《SYNCH : the contract formation》


 Prologue

    December 2012.


    Officially the month it all started. Itfirst spread through plants, then animals until it infected water and nature, before reaching us. No one knew the origin, why or how, just that it was the beginning.


    Of what? you''d ask me.


    The beginning of a new era .


    All started when more and more people became sick, the symptoms were the same as those of a simple flu, but after a few weeks, 1/10th of the world''s population was infected, after eight months the virus had infected 67% of the world''s population.


    It quickly attacked human beings, first affecting the elderly and then people with physical predispositions that made them vulnerable.


    A few weeks after the virus began to spread among humans, people the least resistant to it began to succumb. After a few months, the death toll attainedhundreds of thousands. This period lasted eight year and reduced the world''s population by almost forty per cent. But the virus was just the beginning.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Those who had managed to survive to it were now in a state of unprecedented precariousness, hundreds of thousands of families had lost all sources of income. The virus did not only touch human species, it had also transformed previously fruitful territories into deserts, causing several conflicts between countries, the race for survival was underway and only the strongest were likely to survive.


    Those conflicts led to several wars between countries later causing World War 3, which lasted for 100 years, from 2020 to 2120, during which the greatest powers at the time, fought a fierce battle. In September 2120 the peace treaty was finally signed and from this treaty were born the 7 Confederate states that govern the world today, Aardes, Jorden dharti, lak, lu''um, alarad and Late.


    Several years after the signing of the peace treaty, humans who had developed resistance to the virus began to show signs of a new disease. But instead of them being the introduction to another deadly sickness, they were the first step in the evolution process of the human species. Some people after the onset of symptoms had developed particular characteristics. It was only after some time that they were introduced to the world. The first super humans, some of them could fly, others had a super strength or even a super intelligence.


    And that was only the beginning, exactly 110 years after the epidemic in 2012 and 2 years after the end of the World War 3, 97% of the world''s population had developed Super powers. Several private organizations and laboratories then began to develop theories based on the results obtained from their researches. 3 years later the world had accepted this new stage of human evolution.


    Today, 300 years later, 98% of newborns are born with antibodies allowing them to resist the virus and develop super powers. the virus now called ''Tora'' is part of the human genetic heritage of 98% of all evolved humans and only 2% of all newborns are born without it, among them, only one out of ten thousands manages to survive, they are called defectives.

 Chapter 1 : Iris

    Sindara, September 21, 2312.


    Iris.


    "Iris, wake up, it''s 7 o''clock, you''re going to be late."


    "Just another 3 minutes."


    "3 minutes becomes 10, then 30, then an hour, wake up, today is the day of your school trip and you must not miss the bus."


    "Okay, I get up."


    Iris opened her eyes slowly, she gently removed the beautiful wool duvet that covered her, one leg at the time, she slowly came out of bed.


    Standing in front of the door, she started inspecting her room attempting to locate her mother. After asserting that she was no longer in the room, she thought ''I should have pretended to be sick last night'' before heading to the bathroom.


    It had been four months since her mother and she had moved to their new home after leaving Pana for Sindara, the second-largest city in Aardes, after Lara, the capital. Today is her first outing, her first real one since moving, or rather since the ''incident'' that urged them to move.


    All her high school had been talking about for more than a week was that trip, and it was finally her class'' turn to go see ''Luci''. It was also the first time she will be able to see a stone of origin up close, the one in Sindara is one of the 10 largest stone of origin in the world.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Each school had to register their students one year in advance, in order to see it, even though, it is true that being the daughter of the new principal was the reason she was allowed to participate last minute.


    One hundred and twenty-three years after the appearance of ''Tora'' German researchers discovered its origin by analyzing stone samples recovered from the cities in which the first cases of superhumans appeared. They then found out that the virus came from underground rocks, which were accidentally extracted all over the world by drillers.


    Several theories explaining the formation of these rocks called today ''stone of origin '' existed and many debated about whether or not they were harmful. But after more than 10 years of research and non-conclusive results, they had been deemed non-toxic and are now considered national treasure by the whole world.


    Numerous legends were born from them, but for Iris they were just simple rocks, like any other, at least, that''s what she tried to convince herself of.


    After showering and dressing, Iris quickly went down the stairs to the kitchen, she opened the fridge to retrieve a shaker and a sandwich placed by her mother in it, before heading to the dining table.


    "Mom, did you prepare my lunch?"


    "Yes, of course, miss vegan but not so much."


    "At least I''m not the one stressing over a simple school trip that''s not even hers."


    "I know" Katherine sighed.


    "But, you know..... it''s your first school trip to your new school, and maybe..."


    "Mom... we''ve talked about it before."


    "It''s just that I''m worried about you."


    "I''m fine, and this time everything will be fine."


    Iris picked up the sandwich and took a bit of it.


    "Best sandwich in the world" she blurted before focussing her attention to the window. Nael the youngest Child of their neighbors could still not control his powers and had burned his mother''s rose garden, again. Iris then turned to her mother and smiled ''Everything will be fine'' she said to herself.

 Chapter 2

    Iris took her empty plate in her hands and placed it in the dishwasher, she then took the stairs and headed to her room. Reaching this one, she scrutinized it, from her bed to her desk and then around her, before heading to her bedside table, she picked up her phone and of course the most important for her, her headphones.


    She should have done a 30 minutes yoga session as her doctor recommended ''well, I''m already too late to add a 30-minute nap session'' she thought as she went down the stairs.


    "It''s ok, I''m ready."


    "And where''s your bag?" said Katherine.


    ".... "


    "I thought something was missing."


    She then went back to get her bag and quickly came down ''Everything will be alright '' she repeated to herself.


    Iris opened the car door and sat in the front seat, Katherine her mother, always double checked the house before leaving it, even if for most people, trying to break into a psychic''s house would be considered suicide. She finally came out of the house after her inspection and joined iris in the car.


    "Is it all ok, miss paranoia?"


    "If you really want to know, Yes it is" said Katherine With a sarcastic undertone.


    "I have double-checked every door and window, and no I am not paranoid just cautious."Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    "I know, but only a person who is not sane would try to rob us"


    "You know very well that we always have to be careful,especially during the evenings you are alone at home"


    "Ok ok, are we going leave or are we not? we are really going to be late if don''t move asap"


    Katherine looked at her daughter with tenderness a few seconds, smiled and then started the car.


    Iris'' high school Raymond Rouk was 30 minutes away and as usual she lookwd by the window all the way. This morning seemed to be pretty calm. She could still remember the accident that happened two days ago putting them an hour late, a teenager lost control of his powers and blocked the road for more than 45 minutes, simply because he wanted to use his powers to remove other vehicles from his path ''stupid'' she thought. Katherine her mother was also psychic and yet she rarely used her powers even if she was middle tier.


    Super humans are all categorized since birth based on the intensity of their powers. The three categories are bottom, middle and top tier. Each category is divided into several classes. Class E and F for bottoms tier, D class, C and B for middle tier, and class A and S for top tier, E being of course the least powerful and S the most powerful.


    Today there is a wide variety of superpowers among the ''evolved'' (popular name of super humans), such as super force more commonly called tank, speed, or invisibility, which are parts of the most common super powers. Others a bit rarer such as controllers (those who can control an element or material), healers, or even magicians exist too. But among them the rarest powers are psychic and summoner, which are on top of the chain of rarity.


    Katherine being a Class B psychic, is one of the evolved at very rare power and strong intensity, cause 50% of super humans are Class E or F, 25% Class D, and C, 18% Class B and only 355 S-Class people exist in the world.


    As most children have 80% chances of inheriting one of their parents powers it would have beeneasy to assume that iris had inheritedher mother''s psychic powers or that she was more like her father, controller middle tier, and that she had the power to control water. But instead of having inherited one of the powers of her parents Iris was part of the SS class those that are called defective, not developing any power.

 Chapter 3

    Arriving at school, Katherine droped Iris in front of the entrance, as usual, then continueed to the school parking lot. Iris immediately headed to the two buses parked a few meters from the entrance that awaited the students participating to today''s school trip.


    Several students were already grouped, and the excitement on their faces could easily be read. Seeing Iris approach, some students whisper to each other, she could not say that this kind of reaction still amazed her, she could even guess what they were saying, even what they were thinking, certainly something like ''why would a defective want to see Lucy ?'' The funny thing about it for Iris was that she asked herself the same question ''why.'' It was as if a force was attracting her to ''Lucy'' commanding her to go and she could not resist, like a magnet, like a small insect attracted to light. She always had this fascination for the stones of origin, having yet no power. She even wondered for a long time if it was not some kind of mental illness, obsession due to the fact that she was a defective. But this time it was different, it was like she could hear it call her.


    "Iris...., Iris....., halo earth to Iris"


    Iris suddenly woke from her ''daydream'' and without turning, she replied.


    "I prefer tango ici cash"


    "You know very well that this kind of old movie is not my thing"The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "1989 wasn''t that long ago, you know"


    "For me, if it''s more than 3 years it''s old, don''t even talk about 3 centuries"


    Lily her best friend, a blonde with blue eyes, took her by the arm and draged her towards their supervisor. Iris had always found that the two of them made the perfect opposite duo. Lily with her beautiful wavy hair, long legs, almost pristine skin and Iris with her red lion like curl, green eyes, freckles and tomboy-ish side. Small, they each even had a nickname golden locks for Lily and poils de carrot for Iris because of her love for old French literature.


    "Personally I was sure you were going to come, even if the others thought the contrary"


    "Hey Tony you owe me 20 coins" said Lily while slightly tipping her head to the side.


    "I lost again, I was sure you would have found an excuse not to come Iris" said Tony.


    Tony and Lily were the only friends Iris had in Sindara. Iris and Lily were childhood friends, they grew up in the same town before Lily''s family had to move for her father''s job when she was 11. Having kept touch, the two were easily able to meet 6 years later in Sindara after she too had moved. And Tony, Lily''s boyfriend was naturally added.


    "I told you, you were going to lose."


    "I should have known you were far too sure of yourself, just how come you knew Lily would come."


    "Secret"


    "Even your boyfriend has no right to know"


    "Yes"


    Iris smiled inwardly as she listened to their little quarrel, since childhood Lily had always been the one who understood her the most and given the current situation nothing changed much.


    "Ah Iris what are you going to do during training?" asked Tony.


    "I don''t know, maybe further my research on the theory of abisal sleep and its importance"


    "... "


    "Very funny" replies Lily sarcastically.


    "But seriously"


    "I don''t know, what''s certain is that it''s going to be quiet without you two for the next 10 months"


    "We''re going to miss you too," said Lily.

