章 8: Chapter 7 - Awakening(Part 2)

...what's going on? Everything's dark, and I feel like I'm floating on nothing right now...

<...bzz..bzz...>

Static in my head...just like before. It kept getting louder and louder, soon sounding like a large swarm of insects inside my head, deafeningly loud...and then silence.

<X-Ability Unlocked>

<Type: Anomaly, Category: Five-Tiered Time and Space Manipulation>

<Anomaly, Tier One: Save and Load, Unlocked>

<Anomaly, Tier Two: Unknown, Locked>

<Anomaly, Tier Three: Unknown, Locked>

<Anomaly, Tier Four: Unknown, Locked>

<Anomaly, Tier Five: Unknown, Locked>

I woke up with a gasp, coughing and sputtering as some blood had collected in my throat and nostrils...well, at least the bleeding seems to have stopped. Huh, my headache is completely gone, and so was the pain throughout my body...what in the world...? I definitely didn't imagine it, there were fresh bloodstains and small puddles of blood all over the sink and the ground around it, and there were several streaks of blood down my face as well.

More importantly...when I blacked out, I definitely heard the voice from the brain chip...it seemed so surreal though, I wasn't sure that I didn't just imagine the whole thing...well, guess there's only one way to find out.

I glanced at my I-Watch...it was just past 3 PM, 3:02 PM to be specific. Alright, then, let's test this out.

"<Activate Anomaly, Tier One: Save>," I stated after taking a nervous deep breath.

Hm, I didn't feel anything happen...let's keep going. I opened the small medicine cabinet in the bathroom and took out a shaving razor, breaking it and removing the blade. I then used the small blade to prick my fingertip, piercing the skin and drawing out some blood.

I then waited till 3:05 PM...that should be enough time to be sure. Now, then...

"<Activate Anomaly, Tier One: Load>".

The time was back to 3:02 PM, the razor was back inside the medicine cabinet, fully intact, and...my finger wasn't bleeding.

I had gone back in time.

Wow, I'm an Anomaly...I had a lot of thoughts running through my head right now, but most of all...this felt, admittedly, really good. I had definitely expected to simply end up a normal Paragon like most, but I had held out a small bit of hope of becoming a Prodigy...however, I had never even considered the possibility of becoming an Anomaly.

There were currently only four other known Anomalies in the world, making me the fifth...and the first of the North Quadrant. This is...pretty fucking cool.

It wasn't a weapon ability like the Manifestations of Prodigies, but a save-and-load time travel ability was definitely nothing to scoff at. What's more, there were four more abilities to be unlocked...though I had no idea how to go about doing so. Forget that for now, who cares, I have an X-Ability!

First things first, though...I should shower and clean up the bathroom a bit to wash away the blood. I felt slightly light-headed, unsurprising considering that I had lost a fair amount of blood earlier. My nose was pretty sore and still bleeding a bit, that wasn't from the Anomaly manifesting, that was from my father's punch. That old bastard...

At least it wasn't broken, I guess.

I showered and washed away the blood on the sink and the floor, before drying myself off, getting dressed and leaving the bathroom, heading back into my room. My sister was in there, sitting on the edge of my bed with a worried look, standing up as I entered.

"Zax, are you okay? Is your nose broken?"

"Calm down, Ella, I'm fine...it's not broken, and the bleeding's stopped too, I guess. Jeez, what was with that overreaction, didn't he even consider the possibility that things wouldn't work out the way he wanted?" I sighed, flopping onto the bed.

"Sorry, it's because of my abilities that his expectations were so high for y-."

"Don't be stupid, how is it your fault in any way, idiot?" I cut her off with a raised eyebrow, "The results of the Awakening Procedure are completely out of the control of the subject, that's a scientific fact. The whole thing about undergoing physical training increases your XFE capacity and being the sibling of a Prodigy automatically makes you a Prodigy too are myths that haven't been scientifically proven, or disproven, but father just refuses to believe that."

"Yeah, you're right about that, but still..."

"Look, let's just wait this out and hope it blows over soon. I wanna sleep, I feel kinda drained...after I finish off the remaining eclairs, of course."

...

After a short nap, I woke up around 7 PM, feeling a bit more refreshed. Hm, my body felt a bit stronger...I got up and looked at myself in the mirror. It's not very visibly noticeable unless you look really closely, but there was no doubt about it...I felt a fair bit stronger. Prodigies' physical abilities double after their Awakening Procedure, and with the four other existing Anomalies, their physical abilities apparently improved by around one and a half times following the procedure.

Now...how should I go about treating this development? Should I tell my father? In all likelihood, it would almost definitely appease him, but given what my ability was...it might be in my best interest to keep it to myself, at least for now.

I had always planned on attempting to enroll at the X-Warrior Academy, even if I'd ended up just a regular Paragon. Sure, I would have likely failed, but it wouldn't have hurt to try. But now, with this ability, I was a lot more optimistic about my chances. If I messed up, I could always go back in time and try again. And I'd say that my martial arts skills were pretty exceptional too, all those endless training sessions my father had put me through weren't for nothing, after all.

