.

With a gasp, Evan regained consciousness, clutching his chest in a cold sweat.

Images of different universes and dimensions still swam across his vision, or was that just his pounding headache causing the world to spin wherever he looked? He couldn't tell. Clutching his chest, he felt a dull, cold, throbbing pain that matched the one in his head, where he suspected Gideon's final blow had landed. He hadn't seen a sign of him, and barely felt the hand going through his chest. The sight of his own heart being held in someone else's hands would be a hard one to forget. But how did he make it back to the present? He looked down at his chest, half-expecting to see a gaping wound, but there was no sign of injury.

Although, that death was… not as bad as the first, but still pretty damned bad. He could already feel the throbbing pain in his chest subsiding. He supposed the instant nature of his death had lessened the impact. “I guess it's true,” he muttered under his breath. He’d heard stories of hunters being maimed so quickly they didn't feel a thing, until they noticed the empty space where a limb used to be.

Evan groaned as he tried to push himself up, wincing at the pain that shot through his chest. Slowly sitting up, his head continued to throb as he looked around the training hall. He was relieved to see that he was back in the present and that he was not alone. Lucia and Marcus were both sitting near him, they turned to look at his sweating form.

Marcus leaned forward “What's true?”

“Nothing,” Evan said, grunting as he shifted into a seated position, “Just a bad dream, I guess. How long was I out?”

“Not too long,” Lucia said, regarding him curiously. “About a minute, why?”

"Just feels like I was out much longer," he responded, running his hands through his hair in confusion. So there was some time dilation involved in the use of [Postcognition], He’d been in the desert for just under four days.

Lucia looked at him sceptically. “You sure?” Lucia and Markus stopped mid-sentence, staring at Evan in surprise. “Hey, Evan?” Lucia said, suddenly projecting caution “Not to sound like a complete lunatic, but are your eyes glowing, or is that just me?"

Marcus shifted closer, “You know what, I think you’re right. Ev, don't freak out or anything, but your eyes might actually be glowing…Is that normal?”

Evan froze, his smile faltering. “What? No, that’s not normal. What colour?”

“Red,” Markus said, leaning in to get a closer look. “But it’s not like a demon red or anything. It’s just a dull, faint red.”

Evan's hand flew to his face as he realised they were right. His eyes were emitting a dull red glow, judging by the light reflecting off his fingers, almost like they were candles. He rubbed his eyes, hoping to make the strange glow go away. But he could still see the red light persisting.

“Oh gods”

Evan tried to calm down, but the panic was steadily building. What if this was some sort of curse or disease? What if he was going to be driven mad? or consumed? He closed his eyes, and exhaled, trying to focus. He had no idea what this could be, but his thoughts were taken to his failed transformation in the desert, and that strange, foreign entity he had that had seized his arm. And the eyes. He wondered if this had anything to do with that.

If this was permanent, he would need to come up with something.

Do I tell them everything? Evan wondered to himself. He still wasn’t sure. To be honest, he couldn’t imagine treating them like untrustworthy strangers, but that was in no way enough of a reason. On the one hand, telling them would remove the beginnings of the inevitable gulf his secrets would cause to grow between them. But on the other hand, telling them the details of his skills would undoubtedly put all of their lives in danger. As it stood he was barely confident in being able to protect himself, let alone the two of them and his family. After all, He thought, sighing in resignation, they say two people can only keep a secret, if one of them is dead. He opened his eyes again and forced another smile. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

Lucia considered him hesitantly “O…kay… Yeah, totally normal. Happens to me all the time, especially when I'm possessed by demonic forces." she said, face tilted and clearly not convinced. “Seriously Ev, what's going on?”

Evan hesitated, wondering if he should tell his friends about [Flesh Smith] and the encounter with R'Hazul, if not them, then who else? They were even closer than family in some ways. He knew he had to tell them something to explain his sudden collapse.

As he stood there, lost in thought, he wondered if the decision he made would be the right one, if it would align with how he wanted to live his life. He didn't even know how he wanted to live his life. He knew that the weight of the secret was growing heavier with each passing moment, and that he needed to make a choice.

Markus leaned in for a closer look, “It's like they're...alive.” He glanced from eye to eye, studying Evan like a [Healer], or even worse, like a [Surgeon]. Evan shuddered at the thought. "Yeah well, technically eyes are alive," Markus continued. "But you know what I mean. See, it just pulsed. This is insane."

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“How are you feeling? alright?” It was Lucias' turn to now inspect the glow.

Evan nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay, I don't feel any different to be honest." He rubbed his temples, wincing slightly as he did. "I feel fine. My eyes feel normal."

Markus frowned, "You sure? You look like you've just seen a ghoul."

Evan chuckled softly, "More like a Wyvern, actually."

Lucia raised an eyebrow, "A Wyvern? What do you mean?"