 Chapter 4

    In 5 weeks will begins the training, each year everyone between 15 and 21 years must participate in the training to learn how to control their powers. The first 3 years of training are entirely theoretical and last only 3 months per year, but the last 3 are years of practice and usually last 10 months per year.


    It is illegal to use your powers to work without completing fully thepractical training or in public spaces without the supervision of a person who has obtained a validation pass at the end of training.


    Everyone at the age of 18 must therefore participate in the practical training that is done in specialized camp, no one has the right to use his powers in public spaces until they have finished at least the first year of practice training, even if they are under the supervision of a person with a pass.


    This year it was Lily and Tony''s turn to start their first year of practical training, they will leave for 10 months to one of the specialized camps of the region.Lily being a Class A healer and Tony a Class B magician, they were both considered prodigies and were recruited by one of the best camps in the state ''Zion'' during their first year of practical training.


    Being defective, Iris still had to participate in the theoretical training, but this year she was removed from the program for practical training being considered unfit for it.


    Lily, Tony and iris finally made their way to the bus, after their supervisor had confirmed that their authorizations were signed. Iris sat by the window and Lily took the seat next to her, telling Tony to take the one behind her.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    5 minutes later, the supervisor and his assistant joined them on the bus, they made sure that the class was in complete and then reported the departure to the driver.


    After an hour and a half on the road, the bus arrived at the museum of rock where was exposed ''Lucy'', it was the name of the stone of origin exhibited in Sindara. It was the third stone of origin discovered in the world. The bus crossed the first control barrier before arriving at a huge open parking, half full of several other buses and groups of people of all ages. Their bus parked and the supervisor got up to give some instructions.


    "In a few minutes we will distribute you cards with a description of the stone ''Lucy'' its origin and also the restrictions and rules to follow inside the museum, which you will have to read fully before entering the museum. Are we clear ?"


    "Yes, sir" answered the students.


    "Okay, everyone let''s go"


    Iris got off the bus and took the card distributed by the security service before heading to the entrance of the museum with her class. ''Strange'' she thought, since getting off the bus, she felt like she had been covered by something she couldn''t really describe. It was not uncomfortable but also not particularly pleasant.


    "Do you feel that, Lily ?" asked Iris.


    "What?"


    "I don''t know, like something around you."


    "No, are you okay if you don''t feel well I can tell the supervisor."


    "No it''s fine, it''s probably fatigue"


    "You''re sure"


    "Yes it''s nothing, let''s go"


    It was finally her class''s turn to enter the museum after 30 minutes waiting. From the outside, the museum looked like a normal modern building, similar to every other building in Sindara or rather to every other skyscraper, but the interior seemed to come straight out of a futuristic movie of the last millennium with its walls entirely white, the overpowering presence of glass, and the monotonous grey uniform of all the employees accentuating even more the sci-fi universe of the end of the 20th century movies that this place was giving.

 Chapter 5

    "Ok everyone, make groups of 3 or 5 people to visit the part of museum that you are interested in, and in 30 minutes, everyone will meet in showroom number 7 to see the stone of origin before finishing the visit, and remember to take notes you will have an assignment about what you''ve learn on today''s visit." Said the Supervisor.


    Lily, Tony and Iris forming a group, decided not to add other people and began their visit.


    25 minutes later their group and the others meet in front of the showroom number 7. For Iris this visit was really strange, during the entirety of it, she felt like floating on a cloud but after arriving at the showroom of Lucy the feeling had completely disappeared. In front of her stood a humongous door that could certainly not be open by people like her. They were the only group present ''surely the exit is on the other side'' she thought. Iris inspected the door in front of her, contrary to what one might have thought, this one was made of wood, the details and decor seem to have been hand-carved. A tree whose trunk partially covered with ronses was beautiful sculpted in wood and stood majestically in front of them.


    After several minutes waiting, the door finally opened in front of iris, the tree slowly separates in two and revealed a huge room containing a central pillar cut in the center by a glass wall of about 30 centimeters, exposing the stone of origine contained in it.


    Several students a little too existed started to inspect the room and all its cornes, others went straight to Lucy, each trying to recall all the legends they might have heard about the stones. Iris, on the other hand, could not move, the feeling she had when she got off the bus all came up tenfold ''what''s that feeling, am I dying'' she thought.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    "Iris hurry up, come on, we''ve started."


    Lily, who was near the stone with the others, returned to iris, took her arm and then draged her with her to the group.


    "It''s your turn to touch the stone, Tony and I have already tried but nothing has happened"


    Iris, who could still not figure out what was going on around her, managed to follow Lily, despite the fact that her body felt detached from the rest of her.


    "You know that some people have managed to increase their powers after touching the stone, maybe yours just need a boost," said Lily with a smile before taking her hand and laying it on the stone.


    Iris, who until then was still in transe felt like she was slowly regaining control of her body.


    "Iris, do you feel anything? Something special ?"


    After a few seconds, iris answered "no, except the fact that it''s cold"


    For a moment the marbled red stone, covered with golden luminous veins, appeared to shine more intensely before returning to its normal colour. The moment was so brief that Iris wondered if she had not dreamed it.


    "Sorry I thought that..." said Lily with a disheartened look.


    "It''s nothing Lil, I understand"


    A few minutes later the supervisor announced the end of the visit and directed the students to the exit.


    Back home, Iris went to the kitchen, opened the fridge to pick up a sandwich and some leftover pasta from the day before. Katherine had a meeting with the teachers tonight and won''t be home until 10 p.m. Iris finished her dinner and then headed to her room to take a shower and sleep. An hour later she heard her door open, her mother enters.


    "How was the trip?"


    "Ok"


    "It''s that all ?... nothing special?"


    "No, nothing special, even though I felt a little weird for a moment, it quickly passed"


    "You''re sure"


    "Affirmative"


    "Okay, good night, darling."


    "Good night, mom"

 Chapter 6 : Anck

    September 22, 2312. 2:34 a.m.


    Anck.


    A drop of perspiration crossed his face from his forehead to his neck, intense heat passed through his body like an electric current. The frantic movements of his torso seem to be subsiding, but Anck knew it was only starting. Unbearable pain lacerated his body, as if thousands of micro cuts were made in his flesh. Struck by the intense pain that was progressively covering him Anck opened his eyes, tried to extend his arm but the pain was too strong, panic took hold of him, the anguish filled him, a strange feeling of suffocation covered him and consecutively aroused a torrent of heat and a freezing cold feeling in his bowels.


    He tried to get up but the pain kept increasing, with great difficulty he managed to reach his bedside table by extending his trembling hand and grabbed several pills that he immediately threw in his mouth and swallowed. His mouth was so dry that the Pills kept sticking to his throat and it took him many tries to swallow all of them. The pain that had then covered his body dissipated, a few minutes pass before he could sit on his bed. His gaze turned to his alarm, 2h45 ''this is the third time this week'' he thought as he stood up.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Anck walked out of his room to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sat on the counter. A voice coming from the hallway was heard.


    "Anck is it you?"


    "Mom....., yes it''s me, I just needed a drink"


    "It''s 3:00 am honey ! Did you have another seizure ? "


    "This one was short, but maybe I should go to the doctor"


    "Your seizures are becoming more frequent, are you sure you''re okay? I can spend the night with you if you want ?"


    "I''m not five mom" said Anck in an exasperated tone.


    "But you''ll always be my little baby," said Celine with a smile.


    Anck sighted before adding with a slight smile on the corner of his lips.


    "The worst part is that I think it''s normal"


    Celine slowly caressed the side of his face, her eyes as always betrayed her, fear and doubt was written in her eyes like black ink on white sheets.


    "I''ll make an appointment in the morning, you should go to bed, are you sure you don''t want me to sleep with you?"


    "I''m 120% sure, good night mom"


    "Good night honey"


    Anck got off the counter, throws his empty bottle in the trash can and headed to his room. At that moment, the pain that had disappeared suddenly reappeared ''hah'' he cried, the intense pain tormenting him could be perceived in his tone. Several cries of sorrow following the previous one, frantically escaped his mouth. His body appeared to have been set on fire, ignited by an unbearable heat. Anck collapsed, his eyelids got heavier. Then silence, not a single sound, all his senses seemed to have been disconnected, time seemed frozen, he tried to reopen his eyes but in vain, his consciousness was slowly enveloped by the unconscious.

 Chapter 7

    May 24, 2310


    "I don''t understand why I have to participate to this thing" said anck.


    "I know very well that you would rather not participate, but it''s open day for father and son, Chris is far too young to participate and Henri is already off to theoretical training camp" said Tom.


    "Dad, if Anck doesn''t want to go can i go at his place ?" said Chris with the biggest smile on his face and shiny puppy like eyes.


    "We''ve talked about this before, you''re too young to go see Lucy."


    "But..."


    "No but, I''m going with Anck and that''s it"


    An hour later.


    "Anck, areyou ready ?"


    "Yes"


    "Ok, let''s go"


    30 minutes later they finally arrived at their destination, the museum of rock. Once a year they organize an open day for their employees, and this year was Anck''s turn to go with his dad. His brother Henri, who should have done so, had to leave earlier for training this year. Since his father started working at the museum 3 years ago, it was his second visit and the previous time he stopped at the security service to deposit the documents his father had forgotten. He had always tried to avoid this place as much as possible. As if his instinct was trying to warn him.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Anck and Tom crossed the front door and heads straight for the space set up for registration. But already, a familiar feeling covers him, the one that had haunted him for two years, since the day of his first visit. It was as if magnetic forces were covering him.


    Moments later all the participants were grouped in the entry room, then divided in smaller group and assigned a guide for the visit.


    "Meet me at the cafeteria later" said Tom.


    "What ? You''re not participating to the visit with the group ?"


    "The visit is just for the children, parents have to wait in the cafeteria for it to finish"


    "Okay..., later "


    "Yeah, later"


    The tour started and the guide lead the group to the first showroom, it was filled with stones of different color, texture and shape, the walls of the room seemed to cover the room from floor to ceiling, blending into each other as if to give an impression of infinity. The second showroom, twice the size of the first one, was entirely filled with machines and extraction tools of all kinds. Rooms 3, 4 and 5 contained several documents, books and photographs. The group finally moves towards the 6th room also the most interesting one for Anck, the projection room. Filled with holograms, 3D and 4D machines and other Virtual Reality devices to experiment the extraction process at the time. After several minutes of exploration of Room 6, it was finally time to head to the last room.


    "We are almost at the end of our tour, in front of you is showroom number 7 where Lucy is exposed, each of you has the right to touch the stone once, before going out and no need to jostle everyone will touch it" said the guide.


    Anck, as the tour was moving forward felt the magnetic force around him becoming stronger and stronger, he felt the attraction grow, but ''to what ?'' He wondered. Standing in front of showroom number 7 he finally had his answer. The guide who had finished giving the rules to follow turned to the amazing wooden door, and step by step, he walked to the door that was gradually opening before them.

