Chapter XIV: Cintracies (Pt.3)

 Tymon just finished signing the twenty-seventh and final document of his registration process.

 Most of the papers were stuff about being held accountable if he were to kill someone, not hurting the company's image, and not working with the other family branches before the year 3126.

 Now, he was holding something called an energy quantifier that was supposed to measure how much spirit energy he had.

 After about thirty seconds, a holo-screen appeared above the device. It read:

 Tymon Kage: Supreme Primordial Death

 EQN: 1,131,000

 Potential: 11,310,000

 "What does it mean by 'potential,'" Tymon asked.

 "Every Primordial has another version of themselves – like a form they can use – that allows them to access their full power. It's referred to as your hybrid form," Mr. Heart informs Tymon.

 He leads Tymon to a wall with a painting of a massive white bird-like creature hanging on it. Above it was a plaque that said, "The Healing Phoenix".

 "The phoenix represents Life's eternal healing nature," Mr. Heart said as he rubbed the frame of the painting.

 Down the wall were more spaces, but they had empty canvases instead of a painting. On the floor beneath each canvas was a small pedestal with a ribboned box placed on them.

 Next to the phoenix painting was an empty canvas with a plaque that said, "The Reaping Wolf". Tymon looked down and touched the box placed on the pedestal.

 "Take it," Mr. Heart said while smiling. "Those are special garments woven specifically for each Primordial."

 Tymon lifted the lid on the box to see inside. He was amazed at the fabric. It looked light and as if it would easily be torn, but he could feel how tough its material was when he touched it.

 While examining it with his hands, Tymon sensed something odd about the clothes.

 "You were right about them being special," Tymon said.

 Mr. Heart's eyes lit up.

 "You can sense it, huh? They're made from cindium – the same alloy Trik's made of – and liquidated PRP to help protect you against other's spirit energy."

 "Cindium?" Tymon inquired.

 "It's a mineral that, for a time, PRP would be found embedded in. It's harder than any element on the periodic table and has the capabilities to harness, redistribute, and reflect energy. Now that we know Viraa created it, I'm almost certain it's something from the world she's from."

 Mr. Heart caught himself drifting off, probably thinking of the possibilities that could be had there.

 "Take a look at my wife," Mr. Heart blurted.

 That caught Tymon by surprise.

 "Uh...what?"

 Mr. Heart grabbed Tymon by the shoulders and turned him toward his wife.

 "Look closely at her chest," he instructed.

 Mr. Heart pointed at his wife's chest.

 "See the pendant hanging there? That's the only piece of virgin cindium remaining," Mr. Heart said.

 Tymon was starting to think Mr. Heart spent more time with his inventions at work than he did with real people. Mr. Heart's social skills were worse than his. Apparently, he had no sense of boundaries.

 Tymon looked down at the box in his hands.

 Cindium, huh? He thought to himself.

 He stored the box inside his black spatial bag for later. For now, he needed to learn more about this hybrid form.

 "How can I change into my hybrid form," he asked Mr. Heart.

 Mr. Heart's eyebrows knit together as he rubbed his hand through his hair.

 "We still haven't been able to figure out precisely how that works," he answered. "With our limited knowledge about you, we've only been able to teach you all how to utilize your spirit energy more efficiently. Information becomes even more scarce when it comes to your hybrid forms or ability manifestations. The most we've gathered is that it requires you to pull energy from the marks each of you has."

 "You mean this thing?" Tymon lifted his shirt sleeve to reveal a dark marking on his right shoulder. The mark's symbol was an open ring of what could be described as black flames of darkness with a dark circle in its center.

 "Viraa says they're called ascension marks," Alissia said suddenly. She was walking toward them.

 When she got closer, she looked closer at the marking.

 "It kinda looks like a tattoo, doesn't it," she said.

 Suddenly Viraa's voice came from Alissia's bracelet.

 "That marking is much more important than a tattoo. It serves as a mark of identification that will allow you to enter your hybrid form, making you exponentially stronger, faster, and more powerful. As Mr. Heart has mentioned, each Primordial has one," she said.

 Tymon used the energy quantifier again.

 "From the looks of this, my hybrid form will make me ten times as powerful," he said in amazement.

 No wonder humans view us as gods.

 Viraa enlightened them in detail about how much a Primordial's body changes after entering their hybrid forms. According to her, while each mark grants the Primordial a boost in their physical and spiritual capabilities, it will also change their appearance into a hybrid state of themselves and a random creature Viraa could transform into. For example, Michael has a hybrid form of a white-feathered phoenix. She says that while in this state, their power is decupled, their strength doubles, and their speed triples. Their projection speed is only increased slightly, but it will still allow them to fly at a much greater velocity than before.

 "Right, Trik mentioned flying before...." Tymon said out loud.

 "Excuse me," Mr. Heart said. "Viraa, something you just said implies something I'm dying to have confirmed. Before, you mentioned needing to thoroughly study and familiarize yourself with a creature before being able to transform into it. Then, you just informed us that each Primordial's hybrid state is from one of many creatures you can become. This insinuates that, along with the creatures of the other Primordials, you have imprinted on a living phoenix at some point in your life, correct? Please, would you mind sharing that memory with us?"

 "I will not. Just as an ant's brain cannot process as much as a human's brain, a human's brain cannot process as much as one of my kind. Showing you another world through my eyes would overload your brain and leave you catatonic. What you saw in my memory when I first arrived on Earth was nothing compared to most of the worlds I have seen."

 Mr. Heart took a step back, looking disappointed.

 "You're right. I hadn't thought of that," he said wistfully.

 Tymon placed his hand on Mr. Heart's shoulder.

 "Hey, cheer up. How about once I learn how to enter my hybrid form, I show it to you? That way, you can add it to your wall."

 "That would be wonderful," he responded cheerfully. "Though we'd have to be careful. Humans can't survive the energy released from a Primordial in their hybrid form. The painting of the phoenix is an idea of what the phoenix would look like after the Sadio family used a camera to watch Michael transform from a distance. That's also why we have no information about your capabilities while in your hybrid state. Things tend to be destroyed."

 "Speaking of which, Dear, shouldn't we be testing his current capabilities," said Mrs. Heart from her desk.

 "Ah! That's right! Let's get that completed then your training officially starts. Follow me."

 As Tymon followed Alissia and her dad, he watched as they interacted joyfully. They were smiling as they told each other about stuff that had happened while they were away.

 Everything faded to the background as memories of the man he considered his dad played in his head. When he inevitably reached memories he'd rather forget, he felt a hot tear roll down his cheek. As he quickly wiped the tear away, his senses refocused on his surroundings, picking up the end of their conversation.

 "Sweetheart, if you want to remodel your bathroom, you've earned it. Send me the customizations, and we'll have modifications begin immediately," Tymon heard Mr. Heart tell Alissia.

 After that, Alissia said she was too excited and would be back after the test. Then, she was gone, and it was just Tymon and Mr. Heart standing before a white door.