Her cheeks flushed despite herself, the combination of anger and something else- something unfamiliar-flooding through her.
She gritted her teeth, her jaw tightening as she clenched her fists at her sides.
‘I’ll kill him, I’ll definitely kill him when I find him! He not only humiliated me but left my body in a weakened state.’
‘He must have done something to make me weaker so I won’t be a threat when I hunt him down, but I won’t let that stop me. I’ll be sure to squeeze the life out of him as I strangle his neck, and I’ll make sure to watch the light go out in his eyes as I do.’
Guildmaster Anya arrived at a small, unassuming office door at the end of the hall. The metal door slid open with a quiet hiss, revealing the lab behind it.
Inside, the alchemist team leader, Marik, stood waiting with his usual calm demeanor, his dark blue hair neatly styled, and his piercing yellow eyes glinting under the sterile light of the lab.
“Guildmaster Anya,” Marik greeted with a respectful nod. “It’s good to see you.”
Beside him was a young woman, his assistant, dressed in a sleek white lab coat. Her short brown hair framed her face, and her amethyst eyes were narrowed in focus.
She bowed slightly, acknowledging Anya’s presence without speaking.
“This is my assistant, Drina,” Marik introduced. “She’ll be assisting me in the examination.” Anya gave a curt nod, her patience clearly wearing thin as she stepped further into the lab. The room was filled with various pieces of futuristic medical equipment-monitors, cables, and machines that hummed softly, waiting to be used.
Marik adjusted his tablet as he began to explain. “We’ll start with an advanced X-ray scan to check for any internal anomalies that might be causing the issues. Once that’s done, we’ll connect a few monitoring cables to your body to measure your heart rate, neurological responses, and any other irregularities. After that-”
“Enough!” Anya snapped, her voice echoing through the sterile room as her fists clenched tightly. Her glowing red eyes locked onto Marik. “Just stop explaining and get this over with.”
Marik paused, unphased by her outburst, his expression still calm. He nodded once, turning toward the equipment without further comment, while Drina quickly prepared the scanner. Drina stepped forward, gesturing toward the large scanner in the center of the room.
“Guildmaster Anya, if you would please follow me.”
Anya gave her a sharp nod, striding toward the scanner. The machine was sleek and advanced, its surface illuminated by soft blue lights, with a cylindrical bed in the center.
“Lie down here,” Drina instructed, patting the scanner bed gently. “This won’t take long.”
Anya laid down on the scanner bed, her muscles still tense, eyes staring at the sterile white ceiling above. Drina pressed a few buttons on a nearby control panel, and the machine beeped to life, slowly pulling Anya into its cylindrical chamber.
“Beginning scan,” Drina said. The hum of the machine grew louder as a soft blue light shone over Anya’s body, scanning every inch of her anatomy down to the molecular level.
Marik slipped on a pair of glasses, the lenses lighting up as they connected to the scanner’s display. He stared intently at the screen, analyzing the data as it scrolled through in real- time. Behind him, Drina watched as well, her eyes narrowing in concentration.
The screen displayed a detailed holographic representation of Anya’s skeleton, muscles, organs, and blood vessels, each rendered perfectly.
“Her bone density…” Marik muttered, his brow furrowing in awe.
After a few more moments, the machine beeped, signaling the end of the scan. Anya was gently pulled out of the cylindrical bed, and she sat up immediately, eyes sharp.
“So, what did you find?” Anya demanded.
Marik pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and turned to face her. “Well, first off, your bone density is remarkable. It’s nearly fifty times that of a regular, unawakened person. In fact, your bones are nearly as strong as ste-”
Before he could finish, Anya clenched her fist, slamming it into the side of the scanner bed with such force that her fingers dug deep into the material, cracking and destroying it.
“That’s not what I asked!” she snapped, her eyes glowing with anger.
Marik let out an awkward sigh, stepping back slightly. “Right, well… aside from that, I didn’t find anything abnormal. Your organs are functioning perfectly, your bones are in pristine condition, and there are no strange particles in your blood or any abnormal energy signatures. Everything is… normal.”
“Impossible,” Anya hissed, her eyes narrowing. “I know something’s wrong. Run the other freeweɓnovel.cm
test.”
Marik gave a nod, calm despite Anya’s intensity. “Of course, ma’am. We’ll proceed immediately.”
Drina quickly moved to a storage area, retrieving a set of cables designed to monitor vital signs and energy patterns. “I’ll get these ready right away,” she said as she prepared for the next phase of testing.
Drina carefully placed the helmet on Anya’s head, the device fitting snugly against her temples as small electrodes attached themselves to her scalp.
She then began attaching cables to Anya’s arms, securing them with wraps designed to monitor the flow of energy through her body. More cables were draped around her chest and waist, ensuring every possible fluctuation would be detected.
“All set,” Drina said softly, stepping back.
Marik looked at Anya with a serious expression. “We may not have detected any abnormal energy fluctuations before, but now we’re going to try something different. I want you to recall the memory of your encounter with Spade-describe it in detail while we monitor the readings. It might reveal something that previously went undetected.”
Anya’s jaw clenched, and her fingers gripped the edge of the bed. “Back when he placed his arm on my shoulder…”
“His touch… it felt like it was sapping the strength out of me. I tried to fight back, but suddenly, he forced me to my knees.”
Her fists tightened. “His eyes… those red eyes, they looked down at me like they were a void, threatening to devour me whole. He leaned closer and told me…”
She paused, her teeth grinding together. “He told me to stay put, that I shouldn’t interfere. In that moment, all of my strength just… vanished. I didn’t want to listen to him, but…”
As Anya spoke, Marik and Drina both glanced at the monitors, their eyes widening slightly as they noticed something that began to appear on the screen.
“But my body… it wanted to listen,” Anya continued, her cheeks flushing as she gritted her teeth in frustration.
“For some reason, it didn’t feel wrong, but that’s impossible.” Her voice lowered, seething
with anger.
“Isn’t that enough? Don’t push me, or I’ll make sure you lose your job!”
Marik remained calm, adjusting his glasses as he observed the data. “Guildmaster, please
calm down,” he said evenly.
“We’re done here. Drina, remove the cables.”
Drina nodded, her expression blank as she moved, removing the cables and the helmet from
Anya’s body. Once she was finished, she stepped aside.
Anya sat up, her eyes still burning with impatience. “So, what did you find?”
Marik adjusted his glasses again, taking a deep breath before responding. “Guildmaster… are
you familiar with the term ‘love’?”
Anya’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Yes, what about it?”
“Well…” Marik’s mouth moved as he told Anya what he found, causing her eyes to widen in
shock, her cheeks flushed.