Chapter 18: Quintessence

Gray, after reaching the warehouse, stepped inside it, feeling the sticky sensation that came from the miasma.

'I wonder on what its purpose might be…' he pondered with great interest.

'Could it be a Nephilim's ability?'

He saw Casanova, seeing that the man was wearing an eyepatch on his missing eye.

He subconsciously touched his right pocket, feeling the presence of Dusk Catcher inside it.

"Good evening," Gray waved his hand.

"Good evening," replied Casanova, his aloofness as eternal as time immemorial.

He went towards the man and gave him Dusk Catcher.

Casanova thanked him, repeating what he had said the last time they met.

"You should turn around—I'm sure you wouldn't enjoy this."

Gray immediately followed his orders.

Now that he knew what was coming, he had to avoid seeing that disgusting action again!

After a brief moment, he started hearing bizarre squelching sounds that made his body cringe repulsively.

He did his best to immerse himself in his own thoughts, not wanting to pay attention to them.

'I thought he severed the optical nerve—how will he be able to see from his eye?’ Could it be one of his other Nephilim abilities? But how many does he have?'

'From what I know, he has an increased strength, Dusk Catcher, and a way to regenerate his injuries, maybe?'

'N-no, I'm wrong…'

'In my Apocalyptic dream, when he was fighting the mantis, his body was falling apart—I didn't see it regenerate in any way.’

’However, since he could survive for an extended amount of time, it could be the sign of a different ability.'

'…Unless his ability of strength is instead caused by a general improvement of his body's abilities, thus allowing him to survive off injuries that might otherwise kill a normal human, thanks to the improvement of his vitality…'

His eyes widened. The improvement of his bodily functions was something he had seen in action!

'His hearing! Before I've had the revelation depicting The Monolith, he could hear me from an incredible distance! My theory might be correct!'

"You can turn around," Casanova said.

The man wasn't wearing his eyepatch anymore. Furthermore, his eye looked normal, as if he had never removed it.

Gray was tempted to ask on how he could remove his eye and reattach it like it was nothing, but diverted from it.

No Nephilim would expose his cards, after all.

And just as Gray was wondering on what to say, Casanova suddenly commanded,

"Do thirty pushups."

'Uh?'

"S-sure…?" he replied.

The young man tried to do his best to follow Casanova's orders, but failed. He was only able to do ten pushups, albeit they had a terrible form.

"Now, do a plank that lasts three minutes," his lips slowly curved upwards.

"A-Alright…"

This exercise was the one Gray hated the most.

The burning sensation he felt inside his abs was hellish, and the fact that not even thirty seconds had passed made it even worse. His arms and legs kept on trembling while his face became extremely red; his vision gradually turning dark.

He then collapsed on the floor. In total, his plank lasted fifty-seven seconds.

"Wh-What's the point of this?" Gray panted.

"I have made my decision," Casanova glanced at him.

"I will train you."

Gray gazed at him wordlessly, unsure of what to say.

Seeing his reaction, the man raised an eyebrow, his green eyes gleaming inside the miasma-ridden warehouse.

”You want to protect Kathy, am I mistaken?"

Quickly after, the man bent down, extending his hand towards Gray.

Gray took his hand, and with great anguish, he replied.

"If it's for her, I'll do anything. I just…" he stammered. “I just can't live without her."

Even now, thinking of Kathy being in danger due to his failures, filled his heart and mind with sorrow.

…

Time stood still.

Drops of rain were suspended in the air, not to touch the ground ever again.

There were no sounds and no colors other than the never-changing, greyish tint.

The sky was a cacophony of stars, far-away planets, and other heavenly bodies, all drained from their previous state of glory.

They all formed an eternal, cyclopean eye.

Although it died countless eons ago, it wordlessly stared at the ground below.

From an hidden, concealed amalgamation of shadows within the lifeless world, an illusory voice resounded, freeing the world from its previous state of suspension.

Was it worth it, taking his hand on that day now so far away?

Was it the only option I had?

All of this was unavoidable, wasn't it?

Ever since that day, I've regretted many things—but the things I now regret the most are those peaceful days.

Oh, you who hail from the past, please cherish them all.

Cherish those memories—cherish all those people whose names I've long forgotten.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

And maybe…Just maybe, you'll be able to shatter this future of yours.

…

"It's settled, then." Casanova smiled. "Now, run around the warehouse until you vomit blood,"

"Alright…" Gray wiped the dust away from his clothes.

