Cj's consciousness returned with a painful, dizzying rush. He found himself staring at the sterile white ceiling of his room, his body heavy and unresponsive.
He was pinned down by a dozen thin tubes and wires routing from his arm and chest, feeding into a cluster of machines that filled the silence with their rhythmic beeping.
He managed to turn his head. Alistair was sitting in a functional, leather chair next to the monitors, not looking at Cj, but calmly reading a newspaper. On the opposite side of the room, Andre was perched on the edge of Cj's bed, his posture rigid and tense, rapidly tapping his feet against the floor in a nervous rhythm.
The air in the room was thick with unspoken questions and metallic fear.
Cj's voice came out as a dry, weak rasp. "Hey... what happened?"
The quiet utterance was enough to shatter the tension. Andre jumped up from the bed as if stung, his nervous tapping instantly halting. Across the room, Alistair smoothly folded his paper, the sudden movement drawing Cj's full attention. Thorne's calm concentration vanished, replaced by a sudden, sharp look of sternness and coldness.
Cj tried to raise his back, wincing as the wires tugged.
Andre was instantly beside him, his relief palpable. "Cj, thank goodness you're alright. You went down hard."
Alistair, however, didn't move a muscle or soften his expression. He ignored Andre's concern completely and immediately demanded to know, "Report. Explain precisely what occurred within the Meditation Room."
Andre stiffened, leveling a cold, venomous death stare at Thorne. "He just woke up. You didn't even check his vitals, and all you care about is questioning him?"
Thorne rose from his chair. He moved with slow, deliberate calm, walking right up to Andre and staring him down, nose to nose. "Since you refuse to offer a simple explanation, Andre, I find it important to hear the details directly from the asset," Thorne explained, his voice dangerously even. "I need a complete description of the event that caused the catastrophic energy spike in the meditation room. That is all."
Andre held Thorne's gaze for another beat, then a private, conspiratorial smile slowly touched his lips a look that said, 'The secret is safe with me.' He then gave Cj a reassuring nod and walked toward the door. "Fine. I'll take a walk."
"Good," Thorne said, watching Andre exit before turning back. He settled the chair closer to Cj's bedside, his eyes sharp and expectant. "Now, Cj. Start from the moment you felt the psychic shift. Be precise about the energy output."
Cj took a slow, shaky breath, trying to get his voice to sound normal. The lie had to be seamless, built on known facts.
"Okay, the psychic shift felt totally different from before," Cj began, meeting Thorne's eyes, but just barely. "When Andre said to try and touch the energy, I saw the Beast, but it wasn't acting crazy. It was... just quiet."
He shifted slightly, wincing at the pull of the wires. "I reached out and actually felt it. And that's when everything spiked. It wasn't me losing my grip, it was the Beast freaking out the second I tried to connect."
Cj gripped the sheet tighter, trying to project conviction. "The vision blew up in my head. When the thing materialized in the room, it was just this massive, insane, raw panic. Seeing it standing there that shock it was like someone slugged my brain. I guess the energy backlash just short circuited me or something."
"I didn't lose control," Cj finished, trying to sound firm. "The Beast just completely rejected the entire taming idea right then and there."
Thorne remained silent, slowly and deliberately shaking his head.
"Alright, I see the panic reaction," he said, his voice low, "but the resulting electrical spike was Level A. That energy output is leagues beyond your Beast's established power range. Now, tell me the truth, Cj. Was it truly the Beast... or something else?"
Cj's palms grew instantly slick with sweat. He swallowed hard, keeping his voice soft but steady. "Yes, sir. It was the Beast. Just... the panic was extreme."
Thorne leaned forward, his gaze boring into Cj. "Then you need to understand the scale of the threat. The Demi-Angels are not the only problem we're facing."
He paused for dramatic effect. "There are Beasts from the underworld threatening this planet. They are pouring through dimensional gaps that have been opening with alarming frequency ever since the meteor incident. We call it The Gatekeeper Event."
Thorne lowered his voice to a chilling near-whisper. "The gates to their dimension are open wider than we can handle. Your job... your duty is to eliminate these things before they become public knowledge and unleash global panic."
He tapped a finger sharply on the bed rail next to Cj's hip. "So pull yourself together, Cj. You are running out of time. If you can't stabilize your own power, then you, Andre, and everyone else will suffer the consequences."
Thorne offered a chilling final thought. "It won't be long before we can engineer replacements for the constructed Assets for all of you. You are only indispensable as long as you remain compliant."
He stood, a faint, humorless smile finally touching his lips as he turned to leave.
Fueled by anger and desperation, Cj shouted, the sound echoing through the sterile room. "And who is Seraphina?"
Thorne froze.
For the first time since Cj met him, the Commander's cold efficiency fractured. A genuine look of shock flashed across his face, instantly replaced by a calculated, lethal sternness.
Thorne slowly turned back, his smile completely gone. His voice was a dangerous, low hiss.
"You don't need to concern yourself with that matter," he commanded. "Forget you ever heard that name."