And if it turns out that I'm not good enough to pass the entrance exam...I can easily just abuse the hell out of this power and make a ton of money by gambling.

Hm, I'm kinda hungry...it's just about dinner time, guess I'll go downstairs. I could use some food, I was kinda craving something sweet again...man, that cake and those eclairs my sister got were incredibly delicious, I should definitely get the name of the shop she got them from.

I got up and headed for the door, leaving my room and walking downstairs. Huh, everyone's in the living room...my father was saying something, my mother had an unhappy look on her face but wasn't saying anything, while my sister was arguing with him with an angry look.

"...-fine, I shall agree to that much, but nothing more."

"How can you even do this, it's just cruel!" Exclaimed my sister furiously.

"I do not see how that is the case...as far as I am concerned, this is no different from taking out the trash."

Uh...what's going on? I hadn't a clue, but I had a really bad feeling about it. They noticed me as I reached the bottom of the stairs, my mother averting her gaze while my sister looked pretty upset. My mother was a doctor who spent most of her time in the Research and Hospital District, I wasn't very close to her since we rarely ever even spoke to each other...actually, now that I think about it, I don't remember ever having a regular conversation with her at all.

"Right, then...I believe that concludes this discussion," Stated my father, standing up and walking past me without so much as a glance, roughly bumping against my shoulder, wiping off his shoulder with disdain as he headed up the stairs.

What the heck was that about...

"Uh...what'd I miss?" I inquired curiously, when my I-Watch suddenly got a notification, "Hold that thought-...w-wait, what is this?"

I stared in disbelief at the e-mail I'd just received, a legal document that declared...that I'd just been disowned. N-no way, this has to be some dumb prank from my classmates or something, right? I quickly brought up my personal details on my holo-screen, and in the name section, it stated...

Name: Kilzachs N/A[Please Legally Register a Surname Within 5 Working Days]

I don't believe it, it wasn't a joke...I-I really had been disowned. I found myself turning back and heading up the stairs as the rage began swelling up inside me, to confront my father, when a hand grabbed my arm and stopped me...

"Zax, wait-!"

"...is this for real? I'm disowned? Just like that?"

"It's...yes, it's true. I'm sorry, I tried my best to convince him against it, but-..."

"Then I'll go talk to him."

"He...he isn't going to change his mind, Zax, it's no use-."

"That's not what I want to talk to him about," I interrupted, shaking her hand off my arm and continuing up the stairs.

I reached his room and opened the door, my sister trailing behind me with a worried expression.

"Hm? Oh, it's you, Kilella. Can I help you?"

I see, he's pretending that I don't even exist.

"Hey, what's this disownment thing about, don't you think I at least deserve an explanation?" I spoke up.

"Well, Kilella? Speak."

"I-I, uh...," She trailed off uncertainly.

"Hey, you old bastard, I'm talking to you! Don't you fucking ignore me-!"

"Oh, Kilella, it would appear that some trash has drifted into my room...kindly remove it. Or our deal is off."

"Hey-!" I began to yell, before being interrupted as my sister placed a hand on my shoulder and shook her head.

Her expression was begging me to leave with her, and something told me that I should do as she wanted. I hated this, being treated like I don't even exist...but I can't be too foolish and let my emotions get the better of me. That being said, bottling all these emotions was no easy task.

I reluctantly left the room with her, slamming the door shut angrily.

"Come on, I'll explain everything," She remarked, walking into my room.

I followed after her, trying to calm myself down. It wasn't working, the emotions swirling around inside me were so intense that trying to calm down felt like trying to fight off a tidal wave with a broken mop.

"What the heck is going on here?"

She began explaining...after my father got over his rage, he made the decision to disown me after concluding that I was absolutely worthless to him since the results of my Awakening Procedure didn't meet his expectations.

"I then asked him if he'd have done the same if I had turned out to be an ordinary Paragon too...he said 'don't ask stupid questions'," She sighed, frustration in her voice, "He...he sees us more as items than his children, he made that clear, if nothing else."

My mother had been forbidden from ever talking to me again, and she never went against my father, though that didn't make much of a difference since I hardly ever interacted with her to begin with, she had always been somewhat distant. My sister also had been forbidden from talking to me, but she refused and threatened to quit pursuing becoming an X-Warrior, giving my father cause to accept some degree of negotiation.

Thanks to her, I wouldn't be getting thrown out on the streets. Instead, she'd managed to get my father to set me up in an apartment, and pay for my education as well, though he only agreed to that so long as I transfer from Regal High to Prosaic High, the cheapest school in the North Quadrant. Beyond that, I was on my own. And after she helped me set up, she would have to stay away from me, that was part of the deal.

"That's...a lot to take in. Seriously, this is all happening way too fast...," I replied with a laugh.

I mean, in a ridiculous situation like this, what else can I do but laugh?

_____________________________________________

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