The Test (2)

***

Most people view humanity as a species—a vast collective of individuals bound by shared traits and biology. And in that, they are not wrong. But they fail to grasp something deeper.

Humanity is not just a species; it is an organism.

Not in the way one might find a singular entity in nature, like an ant or a whale, but as a vast, interconnected system—a living, breathing entity composed of countless individuals, each a cell within a greater whole. It exists not merely as flesh and blood but as an idea, an ever-evolving force, illusionary yet undeniably real.

A single human can survive in isolation and endure the harshest conditions through sheer will alone. But survival is not the same as thriving. Without the collective, without the pulse of shared knowledge, progress, and purpose, an individual is but a fragment—functional yet incomplete.

Humanity flourishes because of its connections. Like an organism, it grows, adapts, and changes through the actions of its many parts. Ideas act as neurons, transmitting innovations across time. Conflicts serve as fevers, burning away weaknesses. Empires rise and fall like the beating of a vast, slow heart, pumping civilisation forward, ever onwards.

To see humanity as just a species is to miss its true nature. It is a living construct of will, ambition, and shared existence. And as with all organisms, its greatest strength is not in its individual components but in the unity that binds them together.

For millennia, humanity flourished as an organism, adapting and evolving. Eventually, it reached a threshold. It sought a new catalyst that would push it toward the next stage of evolution.

And so, humanity left its home. Thus began the Interstellar Age—an era of stars, boundless expansion, and interplanetary travel.

In the end, humanity found the catalyst it had long sought. They cultivated it, harnessed its power, and through it, they evolved.

Beyond the stars, in the vast unknown, mankind was forever changed.

Man found Hyst.

***

The darkness beyond swallowed everything. A void, waiting. Jack took a breath, the cold scent of iron, steel, and old air filling his lungs.

The air inside was thick with the scent of metal and disinfectant. Rows of advanced scanning equipment lined the walls, and a towering machine resembling an MRI scanner stood at the centre of the room.

To be honest, he had expected a mess—dust-covered surfaces, makeshift equipment replacing proper machinery—but to his surprise, the lab was pristine, exuding a professional air.

A short, wiry man with cybernetic implants replacing his left eye and arm greeted Leo with a knowing smirk.

"Ah, if it isn't the prodigy. Finally ready to test out the new potion I've been brewing; I'll not lie, it has an unpleasant taste, but its effects are far more supreme than the regular ones on the UHuL market," the man chattered away.

Leo rolled his eyes.

"The short, strange man here is Drayak. The emaciated brat here is Aiden Smith," he said, introducing the two to each other.

"Herh, how many times have I told you not to call me strange?!" Drayak fumed.

"Says the guy with a fetish for cooking up the vilest of potions and calling them a masterpiece. And do get me started on your weird fetishes."

"Um... I am a man of culture, and I can clearly see you are not." Drayak lampooned.

"Cut the chatter, Drayak. I just want the test."

"Now you need me...," Drayak rebuked

Leo sighed dramatically. "OH great Drayak, man of culture and style, I, your humble servant Leo Veythorne, apologise for his impudence. If it pleases thee, I beg of thee to cast thy eyes of mercy upon me."

"Better... This god hears your prayers and forgives your insolence." Drayak chimed in an authoritative voice.

"Oh, come on, I know you would do this even if I called you a fat pig," Leo mocked. "You are as interested in this as I am."

Drayak chuckled. "Fair enough. This is the kid I'm supposed to test, right?"

"Yeah, he's the one."

"Step in." Drayak gestured towards the pod with his head.

Jack grunted in annoyance. They had ignored him the whole time. Yet, in their banter, he glimpsed something unexpected in Leo—something human. How could you hate one of your own?

Jack walked to the MRI-looking machine and obediently lay back on the examination table as the scanner hummed to life. A faint blue glow washed over his body, and streams of data filled the monitors. Then, something strange happened.

The machine began to flicker.

Jack felt an invisible sensation wash over him; it was pleasant in an almost indescribable way. His skin shone with a warm and soft purple radiance. The machine forced the Hyst present in him to activate and run free, but in a controlled manner. It pulsed through his veins like liquid fire, both exhilarating and terrifying. His muscles spasmed, and his mind became muddled from ecstasy.

