Unnatural gifts.

Cassian was stunned. He hesitated before speaking again, taking several deep breaths to steady himself. His scattered thoughts slowly cleared, his mind regaining focus. Again and again, his gaze settled on Ezo, but this time, the fleeting sense of belonging had vanished. Only curiosity remained.

His golden eyes gleamed as he activated his ability, the glow intensifying. He no longer saw the man before him as a person but as an object—something to be studied, analyzed, and understood.

As Cassian looked deeper, he found himself surprised once more.

Ezo's insides were… wrong. Unlike any person he had ever examined, Ezo's body contained writhing roots, pulsing as if alive, twisting through his insides like the tangled limbs of a grotesque tree. His muscles, compact and unnaturally dense, seemed to move on their own, shifting beneath his skin as if they were trying to break free from the small frame that contained them—ready to burst at any moment.

And then there was his head.

No matter how hard Cassian tried to focus on it, his gaze was always pulled away, as though something was forcefully preventing him from seeing what lay inside.

Cassian continued his analysis, completely absorbed in his discovery, paying no attention to Ezo himself.

Ezo, on the other hand, was amused by the boy's reaction. He couldn't see Cassian's face, only the way his glowing eyes darted from one part of his body to another. But he could imagine the expression—a thoughtful, studious look, completely lost in examination.

Soon, however, Ezo noticed Cassian stop. The glow in his eyes dimmed slightly as he locked eyes with him.

"Are you done?" Ezo asked, folding his arms across his chest.

Cassian didn't answer, so Ezo continued. "If you don't have more questions, then I'll take my leave."

Cassian, still focused, finally spoke. "Why do we lose emotions?" He didn't waste time with unnecessary words—this was what truly interested him.

But Ezo didn't answer immediately. Instead, he smirked. "I've changed my mind. I'll only answer your question if you answer some of mine. How does that sound?"

"I understand," Cassian replied without hesitation. It wasn't like he had anything valuable to hide.

"Then I'll ask first." Ezo tilted his head slightly. "Are your eyes a product of a special ability? If so, what can they do?"

"Yes. My eyes are like this because of my ability," Cassian said easily. "And as for what they do, I can see inside people's bodies!" He answered without hesitation, happy that it was such an easy question.

"So now, tell me—why do we lose our emotions? Oh, and why does your body look so weird?"

Ezo chuckled, wagging his finger. "No, no. I said one question. No more than that. So which one do you want answered?"

Cassian frowned, irritation creeping into his voice. "But I answered two of yours!"

Ezo's tone remained unchanged. "Which one?" He shrugged. "If you don't choose, I'll just—"

Before he could finish, Cassian cut him off, his voice filled with frustration. "Why do we lose emotions?"

Ezo was intrigued by the boy's defiance. Even without the ability to feel fear, most mutants still respected those stronger than them. Cassian wasn't stupid—so why was he so confident?

"Losing emotions, huh…" Ezo lingered on the thought before answering. "Well, I'm not exactly educated on the subject. What I know comes from older mutants." He paused, watching Cassian, who stared at him intently, unblinking. Deciding to continue, Ezo said, "An old mutant once told me that we've always been this way because our brains work differently from normal humans. We supposedly eliminate emotions that our bodies deem unnecessary, focusing solely on survival."

He scoffed. "Personally, I don't believe that yagar-piss. I mean, look at you."

Cassian frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You lost fear. Fear, one of the most valuable emotions for survival," Ezo said, pointing at Cassian.

Cassian fell into deep thought.

Before he could say anything else, Ezo interrupted. "Before you continue, let me ask another question." A grin stretched across his face. "How many abilities do you have?"

It was a strange question, but something told Ezo he needed to ask it. It was common knowledge that people were born with or inherited one ability. In rare and extraordinary cases, some possessed two, but that was unnatural.

From the way Cassian had answered his first question, something felt off.

Mutants didn't have unique abilities. Their abilities were always elemental—fire, water, earth, wind—or related to physical enhancements. Even if a mutant somehow received an unique ability, their body would be torn apart by the pain of containing it. It was an unbreakable rule of their kind.

Yet here was a kid who seemed to have defied that rule.

Ezo needed to know.

Cassian, meanwhile, had already recovered from his earlier annoyance and was grinning again. The question was easy—and more importantly, Ezo had only asked one this time.

"Oh, that's easy!" Cassian said, excitedly counting on his fingers. "Let's see… my eyes, obviously. Then, I can control rocks, water, air, and lightning—you know, the loud things that fall from the sky when it rains." He nodded to himself. "Oh! And I can make myself stronger. And there's one more… but I don't use it much. It's kind of painful. My brother always made me use it to cut trees."

Cassian stopped suddenly, his expression flickering with confusion.

"Brother?" he murmured. "What brother? I don't have a… brother."

His thoughts felt unsteady, like something was missing—something that should have been there but had been erased.

Ezo, however, had already made his decision.

His grin faded. His muscles tensed. His gaze sharpened.

His killing intent flooded the air.

This kid is too dangerous.

I have to kill him.