It was already high noon, but Jay still lay flat in his bed, staring at the upper bunk of his double-deck, cluttered with belongings.
He had returned to his room about an hour ago, courtesy of Mr. Arthas.
Surprisingly, the all-nighter had little effect on him.
He was still the same as he had been yesterday, even with the disruption to his circadian rhythm.
Perhaps it was because of the convergence of metaphysical energy at the observation base, which might have rejuvenated his body through mere exposure.
However, despite his good condition, he wasn't in the mood to do anything, not even sleeping.
Jay had learned too much during this time, starting with his encounter with Mr. Arthas at the coffee shop.
While the volume of information couldn’t be compared to what he had accumulated through every use of Identification, the significance of Mr. Arthas' successive revelations was far too tremendous to digest in such a short time.
When he first acquired his ability, he thought he had struck lucky, finally having the chance to transcend the mundane like he had always fantasized.
He had been completely engrossed with his new ability, seeking improvement just to see where it would lead him.
After learning some things from Mr. Arthas at the beginning, Jay became quite interested in the mystical world beneath modern society.
He was especially fascinated by the existence of another layer of society that had managed to remain hidden from the public for countless generations.
There were too many questions to be answered, despite Mr. Arthas’ already extensive explanations.
His weakness, Nosiness, had only exacerbated his desire to delve into that hidden world.
It was only recently that he learned of things that brought his enthusiasm back from the sky.
It seemed like he had thought of things too simply for his own good.
He had been too focused on asking questions and expanding his knowledge, but failed to consider the hidden dangers beneath, despite Mr. Arthas’ implications.
The world of ascendants was like the ocean, and he was merely wading his feet in a small river somewhere in the middle of land.
He wasn't even on the beach, all things considered. At least, that's what he understood from Mr. Arthas' and Mr. Vergil's implications.
Jay was intuitively aware of the gravity of the situation, but he couldn't help having a relatively careless mindset regardless.
Although he had been informed of the potential dangers, they were still too distant for him, as he hadn't really experienced them firsthand.
Of course, he had already realized this problem, which was why he brought up this matter to his teacher.
He wanted to experience it for himself, albeit with Mr. Arthas’ guidance.
"Before I let you dip into the murky waters of the ascendant world, you need to reach a certain threshold of development.
You should remember that the reason I brought you here was that you can have a glimpse of the hidden world, not because of your personal merit. To be fair, you don’t have the qualifications yet.
I know that you seek to transcend the mundane for your own reasons, perhaps out of boredom and curiosity. But you must be patient and give yourself time to grow. Otherwise, you might cripple your legs long before your journey even begins."
Mr. Arthas was right. Jay didn't have any grudges to settle or any love to pursue.
There was actually no compelling reason for him to dive head-first into the metaphysical world in a hurry.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Regardless, he was still quite intrigued by it, likely because of the endless possibilities it offered him.
Now that he thought about it, he had somewhat accepted every strange event that had come his way ever since the awakening of his ability. This was quite interesting in itself.
He was usually cautious toward unfamiliar matters, especially with something as unusual as an unexpected supernatural ability.
He had accepted it easily. Too easily, in fact, as if he knew deep down that it was how it should’ve been in the first place.
Even intense curiosity wouldn't have made him neglect the strangeness of the matter in favor of smooth acceptance, regardless of how astonishing it was.
This was something he needed to look into, even though he didn't know where to start. He had even tried Identification on himself to no avail.
For now, he would have to keep this matter in the back of his mind and revisit it when he had accumulated more metaphysical knowledge.
If Mr. Vergil’s words were true, then the only logical thing to do in the meantime was to keep moving forward.
If he eventually found himself in metaphysics-related events by sheer inevitability, he would rather face them with a reasonable degree of ability and preparation than be caught with his pants down, unable to resist.
-
"So, what do you think of the young man?"
Arthas was currently having brunch with Vergil at an outdoor café somewhere in the city.
