Enlightened

***

Xeron was a variable; it had always been and would always be that way. Research into Xeron showed that it simply allowed man to interact with the abundant hyst energy present in the world around them more easily. It was present even on Earth, but the only problem was that its concentration was too low.

So low that it couldn't create any significant changes on Earth. But with the advent of the Interstellar age, man was exposed to a universe of possibilities - quite literally.

Xeron only allowed man to be able to unlock his hidden potential without having to rely on any fancy machinery.

Before people became Xeronated, they were simply Cultivators.

***

Jack woke up with a jolt, his heart thrashing around like a caged bird. He wasn't sure what had startled him, but cold sweat clung to his skin, and his breaths came out in ragged gasps.

He looked up to the ceiling, waiting for orientation to set in and for his senses to align.

"Arghh." Jack moaned as a blinding pain seared through his chest."Bloody parasite."

The after-effects of forming a core and having two different and conflicting energies in him were still lingering, a constant sizzling under his skin.

He clutched his ribcage, feeling a steady, unnatural pulsation beneath his skin, almost as if a second heart had taken root.

Focusing on his activities for the day, Jack soon forgot about the pain and set out for what was needed to achieve strength.

The room was shrouded in darkness, with only a tiny ray of sunlight seeping through the blinds. He sat up slowly, his legs dangling over the bed's edge, his mind a maelstrom of questions.

"What have I done to myself?" He said, actually addressing the empty room he was in.

He clenched his fist and willed his quin to stir. A glow of green energy illuminated them, tendrils dancing through them like restless spirits. Looking closer, he saw a faint shimmer of violet energy flicker beneath his skin and within his quin. It was beautiful in a way, almost mesmerising, but its chaotic nature unsettled him greatly.

He thought back to the events of the previous day—the overwhelming surge of energy, the terrifying vision of the crystal in his heart. It was unsettling, to say the least. He had never felt so out of control... so powerful.

"I can't let this thing... whatever it is... control me," Jack muttered to himself.

***

After his shower and breakfast, Jack changed into a crisp black tee, faded jeans, and a pair of comfortable sneakers. Glancing on the small desk by his bed, he saw his mother's legacy: two books, their leather bindings worn as a testament to years of use. He ran his hand over the title of the first: Quin Mastery. He opened it carefully, and the subtle scent of old parchment wafted into his nose, filling his senses.

The book was surprisingly simple, devoid of any complex jargon or arcane symbols. It spoke of the human body as a vessel, a conduit for energy. It explained that Quin was the life force that flowed through every living being, a force that sustained life, a subtle energy that could be harnessed and manipulated, one that could be shaped by will, strengthened by discipline, and weaponised by need.

The book outlined basic exercises—deep breathing techniques, meditations, and visualisations—designed to increase awareness of one's own Quin. Jack had followed these exercises from day one, ever since his mother died, and so they came almost as second nature to him.

When he was still new to this, he struggled greatly to even establish a connection with his quin, but now his quin responded to him with utmost ease.

He sat down, crossed-legged—any position would have done, but this was what he felt more comfortable with—and started to visualise his quin. In just a few seconds, he felt it move and stir.

'Is this the advantage of having a core?' Jack thought.

A faint tingling sensation spread over his body; this feeling was way different from when he hadn't formed his core; back then it was as if he had to force Quin into himself, but now the Quin all around readily answered his call, almost as if he were one of them. A child of Quin.

Jack felt a chill run down his spine; he sensed the wrongness even before it happened. The Hyst energy flared up within his core—like a high tide, the purple energy crashed into his core, threatening to overflow and surge out. A sharp pain assaulted his chest, nearly breaking his focus, but he persevered, gritting his teeth and grunting amidst the pain.

As time went on, he felt a growing sense of calm, a subtle sense of control and dominance. The chaotic hyst energy within him seemed to calm down, settling into a gentle simmer but never still. Jack snapped out of his trance, gasping for breath and reeling in pain. His chest still hurt; it was as if he had been stabbed in the heart.

He felt a sense of accomplishment somewhere within the depths of his black heart. He had made progress, however small, but he knew it wasn't enough. Now he was set back even further from where he started. It was like being stranded in a desert with enough money to make a loan shark's wet dream but not having a way to spend said money to acquire the water he needed so badly. He was slowly starting to understand Quin and hyst and was learning to control the turbulent forces within.

Jack had a lot of questions but no answers and no one to turn to. In these moments, he felt truly alone; without any parents or guardians, there was literally no one he could turn to in matters like these. No matter how much he steeled his heart and strengthened his resolve, it hurt in times like these.

Actually, there was someone he could turn to, but he hated that person with all his being, and the feeling was mutual. That person was none other than Leo, his silent but unwilling guardian. The man had been strangely quiet since that fateful night.

But Jack didn't know him enough to know if it was a change that was catalysed by his enslavement or if it was just his previous personality. And it wasn't as if he cared.

Leo barely spoke, and even then, rarely to Jack. He preferred to spend most of his time in the shadows protecting Jack, his face a mask of grim determination. 

The last time he saw him was during his little incident with the bully and even then their interactions were kept to a bare minimum.

Whatever his mother had done to Leo on that fateful night worked. It had enslaved Leo—an assassin sent to kill him—and turned him into a fully subservient slave with no free will but that of his master.

