CHAPTER 24: THE UNSEEN BEAST

They were just steps from exiting the hospital when a figure came rushing down the hallway.

A young woman in a doctor's coat, her hair slightly disheveled, skidded to a halt in front of them, her breathing heavy. John recognized her instantly—the receptionist from the floor where Luna's lab was located.

"Dr. James," she panted, eyes wide, "actually, the CCTV footage you asked for… the one from after Dr. Luna arrived… it's not available."

Dr. James turned slowly, his expression already darkening.

"I mean… all the footage after that… it's corrupted," she continued, wringing her hands. "Nothing is visible in it. And also, after Dr. Luna and Dr. Thomas arrived that day, the network went down. I couldn't even make a call… I had to leave the hospital completely to reach Dr. Luna."

A shadow passed over Dr. James's face.

His jaw clenched, and his voice dropped to a near whisper, though each word dripped with cold fury.

"This Divine Stone… it's clever."

He shook his head. "Too clever. It's getting harder and harder to catch."

James turned his piercing gaze to Luna. "I'm sorry, Dr. Luna. I might have to go now."

Without waiting for a reply, Dr. James turned and walked away, his coat billowing behind him like the last breath of a storm. The tension he left in his wake was almost physical.

John stood rooted, his mind racing. Divine Stone? He had never even heard the term before—but something about the name unsettled him. It seemed to hum with power… and danger.

And yet, when he heard the CCTV footage was corrupted, he felt a quiet, guilty sense of relief. Whatever secrets had been recorded in that hospital—whatever had happened to him—were now safely hidden.

For now.

After the disruption, preparations resumed.

John, Luna, and Principal Anthony separated into different rooms to prepare for their return to the school. But John's mind wouldn't settle. The weight of too many questions bore down on him. He needed answers—about the forest, about the insect, and most of all, about himself.

In a small, unused office, he opened Luna's laptop and began searching.

His fingers danced across the keyboard, his eyes scanning lines of text and obscure forums.

The results were… unsettling.

Every article he found, every piece of data, pointed to the same truths:

– Communicating with beasts wasn't just rare—it was impossible, even after generating a Neuro-Core.

– Every Neuro-Core, once generated, gave birth to a single beast within an hour.

– That beast then bonded with the tamer.

John sat back, his pulse quickening.

But I don't have a beast inside my Neuro-Core.

He closed his eyes, steadying his breath. Slowly, he turned his attention inward, focusing on the core of power that now resided within him.

There was no beast.

No clawed figure, no spectral animal.

Only light.

A swirling, pulsing vortex of ethereal glow—the same glow he had seen in the forest… the same light the fatty worm always seemed to dance with.

His brows furrowed.

He opened the laptop again and typed:

"Do Neuro-Cores glow?"

The answer was clear, appearing in multiple sources.

No. Neuro-Cores do not glow.

He stared at the screen.

Then, at his own hand.

Then back at the screen.

So… what is this light?

Could this be his beast?

His heart pounded. That fatty insect—ever since the taming—it kept interacting with that light. Was it playing with the glow? Or communicating with it?

He held out his hand, palm up, and whispered almost instinctively:

"Come here."

As if responding to an ancient, unspoken bond, the fatty insect materialized on his palm.

John stared at it, a thousand thoughts whirling in his mind.

"Okay, listen," he murmured, his voice hushed, eyes locked on the creature.

"Who do you keep playing with? I mean… that light. Who is it?"

The fatty insect twitched slightly, tilting its head.

The light pulsed faintly behind John's eyes.

And in that moment, he felt it again—not just light, but presence.

Something was inside him. Watching. Waiting.