Raphael Hendrx

+ "I don't even know how to describe it… I just know it feels amazing. I've never felt this alive, this full of energy before. But… ugh, why am I so itchy? And, wait, I think I'm gonna…ugh, damn it…"

Damon suddenly gagged and started vomiting violently. Three times in a row, he threw up a thick, dark brown, mucus-like liquid that reeked of rotten food.

++ "I was going to warn you, but you started talking, and well… too late now. You good?"

Damon could hear the concern—and a bit of guilt—in Asharaa's voice.

+ "Yeah, don't worry, I'm fine… my throat just hurts a little. But what the hell was that? The taste is still in my mouth, ugh, it's disgusting."

Asharaa let out a small chuckle.

++ "That was all the built-up waste in your body—dead blood, decayed cells, and toxins that had been sitting in you since birth. Now that your vitality has increased, some of it got flushed out. Nothing to worry about."

++ "this genetic talent we just awakened… it's seriously strong and insanely useful. I never thought we'd be able to bring our body up to normal so quickly. Too bad it only works on dead bodies, though. And besides healing, Reabsorption can only take in things we're missing. Like this guy—he had higher neural endurance, stronger muscle fibers, and a better nervous system."

+ "Got it. So, Reabsorption only works on bodies that have something we don't, and other than that, we can only use it to absorb basic materials for healing. Either way, it's a damn useful skill, and I like it."

Asharaa seemed pleased with how quickly Damon was grasping everything. But while she was talking, Damon refocused on the corpse and asked:

+ "What about you? Did you find anything? Were you able to connect to his holo-watch?"

The water current rocked the body back and forth, making it sway like a ragdoll. Its arm was caught between the rocks, keeping it from floating away.

++ "I was going to tell you earlier, but the system messages got in the way. Damon, this guy doesn't have a holo-watch."

Damon frowned and looked at the corpse's left wrist, where a device—different-looking but still clearly a holo-watch—was strapped.

+ "You sure about that, Asharaa? I can see it on his wrist right now. It looks a little different, yeah, but it's probably one of those newer models they don't let into the Fringe. The ones Only citizens have access to them."

++ "I don't care how it looks. When I connected to it, 90% of the core components a holo-watch should have, were missing. Instead, it had a signal booster, a high-level scanner, and a bunch of other weird tech. I don't think citizens even use holo-watches anymore. Whatever they've got instead, is tied to those implants in his neck, eyes, and ears."

Damon examined the device more closely before speaking.

+ "So… you're saying you need to reconnect with the body to get a better scan?"

++ "Exactly. Now that your neural endurance has improved, I should be able to scan the whole body even better than before. Or what? You scared to touch a corpse again, little girl?"

Damon smirked and placed his hand back on the dead man's chest.

+ "Scared? Nah. If anything, I actually like him now. If it weren't for this guy, we wouldn't have unlocked Reabsorption or improved our body this much."

The moment his hand touched the corpse, warmth spread through his right arm, linking him to the body. This time, there was no electric shock, no distorted vision, just a clear, detailed awareness of the man's physical form.

Gradually, his mental focus zeroed in on the neck. He could now see it, an implant embedded in place of the C2 vertebra. It looked exactly like the missing bone, but far denser and more solid.

Then, the image blurred for a second before shifting. He could now sense the inside of the implant, its intricate components. Whatever this thing was, it had direct access to the Galactic Net.

+ "Asharaa, was that you? Did you show me this?"

++ "Not exactly. I just guided your perception so you wouldn't have to figure out how to focus on the implant yourself."

+ "Damn… you're amazing. Seriously."

++ "Heh, obviously. Anyway, I'm going to use that one SP we got from the system to access this implant or whatever it is. You don't need to do anything for now, I'll handle it and update you when I'm done."

Damon nodded and waited as Asharaa began the hacking process, working her way into the implant and linking to the Galactic Net to register his name as a 37% compatible Adaptant.

Even though Damon had no idea what she was doing, he could feel Asharaa's constant, seamless activity in the background of his mind. And if he wanted, he could tap into it at any moment to observe everything she was doing.

