Chapter 2: Reborn or Recovery?
- 6 hours later -
Snow rained from the sky, freezing the world below as if performing a long-awaited vengeance against its foe.
"Sir, this snow is honestly fucking nuts! We need to stop and wait it out! It's the safest choice! " The young voice cried out.
The man who had been told this simply took a sip of tea and spoke in a reassuring tone "Don't worry lad. Had it been any other place, I would've definitely taken what you said to heart, but we aren't going to any ordinary place."
The young man looked confused, but quickly caught on to what his superior was hinting at.
"I'm sorry, Sir."
"Don't fret, this is rare after all." Letting out a deep sigh, the captain turns to the young man and gives him an envelope "Give this to the gentleman in black. He's right outside."
"Yes, Sir." The young man replies, before heading off.
The Captain watches the young man leave. As soon as he closes the door, he turns back to the windshield, staring at the snowstorm that devoured the entire screen. He reached into his inner breast pocket and took out a photo. It was of him putting his arm around a young man, putting forward a thumbs up while the young man held a certificate as if celebrating his promotion. The young man is identical to the one who had just left.
"I'm sorry for doing this to you."
Moments later, the smell of blood permeates through the air.
"I'm so sorry Charlie, but no one can know. Not anymore.... not anymore..."
The voice of the captain fades as he held his necklace, a crucifix with the words "Cauld" engraved onto it.
...
In the furthest part of the train, 14 kids of various ethnic groups sat still and silent. They were taken from their homes against their will thanks to their "gift." It was quite obvious none of them wanted to be here.
Despite being told they wouldn't be bothered until they reached their destination, the only exit to this carriage opened, causing the kids to turn towards it confused. This confusion, however, would not last long.
A man suited in black emerged from the door, before closing it behind him. Horror stuck their hearts and eyes. He was tall. Very tall. He wore a stovepipe hat, black suit, leather shoes, and in his hand is a cane, although you could argue that it's a long black stick instead.
This wasn't the part that alarmed the children so badly though, it was his face or lack thereof. His head was entirely black, but his 'face'. His 'face' looked as if everything fell out. His eyes, his nose, his brain, his upper jaw, his upper lip... All that you could see was his spine that was poking into nothing, and his lower jaw brandishing a line of pure white teeth, with no lower lip to accompany it. The only thing left inside that gaping hole was a long burnt tongue.
"I'm glad you all made it, and that none of you 'chose' to stay home with your parents."
His ethereal, deep voice left an impact on all of the kids' hearts. Clearing his voice, the tall man spoke again.
"Welcome Children. Welcome to your soon-to-be-home Cauld Facility. Allow me to explain the basics."
"In this facility, there are tiers. Tiers and Potential. Every Tier starts off at 9 and ends at 0. Tier 9 refers to the starting point, whereas Tier 0 refers to its endpoint. How each tier is measured is through something known as 'Kin'. In every case, the only thing that binds all Blessed together are these 'Kin', thus the name. Universally, they represent a change, a qualitative one. The amount of 'Kin' required to receive this change has been consistent throughout every single person. How you gain 'Kin' is relatively up to questioning, but it has been seen to grow by itself."
"All that is known is that the rate at which you gain 'Kin' is boosted via stress whether it's mental or physical. As for why Tier 0 is considered the end, it's still a mystery, but most believe that it's because 'Kin' no longer grows at that point, or grows at such a slow rate, that you shouldn't even bother having any hopes of going through another change."
"As for 'potential', it refers to the rate at which you gain 'Kin'. Some people gain it fast, whereas some reach their endpoint right as they begin, although this is a rare case, so don't take it to heart."
Before 'it' could continue his speech, a young child, no older than 12 spoke up "C-Can I see my mom and dad?"
'It' moved its head, as if he was staring at the child. For a 9-year-old to speak up like this for what he could easily believe to be the devil himself, it truly was commendable.
"Fear not, Child. It won't be long. Not. Long. At. All."
As he spoke, his voice went more gentle and slower, though it was more akin to someone failing to restrain their laughter.
"Ah, right, where are my manners?"
The tall man stretched his back, towering over everything within the carriage like a God staring down at his subjects.
"You may refer to me as..."
"... Oni."
...
Darkness surrounded everything. To say the darkness devoured everything is terrifyingly true, but even that phrase couldn't describe how distinct it is. You could put it next to "the darkest dark" that can be conjured on Earth, and it'll be trivial to tell which one is which. It's even safe to say that it's more akin to a stain, rather than an absence of light.
Within this darkness, a boy woke up.
"Ugh... where am I?"
Ryn rubs his head as he tries to look around.
"W-What? Am I blind? Did something go wrong?"
Amidst his worries and cries, Ryn notices something off. In the distance, something was coming. Tap, tap tap. Light footsteps resounded.
Looking in the possible direction of where that sound came from, the smell of blood reached his nose.
Tap, tap tap.
