Four powers!

Damien exited the pod and looked at the two scientists.

Dr. Manfred was staring at him as if he was a precious treasure. Dr. Joyce had an expression of absolute shock.

What could he have awakened to have such fanatical reactions?

"What power did I awaken, doc?" he asked curiously.

"I believe it would be more apt to refer to it as powers, Damien. You see, you awoke successfully in all the three Paths," said Dr. Manfred, rubbing his palms together in glee.

"Wait what!?!" Damien felt as if a thunderclap had gone off in his head!

He had awoken in all three Paths? That was sick!

"Which powers did I awake?" he asked with barely concealed excitement and shock.

"For the Spirit path, you awoke two powers under the Elemental branch; the Psychic element and the Space element.

For the Soul Path, you awoke a mysterious Rune power which hasn't been recorded in the governmental soul power records.

For the Body path, you awoke a peak body physique with insane regeneration.

Congratulations," said Dr. Manfred.

Damien was stunned into silence.

This!

This was just… phenomenal!

Damien breathed in deeply.

"There's one last thing left before you go. Dr. Joyce will show you how to channel that energy you've been feeling. After that, you sign a form and you will be free to go!" said Dr. Manfred.

Damien nodded and turned to Dr. Joyce. 

She went to the back of the lab and came back with a blue oval stone.

"This is a physically condensed version of the energy you are feeling.

  It is called supernatural energy but for simplicity sake just refer to it as mana.

It is everywhere and it is this energy which powers you and allows you to use your power. For now, this physical condensation of mana will be absorbed by you so that you get the hang of it. That way, you can easily absorb the mana in the surroundings.

Here, take it," said Dr. Joyce.

Damien took the mana stone and held it in both hands.

"How do I absorb it?" he asked.

"It's very simple. Focus on the stone and try to will it into you. Call the mana to enter you and direct it into your chest," said Dr. Joyce.

Damien focused on the stone and closed his eyes.

Silently, he urged the mana to enter him. It took only a small push and the mana surged into him like a tide and entered his chest.

"Now that it is in you, make it move in a circular manner around your chest until I tell you otherwise," commanded Dr. Joyce.

Damien willed the mana to slowly circulate inside him. At first, the mana was wild and uncontrollable but Damien kept urging it, forcing it and coaxing it to make a full cycle.

And again.

And again.

Very soon, the mana begun to circulate in the chest at a rapid speed. As it churned in his chest, tendrils of mana left the cycle and strayed to his heart, creating a relaxing sensation. 

More mana was absorbed and even more mana joined the rapidly circulating blue mass in Damien's chest which kept snaking into his heart and then to different parts of the body. 

Damien's feeling of rejuvenation increased exponentially as the sensation of mana moving through him felt pleasurable and surreal.

"Alright stop circulating the mana," commanded Dr. Joyce after some time.

Damien complied and stopped circulating the mana. Surprisingly, it kept circulating by itself, faster and faster till its movement became a blur. 

Suddenly, the mana burst and entered into every part of Damien body!

His cells!

His organs! 

His skin!

The mana entered everywhere!

The stone in Damien's hands shrunk rapidly till it was no more than a small pebble!

BOOM!

Damien felt an electrifying sensation take over his body and he tried hard not to moan from the sheer exhilaration of it.

The mana moving rapidly through his body slowed down and now, Damien felt twice sharper than before. He sensed everything around him clear as day.

His body began to passively absorb mana from the surroundings and now he could also see how mana passively entered Dr. Joyce.

"Congratulations once again Damien. You are now an early Enlightened individual. Sign the document I'll send to your comm and we can call this a day," smiled Dr. Joyce.

Damien checked his comm and read through the document before affirming it.

"Thanks, Dr. Joyce, thank you, Dr. Manfred," he said to the two scientists with a smile. 

"The pleasure is all mine, Damien," grinned Dr. Manfred.

Damien nodded and left the laboratory.

It's amazing how little we could see before awakening, thought Damien as he traced his steps to the lounge which the nurse had taken him from.

Damien examined himself in wonder. Somehow, his height had increased. His brown hair had become darker when he examined himself in the nearby glass doors.