 Chapter 8

    September 24, 2312


    A bright light, penetrated his vision, a humming sound and then a high-pitched one invaded his ears. Anck turned his face to the left.


    "Mam...., Dad....." he said, in a voice that was more imperceptible than a whisper.


    Celine and Tom, who had moved away from his room to discuss with the doctor, turned around, a moment passed before all three were interrupted by Chris standing outside the door.


    "Mom, Dad, Ank Opened his eyes"


    A few hours later sitting on his bed and still slightly shaken, Anck listened to his parents telling him that he had a stroke, he was in a coma for two days and that doctors thought it was a miracle that he had no sequel.


    Two days later.


    "The doctors have checked all your results, there are just a few tests result left that we will be able to get in two days but you are allowed to returnhome today" said C¨¦line.


    "Great! one more day in this place and I would have gone crazy"


    "Is your bag ready ?"Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "Yes, it''s on the chair near the door"


    "Okay, I have to sign some papers at the reception, while your dad gets your drugs and then we can leave."


    "Ok"


    The bedroom door opens


    "Mr. and Mrs. Norman can I speak to you in private ?" said the doctor who had just entered.


    "Yes of course"


    A few minutes later in the hallway.


    "Mr. and Mrs. Norman I just wanted to check some information with you if you don''t mind ?"


    "No, of course not" said Celine


    "Madame Norman your category is middle tier magician am i right ?"


    "Yes, you are"


    "And Mr. Norman, you''re class C tank."


    "Yes"


    "When I was inspecting your son''s file and I saw that it was marked defective in it, probably an error of the nurse"


    "No, not at all doctor"


    "That information is correct, our other two sons are both top third magician, but Anck was born without powers" said C¨¦line.


    The doctor opened Anck''s file in his hands and scrutinized it, questioning look could be read on his face. After several seconds he announced.


    "I''m sorry Mr. and Mrs. Norman but the results we have showed that your son''s statistics clearly indicate the characteristics of an evolved."


    "Maybe it''s a mistake, Anck has checkups every year since he was a kid, but the results have always been the same" said Tom.


    "Mr. and Mrs. Norman, the test performed in our hospital are among the most reliable in Sindara."


    "Perhaps his results were simply mixed by mistake with those of another person, simply retesting him will confirm the situation."


    "If that''s what you want, we will retake the exams even though I think the probability of different results is very low, but that might be for the best"


    Tom and C¨¦line looked at the doctor with an interrogative glance, the doctor more and more aware of the interest of Mr. and Mrs. Norman added.


    "It''s just for confirmation" before reaching out for Tom and Celine''s hands.


    "I''ll see you in two days for your son''s results."


    "Thank you Doctor"


    "Thank you Doctor"


    Celine and Tom headed back to their son''s room. Anck, who was waiting for their return seated on the bed, then got up, took his bag that he had placed at his feet and followed his parents to the exit.

 Chapter 9 : Brian And Alice

    May 2310


    Brian And Alice


    Brian''s gaze was fixed on Alice, her amber eyes accentuated by the sun''s rays, so similar to those of their father, painted for the first time in four years the portrait of an expression he had long seen escape from their lives.


    A small smile appeared on her face, a real smile, like the one she had when their parents were alive. The last four years have been hard for the both of them but their nightmare was finally coming to an end, the end of the tunnel was finally visible.


    After several years of research, their social worker had managed to reach their uncle, the only family they had left. He had been deployed to Lu''um for 5 years and had just returned when he received the news of his sister and her husband''s death, they had an accident, had not survived and he was designated to be their children''s guardian.


    The first time Alice and Brain met their uncle was in the social worker''s office. Their mother had told them about him, their uncle was a hero she said. As children, she told them several heroic stories about him, their childhood was full of stories of his prowess ''your uncle jack is super strong, he fights the bad guys on the other side of the world, he saves lives every day'' she often told them, but Brian, couldn''t help but wonder where was he when his family needed him the most. Their uncle was a Class B healer, he could have saved their mother if he had been there.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    He knew she could have survived if only there had been a healer in their town, he had heard Mary their social worker say it to her colleague at the hospital, he recalls.


    [ "Looks like the father was trying to protect them by using his powers to create a protective barrier but it didn''t hold long, he was just bottom tier" says the social worker.


    "What about his wife ?"


    "The mother could have survived if a healer had taken care of her case, but this kind of small town does not have such a person"


    "What about the kids? They''re twins, aren''t they?"


    "Yes, Brain and Alice only had a few scratches, I think that their parents tried to absorb the majority of the impact to protect them"


    "I read in their file that they are both defective, it''s very rare"


    "yeah, they both inherited their mother''s condition"


    "For now, the most important thing is to find them a foster family until we can reach their uncle"


    "I''m going back to work maybe this time I''ll get someone"


    "Ok, see you later. ]


    Five years had passed before the social worker was able to reach their uncle, in the first year after their parents'' death, they went from foster care family to foster care family, when their second year had just started, Marie the assistant in charge of their case had informed them of their uncle''s disappearance and that it had been decided to transfer them to an orphanage because they had not found a trace of their father''s family in Jorden.


    Alice and Brian stayed in an orphanage for 4 years, who would have wanted to adopt two defective pre-teens. Just a few weeks before their 16th birthday, a new social worker showed up at their orphanage announcing that they had found their uncle and that he was coming in a few days.


    Today was finally the day their uncle came to remove them from the orphanage and take them to their new home. Even though Brian stil had some apprehension about their new situation, he knew well that they had no other choice.

 Chapter 10

    The office door opens and the silhouette of a man appears in front of Alice and Brian, he was tall, very tall, skin the color of bronze and eyes black onyx, his gaze was demanding authority and his movements commanding respect, all his mannerism was a testimony of several years of service. ''He looked like his mother just a lot taller and broader'' thought Brian after several seconds of observation.


    Although he and his sister were twins, they did not seem to share many physicals similarities, Brian was the spitting image of his mother with his dark black hair, his big brown eyes and his dimples. He sometimes found his physical features a little too feminine for his liking, his mother often told him that the men in her family were like that but that it was only a phase. Seeing his uncle for the first time before his eyes, he finally felt reassured. Alice was the spitting image of their maternal grandmother according to their father, the same caramel skin as his, with almond-shaped eyes, curls lightened by the sun and a dimple on her left cheek, but despite that, one could still observe a certain resemblance to their uncle.


    Weeks had passed since their first meeting. Jack approached them and then settled into one of the seats opposite to them.


    "Mr. Loren, you''ve already met your nephew and your niece Brian and Alice" says the social worker.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    "You can call me jack," said their uncle.


    "Ok...., here are the papers you need to sign if you have any questions I''ll be back in a few minutes"


    A short moment went by during which jack read the pile of papers in front of him and then signed them. ''Jack''was saying Brian in his head, he could finally put a face on the name of his mysterious hero uncle who saves the world.


    "hum, Brian and Alice" said Jack, pointing his finger at Brian and then Alice.


    Alice, who until then was more interested in the tapestry, raised her head and then stared at him, as if she could read his thoughts, a few seconds pass before she resumed to her inspection of the carpet.


    "Yep" said Brian


    "Ok" responded jack with a bewildered air.


    "I know it''s a big change for both of you, changing schools and all that, but for me too it''s new."


    "Ok" said Brian


    "Normally, we should have lived here for at least 6 months before we could move, but I asked for a transfer of your case to a social worker in Sindara"


    "Ok"


    "We''re all going to have to adapt to a new way of life, but I''m sure everyone''s going to be fine."


    "Ok"


    Jack stoped for a moment to stare at Alice who was still very interested in tapestry.


    "She''s ok too," said Brian suddenly.


    "She can say it herself"


    "Doesn''t need to, I''m here"


    ".... "


    The social worker knocked on the door and then opened it.


    "If you''re done Brian and Alice I''d like to talk to your uncle in private."


    Brian took Alice''s hand and left the room. An hour later and all the documents signed there were off to Sindara.

 Chapter 11

    September 21, 2312


    "Alice what happened? Where''s Brian ?"


    Alice, who was sitting on one of the chairs in the waiting room, raised her head. Red eyes appeared in front of Jack and Alice threw herself in her uncle''s arms, for a few moments she stood there, frozen, jack removed from his pocket a tissue which he then proceeded to place in his niece hands before telling her.


    "You must have been very frightened" a slight nod from her was enough to confirm the state in which she was.


    He then took Iris back to her seat.


    "Give me a few minutes I''ll just go see Brian, ok ?"


    Another nod indicated her agreement and Jack entered the hospital room.


    "Mr. Loren, I''m Dr. Trevor"


    "Brian ?" asked Jack as he approached his bed.


    "Huh, your nephew was transported here after he collapsed during his school trip, he was transported directly from the museum"


    "But do not worry our doctors have already confirmed that everything is fine, he just needs some rest"


    After the doctor''s speech jack''s bust slowly relaxed, he did not realize that he was holding his breath, the relief covered him and Jack came even closer to Brian''s bed.


    "Are you sure that everything is ok, there is no need for me to intervene" he said.


    "Do not worry Mr. Loren, we just gave your nephew something to sleep, he will be able to leave tomorrow"Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    "Ok...., in that case can his sister come in for a moment,she was very affected by the event"


    "Huh..., I think that it would be better to wait until tomorrow for this"


    "Just for a moment, Alice might not be able to sleep if she doesn''t see Brian."


    "Okay, but just for a moment"


    "Ok thank you doctor"


    After spending a few minutes in her brother''s room Alice and her uncle decided to leave, visiting hours were over and they had to go home.


    Along the way Alice couldn''t help but think it was her fault, like the death of their parents. If only she had paid more attention to Alicia''s warning.


    She clearly remembered the day she first met Alicia, six was years old and had broken her arm when she fell from a tree while playing with a friend. She had to spend two weeks in the hospital before she could return home. For people like her small injuries like that were very dangerous. It was during those few days that Alicia appeared. During a night she couldn''t sleep, her arm was hurting and she was alone her mother went home to pick up some things and wasn''t going to come back until an hour later. As she was sobbing between the bed sheets Alice heard a voice.


    "Why are you crying ?"


    She raised her head and in front of her was a little girl, her skin had the color of coffee and eyes the color of gold, she wore a red dress and her hair looked like one of her favorite vintage cartoon characters sideshow bob, she was beautiful like one of the small dolls her mom was collecting, she looked like some kind of fairy, certainly because she looked to young to be a goddess.


    "If you stop crying I will stay with you forever." she said.


    Alice, who was afraid of being alone, stopped crying instantly and from that moment they became inseparable.