"Seems promising. Say, do you think he's related to the anomaly about a month ago? From what we know, it should be around that time when he awakened his ability."
Vergil was quite impressed by the young man in the short time they had met. Especially regarding his sensitivity and adaptability.
They had intended to enhance the metaphysical sensitivity of the young man just enough to perceive the psionic lifeform through the projection, which would usually be accompanied by a mild disorienting feeling.
However, instead of the mild reaction they had expected, the young man actually experienced the figurative ocean of the metaphysical world itself.
Vergil understood it when he saw the uncomfortable expression on the young man’s face, uncharacteristic of the mild disorientation he was supposed to experience.
He then casually slipped the question about the similarity to being in the middle of the ocean, to which he was replied with affirmation.
No neophyte was supposed to be calm when suddenly thrown into a turbulent ocean of strange energies, but the young man regained his bearing quickly even without their assistance.
It didn't seem like the performance of a newbie, despite the already verified conclusion that the young man was indeed one.
"Perhaps. There has been a recent surge in awakened naturals over the past few months.
In the past, there would only be one every other year. But we already have five, and the year is far from over. It's hard to think there's nothing amiss."
"You know that there are no true coincidences, right? There's bound to be someone behind this, somewhere out there."
"Even if there is malicious intent behind it, there will be others to answer it, considering the sheer number of people far more powerful than us.
So, let's stop worrying about it and just do our part. We might even be pivotal characters in the upcoming turmoil, if we’re lucky enough."
"Turmoil? Haha. You sound calm but you’re even more pessimistic than I am.
Alright, since we're talking about turmoil, how will you ensure survival if there ever was one?
Do you finally plan on taking the last step? You know, I'm quite envious of your situation. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.
Immense power is already within arm’s length and all you need to do is to reach out on your own volition. I haven't asked you about it all this time, but this conversation made me reconsider somehow. So why won't you reach out? Care to tell me?"
Arthas sighed.
"You're quite tactful in things that matter. I had always been wondering why you never asked about it. I just assumed you were oblivious to my true progress.
Well, I was going to tell you about this sooner or later anyway.”
Arthas didn’t continue immediately. He reached out for a cigarette in his pocket and put it in his mouth.
Curiously, he didn’t need a match or lighter for it. It simply ignited on its own.
It was a sophisticated manipulation of ambient metaphysical energy. A small convergence of energy on the cigarette tip was instantaneously converted into heat.
It was also worth mentioning that he dared to light a cigarette in a public place, yet no one came to reprimand him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t care for the city’s no smoking policy, but that he had already isolated the immediate vicinity from the real world.
Even the smoke was purified into pure metaphysical energy immediately after forming, keeping the environment fresh.
“My advancement to transcendence requires me to leave my humanity behind. I will still retain the form of a human but without the empathy that defines one.
I will become a living supercomputer in a human-shaped vessel. Although I can easily simulate human emotions at that level, it’s not gonna be enough to prevent me from treating human lives more than mere statistics.
You know me well enough to recognize that such a state might very well be the same as dying. Are you satisfied with my answer, my friend?”
“You…”
Despite Vergil’s playful nature, he couldn’t find the right words to say at the moment.
He truly admired his old friend’s conviction to preserve his humanity, yet he also felt that the latter was too foolish for renouncing his opportunity to advance, which would actually enable him to help the world more.
“Let’s not stress upon it any further. Who knows, there might come a day when I have to abandon my humanity to protect those who made me human in the first place.
You know what they say, there's no correct decision, only one made with your heart.”
“Does anyone even say that? First time I’ve heard of it.”
Despite his misgivings, Vergil agreed that there was no point in thinking too much about making the correct choice.
In the end, it was not his decision to make. He would just support his old friend no matter the circumstance.
“It doesn’t matter as long as it makes sense. Oh, I almost forgot about that psionic lifeform from earlier. Let’s give it to the young man later before going to work. This will be considered his commemorative present for entering our world.”