'Yes.' Tsukuru thought, answering the System. A moment later, the book began to break apart into pixels. Once the pixels fully faded, Tsukuru's hand was empty once again.
Tsukuru stared at his now empty hand for a moment longer, and then, he turned around. He looked back towards the direction he had subconsciously been looking at when he had gotten that System message about Quinn's System being "upgraded". Tsukuru narrowed his eyes.
***
Back in the training center, Quinn began to tell Vorden his story. However, it was hard for him.
Unlike Layla, who had been so accepting of everything, and Tsukuru, who seemed rather indifferent to the whole thing, not everyone would be like that. And to be honest, Quinn was somewhat afraid of Vorden's reaction. He started slowly from the beginning. He told Vorden about how he had obtained a book. How after reading it, he felt…different.
He then went on to describe the events at the school. Everything that had happened between him, Tsukuru, and Layla. Hearing Layla's name made Vorden's knuckles tighten slightly.
As Quinn told the tale, Raten's smirk in the dark room grew wider and wider as Quinn told Vorden more and more about Tsukuru's more violent acts. From violently stabbing his dagger into Riley's hand when he was "giving it to him", to even his Haunted Knight summoned itself from behind Tsukuru, and had decapitatedRiley.
"I think I'm starting to like this kid!" Raten replied.
"Quiet!" Sil hissed from next to him. "I'm trying to listen!" Sil then narrowed his eyes. "Tsukuru…and this 'Layla'." He muttered bitterly, crossing his arms like a pouting child. "They get to spend so much TIME with my Quinn! It's not fair!"
Vorden glanced over at him.
"Well, at least now that we know Quinn's secret, we should be able to spend more time with him, right?" Vorden asked, trying to placate Sil.
Quinn carried on with his tale, describing in detail everything he had done on the planet since arriving.
"So he was the one who killed those Rattaclaws." Raten muttered.He then looked away. "But, if that's true…" Raten muttered, his eyes narrowing. "...What was the huge explosion we heard last night?"
Vorden thought for a moment, his hand under his chin.
"Well, if we didn't do it, and Quinn didn't do it, that only leaves one possibility." Vorden replied.
Raten narrowed his eyes at Vorden's insinuation. He was implying that somehow Tsukuru had produced that loud explosion that had sent a shockwave across the shelter.
Quinn ended his story with how he had arrived in the training center, quite literally on death's door, and dying from bloodthirst. About how he had turned into that Bloodsucker thing, and had attacked both Vorden and Ian.
However, there were a few details that Quinn left out. He didn't tell Vorden anything about him possessing a "System" like Tsukuru, or the blonde-haired Vampire. But he did tell Vorden that he grew stronger the more blood he drank.
The mysteries of his System and the blonde-haired man were his problems to deal with, so he only told Vorden what he needed to.
When Quinn was done, there was a silence between the two of them that lasted a few moments.
Vorden was, of course, shocked by the whole thing. To Vorden, Vampires were a thing that he didn't even know existed. If Quinn had told Vorden this tale just a week ago, Vorden would have thought that Quinn had gone mad. But Vorden had seen it. He had seen Ian, and then later Sil, fight the Bloodsucker. And looking down, Vorden could still see the blood trail going into the room, from when the Bloodsucker had dragged Ian's body out of the arena.
Vorden remained quiet for a moment.
"You know, I knew you were different since the day we met." Vorden replied.
Quinn blinked a few times, a look of confusion on his face.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
Though Quinn couldn't see it, Vorden wore a gentle smile.
"Do you know how Abilities work, Quinn?" Vorden asked. "Every person has a set amount of Mutant Cells in their body. Activating these cells is what actually produces the effect of an Ability. They're kinda like…batteries. And the more Mutant Cells a person has, the higher their Ability Level." Vorden then continued."My family's Ability allows us to copy those Mutant Cells, replicating them in our bodies." Vorden explained. "That's why my Ability Level depends on the Ability Level of those whose Ability I copied."
Quinn tilted his head.
"What does this have to do with me?" He asked, honestly confused.
Vorden let out a light chuckle.
"When I shook your hand before the Ability Level Placement Test, I tried to copy your Ability, Quinn." Vorden replied.
Quinn had alreadyknown this. He had received a System message telling him as much.
"And, when I did, I could feel that the cells in your body were different, Quinn." Vorden replied, catching Quinn's attention. "I tried and tried to copy your body's cells, the cells breaking down and reforming over and over again. But it would always result in failure." Vorden glanced to the side. "The only other time that's happened to me was with Tsukuru." Vorden replied, causing Quinn's eyes to widen. Vorden then looked back at the door. "But…that was different." He replied. "Rather than my body failing to replicate his body's cells, I could feel as if there was an invisible barrierBLOCKING me. It seems that 'System' of his allows him to choose when an Ability like mine can affect him. Like a 'firewall' on a computer."
Quinn stood there stunned for a moment.
"A 'firewall'?' He thought. 'Is that what my System is doing?' Quinn thought.
***
Deep within Quinn's subconscious, a man sat cross-legged on the floor in an empty room. The man had blonde hair, pale skin, and piercing red eyes. He was the same man Quinn had seen in the "tutorial" videos. In addition to the video message he had been shown after he had evolved into a full Vampire.
If Tsukuru were to see the strange room the man was sitting in, he would find it eerily familiar. It was identical to the strange space Tsukuru's "Battle Arena" was located in. Containing an endless blue sky, and an endless black ground. Covering the ground was a light-blue wireframe, and countless "pixels" floated in the air like insects.
The man wore an aristocratic, black-and-red outfit, making the man look like a stereotypical Vampire. After hearing Vorden's words, he smirked.
"Interesting." He replied, glancing to the side. "So there's another System user out there. I wonder…did 'he' make another one after my passing?"
When Quinn had evolved into a full Vampire, the man had suddenly awoken in this strange place. It was quite the shock to him. The first thing he saw upon arriving in this strange space was a memory. His last memory in life.
***
In it, he stood in front of a table. Laying on the table was a black, hardcover book, as well as a thumbdrive. Stored on this thumbdrive was the operating system for Quinn's Vampire System. The man placed his hands on top of the book. As he did, he used his Ability to extract his Vampire powers, and transfer them to the System. This man possessed a powerful Ability. It allowed him to do virtually anything, as long as a proportional price was paid.
"So, it seems the price for this will be my life." The man replied in a solemn tone. "Very well, I accept the terms."
The next moment, a bright light enveloped him. When the light faded, both the man and the thumbdrive were gone. The only thing left on the table was the book. By now, it looked different. Rather than the basic, black book it had been before, it now looked identical to the book Quinn had received after his parents had died. The one that gave him his System.
***
After his memory had faded, the first thing he had seen was Quinn. Quinn was still collapsed on the floor, recovering from the painof his "evolution". It was then that the man had decided to send out a communication through the System. That "pre-recorded" message Quinn had seen hadn't been pre-recorded at all. Rather, it had been the man speaking to Quinn directly. However, it was too soon for him and Quinn to meet face-to-face, so he quickly came up with the little white lie of him being a "System AI".