    During their first year together everyone treated Alicia like a very distinguished imaginary friend, no one could see her except her and Alicia told her that it was because the contract had not been formed yet. The years passed and Alicia and Alice continued to grow up, yet the people around her could still not see her. The day before her parents died Alicia had told her that she had to go on a long journey and that she had to be strong in her absence, that things would become difficult but that she should not worry because she was not alone. It was only after she woke up in the hospital that Alice understood Alicia''s words.


    After that she disappeared for six years. Initially Alice had thought it was normal, Alicia was her imaginary friend and this kind of thing disappears when people grow up. Until one evening, after coming back from school she opened the door of her room she saw a girl sitting on her bed, she wore a red dress like the ones she wear when they were children, but it was only when she saw her eyes that Alice became aware of who she was.


    When they arrived at home Alice exhausted went straight to bed.

 Chapter 12

    September 22, 2312. 2:34 a.m.


    "Alice...., Alice....., Alice"


    Alice was hearing a voice, but this time it was not just in her head she could hear it physically.


    "Stop, I don''t want to hear you" said Alice.


    "But I''m a part of you rAlice both of us are one" said the voice.


    "Lies"


    "The time has come Alice the contract has already been made"


    Alice got up from her bed, took her headphone and holographic tablet resting on her desk, then increased the volume to the full before placing it on her ears.


    "Alice, this kind of tricks no longer work you have to accept me, we are one"


    "I am not like you"


    "Don''t you want to protect Brian anymore ?"


    "You know what will happen to him if the contract is not completed"


    "It''s just lies"


    "It''s up to you whether you want him to live or not, there''s not much time left Alice"


    Since Alicia''s reappearance, Alice had been doing everything to ignore her presence, for her, Alicia was her imaginary childhood friend and that reality was hard to break. How could she accept her reappearance without it being considered a mental disorder. Alicia had decided to impose herself and this time Alice had no intention of letting her do. She was completely ignoring all Alicia''s attempts to contact, but she was so persistent that she had become the little voice in that head who kept repeating that the time was approaching. After the incident at the museum Alice understood that her efforts were in vain, they had been chosen and nothing could have prevented the formation of the contract.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Alice looked at the tablet in her hands 2:45, ''there''s only 5 minutes left'' she thought to herself. A feeling of moisture caressing her face ran down her cheek, tears, always tears ''she said that with her I would no longer cry'' Alice thought. On the screen in her hands was displayed ''always with me, always with you'' by Joe Satriani, she always had that fascination for the 20th and 21st century''s stuffs, but at that moment no notes could penetrate her thoughts.


    2:56, Alice was resigning herself to her fate ''it''s time for me to stop running'' she said to herself. She sat down on her bed and pronounced the name she had tried to erase from her memory since her parents'' death.


    "Alicia...., ek aanvaar jou"


    By the time the words left her mouth, her room, which was already in the dark, became even darker. But despite the complete obscurity that covered her space she was in, she was able to see around her. A shape was slowly appearing before her eyes, Alice could hear her heart beats vibrating like a drum. A face appeared before her and it was as if all the air of her lungs had suddenly been removed, the same intense look, the same golden eyes were fixated on hers.


    Alice hesitated, but it was already too late to change her mind. She took Alicia''s hand and it felt like touching a person coming out of the pool, cold and wet. The feeling of humidity increased and Alice fixed her hand with intensity and noticed that Alicia''s hand was disintegrating before her eyes, Panicked, she let her hand fall, out of fear ''don''t be afraid'' she heard ''don''t move''.


    The viscous liquid that Alicia had become flowed towards her, reached her feet and rose up her legs. The liquid spread over her body covering every part before reaching her neck. Panic took hold of her again when it continued to spread and covered her hair, only her nose, mouth and eyes had been left uncovered.


    ''It''s going to hurt a little bit'' Alicia said.


    ''but you have to endure until the end'' and then the liquid covered her face.


    A few seconds passed before Alice noticed that she could no longer breathe the liquid had covered her entirely, anguish and doubt was spreading through her mind and at the same time an acute pain struck her. Alice felt something opening, she soon realized that it was the pores of her skin that were distending. The pain she felt multiplied as her pores opened up. The viscous fluid gradually penetrated into her body and the pain increases further. Alice cried out in pain, but no sounds could escape from her mouth, which at the same time filled with viscous liquid, that was also penetrating through her nose and ears. She used her hands to try to remove it from her but to no avail, while she thought she was crying, she felt the liquid repelling her tears by forcing itself through her eyes.


    A heavy noise was heard as if something extremely heavy had fallen on a wooden surface, the black curtain that covered her room had disappeared, Alice could see the light coming from the hallway under her door and the bottom of her bed, but she still, could not hear her screams.


    An eternity seemed to have passed before the liquid was fully absorbed ''it''s over Alice, now rest well, I''ll take care of the rest''.


    Exhaustion took hold of her and darkness invaded her, but this time it was her body doing, She said to herself ''it''s finally over''.

 Chapter 13

    "Alice what are you doing here?" asked Brian.


    Alicia still half asleep answered.


    "We''re here for you, and Alice is still resting."


    Brian looked at his sister with amazement, perhaps he had misheard, Alice usually limited herself to the most basic language even with him since the death of their parents, and even before the accident, her voice had never sounded so confidant and overpowering.


    "Alice ?"


    "I''ve already told you, she''s resting, I''m Alicia"


    "Alice what are you talking about ? Does Jack know that you''re here ?"


    "Hey, Brian right ? If you don''t intend to let me sleep I''ll go and sleep somewhere else."


    Alicia got up from the chair she was sitting in, approached the window and opened it.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "See you at home Alice''s little brother, she''ll explain the rest to you when you get back" said Alicia before jumping.


    Brian''s face was instantly drained of all colors as Alicia disappeared in front of him, in a fraction of a second he was standing in front of the window of his room, his head by it, looking down and shouting her name again and again. He scrupulously inspected the surroundings, his mind was overly assaulted by all kinds of thoughts playing all possible scenarios to the point where he did not even realize that he could see up to several miles away without difficulty.


    His room was on the 14th floor and a fall from that height meant death for people like him and Alice. However on the ground there was nothing, no body, no blood or even a shoe, nothing at all ''no need to panic Alice is going well'' heard Brian. It was Alice''s voice but how did he get to hear it in his head he wondered. ''Telepathy stupid, I''ll teach you later'' said the voice. Brian stood in front of the window for several minutes lost in his thoughts before the nurse knocked on the door and entered. It was 9 o''clock and she had to do her last check up before he was allowed to leave, her uncle Jack had just arrived at the hospital and was at that very moment at the reception signing discharge papers.


    Back in her room Alice said to Alicia:


    "Why did you jump ?"


    "It was funny, you saw it face right ? huge !" She said mockingly.


    "Don''t do that kind of thing anymore, it''s not funny.


    "Okay, ok..., you managed to take all the fun from it, borinnnnng"


    Alice, still exhausted by the hectic night she spent lay on her bed, her blanket over her head as she fell asleep peacefully.

 Chapter 14 : Steve

    September 20, 2312


    Steve


    ''11.45pm it''s time'' Steve opened his bedroom window meticulously, quickly inspected the surroundings before taking one last look at his room ''i think I have not forgotten a thing'' he said to himself. In the blink of an eye he jumped over the wall that separating him from his freedom. he quickly headed to his friend Yuri''s collection car, a the tesla, parked a few meters away, one of the few means of transport of the last centuries still usable after the anti-pollution laws were applied at the end of World War 3.


    "I''ve been waiting for almost an hour," said Yuri.


    "Sorry man, my mom was on my back today," said Steve.


    "You always have an excuse"


    "I know, but you know how my parents are, I can''t wait to finally leave this house."


    "Is that why you called me tonight ?, were you tense ?, it''s again because of your mother I guess"


    "I just needed to change my mind, that¡¯s all"


    "Ok, let''s go for the runner then"


    Yuri started his car, entered the direction of coordinates he had previously received in the GPS and set off to the runner, one of Sindara''s largest race meeting. Because of ''disagreement with the law'' as yuri says so well, the meeting point of the gathering changed every week and all participants received a message one hour before it, each time.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "Are you going to participate ?" said Yuri.


    "No, not tonight"


    The runner''s races were among the most famous in Sindara because it was forbidden to use powers during the race, which was also one of the reasons why Steve was interested in it at first.


    At the time, the tensions between him and his mother had become somewhat unbearable, much like they are now. He knew very well that he was very lucky to be part of this family. His parents were both top third cerebral, who had made their fortune in real estate, they were financial geniuses.


    His grandparents as well as several of his cousins, uncles and aunts were all cerebral evolved who were at least C class and above and had each succeeded in their respective fields. From doctors to engineers, writers to pop star, his family was part of the elite of Sindara, the cream of the cream. For all these reasons, the pressure to succeed had always been present in his life. At the age of 3 he was introduced to an army of teachers, art, literature, sport all had to be tested. His mother was often saying to him ''steve you''re already behind compare to your cousins'' or ''we have to try everything maybe you have a hidden talent'' or the ultimate ''it''s for your future Steve''.


    He did not care about himself and what he wanted all those, all he cared about was his mom¡¯s wishes, even though all those years of tutoring were more torment than pleasure for him, he understood her and knew that everything his mother had done was for his own good. He accepted without complaining, without disobeying all the things she was saying to him, everything she was ordering him to do, for more than 15 years Steve tried , he tested everything he could to please his mother but the results were the same, no particular talent.


    It was true that he could play the piano, violin and the guitar without too much difficulty and even some compositions of Back or Mozart. He could paint some landscapes but that didn''t make him a piano virtuoso or the next Picasso. His high school grades were above average but it was due to his army of tutors and supervisors. Steve was no smarter or more talented than the other students in his class and the person who suffered the most from that was his mother.


    He knew that she felt responsible for his condition, born without powers she always felt like it was her fault because her father was also deffective. His mother came from a poor family and had been able to go to one of the best university in the state because of her powers. It was also there that she met his father, who came from a very wealthy family. ¡¯a blind and pure love¡¯ He thought while inwardly admitting that his mother''s powers had played an important role in her acceptance by his father''s family.

 Chapter 15

    Steve reflected on the talk he had with his mother a few days ago when he refused to visit the Museum of rock. Luise, his mother had told him that she heard some evolved had managed to change classes by touching a stone of origin and that perhaps, if he too tried, he might receive his powers that way.


    Steve after that statement went in an immense rage, he wondered how long this obsession of her would continue, why couldn''t she accept him as he is.Lost in his thoughts had not noticed the immobility of the car in which he was. As Yuri was starting to out of it, he was still sitting, his elbow on the armrest of the door and his head resting between his hand, his eyebrows creased as he stared into nothingness. Yuri, tired of waiting for a reaction from him said.