He then took off running.

"Do I have to sprint with my maximum effort? Or do I have to keep my stamina?" he yelled while panting.

He never was the athlete-kind.

He never hated exercise, he just preferred avoiding it. Especially because he and Kathy never had the funds to practice an hobby.

As long as Gray had a book or any form of entertainment, he was happy.

Since his mother had an extremely large collection of books, Kathy didn't have the need to buy them.

After she died, her library soon became a way for him to know her more.

For months, he hadn't been able to open any of the books that belonged to the library without shedding tears, but now that he was older, he was able to enjoy the books with a smile on his face.

…

Rosano, years ago.

The small Gray sat on his mother's chair, his legs dangling over the edge.

With a book in his hands, he couldn't help but think about her.

"Did mom ever read this book, Did she like it?"

…

He did so again and again; it was a second-nature to him, by then.

"Mom, this page is so interesting! I hope you've read this!"

…

Now, Gray was a little older.

He was at the point where his legs didn't dangle off the edge anymore.

"This book is really sad. I can't help but wonder, did she feel the same emotions I feel right now?"

…

Rosano, five months ago.

He closed the book, putting a bookmark inside the last page he had read.

"This book about mankind's belief is incredibly entertaining! It's as if—It's as if you knew that I would read it one day."

He smiled, lowering his head.

"Thank you, mother. Thank you for all the books you gave me."

”Thank you for allowing me to understand you even more.”

…

"I'm teaching you how to run from an enemy you cannot possibly defeat."

Casanova chuckled.

"Who would run for their lives at a moderate pace?"

Since the miasma was already slowing him down, Gray had to focus even more.

Just then, he realized of how today he had ran more than he did in months, causing him to mock himself inwardly.

When he was tired, he slowed down to gain more stamina, and when he felt more energized, he augmented his pace once more.

He did his best to run as fast as possible, and after 5 minutes of repeating this cycle, he collapsed on the ground again.

"Do I have to do something… else." Gray asked, panting on the floor.

Casanova shook his head. "You can rest now."

He was satisfied that the young man was determined enough to keep training—although his body was screaming at him for a moment of rest.

"Thank you." Gray replied, assuming a sitting position.

After he regained his energies, he coughed dryly.

"So, what did you mean by Emanation of Power?"

Casanova slowly nodded, beginning his speech.

"This world is…all connected and intertwined.”

”All of its phenomena are related, constructed by the one eternal, purest form of matter.”

”The oxygen you breathe, the food you eat, and the people you love are all formed by those same bricks of creation."

"But in those cases, it has molded into a new form, facing the price of losing the ability to revert to its most primal state, cursed to change its form eternally—unable to regain the blessing of that original purity—that limitless potential."

"Its name is Quintessence, and every single one of our species has been endowed by it, allowing us to utilize it for our means."

'Is this the true Arkhè that all those philosophers were trying to find?' he thought, recalling the words of Thales and his professor.

"Every Nephilim—even those with the weakest abilities—possess a unique fragment of pure quintessence attached to their souls that aliments their abilities and emanates over reality."

Since Gray looked awfully confused, Casanova decided to help him further.

"I'll make an example so you can visualize it:"

"Those who can shoot lightning from their hands emit pure quintessence from their Fragment, and subconsciously, they utilize its limitless potential to transmute the quintessence into the form of their ability—a lighting, in that case.”

"However, while the quintessence is the base for anything, they can only transmute it into the form of their unique ability."

"Like the name implies, the 'engine' of our abilities is broken, incomplete."

"A long time ago, some believed that our Fragments were the product of one endless and eternal mass of quintessence that split for reasons beyond to our measly selves, creating the reality we live in."

Gray, resembling a student who listened to his teacher's lesson with extreme attention, couldn't help but be amazed at the knowledge he was hearing.

When he found out about his identity as a Nephilim, he thought that the abilities resembled the mutant gene like in X-men.

Now he truly understood the idiocracy in his way of thinking.

Faced with that amount of knowledge, he couldn't help but fall in deep thought.

'Th-this is amazing. How many things exist of which I'm unaware of? What else is this world hiding?'

"Is it possible for me to know of how my Fragment operates? I can't understand what form would the quintessence morph into…" Gray scratched his hair.

"Those with the ability of dream divination are called Onironauts. They can encase a small part of their souls with the quintessence, allowing it to leave their bodies.”

