Ability Wielders - Chapter 151 Level 3 Evolution

…..

Opening his eyes, Hayden was back in the dark sea of his consciousness. He was getting giddy. ‘Level 3, finally. Here comes my evolution.’

Hayden’s surroundings changed into that of his hotel room. Without a warning, a shadow in the shape of him materialized. Hayden was compelled to put his hands on the shadow. He did so for one minute.

Abruptly, that shadow vanished. Hayden has a ‘faint’ sense of where the shadow was. It was in the Inner Area, at the Canteen of the World. How he can tell? It was probably his new power.

Five seconds later, his eyes were forced shut. When he opened it, his line of sight was different. He was teleported to where he can sense the shadow. What’s terrifying about this is that he had no control of his body at all, yet, he can sense every single fiber of his muscle. His ‘body’ then moved involuntarily.

His ‘body’ didn’t stop walking… Hayden was slowly calming down until his line of sight zoomed out and he understood his situation. ‘I see, it’s sensory scrying. Is it some sort of planted power? Definitely connected to Divine Perception.’

As he was thinking, he walked. He walked as far as he could walk away from the shadow. He can only walk, at most, 50 meters away. What’s fantastic about this is that he can walk through walls and see through other things, alike how his Heavenly Sense’s consciousness separation can do.

Precipitously, Hayden was pulled back into his body. Well, not exactly as he was now in an open area. The park from where he, Eun-ha, Sayuri, and Likoria hung out subsequent to that White Hood incident.

Precisely 100 meters away from him, a shadow was conjured. He stretched his arms as a golden light shot out of his hands akin to a laser beam. That laser beam hit the shadow, the golden light shaped into a golden triangle atop the shadow.

His eyes were forced shut for the second time. For some reason, even with his eyes closed, Hayden can see the outline of the shadow and the golden triangle in front of him. It was as if he was in those RPGs that have those marking game mechanic.

This went on for a full minute. Finishing that, Hayden opened his eyes, the shadow was nowhere to be found. He was obliged to point his open hand to the ground he was standing on. As he was doing that, a golden sphere was actualized to where he willed it to be put.

He blinked. He was back in the park. He looked down and saw that he was in his spectral form whenever his consciousness separation is active. Hayden bobbed his head, grasping what kind of power his new Divine Perception had. It was some type of markers. He’ll confirm later on once he’s out of here.

Thereupon, Hayden was returned to his body. Time passed. There were no changes. Till he tilted his head downwards and laid his eyes upon a thin black layer of energy was surrounding him, one inch away from his skin that had that red faint metallic sheen of his Indestructible Devil.

Hayden’s body was surging with extreme power. It was as if he can destroy the world with a singular full-powered punch. It was invigorating. He reveled at his newfound strength. Next, his hand was drove to stretch in front of him. He didn’t resist.

Out of the blue, the thin black layer of energy became… Flames. Black flames that seemed like it can consume anything. The flame in his hands grew larger and larger. It spread through the air in an irregular pattern, too. It was nothing short of demonic.

The heat of the flames blasted to his face. It was hot. Excruciatingly hot. If Hayden had to give out an estimate, it was at least 1,800 degrees Celsius. This was as hot as the Earth’s mantle!

Thankfully, the heat dissipated within a microsecond, otherwise, Hayden would’ve burned down. It was a wonder how the planet didn’t burn down if the flame was that hot. Afterwards, Hayden’s mind sensed that he can control the heat of the flames and where it would reach.

Half a minute passed, a shadow appeared in front of him. Hayden shaped the flames into that of a flame sword and sliced the shadow’s right arm. The shadow’s right arm was sliced open. There were some leftover black flames. Which wasn’t extinguished even when the shadow attempted to extinguish it. Slowly, the black flames engulfed the shadow as the shadow’s mouth was open, imitating a man wailing in absolute agony.

It was honestly a harrowing and macabre sight. And that was coming from Hayden, a man who has seen, and caused, for that matter, carnage.

In due course, the shadow was nothing but… Well, nothing. There was nothing left of him. The flames devoured the body together with the ashes.

Following this, five shadows popped up and surrounded Hayden. The shadows had swords in their hands. The five shadows brought their swords downwards. Hayden can hear the air being torn apart by that sword.

Reflexively, Hayden dodged. Except that his body didn’t move and was stuck. As such, the swords landed on his body, his left arm being hacked off. When Hayden looked at his dismembered left arm… He was taken aback as there was a left arm. It was as if It wasn’t sliced off at all.

In fact, he examined his body and noticed that there was nary a scratch. He was uninjured. Next, he witnessed for himself what happened when a sword sliced his right arm cleanly. He looked over and was shocked of what transpired.