    "Do you intend to continue to languish for a long time ?"


    "It''s just that ..." Steve''s face, which until then was clenched, relaxed as he continued.


    "My mother''s obsession is ruining my life."


    "I think it''s time you talk to her about it, it''s been more than 10 years man"


    "Do you think I didn''t try, she doesn''t want to hear anything"


    "Okay, in that case, there''s just a few weeks left before graduation, I think the best thing would be for you to go home, listen to everything she has to say and then decide if you want to follow what she tells you to do or not."


    "And if you don''t agree with her proposal my parents won''t come back for 2 months, you can use the guest room if you want"If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    A few seconds passed, and in Steve''s mind, a plan formed, what appeared as a dilemma before his eyes, finally began to clear up.


    "The wisdom king is always right," said Yuriwith a smile on his eyes.


    "And the worst part is that I''m starting to think it''s true," replied Steve.


    Yuri and Steve finally got out of the car, the runner''s rendezvous point that night was right in the middle of the mountains, a huge dome in which the races will take place was erected there. That dome was the particularity of the runner''s race and also the raison why they could continue to run those races without being caught. It assembled at the meeting point before each meet up and was protected by a spell called ''presence'' that allowed its presence to not be detected. Only those that had received a autorisation from the system and members like him and Yuri could see it.


    Motorcycle races were on the programmed for the night and just one car race was announced. Both headed to the group of spectators who stood near the starting line to check the different models of car and motorcycle in competition tonight.Among the bikes some were collection pieces and operated on electricity, but, for the others, most were anti-gravitational motorcycles operating with fragments of some stone of origin. At the exception of the runner''s all the other races of Sindara allowed the use of powers, each participant could transfer his energy into the rock fragment of his processor and increase the power of the vehicle.


    It was when he was 9 years old that Steve''s passion for racing was born, one of his tutors was a huge race enthusiast and participated in several amateur races. Luise had strongly opposed to his interest in the sport, which she considered too dangerous. Soon after, his tutor had been disposed, it was only later at the age of 16, after meeting Yuri, that he was introduced to the world of underground racing.


    After the public had finished observing the cars and motorcycles in competition and all the bets had been done, the races began, Steve who had decided not to participate joined the other spectators, he watched the races the entire evening until dawn before returning home.

 Chapter 16

    September 21, 2312, 8 a.m.


    "Steve, can I come in ? we need to talk"


    The silhouette of a woman appeared in front of Steve, roughly 5 ft 2, long black hair, the same color as his, her epicanthic fold eyes aged by the time fixed him. It had been more than two hours since he had returned from the runner but Steve had not managed to close his eyes. He was looking forward to the appearance of the source of his insomnia, Luise.


    Steve sat on the side of his bed, his elbows resting on his lap, staring at his mother, Luise approached him, sat by his side and then took his hand.


    "Steve, I know it was hard for you to accept everything you''ve accepted until now and I understand your desire for freedom"


    "If you did, we wouldn''t be where we are right now, we wouldn''t be having this conversation" said Steve.


    "Steve, I admit that I was a little too oppressive, but you have to understand that all of this, is for your own good"


    "And so I have to accept to become the perfect puppet, don''t I Luise ?"Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    A hint of sarcasm was heard in the tone of his voice, in his eyes, a mixture of anger and exasperation.


    "No....., that''s not it..." said Luise.


    Steve abruptly removed his hand from his mother''s grip, and then rose from his bed. The shock could easily be read on her face, but it was not the only emotion he could read in her eyes, he decided not to focus on those, afraid of failing in the trap she was making. Steve walked to his dressing room took a T-shirt and a jeans and then walked to the bathroom, in the front of the door, he stopped and turned to Luise.


    "It''s the last time, after today I will not follow any of your so-called directions anymore" Then he disappeared behind the door.


    His behaviour might Have seemed extreme to an outsider but after yesterday''s evening and his discussion with Yuri he understood that he alone was the master of his life, he alone had to leave with every single decision he took whether they were good or bad. And that if he continued like this, his mother''s grip would never leave him.


    After reaching this conclusion, he decided not to make excuses again. As soon as he returned from the runner, he started a series of apartment searches, Yuri had offered him their guest room but Steve did not want to impose himself and abused of his hospitality, especially since he had enough money to take an apartment on his own. The runner''s races could bring in a lot of money and he never really needed to spend what he earned, his pocket money was enough to cover all his expenses.


    He had spotted some interesting apartments during his research, they were all located at the other end of town as he was trying to distance himself from his mother, he had even applied for a visit already. The first one was planned in the evening, he decided to visit the place after returning from the museum.

 Chapter 17

    September 22, 2312, 9 a.m.


    Steve''s alarm clock was ringing"wake up, wake up", he extended his arm to his bedside table to turn it, off but the place was empty, his hand went through fine air, he tried several times but still nothing, annoyed he finally opened his eyes and the scene in front of him, cut his breath.


    All the furniture in his room at the exception of his bed were completely broken and scattered on the floor, as if a tornado went through his room. Steve tried to remember what had happened, but despise his efforts, no memories were coming back to him. It was then that he noticed, he could not remember anything related to yesterday''s evening. His last memory was when he arrived at the museum with his mother, he clearly remembered getting out of the car and walking through the door, entering and then nothing, no more memories. ''How was that possible'' he wondered.


    "Oh my God, what happened in this room ?"


    The voice of Gerald his father drew him out of his introspection, Steve immediately went to him.


    "I, I ... I don''t know, I don''t understand where Is Luise ?"


    "Your mother had an emergency meeting, but I don''t think she knows more than you or me, since she had to leave for Lara last night, to make sure she arrived on time" said Gerald.


    "Maybe it was a robbery, we should call the police."


    "I''m going to call your mother first, during this time check your room if you have missing valuables"


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Steve wondered for a while who could have managed to break into their home. The house was overly protected, with several security systems, motion detectors, thermic cameras and of course all kinds of spells, all managed by Elia their system and connected to the central database run by one of his parents'' companies. The kind of noise something like what happened in his room would have made was enough to wake up the entire neighborhood. Elia had activated a spell to reduce noise in the house but it only worked if that noise was made by member of his family.


    If an outsider had tried to enter their home the emergency procedure would have been initiated and the house would have automatically locked from the inside. At least, a class C psychic would have been needed to disable Elia, but for steve, this hypothesis was certainly wrong. Psychics were very rare and they were generally part of the richest families in the world. Although his family was considered by many to be very wealthy, the gap between the world of psychic and his remained very large.


    "Steve, I can''t reach your mother, I called the police they''ll be here soon. Are you sure you don''t remember anything?"


    Steve was still trying to search his memories, but the more he tried to remember the more his memories became blurred. "aaaaaah ..." he cried, an unbearable migraine took over his head. he felt his brian getting hotter and hotter to the point where he felt his temples vibrate at the rythme of his heartbeat.


    Steve sat down in his office chair, that he had removed from the pile of the scattered fourniture as he searched his room, his temperature continued to rise, his colorless face quickly changed from white to scarlet red.


    "Wake up, wake up, wake up..." the alarm kept ringing.


    "Stop..." he yelled.


    Gerald, who had returned to the kitchen trying to reach his wife again, heard a big BOOM sound coming from Steve''s room. Immediately he turned heading straight to his son''s room. The moment he walked through the door another loud sound was heard, this time weaker than the first but more intense like a mixture of hissing and radio noise.


    Panicked, he quickly approached his son who had collapsed. It took him just a few seconds to understand what had happened, all the electrical appliances in the house had exploded and for him, the person who caused this explosion was the same who had vandalized his room, Steve himself.


    ''How is this possible'' he wondered ''Steve was born without power.'' Thousands of questions formed in his head but for now they had to remain unanswered Steve had to be taken to the hospital.

 Chapter 18 : Beginnings

    Beginnings


    It was a different world, times were different. But the heart of humans was the same, so easy to corrupt, what made their strength could suddenly turn into weakness, or even become a weapon.


    Thousands of years ago Men and gods lived in harmony. The gods and goddesses loved the world of humans and its beauty, many of them regularly descended from the world of the gods to enjoy the one of humans. Life was peaceful and humans like gods were satisfied.


    Sometimes during their stay in the human world, some even interfered with the lives of humans. Although it was forbidden for a god to reveal his presence among humans, some still caused terrible events out of rage or joy. The gods loved Men and when they liked a human that one was blessed and would never suffer.


    But they couldn''t stay in the human world for long. To maintain the balance between the worlds, they had to leave this one before the 77 days, and they were only allowed to go there every 365 years. The power of the gods was too strong for the world of Men, every time a god descended on earth the universal balance was shacked, for this reason their time among Men was limited.


    Many Gods because of their love for certain humans tried to break the rules but the consequences of such an act were immense. The god who had tried to break the rule as well as the human for whom he had tried to do so was condemning to wander in the endless world. He had to wander in the void without being able to see each other until the natural death of the human, caused by age, each could hear the cries of the other but even if they tried to follow the sound of the other''s voice they would never managed to find each other.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    For the gods the lifespan of a human was only a fraction of a second of his life but for the human, the punishment was just inconceivable, especially since most were not aware that the person near them was a god.


    Because of these laws, the gods decided to find a solution, if humans could receive some of their power they could thus be in constant contact with the person they desire to protect. But the human heart was too impure only a few humans could maintain their power, for the rest, the impurity of their hearts would sometimes caused their death if they tried to retain the power of the gods by force. It was then that one of the goddesses of the earth ''Gaia'' created the contract, so that a fraction of their power could be transmitted by blood to the descendants of the people they had chosen to bless, so that they would later receive their blessing without having to be compatible with their hearts.


    When a god''s heart was compatible with that of a human, and he wanted to bless him and his offspring, to be in his life until his death, he made a contract with the human and the god became his protector. the human could use some of his powers and satisfy all his desires until his death, and the could be in contact with with him without having to leave the kingdom of gods. These humans were called contractors, the first super humans, their numbers were minim but their powers were immense and their offspring were blessed by them.


    The years passed and many descendants of the people blessed by the gods were born but their powers were small compared to that of a person who received direct blessing. Jealousy began to corrupt their hearts and even affected their powers.


    Some of them began to seek for a solution, since it was impossible for them to know if a god was among them to try to obtain his blessing, they decided to directly to seek their blessings in the kingdom of gods.


    They then began to build a tower that was supposed to lead them to the kingdom of the gods, but this one after the 365th level collapsed. They tested all kinds of materials, but to no avail, the tower collapsed each time. After several attempts and research they discovered that the blood of contractors could strengthen the stone they used and that by using these stones they could finally finish the tower and gain access to the kingdom of the gods.

