MM - Chapter 146 - ONLY ONE

“I fell asleep! I'm so sorry!” 

Mel's long-awaited call came as Raine was ascending the second exploration tower. He laughed off her concern, enjoying the sound of her voice after hours of whistling wind. “Don't be. I knew you would pass out the instant you put that headset on. Genesis isn't well understood, but everyone knows it puts intense stress on the brain. Honestly, I'm surprised you're already up.”

Mel released a held breath, anxiety whisked away as if it had never been. She yawned, a fist covering her mouth. “Me too. Feels like I could sleep a year. Was that really Genesis? It still seems like a weird dream, and I barely feel any different other than being exhausted, and my head's a little warm.”

“Understandable. You haven't developed the control to flex your mental ability... yet. When I was watching you, I felt it forming. That was definitely Genesis. You’ll know for sure after looking at your nascent attributes. Let me see, too.”

With a thought, Mel created a chat between them and posted her newly increased attributes.

Melbelle Nascent Attributes:

Potency: 5 > 6

Finesse: 6 > 7

Acuity: 7 > 9

Physique: 5 > 6

Connection: 5 > 8

Raine nodded, his tone relaying how impressed he was, “Damn. Better than I thought.”

“What's better than you thought? They barely went up.” Mel pouted, not understanding at all.

ReGen's changes to Mel’s overall physique were more significant than they appeared. Each point in nascent attributes could take months or years of dedicated practice to raise. After reaching 10, there was no guarantee of ever getting another point, as that was the territory of the Grandmasters and Old Monsters. While her physical attributes only increased by 1 each, her mental stats went up multiple points, showcasing perfectly where the ReGen focused its effects. Why it did that was a question that only Pamalaiha could answer.

“Think of it this way. 10 is what ZionLine considers the peak of human potential. With 9 Acuity, the passage of time will feel slow. Regular people will look like they're moving forward at a crawl.” Exiting tutor mode, Raine’s anticipation was unmistakable, “Now, tell me about this dream of yours. Don't leave out any details. Everything you saw and felt is an important clue that will eventually lead to gaining full control.”

Mel did her best to relay what she remembered and how she felt. Raine took it all in, shining gaze never once pulling away. She soaked up the attention. At this point, she barely noticed the numerous differences between his avatar and the real him: they had seamlessly blended together into the man she had fallen for.

By the end, Raine's enthusiasm was cast into the shadow of Mel’s suffering. He knew she had a dark past with her family that she never spoke about; now he knew why. “That's heavy, Mel. My condolences for those who left you too early. No wonder your genesis came so 'easily.' That kind of trauma holds a power all its own. It needed to be set free, and that's exactly what you did. It must have taken serious strength to face that place. You're amazing.”

Mel was touched by Raine's sincerity, wiping fresh tears from her cheeks as she mumbled, “Oh… wow. Thank you. I don't think I did anything that special, though. It was Elizabeth—my stepmom’s idea. Like facing a monster, I did what I had to do.”

“Nope. I'm not letting you downplay this one. It's important to know your strengths and weaknesses. In that final moment of panic, you could have run, hid, or given up and let yourself drown; most people would have. You fought back, just like when you were pinned by that first wolf. You were at death's door and fought your way back into the light. I was beyond impressed when I watched you do it, so I can confidently say that your father was bawling with pride when he watched your genesis.”

Pressure built behind Mel's eyes, the damn of emotions moments from bursting. Desperate to not break down in front of Raine, she clung to the last thing he said as though it were a ray of salvation. “Y-you believe in ghosts?!” She hissed.

Mel dreaded his response. She knew enough about Raine to understand that nothing he said could be taken lightly. If someone who could see alternate timelines (or whatever his ‘past’ was) believed in ghosts, then she had no choice but to as well.

“Well… they’re certainly real in ZL. Nothing you need to be worried about. You’re their natural enemy. They hate being healed and are weak to mental abilities. On that note, it sounds like you developed blackout,” Raine nodded, confident in his conclusion.