Hayden’s arm’s cells, bones, and everything, whilst it was being sliced off, reattached itself back. Every atom, the very moment it was ripped apart, when the sword passed through it, it re-bonded. The arm didn’t even drop. No, the arm didn’t even get detached at all from his body. It stuck there, like glue.

“Holy shit.” Hayden was impressed of this power. He was virtually indestructible now. No amount of damage can ever damage him. “This kind of regeneration is far beyond Wolverine’s, Deadpool’s, Lobo’s, or any other superhero in any kind of superhero universe. It is unprecedented. I’m invincible.”

Hayden reined in his state of mind, not letting this kind of power get over his head. He knew better that, out there, there will be an Ability out there that can counteract his Ability. Worse, negate Abilities. The odds may be low, but it was probable. He reminded himself to not let his guard down.

‘Danger Sense is such a timely gift.’ Hayden exhaled. The next moment, his lungs filled with… A warm, comforting air. It was not that of painful drowning anymore. Hayden inadvertently closed his eyes from the soothing feeling of this air that filled his body.

When he opened his eyes, he was in a different environment. He was in… the Philippines. He… Woke up in his bed. The rays of the morning sun shone through the window. He had the sense… that this was reality. Hayden blinked and rubbed his eyes.

“What in the world…” Hayden inspected his environment. It was exactly his room the way it was six months ago. His body wasn’t jacked, nor was he tall. He was back into the runt that he was. How he originally viewed himself. “Don’t tell me… No… I was in a dream this whole time…? No…”

Hayden gasped, fear rushing into his heart. He checked the phone on his desk and opened it. It opened without a hitch. The date? It was June 2, 2057. “I was… Dreaming? No no no no. This is all wrong. This is all wrong.”

His mother’s voice rang from downstairs. “Hayden! Come down! We have to eat and go to church.”

“No, no, no, no.” Hayden was in denial. “You mean to say that all those were not real? What the fuck is this? But… I remember everything so vividly? Can a lucid dream be that…? No, this must be a nightmare. A tribulation. A mental tribulation perhaps? However, this is too realistic to be a nightmare…”

Hayden hyperventilated. He took deep breaths to tranquilize his feelings. He analyzed everything. He couldn’t activate his Divine Perception, nor his Indestructible Devil. Hayden’s mom called out to him impatiently, “Hayden! Come down! Now!”

Hayden scurried downstairs. On the way, he checked everywhere. It was the exact same state as he remembered it was six months ago. “This… This is a nightmare. This is definitely a nightmare.”

Hayden calmed down. For the meantime, he went along with it. He ate breakfast. He took a shower. He put on formal attire. Attended church with his family. And went to Grande Mall, where he saw ads of CHORUS.

The more time passed, the more he doubted that he was in a dream. It was all too lifelike to be a dream. By night, he was panicking, in despair yet unable to cry. He never felt such weakness in his life. He felt much smaller than he was before he had a taste of the delightful fruits that were Abilities.

As he has stated. It was the worst for a wielder, who has experienced the rush and enjoyment of using Abilities, doing things that no human can possibly do, to have their Abilities taken away from them. It was hell. It was depressing.

This was worse for Hayden as he led that good of a life in his ‘dream.’ He was bemused of everything. His head spun in circles. Was there really no such thing as an Ability? Was that all a… Dream?

Hayden eventually fell asleep. To his dismay, Hayden was woken up by his mother like it originally has been. It was time to start the first day of school. “I guess that that was the dream, huh? Not this…”

Hayden was returned to his morning routine when he was not a wielder: He ate his breakfast cooked by his mother, he showered, he brushed his teeth, he wore his school uniform, and walked to school. Alone.

Walking inside the school, Hayden was greeted by no one. Nobody spared him a glance. Nobody noticed him. He lined up to class 3-8, sat cross-legged on the floor, took out his phone and earphones, and read a story.

He couldn’t focus on the story as memories of his time being a wielder popped up in his mind now and again. Both ‘realities’ were true to life. He was confused as to what was truly reality. Yet… As the stoic that he became, he simply accepted everything. Even if it was painful.

‘Stoic…’ Hayden bit his lip as he straightened his back. ‘I can remember everything so vividly… Wait, no… I lost the ability to mentally create codes… I cannot calculate complex differential equations mentally anymore… What in the world…’

Hayden sighed. He knew deep down that everything was all a dream. He knew that it was too good for all of those to be real. Him, being with Eun-ha? Being famous? Being considered handsome? Women confessing their feelings to him? Rich? It was all a dream. Something he can only achieve in his dreams.