 Chapter 19

    Still, the number of contractors on earth was extremely small compared to that of the descendants of older generations contractors. But because their thirst for power was too strong, the descendants of former contractors did not hesitate to begin a merciless hunt for humans blessed by the gods.


    Those were slaughtered as a result of their capture and every drop of their blood was extracted to be mixed with the stones of the tower. The massacre lasted several decades until the total disappearance of all contractor. Despite that, the tower could not be finished, the humans had underestimated the power of gods and had thought that a simple tower would have been enough to break the barrier of the worlds, their hope collapsed when they realized that the tower will never lead them to their goal.


    The pain of the Gods was immense when they saw their contractors fall in the traps of their persecutors and die to the last, they could feel each pain and suffering due to the contract but could not act.


    [the contractor can use the power of a god and be in contact with it but the god cannot act remotely, he can protect the human in person only if he is physically in his world ]


    Seeing their heart, the gods understood that the descendants were too impure to receive their blessing. They then destroyed the tower which was called Tower of Babel and decided to no longer descend in the world of humans, the stones of the tower were scattered on the earth and the years passed.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Centuries passed and the gods progressively forgot the past actions of humans. They were content of the new generation''s behavior and had forgiven the corrupted hearts of their ancestors. They were appreciative of the present generations whose heart was not filled with jealousy and envy.


    None the less, the gods had not forgotten that the heart of Men was easy to corrupt, so they decided to create a way to strengthen the world of humans and thus allowing them to receive some of their power without their hearts being compatible with theirs, that way every human would receive power and will not fall on the same path as their ancestors.


    Thoth one of the gods of knowledge was then sent to earth in search of a solution. At the end of the 31st day he discovered that the stones used to build the tower could serve as a catalyzer. When he transferred his energy in it, that one was filtered and then redistributed in the nature. The filtered energy was then absorbed in the human world without disturbing the balance of the worlds.


    But the god had also found out that the more energy he transferred in the stone, the longer the filtration process, he understood that if he filled the capacity of the stone to its maximum, several centuries would pass before this one could be redistributed in the nature and that given its capacity, it would take hundreds for stones to make a real impact on earth.


    But the god though it was the best solution if they wanted to interact with human as before, without them reverting to power hungry beast, they had to give them equal opportunities. They then set out in search of these stones, which they filled with energy before distributing them back. After several years all the stones had been filled, what was left was to wait.


    In December 2012 the first stone filled with divine energy was discovered it had liberated the energy it contained and caused a landslide.


    The gods had not foreseen that even with the filtering of their energy some humans would still not be able to take the change of their world and would perish due to that.


    Decades passed by and after the energy released stabilized, it the then began to transform humans, introducing the Era of Evolved.

 Chapter 20 : Alice and Alicia

    September 22, 2312. 5:35 p.m.


    Alice and Alicia


    The door of Alice''s room opened, Brian had been discharged from the hospital a few hours ago and had returned with their uncle in the afternoon. Alice, who was asleep at the time, had not heard them coming. The contract she made with Alicia had emptied all her energy and she needed to replenish herself before the confrontation.


    After a few seconds passed and the the door closed, Alicia heard the sounds of steps moving away.


    An hour later Alice woke up, her face and arms covered in small sleeping marks denouncing her exhaustion. she had slept all day trying to delay as long as possible her confrontation with Brian and Jack, she had spent hours and hours trying to find the best way to announce the news to them without passing for a crazy person, but to no avail. ''Who would believe what she had to say ? Will she even be able to say it ?'' All were things she wondered.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be happy or something like that, you and your brother finally became evolved ?" Said Alicia.


    "I know, but it''s just that....., I don''t like the change...., and how are Brian and Jack going to take the situation when i will tell them about you"


    "They will certainly be very excited" said Alicia in a sarcastic way.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Interiorly, she thought that Alice''s reaction was hilarious. She new that this contractor of her was a shy introvert girl and she also had a glimpse of the things she went through during their years in the orphanage and knew how bad it had been for her. But the fact that such a frail creature was compatible to a mermaid like herself was still amazing. Spirit of water like her were famous for their vicious behavior ''will Alice be able to use her powers ?'' She wondered.


    "Trust me, you just have to give them a debrief and I''ll take care of the rest, okay ?"


    "Ok" said Alice, even though Alicia''s words didn''t really help to reassure her, they actually had the opposite effect. How will she be able to explain to them that overnight she had gained powers, that Brian too and they now had to find the other three contractors to finalize the contract they made. She tried to approach the situation from different angles but it still sounded stupid or more like a crazy woman rambling, even to her.


    Alice came out of her room and headed to the dining room. It was almost 8:00 p.m. jack should be home from work by now. After leaving their hometown with their uncle, they moved to a private suburb near downtown Sindara. Jack had obtained a job as an instructor and consultant for the army, he was responsible for the training of new healers before deployment.


    After a few weeks of awkwardness and small incidents or rather strange coincidence, all three finally adapted to the change and were slowly getting use to the routine that was now theirs. Jack leaves home at 7.30am after preparing their breakfast and returns every night at 6pm just before dinner from Monday to Friday. Saturdays were activity days , often an outing to go see a sports match or a movie, Jack was always trying to prepare an activity for Saturday, the ones Brian preferred were escape games but Alice had a preference for movies, she loved watching horror and mystery movies in Virtual reality, but they would often compromise and watch an action movie because those were more to Jack and Brian taste.


    Sundays were usually free but for some time now it had become Brian and Jack''s fishing day. The beginnings had not been easy between the two of them, but their relationship seemed to have improved over time and Alice often had the impression that they looked more and more like a real family.

 Chapter 21

    Jack as usual was in the kitchen, he had just finished preparing their meal, Brian was sitting in the dining room, part of the diner had already been place on the table. On the menu ?potato salad, steak and chocolate cream. Alice finished to inspect the meal and said.


    "It''s not Sunday today ?"


    "No, but your brother has just been discharged and he has to regain his strength" said Jack.


    "Oh, ok"


    Alice sat in front of Brian, since entering the kitchen, his eyes had constantly been on her. She didn''t need him to say a single word to understand the message he wanted to say.


    ''I''ll explain it all after dinner'' she said to him telepathically.


    Brian''s expression intensified for a few seconds before disappearing without a trace. At the same time Jack brought with him the last dish containing some kind of fruit mix, he joined them at the table, and then together began to eat dinner.


    With the meal over, the plates and the kitchen cleaned, Alice knew it was time, she left the kitchen after she finished emptying the dishwasher and went to find Brian and Jack in the living room.


    "I have... I have a few important things to say to you guys" she said, as she was sitting on the end of the couch where they were both already installed.


    Jack at that moment turned off the TV which retracted in the wall and faced her. Alice felt that he had perceived something by observing her during the dinner but he had not said anything. She knew that he was just waiting for the conversation to come from her and that he did not want to put pressure on her after the incident with Brian.


    "Is this about your visit at the hospital this morning ?" saidBrian.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "What? Which visit ?" said Jack, who was both surprised and troubled, but especially shocked at not realizing Alice''s absence this morning.


    "You better explain yourself Alice" jack said, he used his military tone the same one he used during their first meeting.


    Several seconds passed, and the surrounding silence became heavier and heavier, Alice exhaled and then said.


    "Yesterday I got powers.... and Brian too.... Alicia said that Brian is a magician and that I am a controller.... and we have to find the other three and and ....." her voice was shaking as she struggled to form each sentence properly.


    "Alice..., calm down, we don''t understand what you''re saying." Jack was now back to his normal calm and peaceful voice.


    "... Alicia" said Alice sighing, those few letters escaped from her like a silent and urgent cry for help.


    In an instant the pressure in the room increased, the temperature dropped and the air became more and more humid.


    "What''s going on ?" said Jack.


    Alice''s amber eyes suddenly became more intense, the slightly yellowish orange color had been replaced by an extremely dense and deep golden yellow, Brian recognized those eyes, it was the ones he had seen this morning at the hospital.


    Alicia smiled, her gaze was directed at Jack and Brian and she couldn''t help but find the situation hilarious.


    "Awesome " she said, bursting into laughter. Her laughter was slightly deep but very feminine. The laughter they heard was that of a seductive women, sensual and bewitching, no doubt this one was not Alice''s.


    Even if her voice was similar to her''s, one could feel some authority or rather assurance, confidence in it. Alice''s soft and uncertain little voice had been overpowered by Alicia''s authoritarian and domineering tone.


    "If you guys could see your faces, it looks like you''re going to shit yourself"


    ''Alicia'' said Alice, as she tried to get her to go to the point.


    "Ok, ok...., fun killer"


    Alice and Alicia could communicate with each other telepathically without difficulty because they shared the same body at that instant, even if the person in control sometimes responded physically. But even without it the contract allowed all contractor to communicate telepathically with his protector wherever he was.


    Brian and Jack were still shocked by the scene unfolding before their eyes. Alice had become someone else, her appearance was still intact, but all the other aspects of her that defined her, had changed. The way she spoke, the way she moved, her voice tone and even the way she breathed was different.


    "First let me say this clearly, I AM NOT Alice. You can call me Alicia"


    "I am Alice''s protector"


    Silence, several expressions appeared on Jack and Brian''s faces, shock, surprise, doubt, questioning.


    "I know it''s hard to swallow, but I don''t have time to be detailed"


    "Alice, Brian and three others people formed a contract...." she paused, tilted her head then said "more like started a contract through a Stone of origin and that''s why I''m here."

 Chapter 22

    "Alice what are you talking about? Is this some kind of joke? Because I don''t find your sense of humor particularly funny" said Jack, passing his hand over his face as he sighed.


    he then opened his eyes as he stopped his hand over his mouth, his gesture meant that he was beginning to be impatient but what appeared before him as he was opening his eyes triggered an avalanche of sweat in his back.


    Alice''s eyes had turned red, the living room in which he was sure he was seconds ago was gone. Brian, who was sitting next to him, had vanished. Around him nothingness, just darkness surrounding him. The only source of light in this endless emptiness stood before him, Alicia not Alice.


    It took hima few minutes to assimilate his own thought, the person in front of him was not his little niece Alice and whatever she was his instinct told him to stay as far as possible away from her. Jack closed his eyes in hope that what he had seen would disappear. He reopened them to the sensation of a hand on his shoulder.


    "Jack, Jack, Jack"


    "Brian?"


    "Is it okay? You didn''t look good, for a few minutes you just blacked-out"


    "Oh, oh... It... It''s okay, it''s nothing," said jack, even though his face clearly said otherwise Brian didn''t push it.


    "As I said before my name is Alicia not Alice"


    "I''ll explain the situation only once so you guys better listen" she added.


