Noah sat motionless behind his desk for several minutes.
The laboratory was bathed in the pale morning light.
The test tubes, notebooks, and scattered crystal fragments on the table seemed to belong to another world.
Or rather…
The old world.
Because the one he saw now was no longer the same.
He took a deep breath.
Then activated his second node.
Instantly, a familiar warmth climbed up his spine.
His pupils tinged with red and gold.
The world changed.
The walls were no longer just walls.
Thousands of luminous lines ran across their surface.
Patterns.
Structures.
Symbols.
Runes.
Some vanished before he could even observe them.
Others remained stable.
As if they were carved into reality itself.
“Third Eye…”
The name seemed fitting.
This ability didn’t just improve his vision.
It allowed him to observe something that had always existed.
Something ordinary eyes were incapable of perceiving.
Noah picked up a leaf of mutated comfrey.
He observed it closely.
Luminous filaments circulated through its plant tissues.
They followed precise trajectories.
Like blood in veins.
Like electricity in a circuit.
As if the plant possessed an invisible anatomy.
An astral anatomy.
‘Incredible.’
The energy didn’t circulate randomly.
Every flow followed a pattern.
A logic.
A structure.
A language.
Runes appeared at certain points of convergence.
They seemed to emerge naturally from the energy circulation.
Like organs.
Like specialized cells.
Noah frowned.
Since the Great Radiance, scientists had tried to understand the origin of Astra.
They had formulated hundreds of theories.
None truly explained how it worked.
And he…
He felt like he was looking directly into the guts of the phenomenon.
His heart rate spiked.
He grabbed a notebook.
Then started drawing lines symbols diagrams hypotheses.
Minutes ticked by.
Then hours.
When he finally looked up, the light outside had changed.
Noah blinked.
A dull migraine throbbed behind his temples.
He immediately deactivated the Third Eye.
The world resumed its normal appearance.
Or almost.
Because he now knew that this appearance was nothing but an illusion.
A superficial layer.
A skin covering something much deeper.
“I’m starting to understand…”
His voice echoed in the silence.
“Even plants possess their own energetic language.”
His gaze fell on a lab cage.
The rats used for his experiments were moving lazily.
Noah hesitated.
Then activated his node again.
This time, he observed the animals.
The effect was immediate.
The energy flow running through their bodies was infinitely more complex.
Thousands of branches.
Hundreds of runes.
Some were born.
Others vanished.
Others still seemed to transform continuously.
Noah leaned in closer.
The structures became clearer.
More detailed.
Then suddenly…
The world exploded.
An avalanche of information invaded his mind.
Every rune contained other runes.
Every symbol seemed composed of thousands of smaller elements.
Like fractals.
Like a universe contained within another universe.
Then another.
Then yet another.
Noah felt his breathing accelerate.
His heart was beating too fast. This story is hosted at g.com.
He saw everything and understood nothing.
Data.
Patterns.
Connections.
An infinity of connections.
As if the entire universe were woven from a gigantic invisible web.
A web he had only just discovered.
“Stop…”
He immediately cut off the ability.
The lab became normal again.
Noah remained motionless.
Cold sweat covered his forehead.
‘I almost lost myself.’
The thought made him shiver.
Observing intently a simple rat had been enough to drown him in an ocean of information.
What would happen if he observed intently a powerful Ascendant?
A Guardian?
A high-rank crystal?
He wasn’t ready.
Not yet.
He massaged his temples.
A dull pain persisted.
But behind that pain hid something else.
Excitement.
An almost childlike excitement.
‘I just discovered an entire continent.’
He burst out laughing alone.
As usual.
The greatest discoveries were rarely shared.
The next two days vanished almost entirely.
Noah worked.
Observed.
Noted.
Deduced.
Slept little.
Ate little.
The Third Eye revealed new things to him with every use.
He now understood why some Ascendants became obsessed with their abilities.
Power wasn’t just useful.
It was fascinating.
Dangerously fascinating.
Yet, another reality eventually caught up with him.