With that, Alistair Thorne exited the room without another glance, leaving Cj alone with the persistent, rhythmic beeping of the machines.
After the door hissed shut, leaving Cj alone, he let out a frustrated shout and slammed his fist against the hard edge of the bed, a sudden, violent release of energy that pulled painfully on the wires in his arm.
He layed back, his mind racing.
Seraphina. Why did that name crack Thorne's cold composure? Who was she, and why was he supposed to forget her?... Beasts from the underworld. Thorne had implied Kaelus was just the tip of the iceberg that the DCO was fighting a hidden war for the entire planet. What kind of monsters could make a man like Thorne talk about global panic? Replacements! The chilling word echoed in the room. Thorne was already planning to discard them, proving they were nothing but disposable assets.
The rage sharpened into a singular, undeniable resolution: He had to get stronger. Strong enough to not only control the Beast and survive Sariel, but strong enough to blow through the DCO's walls and escape this cage. He needed to learn this power before they found a way to discard him for good.
Andre reappeared in the doorway, but he wasn't alone. Kyla followed him in, holding a plastic dish of pudding and blushing brightly, her cheeks a vibrant red.
"Hiiii!" she chirped energetically, moving straight to the chair Thorne had occupied.
Andre simply leaned against Cj's bedside. "She heard you took a hard hit in the Meditation Room and insisted on checking on you."
Kyla quickly sobered, though the blush remained. "Oh, sorry! I'm glad you're doing well, but I completely forgot to ask your name the last time we talked, and it's been bothering me."
She scooped a bit of pudding onto a spoon and slowly, carefully, moved it toward Cj's mouth. "Now, open wide."
Andre chuckled, giving Cj a quick, suggestive wink. "Alright, time for me to leave you two lovebirds alone."
Cj hesitated, feeling foolish being spoon fed. Kyla nudged the spoon closer. "Come on now, I know you feel like a baby, but at least have something sweet." She gave him a sweet, easy smiled a genuine warmth that made Cj's heart give a sudden, hard pump against his ribs. He opened his mouth.
Before Cj could even swallow the first mouthful, Kyla giggled and plunked another spoonful into his mouth.
"It's good, I know!" she said, still blushing deeply. "I made it myself."
Cj managed to chew and speak around the pudding. "Okay, wait! Before you launch another torpedo into my mouth its actually tastes wonderful.," he said, trying to smile, "why are you acting like this? We barely know each other."
Kyla's smile instantly faded, and her head dropped low. "I'm... kind of an outcast here," she murmured, her voice losing its cheerful energy. "I can't fight, or do any of the special stuff everyone else does. You actually just greeted me last time, and it made me feel welcome for once." As Kyla spoke.
Cj noticed a faint scar on the back of her left hand. She seemed to be subconsciously rubbing the area with her thumb the entire time, and Cj quickly dismissed it, figuring it was just one of her many small insecurities.
She looked back up, the shy smile returning, cheeks flushing again. Cj felt his own face heat up and had to turn his head away, momentarily defeated by the sheer intensity of his blush.
"Okay, all done now," she announced, placing the dish on the bedside table. "I have to head off. See you later!"
She stood up and left with sudden, nervous speed, but just before she rushed through the doorway, she turned back to Cj, blew a quick, exaggerated kiss into the air, and hurried out of the room.
Cj, still buzzing from the encounter, whirled excitedly in his bed, the tangled wires and tubes a temporary inconvenience compared to the feeling Kyla had given him.
The door hissed open, and Andre walked in, instantly spotting Cj mid spin.
"Smooth," Andre mocked, leaning against the frame with a smirk. Cj quickly froze, settling down with a pout.
Andre chuckled and moved to the edge of the bed. His light mood evaporated as he sat down, his expression becoming serious. "Alright, Romeo," Andre said, his voice dropping low, "We have some important things we need to talk about before Thorne gets back."
Andre's serious gaze was locked on Cj. "Thorne probably hit you with the panic button about the Beasts. He's right, they're a major problem, and they're getting more dangerous fast. The bottom line is, we both need to get stronger, quicker."
Cj nodded, accepting the reality, but shifted the topic. "Wait, what did Thorne mean by 'power levels' and 'energy output'?" Cj sighed, frustrated. "He was so focused on the spike, he forgot to explain how any of that stuff is actually rated."
Andre let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his temples with annoyance. "Seriously? Nobody bothered to brief you on the ratings? Unbelievable."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a low, instructional tone. "Okay, look. Everything here you, me, the Beasts, the energy spikes is measured on a scale called the Apex Index. It tracks how strong you are and, more importantly, how much control you have over your inner entity. It goes from nothing all the way up to god-mode."
"Right now," Andre continued, "you're floating between Null and E-Class one of the weakest is null which is an ordinary human being and an E-class classified as being able to control your power at a limit. The most powerful DCO Host they've managed to stabilize is only at C-Class who is currently Mario and me."
Andre tapped the bed rail, his expression grim. "The problem? The new Beasts that are popping up, the ones Thorne is freaking out about, are testing in the A and S power ranges. Their starting level is way beyond our maximum, so we need to close that gap fast."