That meant Asharaa couldn't hide anything from him, just as he couldn't hide anything from her. It was exactly like she'd said from the start: "There's no 'me' anymore. We're one now."

Fifteen minutes passed. Just as Damon was about to groan from boredom, Asharaa's soft, teasing voice rang in his mind.

++ "Alright, we're officially registered as a 37% Adaptant. No issues. But I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Even though not even 24 hours had passed since their minds merged, Damon had already gotten used to the way their consciousness felt as one. That fifteen-minute separation had left an odd emptiness in his head, and now that they were back in sync, he felt a strange sense of peace and completeness.

+ "Thanks, Asharaa. I'm sure it wasn't easy at our current power level, so I really appreciate it. Now, about the news, give me the bad one first so the good one can wash it away."

Damon's unexpected gratitude caught Asharaa off guard, making her blush for a moment before letting out a small laugh.

++ "Heh… have you ever heard of someone thanking themselves? You and I are one, Damon. Everything I do, I do for us."

Damon could tell she was flustered, so he just responded with a warm smile.

++ "Alright, bad news first. That one SP unit we got from the system, was just enough to keep us connected to the Galactic Net for an hour and get all the info we needed. But hacking into Symbiote Hall's security systems? That was tough. End result? We burned through all of that energy."

++ "But the good news is… I managed to fully connect to the implant and sync your holo-watch with it. Whatever this thing is, it's got all the functions of a holo-watch, no, scratch that, a hundred times more. His eye implants are for augmented reality or AR, and his ear implants work as some kind of external speaker for the one in his neck."

Damon's eyes lit up with excitement.

+ "So, we've got full access to this implant now? Meaning I can finally get out of this freezing-ass river? Oh, thank god, I was starting to lose feeling in my legs."

Unlike when he first stepped into the water, when every movement felt sluggish, as if his legs were weighed down by several kilos, Damon now moved with complete ease, barely feeling the difference between being in the river and walking on solid ground.

As he stepped out of the water, he left the shadow of the bridge behind and sat on a flat rock under the sun, letting the warmth dry his soaked pants and seep into his skin.

After a few minutes of basking in the sun's comforting heat, he took a deep breath and said:

+ "Alright, Asharaa, let's see what our dear citizen has, that we can borrow…"

A soft orange rectangle appeared above his holo-watch, its glowing interface displaying a list of options:

(Profile)

(Phone)

(Messages)

(Gallery)

(Documents)

(Wallet)

(Browser)

(Apps)

++ "No need to check them one by one. His name's Raphael Hendrix, a second-year student at New Thebes Academy, studying Military and Combat Arts. He's nineteen years old. Based on his messages, his future job was supposed to be something called a Vanguard, and he's got a younger brother named Michael. Oh, and from what I gathered… he's kind of sucked at his studies."

++ "Also, I found traces of a few deleted messages. wiped remotely. That's a little suspicious."

++ "His gallery? Completely empty. Not a single file in there. But the documents folder had some interesting stuff: a technique for absorbing 'Ka', a swordsmanship technique, and two skills I couldn't quite classify their levels. One's called 'Magnetic master', and the other… 'Hermes' stride'."

++ "And now, the fun part, the wallet. This guy was loaded. Nearly 200 gold credits, 120 silver credits, and 47 bronze credits. We just hit the jackpot. Damon, you have to promise me that we'll try all the delicious food we come across. I love flavors, and I need to experience them. You gave me a bit last night"

Damon chuckled.

+ "I promise… But now that we're connected to his implant, let's hook up to the Galactic Net. I want to dig up more on this Raphael Hendrix guy, who was he to be carrying this much money? And also, what's the deal with these implants? Why don't we have anything like this back in the Fringe? Hm? What do you think?"

++ "I think… if you want to be the first suspect when they find this guy's corpse, because we literally used his implant as a hotspot, then be my guest. But so that you know, I'm way more curious than you… Hmph. No common sense at all."

+ "you're so grumpy, why?"

++ ''I just… we talk later, ok?"