched his lips. "A breakthrough indeed," he muttered, returning to his chair.
He had barely sat down before her body trembled again but stopped almost as quickly.
"Ah!" Her bloodshot hazel eyes cracked open, glistening with tears.
"You… you didn't move from your spot?" she rasped.
Navian said nothing. He was just watching her with an unreadable expression. But he was just really shocked that she was alive. She survived such an excruciating process.
"How… how long was I out?" Willow asked, her throat burning. Had she been screaming nonstop?
"Seventeen hours," Navian finally said.
Her eyes widened. "What?"
Seventeen hours? Willow actually expected that it would take longer than that. At least forty eight hours to be exact.
But she was relieved that she didn't die and tried ignoring the pain in her whole body.
He nodded. "Hmm."
Standing, he stretched lazily, then approached her and held out his hand.
"The hard part," he murmured, "is over, pretty thief,"