Chapter 12.4: Volume 1 Epilogue

Jason slowly injected a small dose of the poultice through a needle into the access port on the IV bag. He had done the same for Nikki, and was currently doing the same for Emily's IV bag but paused when he saw her sleeping face.

Guilt team through him like adrenaline and he reached out his hand to fix her hair but pulled back immediately when caught sight of his hand. His knuckles were scraped, his swollen fingers were bruised to the bone, and his hand was covered in blood that wasn't his own. He lifted his other hand and noticed that it was in the same condition and he quickly wiped his hands on his jeans, trying desperately to wipe the blood off but his hands' condition didn't improve. Jason closed his eyes and focused on breathing through his mouth as screams of his victims, the people he killed and harmed, echoed in his ears.

Calm down … breathe … it's not real … it's not real, Jason reportedly prayed in his mind as he shut his eyes firmly and gritted his teeth. It's not real … there's no blood … it's just … not real ...

The steady beeping from the machines monitoring the girls' heart rate pulled him back to reality as he opened his eyes. Looking down, Jason found his calloused hands in pristine condition: there was no sign of injury or blood to be found on them. Jason looked back at Emily, with a wistful glance full of regret, before he walked away without touching her again.

"Sorry," he muttered to her as he passed her bed, making his way to Alice. He studied Alice's sleeping face and couldn't help but give her a small smile. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a strange kinship with her. Jason prepared to inject the poultice into her when he saw something strange.

Alice's face had a small scratch from the debris but right now it was healing at an impossible speed. The scab slowly came off to reveal her perfect, unblemished skin underneath it.

I was right, Jason thought as he leaned forward to study her face. There is something off about her … that speed, it's impossible for even a Practitioner to heal at that rate unless they were at a post-Master level. [3]

Jason turned and exited the room and he reunited with the others who were still waiting outside. Robert and Susan looked at him eagerly, waiting for news on Nikki.

"She'll wake up soon," Jason told them before looking at Silvia. "I need you to move Emily and Alice away as soon as possible. It would be better … if … you … could…"

Jason couldn't finish his sentence before he stumbled sideways and fell to his feet.

"Jason?!" Alina hurried to him and he shook his head.

"I'm alright ... I just ... need to rest," Jason shrugged her off and got up again, turning to look at Silvia who was supporting him from his other side. "I need you to transfer them to your ... mansion. They'll be … they'll be safe there. And I'm … I'm going to rest ... now."

Jason closed his eyes as he fell asleep. His injury, along with the energy spent from the battle and constant healing he provided to the injured finally became too much for his body to bear.

"Take him to a private room and check his vitals discreetly," Silvia instructed a nearby medi-bot which quickly contacted the nearest free nurse. Silvia sighed as she watched a team place Jason on a stretcher and hover him away.

Honestly, Jason, Silvia thought. You keep this up and you'll end up dying.

Unlike the others, Silvia had an inkling on how dangerous Jason's abilities were.

You can manipulate energy, but you can't create it.

Silvia shook her head as she eyed Alina discreetly. Currently, Alina was having a tense discussion with Ken. Silvia only hoped that her hunch was wrong and that Jason's ability did not work the way she believed it to be.

***

Hours after midnight, Quentin and his rowdy gang exited a nightclub, each one of them too intoxicated to even walk properly.

"Boss, are we really letting that girl go?" the mohawk subordinate asked Quentin.

"Idiot, you know who that guy was? He was a Phantom! A real fucking in the flesh Phantom!" Quentin swore as tried kicking the mohawk in the ass but tripped on his feet. "We're lucky to be alive!"

"C'mon boss, you really believe that kid was a Phantom? He probably got a fake badge or something," another replied.

"I don't care, I ain't stupid enough to try and test him," Quentin said while waving his arm. "I'll tell the big boss and let him deal with it. Huh? Why're even here?"

Looking around, the group realized that they walked past a bunch of alleyways and were far away from the parking lot where their cars were. The temperature began dropping as they tried walking back, frost slowly covering the windows nearby as they shuddered.

"Is it just me, or is it colder?" Quentin muttered as vapour excited from his mouth, the breath solidifying into a mist.

Soon after a scream shattered the quiet surrounding and everyone spun around and looked at the subordinate that let out the ghastly scream. Their eyes widened in terror as they saw that subordinate being held by a being that looked like it came out of their nightmares.

The being was wearing a tattered black cloak with a hood that covered his entire face. The darkness underneath the hood made it seem like there was no face hidden beneath it, only gaping darkness that swallowed all light. The being was shrouded in black mist that coiled around him, and the mist slowly formed into screaming souls that clung to him begging, screaming, and crying silently for mercy.

One soul noticed the being holding the subordinate and crawled slowly to the latter who watched in horror as it slowly stroked his cheek. Soon after, the subordinate died as another soul formed around the being, a soul that looked exactly like the subordinate.

The living was frozen with fear as the being turned to look at them. Like a signal, Quentin's men ran like they were possessed as soon as they saw the empty hood turning to look in their direction. The being simply pointed a finger at them and the souls swam towards the fleeing men, each of them silently howling as they flew closer to their victims.

Quentin realizing that running was futile, turned and pulled a gun at the being.

"Fuck you!" He swore as he fired his gun continuously. Each bullet was fired accurately, all of them were headshots that were aimed at the shrouded being who walked closer to Quentin. The bullets flew into the hood but disappeared into the endless shadows inside the hood as the being walked closer to Quentin, unharmed.

A clicking noise was heard as Quentin's gun ran out of bullets but he still continued firing. The being was now so close that Quentin was mere inches from the hooded face but the former realized with horror that there was nothing under the hood. The being raised his closed hand and slowly tilted it while opening it. The clattering of metal rang out as bullets dropped from the being's outstretched hand and Quentin realized with horror that those were the same bullets that he fired.

"What are you?" he asked in a barely audible whisper.

The being did but respond but instead grabbed his throat and lifted him up into the air. As Quentin struggled to escape and breath, the being tightened the grip holding his neck and a cracking sound erupted as Quentin's struggle slowly died out.

The being tossed Quentin away before slowly fading back into the shadows. The alleyway regained its warmth and the ambiance within it returned back to normal, with the corpses lying on the ground being the only clue that something gruesome had occurred here.

[1] Sorta like these: (https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23431264-500-plasma-jet-engines-that-could-take-you-from-the-ground-to-space/)

[2] There's the EDU, but that's the European Union's defensive division, the EOU is the tip of the spear that is aimed at any enemy of the EU.

[3] This is the stages for cultivation I made for the moment:

Scholar

Disciple

Adept

Fighter

Elite

Master

Grandmaster

King

Sovereign

Monarch

Emperor

Paragon

Pre -> mortal stage, earth stage

Mid -> sky stage, true stage

Post -> golden core, nascent soul