The humming grew stronger.
Blue light moved across Nexar's body in slow waves. He could feel the scan trying to enter his chest and head. It was uncomfortable, like cold water trying to flow into his bones.
Nexar opened the Third Eye Manual again.
A new line appeared.
[Suggestion: Release a little golden heat to create interference]
[Warning: Do not touch the void]
Nexar followed the advice.
He let the warm golden energy beneath his sternum spread just a little.
It wasn't an attack.
Just heat.
The blue light flickered.
The humming became uneven.
Rhea looked at her floating screen. Her crystal eye glowed brighter.
"Your energy is not like the others," she said. "It's cleaner... older."
She looked directly at him.
"What is your real name?"
"Nexar."
"Where did you come from?"
Nexar was silent for a moment.
"From a place that is no longer the same."
Rhea studied him.
"The scan cannot fully see you. Are you blocking it on purpose?"
Nexar looked at the blue light moving across his hand.
"Your machines simply cannot see everything."
The humming suddenly stopped.
The blue light faded.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Rhea wasn't angry.
She was simply not satisfied.
"Tomorrow you will join the Unclassified practical test. If you survive, we will continue this conversation."
She turned toward the door.
Before leaving, she stopped.
"Don't try to run. The entire building is watching you now."
The door closed.
Nexar was alone.
He leaned back in the chair and opened the Third Eye Manual once more.
The pages looked almost the same.
But something had changed.
A very small portion had unlocked.
[Manual Progress: +0.3%]
A thin stream of knowledge entered his mind.
It wasn't enough to understand the Manual completely. It was only a small piece of information about how external machines measured living energy.
Nexar remained silent.
Even a little progress is still progress.
He turned another page.
At the bottom was a single new line.
[The void is not the only thing sleeping]
Nexar stared at it.
His expression slowly changed.
He whispered,
"Then what else is there inside me?"
In the upper room, Rhea stood before the same three officers.
The silver-haired man looked up from the data.
"Report."
"The deep scan failed," Rhea said. "He interfered with it using some kind of energy. It wasn't Gene energy. It wasn't normal Qi either."
"How much did you discover?"
"Almost nothing."
The officer leaned back.
"And the void?"
Rhea hesitated.
"I couldn't confirm it."
The room became quiet.
One of the other officers looked at the scan results.
"Then why are we still allowing him into the practical test?"
The silver-haired officer answered without hesitation.
"Because a scan tells us what someone contains."
He looked at Nexar's combat records.
"A fight tells us what someone is."
Rhea remained silent.
The officer continued.
"Let him enter the test. Don't interfere unless absolutely necessary."
"And if he becomes dangerous?"
"Then we stop observing."
Rhea understood what he meant.
She nodded.
"Understood."
The silver-haired officer looked once more at Nexar's file.
NEXAR LUKE
Gene Points: 0
Classification: Unclassified
He stared at the name for several seconds.
"Something survived fifteen years on that island," he said quietly.
"Let's find out what."