Kael Voss had traveled far from the cliffside, but the faint echoes of the apprentices' bickering still lingered in the air. He didn't care how Wang Dapang and Zhang Changgui resolved their dispute—his mind was light, the heavy gloom of years trapped in the Verdant Bio-Dome finally lifting. The image of Jin Dongbao's stunned, frozen expression as he'd left brought a quiet chuckle to his lips.
He pushed through the dense grove of bio-engineered pines, venturing deeper into the uninhabited slopes of Aurora Peak. After walking for a while, a narrow alloy waterway came into view, its current glinting with filtered aurora light—recycled water purified by the Conglomerate's environmental systems, cool and clear.
Glancing up at the twin suns blazing overhead, their radiation warming his dark skin, Kael decided a quick wash would refresh him. He knelt by the waterway, dipping his hands into the crisp liquid—only to pause as faint, ragged gasps of pain drifted down from upstream.
Surprise flickered across his face. Few ventured this deep into the peak's wilderness. Curious, he followed the sound, moving silently along the waterway's edge. There, sprawled facedown on the alloy bank, was a figure in a sleek core apprentice uniform, his body twitching uncontrollably, limbs trembling with violent spasms.
Kael's sharp eyes immediately recognized the signs: acute genetic sequence collapse. Without urgent intervention, the apprentice's cellular structure would destabilize completely—death would follow within hours.
He sprinted forward, pulling a small metallic case from his tunic. Flipping it open, he revealed a set of glowing silver nano-repair needles, their tips humming with microscopic nanobots. With practiced precision, he drove the needles into key gene nodes along the apprentice's spine, moving swiftly to stabilize the unraveling genetic pathways.
Once the back nodes were secured, Kael rolled the apprentice onto his back to treat his chest. As the face came into view, Kael's breath caught in his throat.
It was Ryder Blackwood—the same "Senior Brother Ryder" who'd dominated the duel on the cliffside just hours earlier.
Gone was the confident, thunderous warrior who'd wielded the plasma blade with such prowess. His normally sharp features were contorted in agony, foam frothing at the corner of his mouth, his eyes clouded with unconsciousness.
Kael regained his composure, pausing for a split second to assess the damage before continuing his work. The nano-needles danced across Ryder's chest, piercing critical gene stabilizer points. By the time he drove the last needle home, sweat beaded on Kael's forehead—this emergency genetic resuscitation drained even his protocol-enhanced stamina.
As the nano-bots began repairing the fragmented DNA, Ryder's twitching slowed. His eyes fluttered open, focusing weakly on Kael. "You… are…" he managed, his voice raspy and faint, trailing off as exhaustion overcame him.
"I'm an apprentice under Dr. Mordecai Thorne," Kael said, checking Ryder's pulse with a gloved finger. "Save your strength. This is only a temporary stabilization. Your condition is anomalous—only Dr. Thorne has the expertise to treat it properly, and he's currently off-peak."
"Med… ical…" Ryder's face twisted with urgency, his lips trembling as he tried to lift an arm, but his muscles refused to obey.
"You have medicine on you?" Kael asked, quickly catching on.
Ryder's eyes brightened, and he nodded weakly.
Kael wasted no time, patting down Ryder's uniform pockets. Among the usual tools—a plasma blade hilt, a gene scanner, a credit chip—he found a small white jade-like container, its surface etched with intricate bio-mechanical patterns. The seal was airtight, a sign of high-value contents.
He glanced back at Ryder, who nodded frantically, his eyes wide with desperation. When Kael twisted open the container, no pleasant medicinal scent emerged—instead, a thick, putrid stench of decaying bio-matter wafted out.
Kael's expression darkened. He carefully poured a single pinkish, pearl-sized capsule into his palm. Its vibrant hue clashed sharply with the revolting odor, a stark contrast that was impossible to forget.
"Is this the serum?" Kael asked, his voice calm.
Ryder couldn't speak, but his rapid blinking confirmed it.
"Marrow-Extracting Gene Serum," Kael said flatly, each word carrying the weight of certainty. "Formulated from twenty-three rare bio-materials—Neurotoxin Vine extract, Scorpion Bloom nectar, Century-Old Genetically Modified Ant Eggs, to name a few. It appears as a pink capsule with a grotesque stench. When ingested, it forcefully overdraws cellular potential, trading future lifespan for immediate genetic enhancement. Am I correct?"
Ryder's face blanched, all color draining from his cheeks. Panic flashed in his eyes as his secret was laid bare.
"Once taken, the serum creates a dependency," Kael continued, his tone unflinching. "Miss a dose, and you endure agony worse than genetic restructuring—muscle fibers tearing, bone marrow deteriorating. Refuse it entirely, and you face either total paralysis or death. Even with regular doses, the lifespan overdraw guarantees death within ten years of the first ingestion."
He paused, holding Ryder's gaze. "Don't tell me this isn't the Marrow-Extracting Serum."
Despair settled over Ryder's features, mixed with utter disbelief. How could this unknown apprentice recognize such a rare, forbidden formula?
"You're wondering how I know," Kael said, answering the unspoken question. "I've taken it too."
Ryder's eyes widened, his mouth falling open in shock—then he shook his head weakly, clearly unconvinced.
"Not like you," Kael clarified. "I split one capsule into ten portions, using each as a catalyst for other gene stabilizers. No dependency, no side effects. The contrast between its appearance and stench left an indelible impression. I thought mine was the last existing dose—never imagined another apprentice in the Seven Luminaries would dare use it."
He studied Ryder, his gaze a mix of admiration and pity. "You've been taking it for years, haven't you? If you stop now, I can petition Dr. Thorne to formulate a specialized gene stabilizer. It won't restore all your lost lifespan, but it will add twenty or thirty years—though you'll lose your enhanced abilities. If you continue… judging by today's collapse, you have five years at most. But your power will grow exponentially in that time, faster than you ever thought possible."
Kael held out the capsule, letting it glint in the twin suns' light. "You had the courage to use this forbidden serum—you're a man of resolve. The choice is yours. Take it… or discard it."