A gift

Early in the morning, some light began to enter through the bedroom window, illuminating Nathan's face, who suddenly opened his eyes and lifted his torso while panting heavily.

'Nathan!' Amelia called out to him in a concerned tone as she saw him get up. 

Nathan remained dazed as he finished waking up, then raised his hands and stared at them, ignoring Amelia's continuous calls.

'What happened?'

For someone whose lifestyle was to fight and survive, Nathan knew his own body almost perfectly, so in a single instant he became aware of the changes within himself.

Opening and closing his hand repeatedly, Nathan felt lighter yet stronger, and above all, his essence felt more refined than before.

'Did I?'

'Nathan!' Amelia called out to him again, then this time Nathan shivered slightly as he heard Amelia inside his head and turned his attention to her.

'Ah, sorry... I... I think I'm now a third category'

'What?!' Amelia replied in surprise as it was the last thing she expected to hear.

'Yeah... well, I'm not sure. I'm going to give you essence, tell me what you feel'

Without giving her time to react, Nathan gave her some of his essence, who fell silent as soon as she felt his essence reach her.

'So, what do you think?'

'It's... Hmmm, more delicious?'

Nathan smiled wryly and then closed his eyes to meditate, feeling his essence flowing through his body.

When Nathan went from first category to second category, he didn't feel anything, but this time it was different. He did not know if this was common, but he was a little excited knowing that he had reached a next level.

Even so, the increase was only physical and in its essence, nothing else had changed. On the other hand, Nathan suddenly felt like having a confrontation with Syril.

It was then that he turned pale and remembered the call he had had with her last night. He picked up his cell phone and when he saw the time he paled even more.

"Shit, I'm late!"

Quickly getting out of bed, Nathan got dressed and grabbed his things before standing in front of the room, then he stopped and looked at the book on the desk table.

"Tch"

Hesitating for a couple of seconds, Nathan decided to take the book with him by tucking it under his coat where he already kept his mask.

Finally, Nathan left his room and soon after the hotel where he was staying. A little more than half an hour later, he arrived at a large building in the eastern part of the city.

This was supposed to be the address Syril gave him, but Nathan could only see civilians going in and out of the building.

'Are you sure this is the place?' asked Amelia just as confused as he was.

'Not sure--' Nathan fell silent as soon as he saw a familiar face.

'Maya...'

Since they had returned from the swamp, they hadn't had much contact again. They happened to see each other from time to time at Khan's facility, but they didn't speak.

Other than Syril, Maya was one of the only people who had seen his face, yet she never said anything. Perhaps she felt indebted for him as he saved her from the blood ogre, or she simply had a kind heart, but Nathan would never forget that she knew his secret.

She walked quietly into the building as if she was used to it, then Nathan decided to follow her silently while he wrote to Syril that he had already arrived.

Maya walked to the back of the building, passing through security, and showing some kind of identification, so Nathan had to stop, not knowing what to do with the guards in front of him.

Watching as Maya disappeared down a corridor, Nathan clicked his tongue and began to wait. A few minutes later, Syril appeared from inside where Maya had gone, so he looked around for him, then saw him and approached with a serious face.

'She's still upset'

'She's still upset'

Amelia and Nathan thought at the same time as they watched her approach. As soon as she got in front of him, Syril frowned and looked him up and down.

"You... When did you move up to third category?"

Nathan's eyes widened slightly as he had completely forgotten since he was running late. It was supposed to be something very important to him, still, he completely forgot.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Nathan nodded.

"This morning... I guess"

Syril gaped slightly uncomprehendingly, then sighed and turned to go back the way she had come back.

"Just... follow me"

Nathan nodded and they both passed through security without much trouble, even the guards bowed to Syril respectfully. 

Soon after, they reached an elevator and Syril marked one of the higher floors before crossing her arms and closing her eyes, still being definitely annoyed.

Nathan sighed and took the mask from inside his coat before putting it on, then looked at Syril and handed him a plastic bag he was carrying.

Syril noticed and opened his eyes to look at the bag.

"What is it?"

"A gift"

Syril frowned slightly without actually taking the bag, leaving Nathan with his hand outstretched.

"What kind of gift?"

"Your favorite"

Still frowning, Syril slowly took the bag and looked inside, then his eyes glittered slightly before returning to normal.

Turning away from looking at the contents, Syril coughed slightly and turned her head away from looking at him.

"It's not enough for me to forgive you"

Nathan chuckled inwardly as Amelia sighed watching Syril's performance.

"What more do you want?"

Syril turned and looked at him, but this time he had a tremendously serious expression on his face.

"Whatever you hear in a few minutes, don't react, and more importantly don't argue"

Nathan was surprised by the sudden change in the conversation, then he couldn't help but be curious.

"What are we supposed to talk about?"

Syril was silent for a couple of seconds, then as soon as the elevator doors opened, she looked back at Nathan.

"Of the elimination of the Aeterna family"