    "What you call stone of origin are catalyzers or mediators, they allow you to start the making of a contract between gods and contractors, the ones you call defectives, it can also increase the superpowers of some super humans"


    "But only those who are compatible with a god can form a contract through it. When Brian and Alice touched Lucy they each activated a contract with the god with whom they were compatible"This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "The stone of origin just served as a mediator"


    At that moment Brian interrupted Alicia.


    "Ok but how is this possible defectives are not supposed to have power ?"


    "Not necessarily" replied Jack.


    "The stones of origin can have several functions, their primary function was to transform the earth and after accomplishing it, they became mediator between gods and humans to receive their blessing or as in your case a contract" said Alicia.


    "Wait, wait ..., you said the gods"


    "And how do you know all that?" Brian looked at Alicia directly in the eye, his brain couldn''t process everything she was saying, all these words were devoid of logic to him.


    "As I said before I am the protector of Alice, the goddess of water spirits Alicia" she said, her tone was haughty and firm, one could have said that it sounded like commandments of a kings. Then she went on without giving importance to his question as if that simple sentence was sufficient to justify her words, she dismissed his questioning look and continued.


    "Each stone can allow up to seven contractors, in the case of Alice and you Brian, the contract was formed with five contractors and five gods, but this one has not been finished, it is absolutely necessary to find the other three contractors to finalize the contract as soon as possible"


    "Wait if everything you say is true that means that Alice and I are no longer defective ....., am i right ?"


    "Wow, we can''t really say that you''re quick to catch ?" said Alicia to Brian. who answered with a snort. Not really the most mature attitude but he had just been insulted by a so-called ''goddess of water.''


    "But yes, and on the other hand your powers are unstable for now, it is necessary for all of you to finish the contract if you want to stabilize them"


    "It''s insane" said Brian stretching the last word of his sentence.


    Meanwhile Jack wasn''t talking, he was deeply in thoughts, was this all true? Or was it a joke of Alice and Brian? He couldn''t help but wonder. He didn''t know what to believe even though he had just experienced Alicia''s powers with his own eyes.


    The minutes that followed Alicia gave Jack and Brian the details about the other contractors while answering their questions about the stones of origin.


    "I just have a question" said Jack. "What would happen if the contract is not finalized?"


    Alicia paused for a moment, then sighed heavily, she waited again for a few seconds then announced.


    "Death....."


    "If the contract is not finalized within 365 moons following its formation, the source will self-destruct and all contractors will die"


    "What?" said Jack as he rosed suddenly from his seat.


    "The source is the mediator and the contract the stabilizer, if it is not finalized, the powers of the contractors will become more and more uncontrollable and unstable until the self-destruction of the source, moreover if one of the contractors dies before the finalization of the contract all the others will also die they are synchronized, one CANNOT be missing."

 Chapter 23 : Anck

    September 27, 2312


    Anck


    "Whoa I can''t believe it" said Anck. He suddenly rose from his chair and started to circle around the dining table, passing his hand with repetition in his hair before, that one stopped and rested on his face, he grumbled a mixture of words that only he could understand.


    "Anck sit down, you''re going to make me dizzy if you continue like that" Said Celine.


    "I think he needs a little time to accept the news" added Tom.


    In Anck''s head a myriad of questions arose ''how is this possible? What should he do? How do evolved use their power? And especially what kind of powers does he have?''


    ''At least one of these questions can have an answer immediately'' he thought.


    "What is my type of power?" he asked, covering the silence surrounding them.


    "We''re not sure at the moment, you''ll have to retake the identification test, but the doctor told us that your statistics were similar to those of the evolved tank" said Tom.


    "Like your father" Celine added.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Anck was not really surprised by his parents'' response, he could feel it, source, he could feel it circulate inside his body, inside his veins as if it had always been part of his blood, all his life.


    Ancient civilizations of one of the old continents had discovered its presence in the human body and its importance, at the time they called it Qi. Source was the key element that defined tank superhuman, it could strengthen the human body up to several dozen times the resistance of a defective. Super human tanks like his father could easily lift a car, or even a bus with their hands without much trouble.


    "I was sure of it" Anck said.


    "You were sure?" asked Tom.


    "I can feel it... Source... Qi..."


    Anck had not realized the shock that his announcement had just made and the surprise of his father following that one as he was still absorbed by his own discovery. But he was quickly brought back to reality by the two hands that landed on his shoulders stopping him in his walk.


    "You can feel a source?" asked Tom, the excitement in the tone of his voice was feverish, so fiery that Anck had completely ignored the fact that he was shaken from left to right by his father.


    "Tom stop, you could hurt him, and he won''t be able to answer if you keep shaking him like that."


    "Oh... so-sorry... I got carried away," said Tom, raising his hands above his shoulders like an hostage would do during a burglary.


    He took a few steps back and then sat down next to Celine''s chair.


    "Anck, sit down and tell your father what you feel"


    "Hum... Ok"


    "It''s like something is circulating in my veins, like a current..... not electric but rather like the current of a river, the current of water"


    "Oh and I feel like it''s stronger than a few days ago"


    "Stronger than a few days ago?"


    "It was when I opened my eyes at the hospital that I felt it for the first time. Is that normal? You look weird"


    At that moment Tom and Celine remembered the moment their son had woken up at the hospital, during their discussion with the doctor just minutes before Chris told them both that he had woken up, they felt like a call, as if someone was looking for them but Chris''s appearance had quickly erased that thought of them. Was it Anck''s doing. It could have, especially since he was not yet aware of the presence of a source in his body.

 Chapter 24

    Celine and Tom looked at their son with intensity - how was this possible - how can he feel source.


    The case of super human with a large amount of Qi able to compete with super humans such as summoner and psychic was not non-existent, but even those super-humans could not feel the flow of source without having to go through years of training. The evolved tank for the most part used source without feeling it, they knew it was there and managed to handle it but only a few were able to feel it. Feeling the flow of source was almost the same as feeling your own blood flowing, for most people it was inconceivable.


    At that moment Chris entered the dining room, all excited and giggling in every direction.


    "Dad, Mom look I can make it fly" by pointing at the ball that was rolling in the garden.


    Later that evening, Tom joined Anck, who had gone to bed. He entered his room and sat on the desk in front of his bed.


    "Anck, your mother and I have been talking about your situation and both think that the best thing for the moment would be to inform as few people as possible."


    "From tomorrow you and I will go to the practice center outside the city so you can learn the basics of control, and in three weeks we will redo your identification test"The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "In three weeks? why wait so long?" Said Anck.


    "I made an appointment with a friend who specializes in the study of source at the capital and he agreed to supervise your identification test" all of a sudden Tom took a much more serious and dramatic tone.


    "Anck, do not let anyone find out about the fact that you can feel source, do you understand what I''m saying?"


    No reaction came from Anck following his question, so Tom added.


    "It''s about your safety, and also your brother''s, for now on this information must be kept secret."


    After a few seconds of hesitation Anck answered.


    "Ok, I ... understand"


    The next day, at 7 a.m. Anck and Tom set off for the practice center. Each city had several practice centers, some public, run by the government to allow the less well-off to develop their powers, others private, generally reserved to the upper classes.


    The requirements to be accepted in private centers were often very complex, not to mention the exorbitant price they charged to their members, despite that, the waiting list to become a member of a private center was on average six months.


    Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at the private practice center outside of Sindara. A 20 storey tower stood in front of them. The excitement was mounting, for Anck it was his first time to step foot in a practice center.


    Because it was illegal for young people to use their powers in public before completing the practical training, to avoid as many accidents as possible, each parents were required to train their children to the basic of power control in practice centers.


    Most children as young as seven had to start their training in centers, some with teachers, others individually or with their family member.


    Chris, who turned eight this year, had already been going to the practice center with their mother for three years. And Henry, on the other hand, had begun even earlier, at the age of three and a half.

 Chapter 25

    Anck And tom walked through the front door, the reception room was huge, the walls were a mixture of red and white and in front of them was an office with a hologram at its counter. The rest of the room was completely empty, there was only this office in the center.


    Tom placed his wrist in front of one of the screens on the counter of the office after scanning the barcode on it, it displayed an image containing his picture as well as other personal information such as name, age and so on.


    Each person wore a barcode on their wrist, which was invisible to the naked eye, had the role of ID card and could also be a means of payment to all the inhabitants of Aardes. Depending on the states the position of the barcode on the body was different, the inhabitants of Lu''um for example carried it on their forehead. In addition to that the barcode could change colour and turn red when the individual carrying it was wanted by the police.


    "Welcome Mr. Norman, you have booked the isolation room number 13, would you like the help of an instructor?" said the hologram standing in front of them.


    "No," Tom replied.


    "Here''s your pass" near the screen appeared a machine that immediately printed a blue card "enjoy your practice, Mr. Norman."


    On the walls to their right a door formed.


    "Let''s go" said Tom.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    They arrived in another room this time completely empty, it was almost as big as the reception room, but entirely blue.


    On one of the walls appeared another screen.


    "Welcome to isolation room number 13 Mr. Norman, would you like to access our catalogue?"


    "Yes"


    "What category would you like to select first"


    "Environment"


    On the screen in front of them appeared several choices, A. Desert, B. Ocean, C. Tropic, D. Arctic, E. Volcano.


    "A"


    "Would you like to change the temperature manually?"


    "No"


    "Validation of temperature 68 degrees Celsius"


    "Would you like to open the combat category?"


    "No"


    "Do you want to make anymore changes?"


    "No"


    "Environment: desert, temperature: 68 degrees Celsius. settings verified, would you like to validate?"


    "validate"


    In an instant the completely empty blue room turned into a dessert, the burning sand completely covered their feet. Anck felt the intense heat of the room rise, the blue sky and the blinding glow of the sun so well imitated would have been enough to convince him that he had been teleported to an actual desert if the voice on the screen had not announced "modifications validated, enjoy your practice Mr. Norman"


    "This place is just insane" said Anck, turning on himself inspecting the room that had turned into a desert before his eyes.


    "Okay, since this is your first workout we''ll start with resistance, take off your shoes, pants and T-shirt"


    "What?"


    "I''m not going to repeat myself Anck do it and then on your hands"


    "You have to stay like this until I get back"


    "..."


    "You want me to do a handstand....?"


    "Until you come back....?, I can''t stay like that for hours, it''s dangerous"


    "Anck you are no longer a defective, this kind of exercise would not be enough to affect an evolved, your brother Chris can to stay in this position for at least three hours and he is not even a tank" he said in a provocative tone.


    Anck perceived the challenge indicated in his intonation and he was ready to take it.


    "Nola"


    "Yes, Mr. Norman," said the voice of the screen.


    "Inflicte punishments in case of laziness"


    "What ...punishment ? hey Dad... Dad...? "


    while Anck continued to call his name, his father had already disappeared behind the front door.