A much less romantic reality.
Noah opened his banking app.
Then remained silent.
For a long time.
A very long time.
“…Shit.”
The word slipped out naturally.
His account was almost empty.
The crystal bought on the black market had swallowed a large part of his savings.
The mutated plants.
The chemicals.
The lab rats.
The equipment.
Everything cost money.
A lot of money.
He sank into his chair.
‘Every discovery makes me poorer.’
The realization was almost comical.
His research was progressing at an exceptional speed.
His financial situation was following the exact opposite direction.
He looked up at the ceiling.
‘I developed a healing potion.’
‘I reached the second node.’
‘I discovered a new way to observe Astra.’
‘And yet I’m unable to buy the next crystal I need.’
The contradiction was absurd.
His cell phone rested on the desk.
Noah considered several solutions.
Publishing his research.
Impossible.
The university would take a cut of the rights.
Selling his potions.
Even worse.
The memory of Victor and Fred immediately came back to him.
The black market was not an environment for someone like him.
He had no protection.
No influence.
No power.
Only a brain.
And brains alone often attracted predators.
A sigh escaped him.
The equation was running in a loop.
To become stronger, he needed money.
To get money, he had to exploit his discoveries.
To exploit his discoveries, he had to become stronger.
A perfect vicious cycle.
Bzzzz.
His phone vibrated.
Noah looked down.
Angel.
A smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
[Angel: Bro, how are you?]
Noah typed quickly.
[Noah: I’m surviving.]
A few seconds later:
[Angel: Good thing.
Me too.]
Noah burst out laughing.
[Angel: Are you free?]
Noah thought about it.
The lab wasn’t going to disappear.
His financial problems either.
[Noah: Yes.]
[Angel: Hyde Park in an hour?]
Noah stared at the screen.
Then simply replied:
[Noah: I’m on my way.]
…
An hour later.
Hyde Park.
The sun was slowly declining.
Families were still enjoying the last rays of light.
Joggers ran along the paths.
Children played near the ponds.
Noah was sitting on a bench and observing.
The Third Eye was active.
The entire park was glowing.
The trees possessed their own energy networks.
Birds left faint luminous trails behind them.
Even the wind seemed to carry fragments of runes.
The sight was hypnotic.
Then a familiar presence entered his field of vision.
Noah looked up.
Angel was approaching and immediately something caught his attention.
Angel’s energy flow was different.
Much denser.
Much more stable.
Three luminous structures glowed within his head.
Three cores.
Three energy centers.
Three nodes.
‘I knew it.’
A quiet satisfaction passed through Noah.
Since the Black Lion incident, he had harbored suspicions.
The Third Eye had just confirmed them.
Angel stopped in front of him.
“Yo.”
Noah continued to observe him.
Runes circulated around him with remarkable fluidity.
As if his body were perfectly adapted to Astra.
Angel frowned.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Noah realized he had remained silent for too long.
“Are you okay?”
Angel sat down next to him.
“And your eyes?
They look weird”
‘Shit.
I should have kept my glasses.
I thought I wouldn’t need them anymore since I see much better, but they would be quite useful to hide my eyes when I use the third eye.’
Noah immediately deactivated his ability.
The red and gold tint disappeared.
“It’s nothing serious.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
A silence settled in.
Then Noah decided to abandon all caution.
He looked at his friend.
Right in the eyes.
“Angel.”
“Hm?”
“You’re an Ascendant, aren’t you?”
Angel didn’t seem surprised.
Not in the slightest.
A small smile appeared on his face.
As if he had been waiting for this question for a long time.
“I was wondering when you’d finally ask it.”
Noah didn’t answer.
Angel sighed then nodded.
“Yes.”
His smile widened slightly.
“I am an Ascendant.”
The wind blew through the trees.
The leaves rustled softly.
Then Angel continued:
“And so are you.”
This time, it was Noah who smiled.
“Yes.”
For the first time in a long while, he felt like he was no longer completely alone.
And something told him this conversation was going to change much more than he imagined.