The Haber Realm II

"Is this going to hurt?" Jordan suddenly felt the need to ask, bracing himself for the worst.

"Yes," they all chorused.

Jordan got a bit nervous, but he wasn't the slightest afraid.

"Pain worse than you can possibly imagine," Nick added casually with a wink of an eye.

That should've been enough to tear Jordan apart, but on the contrary, his heartbeat only spiked. He took deep breaths to calm himself as the countdown continued.

'No matter what happens, I will survive this,' Jordan thought to himself, fisting his hands and clenching his teeth. The expression on his face was firm. He had come this far and nothing was going to make him give up.

3…2…1!

The loud quaking roar that came from the machine resounded across the lab for a few seconds. Then the sirens went silent as the machine got back to its steady state. Ella heaved a sigh of relief when she saw the positive blue light surrounding the pod.

"Mind Transportation Sucessful," came the announcement from the Central computer.

Jordan lay still in the pod, completely unconscious.

"L.I.A.M Status report!" Nick said out loud.

"Subject is stable, Sir. Mana Corruption levels at 0.9%" replied the Artificial intelligence with its friendly male voice

"Jordan? Jordan? Can you hear me?"

Nick tried communicating with Jordan but he didn't get a response.

"Something's wrong, Nicholas. Why isn't he responding?" Klint asked from behind Nick.

He was obviously worried for Jordan. After all, not every Human was designed to go into the Haber Realm; Not everyone can withstand its horrors and Jordan was just a kid.

"Be patient," was all that came from Nick's mouth. He didn't have an ounce of doubt in Jordan. He continued to stare intently at his face. "Come on Jay. Wake up!"

Nick clapped his hands loudly and Jordan's eyes opened. He took a deep breath in, shocked at seeing his new surroundings. He was lying face-up on a field of soft green grass. Unlike Earth, the sky above him wasn't purple. It was a clear shade of blue. The yellow sun shone brightly in the sky.

"I'm in Sir. I think I'm in." Jordan struggled to say.

In a few seconds, Jordan's breathing normalized. No matter how much he tried to get up, he couldn't. His body was a hundred times heavier than normal.

"Good," Nick replied from the lab. "What do you see?"

"I'm in a large grass field. From what I can see, it doesn't seem to have an end," Jordan turned his head left to right.

"That's good. Now tell me, what color is the sky?" Nick asked again, crossing his arms. Since Jordan was only bonded telepathically to Nick, the other scientists couldn't make out on what was going on with Jordan.

"Blue. It's actually blue," Jordan answered again. "Why can't I move? My body feels so heavy."

"That's good. Right now, the pain and locomotive receptors in your brain have been disabled. I'm going to enable them now. Brace yourself, boy. The pain starts now!" Nick turned to Mira and nodded. She hurried to one of the computers connected to the pod-machine {Haber Realm Transporter} and pressed a key on the keyboard.

For the next few minutes, Nick had to reduce the volume of the telepathic bond. The instant Mira pressed that key, Jordan felt pain like never before. He felt like he was lit on fire, his head began to ache him like never before and the longer the pain lasted, the greater its intensity. He was screaming at the top of his voice unable to handle the immense physical pain he was experiencing. After the feeling of being burnt alive came the bone-crushing torment.

Imagine each bone in your body breaking at the same time, rejoining, and then breaking all over again.

Tears of blood streamed down Jordan's eyes. He wasn't expecting the pain to be this extreme and unending.

"Nicholas shut the machine down. You're going to kill him," Klint begged watching as the pin on a meter connected to the machine rose from 0 to 25. Jordan's pain was being measured by the machine. If it crosses the 100% mark, Jordan would die. Klint wasn't keen on taking that risk as he didn't even expect a kid like Jordan to be able to endure till even 50% when the machine could use its Cooling Effect on Jordan to ease the pain.

"That's it, Jay. Bear the pain. Be strong." Nick completely ignored Klint's words. All his attention was on the meter.

Considering Jordan's physique, he didn't even expect Jordan to last 10% without having a mental meltdown and falling into a state of coma. While Jordan continued to suffer the ordeals of the Haber Realm, the scientists were doing all they could to hasten the Cooling Effect of the machine.

From the bone-crushing torments to the body-stretching displeasure, Jordan held on to his resolve. He screamed as loud as he needed to to overcome the pain, so much so that his voice box should've exploded. He couldn't think of anything other than enduring the pain. Jordan believed the scientists weren't just going to let it kill him.

33%

41%

45%

49%

After a full hour of physical torture, the meter got to 50%. Jordan had successfully endured half the amount of pain the cells in the human body could withstand. Just as he began to feel lightheaded and called to slumber, he heard Nick call out to him.

"Good job, kid! Good Job!"

The blue light from the machine changed to a bright green.

"Commencing advanced Healing protocols," announced the artificial intelligence Program, L.I.A.M.

Just as suddenly as the pain had begun, it ended and every damage it had done to Jordan's mind was being repaired. Jordan heaved a sigh of relief as he felt the pain go away. He was shaking profusely on the ground.

'So this is what I have to go through to become a Mage?' he thought to himself.

"How are you feeling now, Jay?" Nick reached out to him. "Can you move now?"

Jordan remained silent for a few minutes. He wasn't sure what to say. There was a part of him that wanted so badly to turn back. He had gotten a taste of Hell-like pain and if this was the price to become an awakened Mage, he was beginning to have doubts if it was really worth it. But there was a bigger part of him that held on to his resolve to become a Mage. There and then, he destroyed the weaker part that was afraid.

'No matter the cost,' he reminded himself, 'I will become the strongest Mage on Earth and avenge my family and end this accursed war!!'

His body stopped shaking and he lifted his head from the ground. Next his chest, hands, and then his legs until he was standing firmly on his feet. He observed his body and realized he was wearing a simple red T-shirt over a pair of black jean trousers with a flashy snicker worn on his feet; Nothing he owned.

"Answer me, Jordan! Can you move? Are you alright?" Nick repeated with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"The pains have stopped. What now? All I see is grass. What am I supposed to do?" Jordan took a 360-degree turn around and all he could see was the green fields.

Everything was as real as it looked like he was actually in another world.

"Do you see a tower? It should have the same design as the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Do you see it?"

"I told you. There's nothing here but grass," Jordan tried to keep his tone respectful even though he was starting to get frustrated.

"Good. Now check the left front pocket of your trousers. There should be a small dagger in it," Nick directed, getting up from the chair he had been sitting on for the past hour.

Jordan did as he was told. Surprisingly, he found the small dagger Nick spoke of. He was confused as to how Nick knew it was there.

"What should I do with the dagger?" Jordan questioned, examining the shiny sharp object in his hand. It was a plain steel dagger with a wooden handle. Nothing seemed special about it.

"Listen carefully, Jay. I want you to take the dagger to your chest and drive it through your heart."

On hearing those words, Jordan released the dagger from his grip allowing it to fall to the ground.

"You want me to do what??"

**

A/N: What a chapter...