 Chapter 26

    Anck remained in that position for more than an hour before he felt the effects of the blood flowing to his brain. ''I have to concentrate'' he thought. He tried to remember what he had learned during the theoretical training, certainly there could be information that he could use, but suddenly he remembered that he had never really paid attention to his classes. The theoretical training for him was just a formality, he had never felt concerned about it.


    Time passed and his arms began to shake, his face became more and more red, the veins around his neck began to swell. Anck looked more and more like a red ballon that had been placed on top of a flame. He lasted another ten minutes before his arms gave way.


    "Subject Anck failed to finish his assignment, Nola will begin to inflict punishment now"


    At the same time, on the card Tom had, appeared a message.


    "The subject failed to fulfill assignment, should I inflicted punishment?"


    Two options were presented yes or no. Tom clicked on Yes and then a new option appeared.


    "Choose punishment environment A. Tropic B. Arctic C. Ocean D. Volcano"


    Tom then remembered that Anck had only his underwear on him, a slight smile appeared on the corner of his lips before he choose Option B.


    Anck was trying to catch his breath when he heard Nola''s sentence on the screen. At the same time he saw the rooms transform again, the desert like decor was replaced by a vast expanse of ice and snow. And there he stood in the middle of a freezing blizzard almost entirely naked.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    He felt his hands and feet start to freeze, the skin on his hands and feet turned blue and his lips began to tingle, they cracked every time he tried to moisten them with his tongue.


    "Nola, Nola" he shouted, he tried to get to Tom through the training center''s system but his calls were answered with silence. He tried to find the door by searching on each walls of the room but without success, no lever, no button, nothing.


    After several minutes battling between reaching his father and finding the exit, The was met with failure, he resigned himself, and accepted his punishment.


    The punishment lasted the same amount of minutes than what he had managed to maintain during his handstand, which was 123 minutes, 2 hours and 3 minutes, during which he was locked in a gigantic frizzer at -25 degrees Celsius. When his father reappeared, he was curled up in one of the corners of the room, he looked like a huge snowball, his skin was covered with blisters, several frostbites were visible on his hands, feet and back.


    Back From the practice center Anck had to spend the rest of the afternoon reviewing everything he had learned at the theoretical camp starting from the base how to regulate source. He knew that the next training session would be even more intense. He knew that his father had increase the difficulty of the training intentionally, but he also knew that he was several years behind other evolved and that he had to compensate for it in one way or another.


    On their way home his father had told him that he had to learn to regulate the flow of source, if he wanted to survive because this one had to be maintained constantly.


    While he was rereading his books, he understood what his dad said to him at the time. Source was always fluctuating and the slightest physical or emotional change could lead to a catastrophe, to the point were it could cause the rupture of vital organs, all of a sudden he was no longer too eager to be an evolved tank after reading this.


    The book recommended meditation, breathing technics and other daily physical exercises. Now that he thought about it, superhuman tank in general have an excellent physique. He had always thought that it was mostly due to their powers but his views on that were now different.


    He was already very happy to have inherited the physical traits of his father, brown hair with green eyes but a little more muscle would not hurt anyone he thought.

 Chapter 27 : Steve

    September 22, 2312, 6 p.m.


    Steve.


    "Mr. and Mrs. Long, please sit-down, I am the doctor in charge of your son."


    Luise and Gerald had just entered the office of Steve''s doctor, both were nervous, it had already been several hours since they were allowed to see their son. He was confined in one of the hospital''s wings while he was given series and series of tests. Both Luise and G¨¦rald still didn''t know if he had opened his eyes.


    When Luise received a call from her husband telling her about Steve''s situation, she was already on her way to the airport. When they arrived in Sindara, she rushed to the hospital where they were. Her heart was gnawed with remorse and guilt, in a way she knew it was her fault.


    She should have noticed that something had gone wrong since their visit to the museum. She remembered that the moment she walked through the door with Steve, he became strange. Throughout their visit, he said nothing, and even his movements were controlled and measured.


    He walked towards Luci''s showroom with her, but interiorly she felt like he wasn''t there. She even found that for a few minutes he had suddenly stopped moving, and had stared at a red hair girl who seemed to be coming back from the showroom number seven. His frozen gaze was on her followed as she passed in front of them, with another girl of the same age, but this time blonde.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Luise had thought that maybe this was a new way of protesting, proving to his mother that this visit was the last thing he wanted to do. But even at the end of it, Steve still hadn''t gotten out of his trance.


    She was starting to get scared, maybe he will do something stupid, she started to think. Watching him on their way home, her heart was slowly breaking, she knew that her obsession made him unhappy, but she was convinced that it was for his future. Sitting in the back seat next to him, she realized at his condition that it was time to let him go, it was time for her to accept him as he was and stop trying to change it.


    The doctor''s voice brought her back to reality.


    "We have made your son pass a series of tests, but all the results were negative"


    "Nonetheless, your son is still in a coma, do you have any information that would allow us to understand what is happening to him?"


    "For example, was he sick recently? Did he have an accident? How were his eating habits during the last few days?"


    Gerald and Luise looked at each other for a few seconds, then Luise answered.


    "No, Steve hasn''t been sick for at least a year, he''s always had an excellent immune system and his appetite hasn''t changed much recently"


    "I don''t think he had an accident recently, Elias our system would have informed us," said Gerald.


    "Steve is defective, his health is constantly monitored by our system," he added.


    "In this case maybe it''s an emotional problem," said the doctor.


    Upon hearing this sentence, Luise''s hand started to form a point which she pressed on the side of her thigh. The doctor immediately realized that the atmosphere had changed and understood the situation immediately.


    "Was your son stressed or under pressure recently?"


    When the question was asked by the doctor, Gerald sighed heavily, he knew that Luise was not willing to talk about that subject.


    "The situation was a little tense between him and his mother these last few days," he said without giving too much detail.


    "Ok....., I understand....., in that case, all we can do is wait, it''s surely an emotional shock"


    "Okay...., thank you, doctor," Gerald replied.


    "You can go see your son if you wish, the nurse will take you to his room"


    Gerald and Luise got up and followed the nurse who guided them to Steve''s room.

 Chapter 28

    Steve opened his eyes, a clean cotton smell caressed his nose, as a slightly warm sensation was playing with his skin. He knew he was lying on a bed, but the scenery around him was very strange ''why wasn''t he on his own bed'' he wondered.


    For sure, he wasn''t in his room, the room he was in, looked more like an hotel room. The scenery of that one was identical to traditional houses that could be found in Lu''um.


    The wall in front of him was covered with a paper fresco, on which was painted the portrait of a woman. She had long black hair, her skin was as bright and white as milk, and her almond-shaped eyes reminded him of those of his mother when she was younger.


    On his left, was a sliding translucent paper door mounted on a bamboo frame, in the room just this fresco, and the layers of blanket on which he was lying on.


    "If you''re awake, get up"


    "Master is waiting for you in the garden"


    Impatient to know where he was and how he got there, Steve immediately got up. He walked to the sliding paper door and opened it. A moist and cool air caressed his face and the scene before his eyes took his breath away.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    A magnificent garden stood before him, several trees and shrubs dispersed in the courtyard we''re combined with fountains, bridges, small lakes sprinkled in the vast garden that extended as far as the eye could see.


    Steve couldn''t believe his eyes, he had never seen a place as lavish and modest at the same time, in his life.


    "Follow me"


    He turned to the person who stood a few strides away from him, a little girl, no taller than his waist, took his hand and dragged him with her in the park.


    "You can call me Shenshen, I''m Master Guan''s assistant"


    "....."


    "Master Guan is looking forward to meeting you, the last visit of a contractor was a long time ago"


    "When others will hear about this, they''ll die of jealousy," she said with a smile.


    Her laughter reasoned in Steve''s ears like the songs of hummingbirds, in her tone he had recognized a hint of pretension mixed with ego.


    Steve had his eyes fixed on the face of the smiling little girl who was pulling him by the hand. As he was dragging his eyes along the length of her bodyg, on her clothes, a long and thin tail similar to that of a cat entered his vision.


    It was attached to the little girl''s lower back, that''s when he became cognizant of her image. On her head, two ears similar to that of a cat, her eyes were green and her pupils long and narrow shone with intensity.


    They passed among the trees, on bridges, then walk through an alley of bamboo before arriving at a small wooden pavilion. It was rustic but surprisingly clean and fresh.


    In front of it was a courtyard, and there, was a table, next to it, sat a man, he had in his hands a teacup and on the table near him rested a book. He put the cup on the table and then looked at Steve and said: "We meet again, contractor."

 Chapter 29

    Luise entered her son''s hospital room, Steve had been there for five days and doctors had not said anything about him waking up soon.


    After returning from the hospital on the day Steve was admitted, Luise and Gerald had spent the night inspectingthe video surveillance of their residence.


    The recording of each camera had been examined and what they had discovered while viewing the one from Steve''s room brought up an avalanche of questions to which they had not found answers.


    In the video appeared Steve lying on his bed, he seemed asleep, up to that point everything was normal, the same scene repeated itself until the clock on the wall of his room displayed 2:30 am.


    At that moment, Steve sat on his bed with his knees pulled to his chest and his face nuzzle on his torso, he used his hands to cover his ears on the video, you could see his neck becoming redder and redder.


    The next few minutes were even more intense as the walls of the room began to shake and the objects around his bed began to crumble. Luise couldn''t believe her eyes, a red glow covered Steve as he raised his head. His eyes had become completely red, there was no distinction between his cornea and his irises, his hair stood on his head as if he was touching static electricity, around him appeared electric gleams that started to scatter in all directions.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    In the video, Steve appeared to be screaming but no sound was heard, not even that of the debris that was dispersed around him.


    "Why can''t we hear anything?" Asked Luise.


    "Sorry ma''am but we still don''t know, we''ve checked the camera, we''ve even checked the system to see if it had any anomaly, but Elia was working perfectly well at that time," replied the guard in charge of their security service. "


    The minutes that followed the video became more and more unclear, it continued to blur as the image was progressing but a few seconds before it completely stop, Luise saw the silhouette of a man appear.


    "Wait," she said.


    "Did you see that?" she asked to tom.


    "See what?"


    "Go back a few minutes," she told the security guard.


    "Just there, pause"


    In the image a man stood in front of Steve, he had red eyes and long ashy hair. He wore a green robe over what appeared to be an armor.


    He raised his head, and surprisingly, his gaze fell automatically on the camera, as if he too, could see them through the glass. Luise felt a shiver pass through her body, she felt herself quivering. She had never experienced such a feeling before as if all forces had been removed from her body. As if everything she was doing was useless, she wanted her son to wake up and seek all types of solutions, any means to make it happen, but at that very moment, she was convinced that all her efforts were useless. As if it was all written, destined to happen.