Chapter 3: Colors of the Abyss

Eli lay on the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, frustration buzzing inside him. He felt completely drained, but sleep refused to come. No matter how hard he tried to let his body relax, his mind kept spinning, thinking about the strange screen, the toy, and the way his powers had evolved. There was a tension in his chest, a pull of energy moving through his veins. He was frustrated—tired yet restless at the same time.

He glanced down at his arms, where the IV was inserted, and wondered: Was it this? Was this energy flowing into me from the IV?

Eli's mind flashed to something familiar. He remembered the feeling of holding a knife back at home—the sharp, metallic taste he could feel in his mouth when he touched it. It had always been strange, the way objects had an essence to them that no one else could sense. When his mother replaced the old knife with a newer, sharper one, the change had been immediate for Eli. The dull knife's presence had faded, making his home feel softer, less tense. The new one had introduced a biting, tense edge that only Eli seemed to notice.

That's what this felt like. It wasn't the sharpness of a knife, but the feeling of something new and foreign being introduced to his body. Energy.

He sat down in front of the mirror, feeling the cold tiles beneath him as he took a deep breath. He had learned how to control his sight years ago—his X-ray vision, as he called it, though it was something far beyond that. His father had always joked about it being his own little superpower, but Eli had come to see it as an extension of himself.

Now, he closed his eyes and activated his sight. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but the feeling inside him told him there was something he needed to see.

When he opened his eyes again, the world wasn't just black and white like it had always been in his Transparent World vision. There were colors now—soft, glowing lights that pulsed through his body, filling the spaces between his veins. Eli's breath caught in his throat as he stared at his reflection. His body was lit with a faint yellow light that ran along his arms, his chest, and down his legs.

The energy from the IV was there, feeding into him, not in a way that anyone else could see, but in a way that Eli could now fully understand. The energy was traveling through him, filling him like food would fill an empty stomach.

His hand traced the glowing lines along his arms, his fingertips brushing against the faint yellow aura. It was beautiful, delicate, and real.

Was this the essence of energy? Eli wondered. The IV tasted and sounded like food to him in this strange sensory world. Now, it made sense. He wasn't just feeling things abstractly anymore—he could see the energy, almost as if it had always been there, hiding until now.

But this was new. His Transparent World had never shown him color before. Everything had always been in black and white, simple outlines and shadows. Now there was light, energy, and essence in vivid hues.

Eli pushed himself up, weak but determined, and glanced around the room. The colors were everywhere now, embedded in the objects around him. The bed radiated a soft blue, a cool and comforting essence that tasted like sleep. The fan and AC unit hummed with a brisk, sharp white, like a cold wind on a winter's night.

Why have I been turning this off? Eli thought, realizing he could see and experience so much more now.

It was as if the awakening of his new power had triggered something inside him, causing his other abilities to evolve, to mix together in unexpected ways. He had always been able to sense the essence of things, to feel the sharpness of a knife or the calmness of a quiet room, but now it was more than that. He was seeing these essences as colors, experiencing them in ways he never had before.

The hallway was dim, illuminated only by the occasional flickering fluorescent light, but to Eli, it was filled with even more vibrant colors. Each room had its own glow, a signature essence that seemed to leak through the walls. Some were bright with energy, while others were duller, like the cold feeling of an empty hospital room.

But then, something caught his eye. A strange light zipped past at the end of the corridor, faster than any of the other lights. It was quick, almost too quick for him to notice, but Eli had seen it. The light was different from the others—more intense, more urgent.

He took a few cautious steps forward, curiosity getting the better of him. He tried to use his sight to see through the walls, but this time, something was different. The colors in his world seemed to block out the shapes behind them. He could no longer see as clearly as before.

Still, the light lingered in his mind. It had been strange, unusual, like nothing else in the hospital. He continued down the hall, his heart racing in anticipation. As he rounded the corner, he saw a figure standing in the distance, their back turned to him.

It was a short woman, dressed in a familiar floral-print dress.

Mrs. Clara?

Eli's breath caught in his throat. Mrs. Clara had left the hospital just last week. She had moved away to join her husband in Paranice. She shouldn't be here.

But there she was, standing with her back to him, bathed in a soft glow that Eli couldn't quite place. The air around her seemed to shimmer, her presence cutting through the usual hum of the hospital.

Eli took a hesitant step forward, his mind reeling. Why is she here?