He could feel it; the hyst wanted to break free and rampage around, but Jack focused and reined it in.

"Hmm, interesting," Drayak commented. "Don't hold back or suppress the hyst; let it flow freely."

Jack wanted to argue, but he wasn't an expert, so he just stayed quiet and followed the instructions given. For the first time since Jack had formed his core, he finally let go.

It was freeing. And for the first time, Jack wondered if this power—this hyst—wasn't just a curse but something more.

The purple glow underneath his skin intensified, illuminating the darkest corners of the underground lab, and the entire room trembled slightly.

Leo couldn't help but be awe-inspired; this was beyond expectations. It seemed the fusion between Jack's hyst core and quin core created something far greater than the sum of its parts.

The aura being released by Jack was not something a novice Enlightened should be able to do; the quantity of quin was just absurd and over the top.

Drayak cursed under his breath as he frantically adjusted the controls. He didn't understand what was happening but felt the situation would overwhelm him if it continued.

Even through all the chaos, excitement seeped into his veins and electrified his bones. This was unlike anything he had seen before; it was an anomaly that went against everything he had ever taught or learnt.

"What the hell...? Kid, what did you inject yourself with?!" Drayak said after the scan was done and he had powered down the hyst stimulation machine.

"You almost gave me a fright there."

Jack sat up, his heart pounding. "What's wrong? What do you see?"

Drayak's mechanical eye whirred as he zoomed in on the readings.

"You've got two distinct energy signatures inside you, but that's not the weird part." He pointed at the monitor, his voice laced with unease. "Your quin core should be stable and green, but it's fractured, barely holding together. And then there's this—this thing inside your heart. It's not just hyst. It's something else entirely.

"Jack swallowed hard. "What do you mean 'something else'?"

Drayak's fingers danced across the console, pulling up a magnified image of Jack's core.

"Hyst is chaotic, but it still follows certain principles. Whatever is inside you... It's rewriting the rules. I've never seen anything like this before. Whatever it is, it seems to be impeded or sealed, but even then, it's like a black hole just sucking both the quin and hyst."

An icy dread settled over Jack. He had been hoping for clarity, but he had only uncovered more questions.

"I don't know what it is either; it's just this parasite that does nothing but feast on my nutrients and quin. It's the main reason I gambled with Xeron." Jack sighed, his heart heavy.

Drayak leaned back, rubbing his temples.

"Look, kid. I don't know what the hell is happening to you, Leo; do you have any ideas?" Drayak asked Leo, not expecting to get much out of him.

Leo's eyes and mind were unfocused, and he seemed to be entranced in a world of his own. He only snapped out of his reverie after he heard his name.

"What did you say?" He asked absentmindedly.

"I said, 'Do you have any thoughts on this so-called 'parasite'?" Drayak repeated.

Leo took in a sharp breath, the atmosphere instantly becoming tense. Jack unconsciously clenched his jaw and exhaled slowly, steadying his nerves.

"What you are referring to as a parasite is nothing but an enchanted item. A cursed relic, to be precise."

Drayak staggered back, his face a mask of disbelief and shock.

Jack stared at Drayak, then at Leo, trying to discern if this was something good or bad, but he found no answers.

"Wh... which one?" Drayak barely croaked.

"Maw, The Bottomless Hunger." Drayak gasped when Leo spoke.

Jack felt bewildered and disoriented. What were they talking about, and why did they make it sound like the end of the world? He was lost, but he needed answers, and he needed them now!

Greed ignited Drayak's eyes, and avarice twisted his smile. A suffocating weight settled over Jack's chest, his limbs locking in place as Drayak's killing intent bled into the room like a rising tide.

There had always been something that drew him towards enchanted items and, even more, to cursed relics. He had always been drawn to enchanted items, especially cursed relics. Once, he had aspired to be a Forger, but reality crushed his dreams—he lacked the talent. Instead, he was left with a dull life of analysing data and reading statistics. What a boring life!

But today was his day; there was a weakling in possession of one, and the only obstacle was Leo. But he couldn't fight him. A fight with Leo would instantly obliterate him. So he took a different approach.

"Why don't we kill him and sell it off, or we could even..." Drayak paused upon realising something. "Why haven't you killed him and taken it for yourself?"