The Astral soul system-Chapter 179: Flashback

"-and then she just said ’I trust you’ can you believe that?"

"In a place like this she truly is an anomaly"

Zen took a sip of the coffee Maximilian had made for him,of course, he couldn’t taste it, and he doubted the caffeine would affect his body but he still had to put up an act of needing basic human necessities.

This planet’s star had barely even risen and Sable had already been ranting about how odd last night was, telling him every single detail, clearly having been uncomfortable without anyone to vent to the entire night.

"So did you eventually do it or-"

"Don’t say it like that!"

Sable slammed her hands onto the table.

"Like what?"

A vein bulged on Sable’s head but she forced down her emotions.

"Nothing, it’s just...yes i did it, and it was weird"

Zen took another sip.

"Considering how she described the bite,i assumed it would be mutually gratifying for both of you"

Sable’s face once again scrunched up from the way Zen put it, anyone who passed and heard that line would think it was something entirely different,which was probably the second reason he was doing it, the first being to tease her.

"That’s not what I meant. The atmosphere..."

Seeing her hesitating to speak, Zen suddenly asked.

"Did you get aftercare though?"

Sable immediately went quiet hearing that.

"A-aftercare?"

Flashback

Sable gently pried herself off Jade, licking her lips with a satisfied look in her eyes

"God, I probably should’ve started with a less awkward position than the neck, seeing as I’m fully conscious "

She checked in on Jade who was breathing heavily,her face flushed from the sudden rush of blood.

"It’s... okay. I’m fine... with it"

She said, taking breaks in between to breathe .

"So, how was it?"

Jade asked.

"Would you be mad if I said one of the best I’ve tasted?"

Jade laughed a bit, slightly embarrassed.

She suddenly leaned in closer, resting her head against Sable’s shoulder.

"We should... probably get going"

Sable suggested

"Mnnn. In a minute."

Jade said, suddenly wrapping her arms around Sable, snuggling in closer.

Sable wanted to say something but she stopped. Her emotions were starting to get more balanced and her level headedness was returning since things had calmed down so this didn’t bother her anymore...much.

’At least she doesn’t look like she’s going to explode.... and... she smells nice too. I’ll just... stay here for a while. I can carry her back if she falls asleep ’

Flashback end

"So?"

"H-huh?"

"Aftercare"

Sable groaned, getting embarrassed.

"Why do you care?"

"You seem more stable today. I expected last night’s even, especially starving to have had a long lasting effect, but it seems you barely remember it, the bad parts at least"

Sable was a bit surprised by that oddly satisfactory answer and just harrumphed and took another sip of coffee.

"We just cuddled up a bit in the woods for another hour before I brought her back. Happy?"

"Satisfied"

Zen took a sip, ignoring the image of Theia floating around in his coffee with a floatie.

"What next?"

"Next i got a room, dropped her in bed and..."

"And?"

"And.... watched her sleep the whole night"

"..."

"Okay, don’t look at me like I’m some sort of creep. You’re the one who put me on edge by saying she’d explode if i didn’t bite her. I had to watch to make sure nothing happened while she was out

Zen suddenly seemed to remember something pulling up an image from his watch.

Sable’s eyes widened. She barely stopped herself from jumping across the table to hide it. She quickly looked around but luckily no one was here at this time.

"Put that away,you monster!"

She whispered harshly.

Shrugging, Zen turned it off

"Fine, I’m a creep, but you’re an even bigger creep for taking photos"

Zen didn’t reply to that, asking .

"So? Did anything happen while she was asleep "

"Well... she glowed a few more times in her sleep. That made me really panic since I didn’t know if she was going to explode or not, and I didn’t want to bite her in her sleep for nothing, but luckily that’s all, nothing serious "

"That’s within expected parameters "

Sable rolled her eyes.

The two went quiet, silently with coffee that tasted bland to their evolved senses, and company that was probably both the best and worst,creating a simple ,cozy safe atmosphere they both enjoyed,or at least didn’t hate.

"So what about you?"

Sable suddenly asked, looking up from her cup.

"What did you three do last night"

"Grkraa"

"Sorry,you four "

Zen looked up out of the corner of his eye. Last night....

Flashback

[Evolution in 20...19...18...17-]

"Alright,prep time. Evo is in less than twenty seconds,so do everything I say quickly. Immediately refill your Astra and HP hurry, and during the evolution i want you to start eating as many crystals as you can until I tell you to stop, okay?."

Zen quickly took out the rest of his crystals, eating until his health and energy was restored. He no longer had to save so he wasn’t bothered with digging into his food supply.