He sensed the presence of Mr. Davis and his mates even before he saw them.

Mr. Davis spotted him coming and waved him over. Surprisingly, he was the last person to arrive. The other four had long been done with theirs and judging from the expression on their faces, they had been waiting for quite some time.

Damien took a cursory glance at them and already he could spot many changes.

If Neo looked like an athletic dude before, he looked like a hunk now. His muscles had enlarged to an extent and his skin had become darker, almost like a tan.

Isabella still had her petite appearance and glasses. The noticeable change though was in her aura. She gave of a peaceful and tranquil aura, like one you would find in a forest or grassy plain.

Dixie on the other hand had this dangerous aura emanating from her. Her short purple pixie hair had become an even darker shade of purple. It felt like she was a moving toxic material because she gave off an eerie feeling of poison.

Victor though had the most noticeable change. 

His formerly brown hair had become a silvery-white and had increased in length, almost flowing past his shoulder. His eyes had taken on a profound blue tint and he gave of an aura of extreme chill.

If formerly he had felt like a hypocrite to Damien, he now felt much more sinister. 

"How was your awakening process, Damien?" asked Mr. Davis.

"Surprisingly good," Damien replied.

Somehow, Damien could sense the thoughts of his mates. Isabella was itching to ask him what power he awakened while the others were having varying degrees of interest in him.

Victor's own was unsurprisingly the highest.

It seemed as if he was almost obsessed with Damien though or something.

It was almost creepy.

"Alright, that's a relief to hear. We have to head back to the school though for one final process," said Mr. Davis.

He led the five of them out the building and they headed to the hovercar that had brought them to the research lab.

Somehow, Victor had fallen in step with Damien. Damien looked at him and Victor smiled back. Somehow, Damien knew that Victor's smile was anything but sincere.

"So, Damien, which power did you awaken?" he asked.

Damien noticed that the others were now focused on him and even in front of them he could feel that Mr. Davis was listening in on the conversation.

Damien sighed. 

I guess I can't keep it a secret anymore, he thought.

Sooner or later, everyone would know about his insane powers so it was better if he got it over with. He couldn't hide it for now because the scientists had documented it. By now the government knew that he had four powers… or was it five?

"I could ask you the same question," Damien shot back.

Just because he would have to reveal his powers sooner or later didn't mean he would reveal it willy-nilly!  He would damn sure get something in return.

"I awoke the Blizzard power in the Spirit Path. It's one of the variants of the ice element," said Victor.

Damien nodded and turned to the rest.

"Body path. I can transform myself into a bear… or something like that," said Neo gruffly.

"Leaf power… it's a variant of the Plant affinity," said Isabella shyly.

"Toxic touch… variant," Dixie replied curtly.

It seemed most of those who awoke in the spirit path awoke variants. The Spirit path mainly comprised of the elemental powers. They were grouped into main element and variant elements. Variant elements were derived from main elements and they couldn't exceed their limitations.

For example, someone with a Fire power had much more leeway than one with an Immolation power. Immolation power could only burn things while someone with the real deal could do more than just burn.

Notwithstanding, that didn't mean variant powers were weak. 

Some variants even surpassed the main elements in utilization and sheer destructive power!

They were not to be underestimated.

  Damien noticed that they were waiting for him to speak.

"I awoke… four powers. Space and Psychic element for the Spirit Path, a Rune related ability in the Soul path and a peak human physique in the Body Path," said Damien.

Mr. Davis nearly stumbled ahead of them.

The four of them looked at Damien in shock.

"Holy shit!" Neo exclaimed.

"Is that even possible?" asked Dixie in bafflement.

Everyone showed varying degrees of shock. It was simply unbelievable! Four powers! And none of those powers were a joke. They began to see Damien in a new light.

Already, Damien could sense an increased interest from Victor Kaiser.

'Seriously, what is the problem with this guy?!' Damien complained inwardly.

He didn't let it show on his face though.

Damien ignored their stares and gawks and quickly made his way to the hovercar. Hopefully, they would get over their shock soon enough.

The rest quickly got into the hovercar and it sped off for the school.

All throughout the journey, Damien's mates looked at him as if he was a monster!

Well, he certainly was a monster!