With an old friend

Eo's eyes slowly opened. Bright lights flooded his vision. He cast a shadow over his eyes with his hand, and then struggled to sit up.

As expected, an enormous amount of pain shot throughout his body, making him freeze up for a second. He had taken way too much damage that last battle.

Eo propped himself against a wall. He realized he was on a gurney. He looked around, wondering how long he was out for. Then he saw Reya leaning against the wall near the doorway.

"Took you long enough to wake up." Reya got off the wall and walked closer to Eo.

"Weren't you going to kill me?" Eo nonchalantly replied.

"About what you said earlier," Reya continued, "how can I believe you? Show me evidence."

Eo shrugged. "Do you not remember that rune formation? That was the trap that overloaded me with essence, stabbing my friends." Eo explained everything to Reya, starting with how he had left the IMO with many others up to when the rune formation overloaded him and forced in attack out of Eo that wasn't controlled by him. He also added in the events afterwards, such as how he found the battle arena.

After hearing this, Reya looked less angry and more intrigued.

"Interesting. What are you going to do now?"

Eo shrugged again. "Not sure, gonna look at my schedule."

Eo looked around the gurney until he found a laminated piece of paper.

"I have to rest for 2 weeks apparently. Then they'll throw me back in to kill or get killed once more."

"Sounds fun. Well, bye."

Reya started walking away.

"Hold on a second. Weren't you here to ask me a question?" Eo interrupted.

Reya stopped. "You already answered it."

"No, I mean a more pressing question. You wouldn't stand here for hours to just ask 'how can I believe you'? Right?"

Reya sighed and turned back around to face him. "Fine. You got me there. Tell me this then: What are you trying to do? What's your end goal?"

"What do you mean?"

"From what I can tell, you don't seem to care much about your life, nor proving your innocence to the IMO."

"Well, they won't really believe some random kid monologuing for fifteen minutes, unlike a certain someone else. Plus, Kyros is absolutely bent on killing me."

Reya looked annoyed. "Fine. Can you just tell me what your goal is here?"

"I want to find the true nature of essence."

"That's it?"

"As well as seal the Horde Chasm before Kyros does."

Reya scoffed at him. "What kind of petty insecurity is that?"

"I find it my proudest insecurity."

Reya looked bewildered. Eo continued.

"Anyways, you remember that flingy thingy I did with my daggers? The way I was able to control them… I managed to find out about all of that through my own research."

"Oh, I thought someone taught you that. Or you actually had two essences but was being stuck up about it."

"Wow, thanks for the compliment. Anyways, I'm gonna take this break by starting to mix chemicals and stuff back at my laboratory-house that technically isn't mine. I can't fight a Phase VI if a Phase IV is able to beat me."

"You're gonna do what now?!"

There seemed to be a gleam in Eo's eyes.

"What, you suddenly feel interested now?"

Reya paced around the room, anxiously.

"Well, I still don't fully trust you... "

"That would be expected of someone who tried killing me a few hours earlier."

Reya quickly became silent.

"Fine. Can I come?"

Eo grinned.

"It was about time you asked."

☆

Eo asked Reya to raid the kitchen and steal one of their oil bottles. Reya was extremely confused, but went along anyways.

When she came back to the medical room, she saw Eo had synthesized a metal box with wheels.

Eo started yanking the IV tubes and wires from his body.

"Eo, don't—"

"All done now."

The medical devices all started beeping warning noises and flashing lights. Eo laughed them off.

"I'm in tremendous pain, but I'm not in a life threatening condition anymore. Because I can heal faster."

"Um, if you say so… but why did you need the oil…?"

Eo clambered into the box, leaned over, and poured oil all over the axles.

"I don't want to walk there. It hurts too much."

And almost like a magician, Eo pressed his hands to the side of the cart and the wheels started turning.

Eo rode out of the room with a tangiform-powered metal cart, while Reya stared behind him, terrified.