Zen looked lazily at Victor who still couldn’t move,both from fear and his injuries.

He only had a few seconds,so he wondered if he should say something just to mess with the guy even more.

...

...

...

"You’re crazy"

It was unimaginative but it was the best he had.

[Beginning evolution]

"Good luck,big guy"

The second he heard that, Zen suddenly fell to his knees.

His left eye turned completely black, and his mutated eye started glowing with such uncontrollable intensity that it began to burn his blood and skull.

He felt his muscles tearing,skin ripping, bones breaking and reattaching,blood moving in ways it shouldn’t at a pressure it shouldn’t, his organs shifting in and out of place.

He suddenly reached out and grabbed a crystal, throwing it into his mouth.

He felt a hot sensation make it’s way down his throat and like he’d just swallowed lava, his insides burned up, releasing visible steam out of his pores.

"Keep going you got this! Just take as many as you can, don’t force it"

Zen suddenly took off his gloves, dropping them before grabbing two crystals at once.

He gave a request to Black and the parasite obliged, lifting another one with it’s tentacles and putting it into his mouth so he could absorb three at once using his mutation.

The feeling of fire and needles piercing through his body entered through his arms and mouth, all gathering at his chest, making the swelling feeling even more present

Once the crystals in his hands turned to dust, he repeated it again, absorbing three crystals at once.

Although he didn’t notice it, when the feeling of heat passed through his arms and mouth,it was visible from the outside too as a faint resplendent hue of multiple colors, and as they flashed across his skin,strange markings that looked like runes appeared faintly on his skin briefly.

This time he outright crushed the crystals in his hands.

His head suddenly raised a bit towards the sky and

"GRAAAAAH!!!!"

A loud roar suddenly escaped his jaws ,blowing dust ai every direction from the intensity.

He picked up another two and Black put one more in his mouth.

The sheen on his skin reappeared as the energy was absorbed but instead of completely disappearing,after he absorbed the energy,a bit of it stayed behind , illuminating his skin .

He repeated the process and it only got more visible over and over again until it completely replaced the original color of his skin.

His nails extended, eyes shifted,hair grew,skin stretching....as well as some... extra features.

Halfway through the evolution, Zen felt something wrong with his body,it felt like some bones were trying to force their way out of his body a little bit lower than between his shoulder blades.

He immediately felt and heard what sounded like a rip followed by the feeling of not being able to breathe.

The evolution seemed to pickup and get even faster . He could clearly hear the sounds of bones,his bones! Attaching, breaking and reattaching before he felt blood move next.

"K...k-hkk"

"Hey,Big guy, Big guy! Listen to me! Focus on my voice. This is THE most important part. I know it hurts,I know it burns, and I know you can’t breathe, but please for my sake,hang in there and push through"

Looking up, Zen steeled himself, letting out a shaky breath. He hadn’t let out a single sound throughout all this except for the first roar, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t in pain. It wasn’t even just pain. Something was happening to his mind as well . He reached forward and grabbed two more crystals, opening his mouth to receive the third.

Almost immediately, he felt the energy going directly to his back, and what followed was the feeling of hot acid being poured all over his back.

"Ghh"

Zen bit his tongue. He’d grown up in a cult/evil organization, was experimented on,tortured and bullied, and although this wasn’t the most pain he’d experienced in his life,it was excruciatingly high on the list.

That didn’t stop him though as he grabbed another two crystals and another in his mouth, giving himself another dose of pain. In his entire miserable life, this was the first time this mutation might actually have a defined use other than instilling fear and reminding him of how useless he was, he’d make sure to use it to the fullest.

That process took an amount of time Zen was far too preoccupied to tell. He just knew he ate a lot of crystals for that part.

After a while it stopped and Zen could feel a strange weight on his back as well as new nerves that weren’t there before.

"Is it done"

"Well-"

Before Theia could answer that , Zen got his answer.

"My eyes"

He said calmly despite his voice wracked with pain and what he was implying

"I’m blind"

What followed next was what he could only describe as his face getting mauled from the inside out, and it wasn’t just his skin, his skull felt like it was shifting slightly.

"I-can’t see"

"Just relax, this is the last leg. You’re almost done"

Zen briefly wondered if his first evolution was like this but he didn’t focus on that for too long, grabbing at the air.

"Black,i still need your help"

Two crystals dropped into his hands followed by another into his mouth, and just as he expected it was like stabbing needles into every corner of his face. He couldn’t even tell if he was bleeding or not.

More time passed like that before a notification suddenly appeared .

