My veins became visible, resembling the grass beneath me, as I screamed. Yet all that could be heard was silence. The beasts that had been shouting moments ago fell silent as they stared at my inhuman transformation. My spine gave out under the unbearable pain, and tears began to flow from my eyes. I couldn't take it anymore. My ribs broke through my chest, my breathing seized, and my organs seemed to collapse within me. I believed it was the end, but I was still alive. The pain was so unbearable that even death felt like heaven. My brain attempted to shut down as a natural response to the agony, but something wouldn't let it. Hours passed in gruesome reconstruction, and after nine agonising hours, it finally stopped.
Michael lay on the floor, staring into the sky. His body had endured so much pain that it could no longer comprehend it, but he refused to rest. "I can't lie down again. I need to get to the root of what's happening in this Wasteland. What the fuck is going on? It's like I'm not progressing. Time passes, and when I look back, I realise I haven't learnt anything. The reason is honestly something I don't want to admit, but it's because I'm alone. Unfortunately, Bola was right. The Wasteland was built in such an unpredictable manner that one would need multiple eyes just to survive a day without being ambushed or killed, and none of us knew that. But I can't leave here yet. The only people I can team up with are either Elizabeth or Zion, but how do I even find them?" He walked around, pondering. "Precious and Iyi can't be that far away, considering they fought. I think everyone has to be interconnected. The portal system isn't random. It must select locations deliberately. Otherwise, Bola wouldn't know where we are. Besides, randomisation would require the portals to always know every location, but the Wasteland keeps growing. If I can find Precious and Iyi, I can determine their coordinates and make assumptions about where to find the others. But before that, I must get myself out of here."
Unknown to Michael, his eyes no longer looked human. They resembled a glowing bloodshed swallowed by vast darkness. He walked up to the walls Gina had created and stared around. "I don't have time to follow your dumb training session. I'll learn on the fly." Focusing inward, he felt energy, but it wasn't coming from his core. Instead, he sensed two cores. He was surprised to discover one in his left shoulder and another in his right. "Maybe I should take some time to understand this." Michael turned inward again, studying himself. The flow of energy felt different. It wasn't raging. It was calm. He quickly threw a punch. SWOOSH! The wind parted.
He began throwing jabs, kicks, and combos, one after another, until the ground started cracking beneath him. Every punch and kick sounded like a gunshot. He then punched his own hand, but it sustained no damage whatsoever. That was when he realised something. "My body isn't operating the same way as others. I read about this back in school, but I thought it was folklore. The ancient gods seemed to wield greater power by becoming one with energy instead of borrowing it like humans. But that logic would only make sense if I had no cores. In this case, I basically have more Emo, double what anyone else has, allowing me to use the power of two cores. But that would also mean I have two abilities. I may actually need to see Gina again because I don't even know whether RELEASE is an ability. If it isn't, then I'm missing two abilities, and I need to discover them."
Michael stopped for a moment. "I doubt I'm a Mourner or a Relier. I have too much pain to be one, but if I were a hybrid, I should still have an ability. I'll train for three more days, and if there's no progress, I'll move out."
THREE DAYS LATER
The entire area looked like a battlefield. Michael's clothes were gone, and only his shorts remained. His chiselled body glistened with sweat as he panted like a lizard. The trees looked shredded, and the ground had been excavated. Yet within seconds, all the sweat on his body seemed to turn into vapour and vanish. "Heat, I see. I doubt it's an ability, but at least I can manipulate my body temperature using the energy within me. That could be helpful. Except I feel more in tune with my new body, and I've learnt how to fire energy attacks without using RELEASE at all. I think it's time."
He walked towards the barrier and stared at the note. "BREAK THE BARRIER, GINA. XOXO." Michael, the man who never smiled, revealed all thirty-two teeth as he swung his back, flexing every muscle in his body.
GUNSHOT! Using the same move Gina had used, he smashed his hand into the barrier. It vibrated, cracked, and SHATTERED. Every beast stared at Michael like he was a hot meal. Michael, on the other hand, stared at them like prey. With blazing speed, he drove his hands deep into the beast on his left, then bit into its neck, crushing its windpipe with his teeth. He turned towards the other beasts surrounding him, standing at the centre of a thousand Wasteland creatures.
"COME."