"33 DEAD IF YOU FOUND THIS FUCK YOU"
The words had burned into his mind.
'How am I alive?'
Staring at his hands, they shook. Tears tried to fall, but no matter how hard they pushed, Henry held them down.
He really had nothing, no one. He was alone.
What's the point In fighting to figure out who you are if the people that care about you are dead.
Staring outside the window, he pondered what the point in him living was.
Something was haunting him, the Rotting Fish, it said, "I'm just here for a good show."
Did it kill them?
Did it kill his parents and fail to finish him off?
Henry read through the notebook.
"First, it made me attack an applicant"
Was it the Rotting Fish? Had it taken over his body and ruthlessly beat that boy?
'No, it couldn't have been.'
Henry leaned back in his chair.
The Fish was malicious, that was clear, but he doubted it had any interest in forcing him to do anything. The Rotting Fish wanted to see Henry not control him, it wanted to watch what Henry did in face of overwhelming events beyond his control.
That night, he didn't sleep. He sat, staring outside his window, and as the sun rose he knew what he had to do.
He was going to find out what destroyed those apartments. What had failed to kill him, and he was going to make it suffer?
***
The bell rang, but class could wait. There were things he needed to know before the trial.
'What happens after the trial?'
The thought had been with him since early in learning of the trial, but he hadn't needed to know, as survival seemed more important. But the existence of a trial meant there must be some sort of meaning to completing it.
Henry rushed to a room he had not once thought of entering.
Groundskeeper's Quarters
A tiny note beneath the large title said, "Make an appointment with Kairn before barging in!!!"
Henry, of course, did not read this.
He slammed his fist on the door, this was urgent, he needed to know.
The sound of something shattering echoed in the room, and rapid footsteps approached the door.
Kairn pulled the door open, unamused he stared at Henry, and slowly began to close the door.
"Please!"
The door stopped.
"I need, help, and I don't know who else I could ask."
From behind the door, a deep sigh was made.
"Come in."
Pulling open the door revealed a rustic, but nice lounge. A small couch was in front of a fireplace, and on the couch a cat rested with its legs stretched out.
Henry averted his gaze from the adorable animal and looked at Kairn who was picking up pieces of what used to be a mug filled with coffee.
"What do you need."
His voice was still gruff, and monotone.
It was hard to think it was the same old man that intimidated him just a month prior.
"I haven't told anyone this, but the day I arrived here I woke up in a hospital with all my memories missing including anything pertaining to the chosen including conduits, the trial, and just everything. It's like I'm in the dark and everyone here is holding a torch but me."
Kairn looked down and then made eye contact with Henry.
"Ok."
'What the hell?! "Ok" that's all?'
"What?"
Kairn blankly looked at Henry.
"I mean, It makes sense."
Standing up, Kairn reached for a new mug and began filling it with coffee.
"You were a much different person on the application day. People don't change that much in such a short amount of time, let alone a week."
'What.'
Henry hadn't realized that the person he was before, was lost gone, the Henry of today must be unrecognizable from whom he used to be.
"So why are you telling me this?"
Kairn raised an eyebrow to the ragged boy in front of him.
"Oh-"
Snapping out of his trance, he began reciting his planned question.
"Well, I want to know what happens when you finish the trial."
The air fell silent, and Henry dreaded each second waiting for a response.
"Hmmm."
Karin sat in a chair, diligently watching Henry.
"I suppose…"
Deep in thought, the old man reached for a piece of paper tucked between two books on a shelf.
"Okay, I should have time."
***
Nearly three hours passed as Henry hung onto every detail Kairn spoke.
By the end, he had almost fully understood what he needed to know.
See once chosen you lose you immediately transform, most people don't notice it, but your body isn't the same. You heal faster, become more resilient, and can grow stronger much faster than others through training. Of course, this had differing effects. If someone was already strong, they would become much stronger than the average human can hope to become, whereas weaker people like Henry just became above average.
This was the effect of Miasmal energy, the invisible force was being absorbed by the chosen like air giving them great boosts in energy, and allowing their bodies to go beyond their original limits.
These effects however reached new heights once completing the chosen's trial. Once the trial was over, the chosen would gain a "Boon" power from a dimension beyond our own. Kairn's Boon was connected to rocks, and earth it's what allowed him to transform his skin into stones, but that was just the most basic use. Alongside a boon, the chosen finish their first Incursion.
Incursions were a pathway inside the chosen, each incursion the chosen receives grew their abilities, and allows them to "evolve" further. There is twelve incursions, each of which being more difficult and taxing to receive then the last, some people die just attempting to get to the second incursion.
This was the ultimate realization, he wasn't just fighting to survive, he was fighting to evolve.
If Henry was going to kill whatever had killed his mother, and taken his memories. He would have to fight.
Walking into his room, the days flashed in his mind, there was only a week left before the trial began. Would he survive? What would he have to do?
These questions were useless, they would only be answered once the trial had begun.
For now, Henry needed to prepare. He only had a little time left to prepare for the trial, and from what he knew, the Henry of today wouldn't survive.
He looked down at the notebook, one whose words had only left him with questions about his past self. A man that Henry didn't know, he couldn't know.
He turned his head, looking into a mirror, but all that looked back was the all too familiar amalgamation of glass and void.
He couldn't even see the man he used to be. Henry dropped the notebook into the trash.
'I will make it my own way, I don't need your help.'
However, he hesitated throwing the black square away, thinking it would be smarter to find out what it is before getting rid of it.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Henry jumped on his bed stretching his arms out. It wasn't night but staying awake had left him exhausted.
"Just a little rest…"
Henry's eyes slowly closed, and he fell asleep.
***
What must have been hours later, Henry woke in a cold sweat.
"What?"
He muttered through labored breaths.
Henry couldn't remember the dream, now that he thought about it, he only remembered the dream of his mother, and the fish… A shutter went through his mind just thinking about it.
"God, I hate nightmares."
Getting him, he wandered to the bathroom and splashed water on his face. Glancing in the mirror, he saw the same monstrous sight he had gotten used to.
'I hope I'm good looking under all this.'
Though, he doubted his looks were anything special from the interaction's he had with the other students.
A sharp pain filled his arm, taking a quick glance down he noticed… He was bleeding, a lot too, immediately pulling up his sleeve revealed a symbol carved into his arm, four intersecting lines, with a circle in the center.
"Fuck."
Putting pressure on the wound, Henry, proceeded to try cleaning the blood. But he quickly noticed something peculiar. The would had already begun healing, the sides of his skin visibly pushing up to connect back together.
'This must be the enhanced healing the chosen have…'
Mesmerized by the site, Henry almost forgot he had started bleeding in the first place, but soon after he realized the implications.
'What does this symbol mean.'
Checking outside, the sun was far gone, and the moon sat high in the sky.
'I'll have to go to the library in the morning.'
Sitting back on his bed, Henry slowly dozed off.
He felt warm this night.