Divine Connection

Admin grabbed Axel's arm and looked at his bracelet. She immediately checked the system connection and mental stability:

[ System Connection: 42% ]

[ Mental Stability: 84% ]

"Interesting." Admin said to herself.

Axel yanked his arm back. "So what's the big deal exactly? And where did hell was I sent?!"

"That's what I would like to know. After you lost consciousness, there was a moment where your system connection had spiked up to 55%." said Admin. But your mental stability remains at 84%....she thought. "There was even a weird fluctuation of energy that occurred that I had never sensed from you before. It was like...it was something entirely new."

Jayden and Jun joined them.

"It was indeed strange." Jun agreed. "When Admin reactivated our systems, even our Celestial Vision couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening with your energy."

Jayden gave Admin a side eye. "Don't think we're just going to forget what you did back there..."

Admin ignored him. "So Axel, what do you mean by 'where was I sent'? You were here the entire time with us. We could obviously still sense your divine energy still here as well."

Axel crossed his arms and glanced to the side. "Yeah, I'm not sure if you're gonna believe this one. But here it goes. So after I passed out, I had this weird trip. I was literally living Iris's memories! Wild, right?"

All three of them just stared at Axel for a moment to see if there was more to it or if he was actually being serious.

"Yeah, he's fucking with us." Jayden said plainly.

"No, I'm serious! I was like a ghost and I could see her, but I couldn't like actually touch her-"

"I know we live in an era of magic and miracles, but even for me that's a tad out there." Jun chimed in.

"Ughhh." Axel groaned. "Wait! You were in one of them!" He said with his finger pointed at Jun.

"Wait, what?"

"Yea! It was....in the bathroom. Iris was really upset and you had burst in. You told her-"

"Enough!' Jun quickly interrupted. A look of solemn seriousness was on display. These were memories that Jun had buried in the deep recesses of his mind. The pain was too much to recollect. "He's...he's telling the truth. There's no other way he would have known that."

"Seriously? I mean, how is something like that even possible?" Jayden questioned.

"A Divine Connection." Admin said with surprise.

"Divine Connection?" Axel repeated.

"Yes. It's something that I haven't seen in....I honestly don't think I've ever seen one. For some reason, when your energies clashed they must've somehow merged instead of rejecting each other. It allows one to peer into the other's energy...it's a very personal matter."

Jayden's ear perked up. "Personal?"

"Very much so. Energy is more than just power. It's us. Our divine energy is what makes us. It contains our very being - our DNA, our emotions, our regrets, and of course our memories. Somehow you two managed to pull that off. Not just that, it reignited something within your own energy and your system connection spiked momentarily."

"But do we really have to call it a DIVINE connection?" Jayden pitifully asked. "How about an ACQUAINTANCE connection?"

Admin pointed both her hands outwards. I wonder, she thought. "Undead Seal: Release!"

The vortex of energy sprouted back up from earlier. The energy moved and waned like it was a rushing current of water. For a moment nothing else happened - but then a slender hand broke up from the vortex and grabbed onto solid ground.

Wrapped around the forearm was a single skeleton hand holding on. Then the next slender hand popped up and grabbed onto the surface as well.

Iris began to pull herself up from the vortex as a host of skeletal arms was trying to pull her back in.

"Iris!" Jun exclaimed.

Axel watched with an odd feeling in his gut as Iris was gritting her teeth and trying to burst her way up from the bowels of her hellish prison.

"Get...the...hell...OFF ME!" She forced herself upwards and completely onto the surface - taking on a few skeletal carry ons in the process. She lay on the ground breathing heavy as her body was glistening with sweat.

Axel looked upon Iris who was no longer outfitted in her armor and from the looks of it, had control of her body once again. She actually broke free? Axel thought. That's...impressive.

Jayden and Jun ran past Axel to check on Iris. Jun knelt down next to her. "Iris, are you okay?! Are you yourself again?"

Iris tried to lift the top part of her body off the ground as she clearly struggled to do so. "Ugh...yes, but do you have to be so loud? My head feels like absolute shit..." She opened her eyes and peered over at Admin who stood next to Axel. "Was there really no easy way to bring me out of there? Do you KNOW what it was like waking up in a place like that?"

"I think we should be more interested in the fact that you broke free of the armor at that stage." Admin replied.

Iris began to stand up as Jun swooped in and acted as her crutch. "I honestly have no idea what happened..." That's when the memory hit her of Axel and she turned her head towards him. Axel was also awkwardly looking at her. "That's right...you were there." She said.

"Apparently we have a Divine Connection. Who would've guessed." replied Axel.

"Excuse me?" Iris said with a raised eyebrow.

"Unfortunately." Jun confirmed. "Your energies are intertwined and you can peek into each other's minds if I'm hearing correctly. Wait. If it happened when Iris grabbed Axel, shouldn't the same thing have happened to me?"

"Yeah..that's right." Jayden agreed.

"It was possible." Admin answered. "However, it's not normal for two separate divine energy sources to behave like that. What happened with you Jun, is that your energy rejected hers which is why it manifested outside of your body and attacked you."

Iris looked to Jun and then back to Axel. "You're kidding me. Like what does any of this mean really?"

"It means that for the rest of our training camp, you two are going to be partners." Admin said as she pointed to both of them.

"What?!" Iris protested.

"Partner?! I don't need a training partner!" Axel also protested.

Jun seemed confused at the idea. But Jayden, was beside himself. Partners?! That's bullshit! He thought to himself as he gritted his teeth. Why does he get to be the one with a divine connection to Iris?? Ever since he showed up....he's been nothing but a nuisance.

Jayden balled his fist up so tight that his nails dug into the skin of his palm. "I'll be the one on top, just see." He said in a low tone.