When he returned to Kori’s Realm of Desires, Nova noticed a massive change in scenery. He had remembered the realm being a place where it snowed endlessly. Right now, the sky was clear, but the snow still lingered on the trees and field. He could tell the pristine snow would not melt as Kori stood in the middle of it.

Nova was the one ruining the snow; he muddled it with his footsteps as he kept approaching the boy. Without any words, he reached his hand out. A snowflake manifested from the flower mark. Kori took his hand and the realm changed its shape.

He scanned his vicinity. Instead of being in the snow plastered field, they were in a laboratory. Several scientists were huddled around one small area. Nova leaned over to take a peek. His eyes widened when he saw an open pod containing Kori’s unconscious body. He wasn’t clothed and lacked the yellow earring.

He turned to Kori. “Is that you during your creation?”

“Yes. I was born in that pod on the twentieth day of Early-Autumn NE 615 at exactly midnight.”

“EA 20-615…that means you were born five years ago.”

“Yes.”

“What does it mean when a Shiftie is born? What aspect of your creation counts as birth? From the moment you were conceptualized? The moment you were completed?”

“The moment my earring is latched onto my ear starts my ‘birth’.”

“This means you weren’t ‘born’ here yet due to your lack of earring, yet I’m surprised that a memory from a moment before you were born is able to be presented.”

“I believe I still had consciousness, but I couldn’t wake up unless the earring instructed me to do so.”

Nova became deep in thought. The concept of a Shiftie was still an anomaly to him. The way they could be activated just by having a human soul inside of them was a terrifying concept. Souls resided inside the Spirit Realm as a sort of resting peace. The Invader, the only person with the knowledge of removing souls from the realm, was truly a menace. He needed to stop her, no matter what.

One of the scientists from the memory sighed. “This is alright? Is it safe for us to create these…beings?”

A female scientist retorted, “Are you questioning Mr. Hope’s genius?”

“I won’t deny he’s a genius, but what if this project fails? What if these beings develop a will and rebel?”

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Another male scientist scoffed at his worries. “There’s no need to worry at all. These creatures won’t ever develop a will. They’re man-made, so how can they rebel against us? Our phones and computers haven’t developed a will, right?”

“I guess you’re right…”

Another female scientist peered over at Kori’s immobile body. “But, it does seem surreal. To think that we created a human despite not being an actual human. They’re not functioned by the usual artificial intelligence programming either. This boy can turn into an animal too as we gave him animal ears.”

The first female scientist pondered, “However, he looks too real. It’s like he was based on a real person.”

The second male scientist remarked, “Speaking of which, I remember picking up a picture that fell out of a book in Mr. Hope’s office. It was a picture of a younger Mr. Hope with a boy that looks just like this one, minus the rabbit ears. It was a very old picture, the edges were worn and the corners were slightly torn. When I showed it to Mr. Hope, he chuckled about his clumsiness and looked at it longingly.”

The first male scientist was intrigued. “Just like this boy? Did he have white hair in that photo?”

“He did, actually.”

“Snow white hair…that boy from the photo must have been a Trifecta.”

“Trifecta? They actually exist?”

“They do, albeit rare since it’s hard to find someone with Plasmian blood these days, but even if all three bloods come together to create a body, they don’t live long. That must have been why Mr. Hope was insistent on modeling the first model of this project based on this boy.”

Nova’s eyes widened as their words echoed in his ears. He wondered why he was feeling this way as he already knew this information when he had peered through Kori’s memories in the Contract Room; the feelings he felt in there were much different compared to the actual Realm of Desires. It felt as if he learned forbidden knowledge. It was now a secret he must keep to himself. Fear surged within his very self.

Souhait, did you just hear that?

I sure did.

If Kori was based on someone from Nathaniel Hope’s old photo, and the fact that Trifectas, people with all three races in their bloods, don’t live for so long, that would mean that these Shifties…

…their human forms are based on humans that have long passed in this world.

Souhait, is it possible for you to check to see if the boy that Kori was based on is currently in the Spirit Realm?

I will check once you are finished.

This revelation only confused Nova even further. The Shifties that he had fought in Castle Lavender were animals, but if they were to become human, they would become someone that was long dead. The thought scared him. What if those wolves were someone he or Arcturus had known in the past?

How would Arcturus accept this revelation?

He glanced over at Kori. Did Shifties know about their origins? Did they know that they were based on the deceased? If they knew, how would they react? Would they care? He took a closer look at Kori. Kori had the appearance of a boy in his early teens. He was shorter than him. The boy he was based on lived a short life and Kori had also lived a short life; it felt too coincidental in a way.

The thought of them living such short lives saddened him. All he could do was grab both of Kori’s hands. He brought them towards his forehead. The cold sensation of his touch was no match for his own. Kori had no heartbeat or a pulse, but Nova had them.

“Is something the matter?” Kori inquired.

“I’m sorry…” Nova whispered.

He could only whisper apologies to him.