Results and Consequences

As soon as the woman began gathering Nexo energy, she became increasingly apprehensive. She wasn't sure if they were still there, as the unknown boy's ability could still be teleportation.

The idea of destroying the location was that she could still lie to her boss saying that she killed them.

As the masked woman started activating her explosive ability, she was interrupted by the sudden appearance of the boy who had previously thwarted her plans. He appeared in front of her and charged with his left fist wrapped in dark energy.

Facing him head-on, the woman raised her spleen and stared him in the eye.

"Absolute Inexistence!" Declared the boy, punching the woman's big red energy.

As both energies collided, the woman felt a shock run through her body as her ability began to fail. Her red energy was completely nullified by the boy's black energy, and gradually she faded away into the air as if she had never existed. The woman tried to compose herself, but knew she was at a disadvantage now that her ability had been nullified.

Her plans were thwarted again, and her eyes filled with fury. She began gathering energy at the tips of her fingers and pointed at the boy who started to step back.

"I'll kill you!" she shouted in fury as she watched the boy smile.

"I don't think so," he replied running to the side.

But when she tried to activate her ability, the temperature mysteriously dropped. Being the day of Darya's ceremony, it was impossible to know what her ability was.

So she was surprised when she heard a feminine and resentful voice say: "Whispers of the Desolate Cold."

The energy in her body exploded with full force. The air around her began to freeze quickly, forming ice crystals everywhere. The woman tried to resist, but was enveloped by the icy energy emanating from Darya.

The temperature dropped drastically, turning the hall into a frozen landscape. The woman struggled to break free from the ice that began to form around her, but Darya's energy was relentless and continued to expand.

The icy energy continued to grow, and soon spread outside the hall, turning the debris and some of the stairs into ice.

The woman had no choice but to surrender to the power of Darya's ability, and was frozen in place. She became a statue of ice, immobile and unable to move.

Darya looked around, admiring the power of her ability. She didn't know she was capable of creating and controlling cold at such impressive levels.

"Did I... do this?" She wondered mentally, disbelief etched in her eyes.

"Yes, you did." She heard her partner's voice as he punched the ice that froze her feet. "You saved us."

"But I wouldn't have been able to do it without you," Darya replied, raising her hands and dissipating the ice that had trapped her.

"Tsk," he smiled in response, staggering forward.

Seeing her savior about to fall, Darya ran and caught him before he could hit the ground.

"I guess we're even now," he declared, before losing consciousness in her arms.

Darya held him firmly, feeling a wave of relief for having saved him. "You need to rest now," she said softly.

"Yes, thank you for being here," he murmured before taking a long sigh. Darya held him for a moment, looking at her partner's calm face. She knew there was still much work to be done, but for now, they were safe.

****

The first time I opened my eyes, I was greeted by a smooth white ceiling that looked more like a wall in the hall where the awakening happened.

If it hadn't been destroyed, I'd guess it was still there.

Suddenly, an interface appeared over my eyes, causing them to sting slightly.

[The suggestion 'Survive' has been completed.]

[Auto-suggestion deactivated.]

Then, a wave of pain began to sweep through my head as if I had just slammed into a wall with force.

"Argh! Damn." It felt like my head was going to explode at any moment.

I grabbed my head with my hands and closed my eyes, trying to block out the pain. It was as if a thousand needles were piercing my brain. I screamed, but there was no one there to help me.

The pain was so strong it felt like I was drugged, my body shaking and I couldn't move. I lay there, agonizing, for what seemed like an endless time. When the pain finally started to subside, I felt exhausted and empty.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked up at the smooth white ceiling. I was still there, alive, but everything felt different. The interface that appeared before had disappeared, but something had changed in me. I didn't know what it was, but I felt like nothing would be the same.

"What was that?" I whispered, scared.

"What an interesting reaction." A female voice echoed in the room.

I turned to see an older woman sitting in a chair, silently staring at me. Her white hair was short and her eyes behind her glasses shone as if carrying a laser.

"You suddenly consumed your mental energy." She stood up and began walking towards my bed. "It's not possible to use mental energy outside the Mental Palace. What you felt are the consequences of trying to use it."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Eva, the doctor in charge of taking care of you," she replied as she approached and placed her hands on my head. Suddenly, her hands began to glow and a feeling of lightness began to take over me.

"I don't know what happened to you, but you seem to have exceeded the limits of your body," she continued, examining my body with her eyes. "There are many aftereffects, your energy nexus is disorderly, your energy channels are swollen, and your nexus is damaged."

"What is the severity of this?" I asked, afraid of what I might hear. I had just discovered a world of possibilities of what I could do, but if I had irreversibly damaged my body, it could be fatal.

"That depends." Her eyes changed color and I felt energy invade my body, starting to improve everything. "Your mental energy is difficult to measure, no one has ever tried to do what you did."

"Never?"

"Never." She adjusted her glasses over her bright eyes and sighed. "In addition, your energy channels are healing at the moment and your nexus energy can stabilize with an energy technique. The problem is your damaged nexus."

"But what are the consequences of that?" I asked, my voice faltering a bit.

With a lump in my throat, I began to feel my heart race. The possibilities of what could happen if I had caused any permanent damage to myself were terrifying. I felt intense fear taking hold of me as I waited for Eva's answer.

Eva sighed, looking remorseful. "The stronger and more skilled you become, the larger your nexus grows, and the stronger you become. You used advanced techniques that you normally wouldn't be able to use, the problem is that somehow, you forced this growth."

She stopped healing me and took off her glasses to clean them while sighing. "I won't judge you or ask how you did it, you survived and I would do the same." She put her glasses back on. "Your nexus grew exponentially. I say with certainty, of all the nexus I've analyzed, at your age, yours is the largest, and I'll go further, even among some adults, yours still remains the largest, the problem is..."

"That theirs will continue to grow, while mine will stay this size forever." I interrupted her, understanding what it was about.

A silence lingered in the room as I tasted a bitter taste in my mouth.

The price I paid was too high, maybe more than it was worth. If the original Kian were in my place, what would he do?

How would he survive?

"I'm sorry..." Eva sighed again, looking even more remorseful. "I understand that you're scared and desperate right now, but it's important that you know the consequences of what happened. Your nexus grew very quickly and reached a maximum size. Unfortunately, it can't grow any larger than that and it limits your potential."

I felt a shiver run through my body and a sense of anguish took hold of me. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Everything I had achieved, all the dreams and plans I had for the future, now seemed so distant and unattainable.

"But still, you are very strong and there are many things you can do with that strength. You can be an incredible warrior, a protector, a leader, an example to all those around you. It's important that you don't give up and continue to train and improve your skills."

I nodded, trying to absorb everything she was saying. It was hard to accept that I had reached my limit so early in my journey. But at the same time, I knew I couldn't give up now.

"Thank you, Eva." I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I understand what you're saying. I will continue to train and fight for what I believe, even if my nexus can't grow anymore."

Eva nodded, looking satisfied with my response. "I knew you would be strong enough to handle this. Now, let's continue working on your nexo energy and find ways to stabilize it. There's much to be done and little time to waste."