Chapter 6

A week had passed since my detention started. I was having breakfast with Mom when a piece of news caught my attention.

"In an old warehouse in the southern part of the city, police discovered a facility suspected of producing the drug known as Fulgor, named for its characteristic bright pink color. The police, along with several heroes from various city agencies, led by Titan Strike, launched a surprise attack on the warehouse, only to discover that it was a trap. A large number of heroes and special police units were caught off guard by a massive explosion. Although there were survivors, many were lost, and a follow-up surprise attack on the units outside the warehouse resulted in a total of 78 deaths out of the roughly 130 participants in this operation. We now turn to an interview with the hero Pulse, who had to endure this tragedy on his very first day as a professional hero..."

"This city is becoming more dangerous by the day..." Mom lamented, with a look I couldn't quite decipher but seemed... angry?

"Maybe I should've chosen a different city to live in," she said, annoyance clear in her voice.

"But if we lived in another city, I wouldn't get to see Selphira!" I complained.

"Yes, sweetie, I know. And by the way, how are your preparations for your apology going?" she asked, changing the subject and making me smile at the thought of the apology.

"I'm almost done! I just need to absorb the crystals, and then I'll be ready to apologize."

"Yes... I still don't know how you convinced me to let you absorb more crystals."

"Because I'm cute," I said with a grin.

She smiled and said, "Yes, you sure are, my little narcissist."

...

"Do you really have to be here, Mom?" I groaned.

"I know you've absorbed crystals before, sweetie, but you're still very young, so I'm just making sure everything goes smoothly."

"Fiiine," I said, dragging out the word.

I picked up the AEC (Absorption of Epsilon Crystals) device, placed the crystal behind the pistol-like object, pressed it against my arm, and pulled the trigger.

In that moment, I felt a cold sensation spread through my arm, but then it was replaced by a warm liquid feeling that flowed through my arm and then my whole body. Eventually, the sensation faded, replaced by a growing surge of energy that also started to decrease. According to the doctor, this happens because my cells absorb epsilon energy. Normally, the energy just improves the gene, but in my case, part of it is stored in my cells until I copy another gene.

I repeated the process with the other four low-level crystals and waited for the effects to pass. Then Mom asked,

"How are you feeling, dear?"

"I feel fine. I told you everything would be okay."

"It only went well because there were few of them and they were low-level. Don't let it go to your head, sweetie," Mom said in a serious tone.

"…Alright," I replied, annoyed.

"Sigh So, do you want to go to the park? I have the day off today."

"YES!"

…

Another week passed since I absorbed the crystals, and tomorrow I would return to school. I've also had several of those… episodes, like what happened at the park—the impulse to want to absorb more genes. I haven't told Mom about it, I don't want to worry her, but I think she suspects something.

But that doesn't matter! What matters is that today I'm going to apologize to Selphira!

Mom, Agatha, and I are in the car, on our way to Selphira's house, with the gifts I prepared for her, which include plush toys, books (since she loves to read), chocolates, and a special surprise I prepared.

We arrived at her house quickly. It's a big house, not a mansion, but quite nice. We got out of the car, grabbed the gifts, and went to the door. Mom rang the bell, and a few seconds later, someone opened the door.

"Hi. Oh, hello, Zerith, hello, Aelyra, hello, Agatha. What brings you here, and what are the gifts for?"

"Hello, Cassandra. The gifts are for Selphira, and as for the reason…" Mom trailed off and just looked at me until I spoke.

"Selphira and I had a fight two weeks ago… so I want to apologize to her."

"Right, Selphira mentioned that… But the gifts weren't necessary."

"Don't worry, Cassandra, just take it as a gesture of sincerity," Mom said.

"Who is it, Mommy?" asked a little voice from behind Cassandra.

"It's Selphira's friend, Kael."

"Oh, hi, Aelyra!" Selphira's little brother, no older than 4, greeted me.

"…Hi, Kael," I responded without much energy, remembering how Selphira told me her brother was afraid of her after her gene awakened.

"Kael, can you go get your sister? Tell her that her friend is here."

"Okay."

He quickly ran up the stairs while we went to the living room. After a moment, Kael came back downstairs with a disheartened Selphira behind him.

When she saw me, she seemed to think about something before lowering her head again. I stood up, walked towards her, and when I was about to speak… I went blank in front of the medusa girl.

After standing there with my mouth open, trying to say something, I finally had an idea. I placed my hand on her shoulder and activated my gene. At that moment, I felt changes in my body, especially in my legs and hair, and I could have sworn I heard a couple of gasps behind me, but I didn't pay attention. When I realized it, I had a tail instead of legs, scales on my shoulders and hands, and snakes instead of hair. Selphira looked at me in silence, surprised.

Thinking about what to say, I remembered Mom's advice: "Just be sincere."

"Selphira… I'm sorry for making you cry. I-I didn't mean to do that. I wanted to cheer you up, and I messed it up… Then I realized I didn't understand you, but now I think I can understand you better. So… Will you forgive me?"

"Sobbing Yes."

Through tears, Selphira forgave me and hugged me.