"E̶͓͓͠S̵̥͛͋C̵̨̈́̓A̴̽̍͜P̷̪̊ͅE̶̻̤̓"
Looking around, Ryn calls out in fear "Who's there?! Where am I?! Who are you?!"
Sprained breathing resounded right behind him, straight into his ear.
"T̶͉͌Ḧ̵̤́E̴̩͋Y̷͚͘'̸̨͆L̴̥͝Ľ̴͉ ̷̥̈́K̷͙̓Ȩ̴̎Ë̵̻́P̸̨͗ ̵͕̂Ḧ̵̨́U̵̺͒R̸̨͆T̴͔̊Í̵̝N̶̪̋Ģ̷̈ ̴̢͘U̵̙̕S̴̻̃ ̵̬̂I̴̺̾F̶̦͝ ̷̯͆W̵̍͜Ȩ̵̕ ̵̡͒D̶̖͋O̶̫͒N̸̛̜'̷̳̐T̴̞̄ ̷̮̓È̵͙S̷̼̈́C̷̛̤A̵͓̔P̸͎͠E̴̻͌"
Quickly backing away and snapping behind him, he stares in disbelief at... himself.
'He' had all his skin missing, his cheeks looked slashed through, and his jaw is bound to his neck by barbed wire. His eyes were missing, and all his body hair appeared to have been pulled out. His nose and ears appear to have been slashed off and his tongue has spiraling wire cutting straight through it, like a coil.
'His' body was no better, for his ribs and sternum seemed to have been ripped out forcefully, exposing his organs that are left with either deep cuts or missing parts. His intestines swung as they flowed out of his abdomen. His back was in a worse state as all the muscles and flesh that covered the spine had been pulled back and bound by rusty nails. 'His' arms are longer than a normal human's but have most of its flesh missing, with wire spiraling down them, until it reaches his nails, pulling it back halfway through its fingers.
Its legs were in a worse state as a large, black nail pierced both his legs, tearing straight through his femur and appearing on the other side.
His ankles and heel have been crushed into his leg and bound up by countless black wires, gushing constantly with blood.
Faced with this monstrous version of himself, Ryn weirdly enough wasn't afraid. He could feel 'him'. They were one. They are the same person.
"Why... Why do you look like that...?" Ryn slowly states in sheer disbelief.
"Y̸̜͝Ŏ̴̘Ů̶̘ ̴͚́C̸̤̿A̷̹̿N̷̠͝'̵̯̑T̶͇̉ ̵͖̔C̶͕̀R̴͉̔Y̸̫̚.̶̮̎ ̶̪̇I̷͚͐ ̸̙̾C̸̤͠A̵͖͊N̸̊͜ ̷̧͘C̸̰͊Ṛ̵͘Y̵͎̚.̷̙̊ ̴̝̏Ị̸͗ ̸̘͠Ä̷͕Ḿ̶̙ ̵͌͜Y̸̛̠Ō̶̭Ụ̸̊,̵͓̎ ̴͛͜T̴͚̏H̸̝͊E̵̮̔ ̷̥͝Ỹ̶͉Õ̴̟Ȕ̷̖ ̵̻̏T̷̯͠H̶͎͠A̸̟̿Ṫ̵̳ ̵̬̓D̴̮̒Ö̸͖́E̴̮̎S̴̬̍N̴̠̄'̸̣͐T̴͙̈́ ̶̰̚Ẉ̷̅A̶͚͗Ǹ̶̡T̷͈̈́ ̴̘͒T̴͚͋Ő̶͖ ̶͎͒C̷̭͘Ŕ̴̹Y̴̩͐"
Staring at himself, Ryn quickly catches on.
"You are me, the 'me' that doesn't want to cry? Does this mean...?"
Just as Ryn thought this, his entire head felt crushed. Boiling and burning with pain, he remembers.
From start to finish. The day he was taken from his mother till now. Every moment of hell. Every moment he wanted to die. Every moment he wanted to cry. All the memories that were lost and returned at this very moment, were memories that were suppressed. Emotions were useless to the Cauld Facility.
Curling into a ball, Ryn cries, years upon years of emotions that were suppressed.
"H-How could I forget...?"
"I̷̤͌ ̴̤͛Ñ̷͖Ē̴̲Ẻ̷͜D̶̥́ ̷̟̒T̶̨̚O̸̠͑ ̴̟́G̵̞̎Ẹ̶̄T̸̖͘ ̶͈̅Ǒ̷̝U̴̘̒T̴͓̽ ̷̞̌-̶̙̎ ̸͔̎Ĭ̸͕ ̶̪̆O̷̪͝N̵̺̈L̸̩̒Ý̷͕ ̵̛ͅS̸̖͝U̷̟̕F̶̨̄F̴͓̓Ẽ̴̹R̷̘͋ ̵͌͜H̸̤̚E̵̤͂R̵̤̓Ĕ̶̪"
As the monstrous version of Ryn states this, a thought comes back to his mind:
'Get out! Get out while you still remember!'
Getting up from the 'ground', Ryn stares at himself. "...Will I see you again..?"