Evan sighed, "It's a long story. Hold on a second”

Evan went to grab a practice sword, a real one, to inspect his new eyes. As he stood on the other side of the hall, staring at the strange red glow, he caused mana to flare within his chest as he tapped into his [Flesh Smith] skill. Evan paused, hand held steady, and turned his eyes as dark as possible, flooding them with melanin. The red glow persisted. Frustrated, he concentrated, sending a small storm of mana to his eyes, and created pigment-filled sacs using the Wyverns chromatophores to flood his eyes with a deep, pitch-black colour. Strange though, he thought, I’ve never heard of a wyvern that can change colours, sounds like something everyone would know… unless it kills them before they can report back? He decided that was a problem for another day. Focusing back on his eyes, reflected through the sword, he inspected the changes. He was hoping to smother the glow with darkness, but now all he could see were two eerie red rings glowing even brighter within pure pitch-black eyes. He’d made it even more obvious.

Evan heard two sets of footsteps behind him and quickly drained his eyes of the dark colour, although the new pigment sacs remained. His two friends must’ve gotten impatient.

Markus scratched his head, “This is some weird shit. What do you think it means? Were you cursed? And you just haven't noticed until now?”

Evan stared at his reflection in the sword he held. The dim glow persisted and he couldn't understand why. There was no biological reason for it, so maybe it was magical? but he couldn’t sense any difference in his mana… So was he really cursed? But how? And why now? He had never touched a cursed item, so that couldn't be it either. He thought back to the failed transformation and the mysterious entity that had caused it. Could it be the cause? But how could it affect him through time? Was the voice he had heard a manifestation of his mana? or was it an external entity that had taken control of him? Was it a sign of his skills’ connection to something greater than himself, or was he unable to control his skill and just going crazy? Evans' mind was a maelstrom of questions.

The entity seemed to possess some sort of intelligence, and had appeared to be seeking knowledge, demanding an answer to its question. And the question was a strange one. Evan wondered what would happen if he gave it an answer. Would it destroy him if he said no? Or simply leave? Would it bring him closer to understanding the nature of the entity, and how he came to possess [Flesh Smith]? or would it unleash a power beyond his control? He didn't have a clue. What if it took over his whole body, and not just his arm?

Evan shook his head, “I have no idea. It could be something to do with my most recent experience with [Postcognition]. Or.. something else”

Marcus glanced at Lucia, then back to Evan, his curiosity piqued. "Something else? What else? You mean when you ‘died’?"

Lucia stepped forward tentatively “Do you remember anything from when you were gone?”

Evan nodded. But remained silent, he was deep in thought. It was almost as if the voice had been dormant, and Evan's use of [Flesh Smith] had awakened it. But what was it?

“Look Evan, we get that your eyes are glowing like a [Seers] prophetic trance, but what's going on? Why are you acting so weird?”

Evan stood in front of the two people he trusted the most, Lucia and Markus. He knew that telling them about his secret flesh-smithing skill would change everything. He hesitated, still grappling with indecision. Should he tell them? He recognized that there was no easy answer. Confessing could result in punishment and harm to almost everyone he loved, while keeping the secret could lead to separation from the very same people, and as his skills took him to new heights, guilt and inner turmoil would follow. He thought about the potential consequences of both options and accepted that whatever decision he made would change the course of his life forever. He closed his eyes and lowered his head.

In the darkness of his mind, Evan was left to confront the reality that the answer was not black and white. He was questioning whether the decision he made would be a reflection of who he was as a person and would shape his future in ways he cannot yet imagine. Would he become a lone wolf? Or a champion of people? An ordinary boy? A happy boy? Or an Apathetic killer with no close connections?

He wondered if he was being dramatic, but then he remembered all the cuts, bruises, and chunks of flesh he'd lost fighting for his life, the screams as [Immortallity] reknit the nameless boys' flesh, and his own soundless screams as heat had seared his lungs and skin. Then he thought of his younger sister, Luci.

Maybe he wasn't being dramatic enough.

In the end, Evan resolved to embrace his secrets, to use them to empower himself and those around him. He realized that they were both a burden and a gift, a tool of power and a means of self. Perhaps in the act of sharing, he could find a balance between who he wanted to be. A man that grows with his family and friends, building a life, and a man that fights leviathans, and leviathan killers like R’hazul and survives. A balance between the light and the darkness, he thought.

As Evan looked at his friends, he knew that his decision would impact not only the rest of his life but also theirs. He hoped that they would understand and support him, but he was prepared for the worst. He had made his choice, and now he had to live with the consequences.

He had to tell them.

"Guys," he said, his voice quiet, and tone firm, "I have a secret skill."

Lucia and Markus stopped shoving each other, something that had started as Markus adjusting Lucias' hair, Lucia taking offense, and the two silently trying to knock each other over as they waited for Evan to respond. They now both stared at him in disbelief. Markus looked up from beneath Lucias' headlock "That's impossible," He muttered.

“That’s just, Not. Possible.” Markus straightened as Lucia let go. Her Jaw was slightly ajar in disbelief.

Evan raised his head as he spoke to lock eyes with Markus, then flooded his eyes with a deep black pigment. The red-ringed glow shined brighter atop the sea of black.

"I know."