“Once the quintessence links their souls with the dimension encasing every dreams that belongs to the collective consciousness of all living things, they are able to navigate a part of it—the part they need the most at the time."

"In this infinite space, the past, the present and the future dreams of all creation are united, causing it to become unimaginably dangerous, unsafe, and unpredictable."

"If you were to enter inside one of the incomprehensible and completely alien dreams belonging to the oldest, most terrifying, and eerilie intelligent creatures, nobody would be capable of helping you."

Gray was horrified.

What if it happened to him?!

"It won't happen, don't worry."

"You can only navigate a part of it; you are locked inside your dream, not capable of accessing the ones belonging to the others."

'For now, at least,' Casanova mused silently, interested by the young man's bizarre ability.

After some moments, Gray suddenly remembered about his search for information about the Nephilim.

"I searched for the word 'Nephilim' on the internet and found out that the word originally came from The Bible, does this mean that the Vatican and the Church are aware of our existence?”

”Should I avoid going inside those places?"

'I already don't go there, but it's better to be careful…' he sighed.

"You shouldn't worry; their knowledge is regarded with the highest degree of secrecy. A normal church in Rosano wouldn't know anything of the truth," Casanova shook his head.

"Phew…”

"Speaking of Bible, more specifically the Book of Genesis, I've read in the past about Cain and the mark he'd been given by God—the one where it would increase the damage he took by sevenfold—are you familiar with it?”

”Could it be considered as a Nephilim's ability?"

This wouldn't help him in any way, but he couldn't help but ask regardless.

"It could. But remember—you can make the same point for every legend depicting people achieving superhuman feats."

"Only because it was written that a man could defeat one hundred enemies with his bare hands, it doesn't mean that all of those legends belonging to folklore were right."

"While some could be true, it's nigh-impossible for us to know of which one depicted real facts."

"I understand…" Gray replied with shame, not aware of just how dumb his question sounded.

"Do you have any more questions?" Casanova inquired.

"No, I don't think so," said Gray.

"Start running, then," he commanded.

"Y-Yes, sir," replied the young man, knowing he had to train even if every ounce of his body screamed for rest.

Nobody would wait for him to regain his energies.

Since he never trained, never having to care about his survival, the gap between him and the other Nephilim was immense.

And because his ability wasn't combat related, it made his condition even worse.

Whilst running, his phone buzzed inside of his pocket, causing him to slow down.

As he unlocked it, he noticed that his sister was calling him.

"It's Kathy—can I reply?” he asked.

Casanova silently nodded.

Gray proceeded to respond her call. "Hi, Kathy, is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to warn you about a small thing. Today I'm going to come home late.”

”There aren’t enough staff, I have to work overtime. Take some money from my room and order a pizza, I'll eat something quick here."

She seemed slightly annoyed.

"Alright, I'll leave some slices for you," Gray then added, "And remember to be careful."

Albeit his sister was inhumanly strong, he still felt the need to advise her.

"Where are you right now? Why is there an echo?" Kathy inquired.

'I guess it’s time to lie again…' he smiled bitterly.

"I'm in the villa next to us—the one where Casanova works. He’s showing me how the job is done."

“You got the job?!" Kathy blurted out.

Once Gray confirmed her question, she immediately started talking about every work injury involved with building houses.

"Wear an helmet, always!”

”It doesn't matter if you aren't inside a dangerous place. Everything could fall down as soon as you aren't paying attention! And ask Casanova to lend you reinforced boots!!!!!"

Casanova couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

Once his sister was finally done with her banters, she said her goodbyes, ending the call.

…

Inside the red painted break-room of Rose Rosse, Kathy, while wearing her pizza-patterned apron, couldn't help but smile wholeheartedly

She tried to calm down multiple times, but that smile of hers was unable to stop.

"You've grown up so much…Mom would be proud of you!" she murmured softly.

…

After working out with Casanova, Gray lay down on his sofa, his body aching everywhere.

'I'm tired…'

He then called the pizza place and waited thirty minutes.

After eating most of his pizza, he left two slices for Kathy and then, once it was late at night, he went on his bed.

'Doesn't eating a pizza after a workout make all the exercise you've made useless…?!’ he suddenly realized.

'N-no, wait, I'm skinny. I have to put some meat on my bones…'

Gray then fell asleep, his snoring echoing through Rosano.