Chapter 100
“[I’m fine, I’m fine.]” We had encountered a snag. Just as a long-empty stomach needed to start with broth, his ability control center, unused and tangled for so long, couldn’t handle a sudden surge of activity.
“[We’ll have to do this once a day. But my dear child, you’re incredible. Doesn’t my form seem fainter than before?]”
“Yes, your fingertips… I can’t see them.” His entire form had faded, but the most significant change was in his hands and feet. His extremities were so faint they were almost invisible unless I focused. His separated spirit and body were merging.
“[Sometimes, ancient genes resurface, resulting in mutations like individuals born without ability control centers. It happens once every few centuries. It seems you’re one of them, child.]” A mutation… I wasn’t a fool or an idiot; I was simply born this way. My emotions were a tangled mess.
“[Three more sessions, and I might be able to return. My son should be eternally grateful to have you by his side. If that boy ever strays, you tell me immediately!]” Three times. Just three times. It felt like a cruel twist of fate. I tried to mask my feelings with a smile. Kin shouldn’t be grateful; I was the one who should be eternally grateful to him.
“[My dear child, thank you for helping me in your weakened state. If this is too much, tell me immediately. …Are you dizzy at all? Perhaps not. But you’ve used your ability, so you might not be feeling well. I’ll call for the doctor right away….]”
“I’m not strained at all. You don’t need to call the doctor.” Besides, how could he summon a physician in his current state? He probably couldn’t even shatter a window with that ethereal form.
Father paced anxiously, fretting over my well-being. “[Then go back to your room and rest. Alright? Quickly, quickly!]” His insistence forced me to rise. I bowed to him.
“I’ll go back now. Father, please rest.”
“[Yes, good! Hurry and rest. Don’t come back tonight. I don’t want to drain your energy. Understand?]”
“…Yes.” He would normally follow me to my room, but he stayed put, afraid of harming me. I walked back through the quiet tower, returning to my room.
***
It wasn’t yet lunchtime. I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought, replaying the image of Father’s fissure. I had been determined to heal him, but I hadn’t expected it to be this easy. A strange emptiness mingled with the elation of helping him. I leaned against the wall, a headache forming, as I replayed the events. A nagging feeling of unease settled upon me.
‘Why do I feel so uneasy? I’m definitely missing something.’ There was something I didn’t know. Even if my existence was a mutation, there was something more to my ability that I hadn’t grasped.
I stared at the ceiling, my breaths the only sound in the quiet room. A fleeting image flashed through my mind, an old memory from somewhere deep within. A faint image of someone’s fissure. Not Father’s, but someone else’s. Unlike Father’s, it was incredibly small, no bigger than a period. I frowned, focusing on the memory. And finally, it clicked.
‘Another person’s fissure. This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen one.’ A hollow laugh escaped me. The years of anguish over my lack of ability flashed before my eyes.
Long ago, so long ago I could barely remember, I had seen these things. But back then, they had been static. Touching them had no effect. I hadn’t even tried to manipulate them, because I hadn’t known what they were.
And as Kin had said, unless someone possessed an ability as strong as his or Father’s, the fissures were almost imperceptible, tiny dots, like periods. Even then, they weren’t always visible. Their appearance seemed dependent on the person’s condition, or perhaps only appearing during moments of instability.
I remembered the tiny dots flickering in and out of existence. I had dismissed them as hallucinations, mere specks in my vision. And then, at some point, they had vanished completely. I had convinced myself they were a product of my desperate search for an ability.
And that point in time… ‘The medicine.’ The visions had ceased after I started taking the medicine Mother had given me.
***
Taumiel. The name of the medicine I had been taking since I was eight, a gift from Mother. A medicine so dangerous, with side effects so severe, it was now banned nationwide. The side effects ranged from death to, in at least ninety percent of cases, a catastrophic loss of control. The uncontrolled power surges caused by Taumiel were so widespread and destructive that it posed a significant national threat. Mere possession of the d**g was grounds for arrest.
Its primary effect was simple: it amplified a person’s ability. Taumiel was the most potent ability-enhancing d**g ever created. It could amplify power tenfold, a hundredfold, even more. That’s why the resulting loss of control was so devastating. As potent as its benefits were, its inherent side effects, even excluding the risk of losing control, were equally severe. Anyone who took Taumiel did so knowing they were risking their life for a chance at wielding unimaginable power.
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