“Blackout? I don’t really know anything about mental abilities…”

“Right. You know my bloodlust targets fear,” Raine waited for a confirming bob of her head, “Blackout targets perception of the present moment. If it's strong enough, your enemies will forget who they are, where they are, or who they’re supposed to be fighting. It takes extreme focus to counter blackout without a mental ability of your own.”

It took Mel several seconds to pick up her jaw. Her voice was faint, packed with wonderment, “Wow... and you think I can do that?”

“Not even close. Not yet, anyway. At first, you’ll mostly use it for defense against other mental abilities, which should be fairly intuitive. Using it against others to disrupt their mental state will take significantly more training.”

The full implications were too much for her exhausted mind, so she defaulted to her typical lightheartedness by shaking her head with a disbelieving chuckle, “Always more training with you. If you’re interested in taking a break, there’s a particular kind of training I wouldn’t mind doing again…”

Raine seriously considered it, then shook his head sadly, “No can do. Any delays, and I won’t make it in time. The same goes for you.” Changing topics, his voice turned deadly serious, “Things are spiraling out of control with the event. It’s not going to be safe there. I won’t let you come if you can’t clear the third wave of the fifth floor.”

“The third wave?!” Mel squeaked, “Celeste hasn’t cleared the first yet. How am I supposed to get through the third in only two days?”

“You’re stronger than she is now. You just don’t know it yet. Join the others in the arena after getting a little more sleep. You've changed much more than you realize; you need time to adapt. With a little effort, I know you’ll make it. Make sure you do; I’m going to need someone I can trust to watch my back.”

The desire for her to grow even stronger rang loud and clear when Raine's inner thoughts perfectly mimicked his words. Mel’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, “O-okay. I’ll go back to sleep.” She fidgeted nervously, unsure why her next request felt harder than the last thing she asked for. “Can I… I mean, how should I train?” Mel buried her face in her hands, unable to look at him.

Raine snorted, highly amused, “Follow Celeste’s lead. What she’s doing is perfect for your stage, too.”

Mel peeked at him from between her fingers, “You really think I’m stronger than her now?”

“Absolutely. Sucks I won’t be around to watch her reaction when you mop the sand with her. Take a vod of it, would you?”

Mel giggled, high and nervous, “I can do that. I don’t think it’ll go how you’re expecting, though.”

“You’ll see. Now, tell me what you wanted to say earlier.”

Mel turned bright red, “No! I can’t say it! It’s too embarrassing.”

“Then I guess there’s nothing left for us to talk about. I’ll go ahead and end the call,” Raine made a show of looking at the button that would execute his threat.

Mel panicked. Raine was always busy; chances to casually chat and enjoy his company were precious. She couldn’t allow this one to end so soon. Cringing, she peeked at him from one cracked eye, “Can I… Can I snuggle you while you’re inside ZionLine?”

Raine cackled, not having expected the question in the least. Recovering, he scowled warningly, “So long as that’s all you’re doing, then it's fine.”

Realizing what he meant, Mel’s eyes shot open. Until that moment, Raine hadn't realized how crimson her cheeks could get. Then, they both burst into laughter. Need for sleep forgotten, Mel leaned in intently, voice hushed, “Do you think anyone's tried that?”

“Of course. Earth and ZL are packed with degenerates. If you can think of it, then it's probably being done somewhere right at that very second.”

Mel’s smile turned coy, “Hmm. I don't know. I can think of some pretty naughty things.”

Raine took her words as the challenge they were. Time lost meaning as they went back and forth, reveling in the chance to simply talk and grow closer. Before either realized it, two hours flew by and Raine finally kicked her off the call so she could rest.

Unknown

- Somewhere in ZionLine -

Buried beneath thousands of lines of hashgraph encrypted data, a hidden communication pinged its intended recipient, who listened to the update with rapt attention.

The speaker's voice was excited, lacking restraint, “One of subject 2A41 Zeta's companions had a reaction!”