"Morning," Jack said, his voice still a little hoarse.

Leo nodded, his expression unreadable and detached. His eyes shimmered for a brief moment. Jack felt their glow pierce into him, into his being, and peek a glance at his very essence - HIS QUINTESSENCE.

Without triggering it, Jack felt his quin flare and ran amok, wanting to explode and engulf the murderous bitch sitting so casually in front of him. The murderous bitch who took his mother from him and left him alone in this dark, cruel world where, for some reason, everyone was after his head.

But Jack knew better than to try and attack Leo, even with his newfound strength. Leo was an Enlightened after all and one of considerable strength and rank; his skin was as hard as a diamond maybe even harder, and his punches hit like a derailed freight train.

For someone like Jack who had just stepped onto the path of Enlightenment, fighting Leo and winning was but a pipedream, one that could only be relished in the sweet embrace of intoxication. Even coming out alive would be nothing short of a miracle.

"You seem... different," Leo said, a hint of amusement and mockery, painting his voice. "Do you know what you have done, Brat?"

Jack hesitated, unsure how to explain the changes within him. "I ...I think I'm starting to understand what happened."

"Understand...?" Leo trailed off, breaking into a hysterical fit of laughter.

"Understand... you can't even begin to fathom the scope of what you have done. You can just go ahead and kill yourself already, go jump off a cliff it would put you out of your misery but don't you dare drag me down with you."

"Do you know why there are different quins and you don't see any idiotic baboon trying to cultivate both? Mixing two different forms of quin is akin to suicide. You are lucky you didn't outright die."

"WAIT!!!" Jack shouted. "You mean hyst is also a form of quin?" he asked, frowning.

"That weak bitch couldn't even educate you properly before she succumbed to my blade." Leo sneered.

This was how their relationship was; Leo was obligated by a soul bond to answer to Jack and obey his commands, but that didn't prevent him from hating him or cursing his mom's name whenever he got the chance.

"Look, kid, everything as far as our universe is concerned is made up of quin. But it's just that along the way, the quin may get twisted or corrupted by forces and concepts. All quin is originally white, but when it gets corrupted, it changes colour." The reluctance in Leo's voice could be heard from a mile away, but Jack ignored it and pressed on.

"What are these corrupting forces, and why is my quin green?" Jack panicked internally but managed to keep his poker face. Leo just chuckled.

"Impressive of you to hide your bodily cues, but your internal quin is frenzied thrashing around like a caged beast. Who do you hope to fool here?... Definitely not your mother." Jack just glared silently at him. If looks could kill, Leo's remains would have fit into his pocket.

"You shouldn't be alive but here you are, there are two outcomes; either the Xeron has awakened something powerful in you..." Leo said avoiding Jack's question and throwing him bait he knew Jack wouldn't be able to resist.

"Powerful...?" A shiver of excitement ran down his spine, his face alive with excitement.

The brat's whole goal and motivation was acquiring strength by hook or crook and his greed controlled him. Greed upon whose strings Leo could occasionally pull.

"Would you let me finish?"

"Go ahead."

"...or it has made you defective. As far as I know, this shouldn't be possible but here you are. Whatever it is you've awakened, it's not natural and moreover, it's not stable. This is my first time seeing a quin core merged with a hyst one." Leo said with a low and gravelly voice.

The gravity of the situation made Jack realize how stupid his actions were and how he let his emotions control him. 

" I think I messed up..." Jack's voice trailed off.

"Think?"

"Okay, I fucked up but can you help me out?"

Leo hesitated, his gaze fixed on the ground. This went against his principles; helping out an enemy and one he had sworn to kill at that. But the pain of his bond pressed against his soul sending blinding jolts of torment across his being.

He had been trained to withstand a vast amount of physical pain but pain inflicted directly to his soul in such large amounts was new. In the end, he gave in to the pain for it was better to live to fight another day than to preserve on and die a dog's death. 

"To be Enlightened is to be a conduit for quin. To be an Enlightened means to possess extraordinary abilities, the ability to manipulate Quin, to be able to harness the very essence of reality itself."

He felt a surge of excitement. In this cruel world which had built all its foundations on the concept of individual power, this was exactly the kind of strength he needed. Jack could just imagine, no he could almost feel it, the strength the quin would bring his way. And now he even had a Hyst core merged with it. He would enjoy the best of two worlds. 

The path of a Xeronated Cultivator and that of a quin-wielding Enlightened. 

After a while of contemplating, he opened his mouth and spoke. "Will you teach me the ways of an Enlightened?"

"NO!!" 

Jack had almost forgotten, this was how it always was with Leo, in matters like this he needed to be more direct and commanding. 

"Leo Veythorne I order you to teach me the ways of an Enlightened."

This felt wrong but in the end, it was the mighty who wrote down history.

Letting out a grunt clenching his fist so tight his knuckles turned white, clearly displeased by the blatant violation of his free will, he dropped to one knee and replied.

"Your wish is my command."

If he was going to teach Jack and train him, then he was going to make sure he made a terrifying monster of him, one whose mere name would strike terror into the heart of all foes. 

For he was Leo Veythorne and his pride wouldn't allow him to create a subpar student.