"Į̸̍ ̶͚͘Ḁ̶̊M̴̝̚ ̴̳̈Ỵ̵̎Ǫ̴̛U̵̢͛ ̴̙͊-̷̦̀ ̷̫͝I̸̛̘ ̸̭͐Ã̷̫M̷͇̾ ̸̰͗A̸͖͑W̷͇̑A̴͜͝K̷̰̇É̷̠ ̸̯́-̸̛̗ ̶̞̔I̴̯̽ ̸̲͋Ċ̶̞A̶̫̚N̴̲̍Ṇ̶̿Ō̶̭T̷̩̑ ̵̹͝Ŝ̵̡L̴̥͗E̶̘͠É̶̘P̵̘̽ ̵̰͠-̸̘̉ ̴̡́N̶̼̚Ö̶͙́T̷̬̂ ̶̘̾A̴͍͋N̷̡̅Ỷ̵̩M̴̠̌O̸̺̔R̸̫̓E̸͇͠"
As 'he' states this, the creature slowly faded from its monstrous self, into Ryn. Except his face looked as if he was crying for many years. A smile bloomed on his face and slowly spoke
"Don't forget, it's what makes you human."
The moment he disappeared, the world of stained black went lighter. The world was now more akin to the darkest dark. Ryn had not noticed this, however, because, for the first time in many years, he felt something that he thought he had lost - sadness. The cries of the animals as they were butchered alive, and being forced to watch it all, it was no longer an 'experience' but a 'memory.'
Before he could familiarise himself with this feeling he thought he had long lost, the world of darkness collapsed into itself before turning bright.
...
The brightness grew until he could see. Looking around, Ryn realises he's no longer in that dark world, but instead the medbay. Sitting up, he thinks about what had happened. The dead world, the monstrous him that claimed to be his suffering, and the return of an emotion he had long forgotten was a thing.
Ryn lied back down, leaving anyone to guess at what he's thinking about.
"Emotions, huh." He gives out a long sigh "How did this happen...?"
The door to the medbay broke open, disrupting Ryn's thought process.
"RYYYYN!" a girl cries out before hugging him. "I thought you died from the forced advancement drink! Y-You were covered in blood..!"
Staring at Jil who was both relieved and terrified, Ryn takes that moment to think back 'She's so expressive, when did I become so dull?'
Closing his eyes, he rubs Jil's head. 'Over the last year, I basically did nothing, and barely cared about anyone. Just as I progressed to Tier 4, my emotions woke up. Could it be with each tier up, one emotion will return? Ugh, there's too much information missing.'
Opening his eyes, he notices he's still caressing Jil's head and she's staring at him with disbelief "Did Tier 4 give you brain damage?"
Ryn looks at her with confusion. "...what?"
Jil gets up and stares right into his eyes "You'd never do that! You're always so cold! Hurray for brain damage~!"
Ryn looks at her with more confusion. "...what?"
"My head!" Jil exclaims "You'd never touch me voluntarily, no matter how hard I try until now! Praise be to the brain damage!"
Ryn looks at her with tremendous confusion. "...what?"
As Jil prepared to continue the cycle until the world ends and trumpets sound from the skies, a pitch-black aura appeared around Ryn, causing Jil to stop hugging him and to take a few steps back.
The tentacles that came out of the aura looked less like tentacles but spiral masses of black muscle.
Ryn closed his eyes and felt his power out.
He was certainly stronger, that was for sure. His effective range had been increased from 20m to 50m but... something was off about the tentacles. They moved as if they are... alive. Waiting for their prey.
Dissipating his aura, Ryn gets up from the bed and stretches "I feel good."
Jil puffs her chest and says "Let's go back, I have a trial in half an hour and Yeren is really depressed about you. I think he convinced himself that you died-"
"Yeren's awake? In one night?" Ryn exclaimed in genuine surprise.
"One night- Oh. Right. Ryn, you've been asleep for uh, 6 days now, but you're fine so it's all good!"
...
"He woke up?!" Karn shouts with shock to her phone "It has been 6 days! 6! How'd he recover from all his bones breaking to near collapse in 6 days?!"
"I-I don't know either Madame Karn, I just saw him leave the medbay with his friend. P-Perhaps his ability gave him regenerat-" Before the lady on the phone could finish her sentence, Karn snaps back with rage
"His ability is fucking TENTACLES. FROM HIS AURA! Who the fuck would believe borderline illusion tentacles could heal broken bones in 6 damn days? Find out who the hell has been with him during his entire stay - find out who the hell healed him, got it?!"
"Y-y-yes, Madame. I-I'll be right on it!" The fear in the other lady's voice was very obvious, especially her desire to end this conversation as soon as possible. This was not unnoticed by Karn, as she hanged up.
"One of the kids care too much, they'll need to be taught a lesson about empathy." Karn growls to herself.
In the distance, a tall man in black leaned against the wall, facing Karn.
"Ryn, huh?" He mutters to himself, on the verge of laughing.
"I have high hopes for you."
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