Cj frowned. "So how do we actually train that? What increases the power?"
Andre shrugged, clearly quoting standard DCO briefing. "All we know is that our bodies are naturally receptive to Resonant Energy the stuff that binds the Beast to our spirit. Every human has a Mana Well, but it's inactive until triggered. The Beasts are literally the only thing that can force that well to open."
"But here's the kicker," Andre finished, leaning back. "The DCO or anyone else... hasn't figured out a way to increase the Mana Well's size. So, the best, fastest way to get stronger is simple: bond deeper with your Beast and get absolutely physically stronger so that you don't collapse when the power surges."
Cj nodded, processing the Seraph Index, but his expression remained troubled. He had one last question. "What did Thorne mean... about finding ways to make replacements for us?"
Andre's face instantly grew serious, the easy humor gone. He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a low, rough whisper.
"It's a rumor, but a bad one. They're trying to figure out how to replicate the Host merging process how to manufacture 'beasts' without having to rely on the lucky few like us," Andre explained. "But it's gone sideways, badly, according to the whispers. There was a guy a few months back... a subject who completely lost his mind, merged wrong, and took out half the science division before they neutralized him."
Andre looked Cj dead in the eye, the gravity of the situation clear. "If they're serious about creating replacements, it means they see us as disposable failures. We have to escape this facility and run, Cj, but right now, you're too weak to make it past the first blast door."
Cj nodded, the fear settling into a hard resolve.
Before he could respond, a series of crisp, rhythmic chimes echoed through the facility.
"Come on, time's up," Andre urged, hopping off the bed. "You look well enough. That's the signal for lunch."
Moving with practiced haste, Andre began quickly unplugging the wires and tubes from Cj's chest and arm, ignoring the protests of the monitoring machines. Cj scrambled to get dressed, and together, they hurried toward the door.
As they walked quickly down the hall, Cj leaned in, his voice barely a whisper. "Hey, about that... that thing we both saw back there?"
Andre didn't even turn his head, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "Not today, Cj. Not here." He kept his tone completely casual, masking the severity of his words. "That secret stays a secret until we are both completely safe. Bringing it up now would ruin us both."
Andre then pushed open the heavy, reinforced door, and they stepped into the crowded, echoing Cafeteria.
They settled into their usual booth. Cj quickly scanned the crowded Cafeteria but couldn't spot Kyla.
Just then, Mario and his usual intimidating group entered. Before his crew could flock to their own table, Mario rushed them off, then came and sat down alone at Cj and Andre's table.
Mario wasted no time. "Thorne assigned us a mission," he stated, his eyes fixed on Cj. "Both me and Andre. And Cj, you're coming along. Thorne wants you to observe how things get done out in the field."
Both Andre and Cj exchanged a look of immediate confusion. Andre was especially put off; he hadn't heard anything about a mission.
Mario didn't wait for questions. He stood up, giving a pointed look at Cj. "Just make sure you're on time."
Mario turned and headed toward his crew. Andre watched him go, then let out a sharp scoff under his breath. "Sure," he muttered, the word heavy with disbelief.
Andre let out a slow, heavy sigh, meeting Cj's incredulous gaze. They didn't need words; the shared look said it all.
Cj broke the silence, keeping his voice low. "Wait, where did the Beast go? The big one that was on the floor."
"It returned to its hosts body like mine," Andre replied simply. "Just like yours went back to you." He pushed a piece of food around his tray. "It was only out because of the sudden shockwave from... the incident. I still need training to call my Owl Construct out on command, and you definitely need practice with the Axolotl."
Andre looked up, his expression determined. "Forget Mario and this sudden mission for now. We stick to the original plan: we quietly train together, stay strong, and get strong enough to survive this place."
Cj nodded in agreement with Andre's plan just as a loud, metallic voice boomed over the Cafeteria intercom:
"Attention: Host Andre Dubois, Host Mario Stark, and Host Cj Ashwood. Report immediately to Commander Thorne's office upon conclusion of lunch period."
Both Andre and Cj exchanged a knowing, defeated sigh. When the bell rang moments later, they headed out together. Mario was waiting by the door, and the annoyance was clear on his face as the two "partners" fell in step beside him.
Upon heading toward the Commander's office, Cj and Andre saw Kyla rushing out of the room, her shoulders shaking. Alistair Thorne stood in the doorway, watching her go.
Kyla abruptly halted when she saw Cj. She stared for a moment, and Cj saw tears begin to stream down her face before she turned and ran off, sobbing. Cj watched her retreat, his heart sinking.
Thorne, his face utterly dead of emotion, simply watched her vanish before turning his cold gaze to the three Hosts. "Announced Thorne. "Enter my office."
Upon taking his seat, Cj immediately demanded, "What just happened with Kyla?"
Alistair didn't even pause. He leaned back into his chair, dismissing the issue with a wave of his hand. "It is none of your concern, Ashwood," he stated coolly. "Now then, let's discuss tomorrow's planning. Mario has already given you the basic directive."