[Special class Evolution complete]

[Feature(s) successfully located]

[Evolution grade: Perfection]

[Failed to awaken bloodline]

[Host can now create a codex!]

"GRAAAAAH!!!!"

Zen suddenly got up from his knees ,a loud flapping sound reverberating.

Breathing heavily, Zen sighed, looking at his hand.

"That’s not normal"

He took a step and felt a weight on his back.

He looked behind him and saw a pair of black faintly glowing wings.

"That’s not normal"

"But it does explain that sound and the bones thing"

He moved them, flapping them around a bit.

"These things have nerves?"

He said, realizing he could clearly feel the cool evening breeze.

"Are these feathers or scales?"

He asked Theia looking at what covered his wings and was surprised when she said

"No clue"

"Huh?"

They were far too hard to be feathers and far too pliable to be scales.

He grabbed one of them and tried to pull them out, realizing that it was like trying to pull out his hair,it was possible but would be quite painful if he did.

"They do have nerves. But why do i need wings,i can already fly just fine"

"Yeah, and you’re terrible at it"

Theia said uncharacteristically harshly with a bluntness that Zen could do nothing about because she was right. Every time he tried he could barely stay still five centimeters above the ground for five seconds without shaking.

Maybe these would help.

He flapped them a bit trying to get a feel for them since he was probably stuck with these permanently.

"How am i gonna hide these at the academy?"

As soon as he said that, he felt an itch in his back as his wings suddenly relaxed, going limp and pliant against his body.

He didn’t even really react to that, he’d done it himself,it was a reflex, just like swallow or breathing,it was just something his body could do.

"Hmmm"

He jumped a bit and they stayed pressed against him.

"Hmm,my hoodies are pretty baggy. If i wear one over all my clothes it shouldn’t be too visible, and even if someone notices a weird bump in my clothes,what are they gonna do? Maybe I should get a coat too?"

"You’re taller Einstein, you’re going to need bigger hoodies"

Zen looked down at his feet and realized the ground really had gotten a bit farther away.

Luckily his academy uniform was built to stretch so it had mostly survived his evolution,at least except for the damage done by his wings.

He suddenly noticed victor who was standing in front of him , looking like he was staring at a monster, which, honestly Zen agreed with him, his current form was... interesting, and he could say that without having seen his face.

"H-h-h-h-h...y-y-y-y"

"Damn, he’s shook. He’s talking in stereo"

Zen took a deep breath and closed his eyes to clear his head, but when he opened his eyes he noticed something.

"Hmm?"

He blinked.

He suddenly brought a hand to his face, rubbing it all over his face. He had to be sure.

"One,two,th-... Theia,why do i have more than two eyes?"

His hands moved higher and he felt a sharp bump almost completely covered by his hair

"And a horn?"

"Hehe, suprise! Those are your features "

Zen honestly didn’t have time to bother with Theia. He wasn’t exactly put off by them, just surprised. He also wanted to know if he could still transform back since unlike the wings, this couldn’t be hidden with clothes.

Looking at his hair he even noticed that some of the tips had turned slightly grey and white.

"P-please spare me! Spare my life!"

Victor dropped to his knees despite his injuries.

"I swear I’ll do whatever you say! Y-you can take all these!"

He said, gesturing to the crystals, already knowing what he would use them for.

"If you want I’ll help you find more. I’ll become your willing servant, I’ll even tell you where you can find Keith "

The figure that looked like a mix between an angel and a demon slowly approached him, dropping to one knee but still easily towering over him.

"That’s good, very good. I accept "

A shadow of a smile appeared on victor’s face but disappeared as quickly when he heard.

"But...i want one more thing from you"

Victor looked into the abyss that was Zen’s eye, the white ring reflecting in his own eye

"Anything, anything at all"

"I want..."

Zen suddenly raised his hand, stretching it out like he wanted a handshake.

Victor looked at the hand, knowing what Zen wanted but feeling every fiber of his being telling him not to.

As soon as he finished that thought, Zen’s already monstrous hand burst into pitch black flames .

"Your soul"

Flashback end

"Oh come on,i gossiped about my night,tell me yours"

Sable said excitedly

"I know you did something interesting"

She said with a knowing smile

"I know YOU"

She said, poking his chest lightly.

" I had a rather relaxing evening"

"Oh come on man, seriously. Tell meeee. I’ll bother you about it forever if you don’t, even after we get back to school "

Zen thought about it for a second and decided to tell her everything except the evolution, mostly because she wouldn’t understand that.

She already knew he wasn’t human, and neither was she for that matter

"Well..."