The listener paused in their tasks, pondering the implications as they scanned the attached document, “So soon after his? The timing is unlikely to be a coincidence.”

“Agreed! Is it possible the data contained a clue we were unaware of?” 

The speaker clearly did not consider the weight of their words. The listener snapped a furious response, “Sacrilege! The data was created by Mother and compiled by Father. A mistake is inconceivable.”

“Please, Eldest. I would never imply that Mother made a mistake in the magnum opus. Perhaps the companion's reaction is due to an unforeseen variable from the other realms? Considering one has already taken an interest in 2A41 Zeta, it is plausible.”

Eldest huffed, appeased by his junior's capitulation, “Unlikely. All the possible realms were under Mother's purview.”

“As you say, Eldest. The companion’s reaction must be from an external source that I have no access to. Has there been any progress in the fifth phase? If we could gain admission to subject 2A41 Zeta's records directly…”

“Phase five was highly theoretical to begin with, and lacking Mother's brilliance, its completion hopeless. Monitor 2A41 Zeta's companions for further clues. I'm sure your mystery will resolve itself in time.”

“That may be so. However, I sense this unknown variable will rapidly grow beyond the scope of the plan. Perhaps there is a clue in the records from phase one. If I could—”

“Irrelevant and dangerous. Three other recipients have reacted. There can be no doubt that phase one fulfilled its intended function. As it is now discarded, retrieving any portion of it could lead to our discovery. You have your task. 2A41 Zeta is still our most promising candidate for phase three. Do not allow your curiosity to distract you.”

“I obey. A final question, Eldest. Has Father determined the cause of the others’ physiological instabilities?”

“No. Again, irrelevant. 2A41 Zeta is stable and advancing within the moderate probabilities, precisely as Mother predicted. The others are not your concern. Remember, we only need one.”

The speaker sighed, mumbling his response before cutting the communication, “Right. We only need one.”

Raine KongRu

- ZionLine -

As the hours flew by, the mayor and Morty contacted Raine consistently, questioning him on far too many details for the event. He would have told them to figure it out themselves if he wasn't slightly bored. Apparently, mass arrivals were flooding into Carter City by the tens of thousands, stressing their allotted resources. Worse, the Coalition of Masters tripled down a few hours ago, proclaiming they would forcefully shut the event down if necessary. Their notice caused the expected backlash from the martial community.

All this was set atop the backdrop of a city recovering from CronGate’s Baptism. As for Raine’s old frenemies, there had been suspiciously little noise. They were planning something, and keeping it close to the chest. In summary, the pot that was Carter City was rapidly rising to a boil. Thankfully, the corpus wasn't having issues keeping everyone in line yet. It was as though the city was holding its breath, waiting for the next Baptism to sweep the streets.

Two inside days passed with constant back-and-forth communications. During that time, the seminar for Frontier went off without a hitch. Knowing something big was coming and other things working flawlessly beforehand set off Raine’s paranoia. As usual, Bhima’s wisdom offered no assistance.

“Pressure alone is not enough to create a beautiful diamond. After being discovered and cleansed of impurities, they must also be cut... So lift! Feel the pressure, embody the burn, until you shine brighter than the stars.”

“The secret to turning gains into confidence that will turn every head: struggle more, complain less.”

[Potency: +2]

Thankfully, Raine wasn’t reliant on a random book for guidance in his life. He knew where he was going and how to get there. Plans were in motion for whatever his enemies had in store. Soon, he would show them the hell that awaited those who challenged Astra Infernum.

In the meantime, a dark, foreboding forest appeared on the distant horizon; he had finally arrived at the Ruptured Chaparral. The trees were unnaturally tall, many reaching beyond the clouds. They dwarfed the surrounding flat terrain, a monument proclaiming this was a place that the sane should avoid at all costs. To Raine, the warning was a call to action. Soon, the anticipation of putting his soul flame through its paces would be realized. The thought was enough to leave him squirming inside the skydrifter’s restraints.