In time, Hayden and his classmates all went to their classroom. It was the same classroom that he went to six months ago, yet, it felt different. This time, it was ‘realer.’

‘I guess that really was all a dream.’ Hayden sat on where he sat back in his dream, his mind stuck on the dream he had. On the third row, close to the wall. His poker face was on. ‘Well, wake up Hayden. We can’t live in a dream anymore. This… This is reality, no matter how hard it is to accept. This… This is the truth… This…’

A tear trickled down the side of his face. He wiped it without anyone noticing. He listened to Sir Perez giving his speech of how they’re adults now and all that. He introduced himself. He learned things. It was the usual stuff for a day.

Minutes. Hours. Days. Months. Time flew by. Every waking moment, Hayden will be continuously reminded of how it was in his ‘dream,’ resulting in him not being able to forget him. He spiraled back into a circle of depression and ADHD paralysis.

He graduated as a normal person. A person that was an elite amongst the mediocre, and mediocre amongst the elite. He went to a regular public college. Worked an office job with. And lived a relatively quiet and peaceful life.

This may have sounded good… Howbeit, this all left a bland taste in his mouth. As if he was something more than just an office person. More than a regular person. He hid this, tried to forget the dream. Yet, it lingered.

That dream would never make things the same. Although he couldn’t do anything about it, it left him unsatisfied of this life that he had. This life that many people in the world yearned for. It was… It was his worst fear happening: Being normal. Tasting the extraordinary and being yanked back to reality was cruel. It made him want to kill himself. He held on.

What’s more, news of Eun-ha, Sayuri, and CHORUS in general getting married made it a true hell for Hayden. One day, Hayden was going back from grocery when… He was involved in an accident, hit by a truck. He didn’t remember anything else when…

Hayden opened his eyes back to the true reality. He shot up, short of breath. Two familiar scents assaulted his nose as two sets of arms hugged him. Eun-ha’s familiar voice flew into his ears. “Are you okay?”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Hayden cursed, tears gushing down both of his eyes similar to an open fire hydrant. He had a difficult time breathing, as if he had asthma. “What in the fucking world was that? This is reality, right? I’m a wielder, right?”

“It seems that you had a tough time in your mental tribulation.” Sayuri comforted Hayden, kissing him on the cheek. “We should’ve warned you.”

“Yeah, we should’ve warned you.” Eun-ha patted Hayden’s head and turned his head towards her. Hayden locked eyes with Eun-ha. “Why are you crying? Was it that bad?”

“I… I was… In there for… For 10 years….” Hayden retold his nightmare to the two. “I was normal… Was that? Is this…”

“This is reality, honey.” Eun-ha’s gentle tone relieved Hayden. Hayden activated Divine Perception and got ahold of himself. “Don’t worry. The tribulation is done.”

“What is this tribulation?” Hayden gulped, tranquilizing his state of mind. “Is it the worst fears being shown by the Origin Crystal?”

“That’s exactly what it is.” Sayuri nodded. “It is different for everyone. I was shown that I was alone in the world. No one wanted to talk to me. No one even wanted to look me in the eye.”

“And I was… Killed, over and over again.” Eun-ha shivered. “The more powerful the Ability, the worse the mental tribulation is. Well, not like you can actually die from it. It will scar you though. Deeply.”

Hayden rubbed his face with both of his hands. He wrapped his two arms around the two and pecked them on their heads. “I love the two of you. Yes, you too, Sunshine. I… The time I spent there was… Hell. A literal hell.”

“It was that bad, huh?” Sayuri sympathized with Hayden. She kissed him. “Don’t worry. I love you too.”

Hayden smiled and exhaled heavily one last time. As the stoic that he was, he has already recovered from the mental torture of that ridiculous and maddening mental tribulation. “Is… Is that it? I’m a Level 3 wielder?”

Hayden closed his eyes and willed for him to be able to sense essence energy. And there it was, sensing the essence energy in his environment. It was in every corner of the room. The regular matter was of a darker gray color, while Eun-ha and Sayuri were dim white.

Suddenly, their color changed into that of a luminescent white, identical to that of a white-blue star. Meanwhile, Dusk and Dawn’s was the same as when Eun-ha and Sayuri when they didn’t have their Origin Limiter wasn’t on.

He triggered his Origin Limiter and was still able to sense essence energy in his surroundings. He observed that the air also had essence energy, it was less gray, closer to black than the solids.

“I see, this is how it works.” Hayden bobbed his head. Eun-ha and Sayuri was fascinated by how fast Hayden recovered from the mental trauma of that kind of nightmare. “Oh yes… Let me check my… Wow, holy crap, that is extremely high.”

His current unbridled unenhanced physical condition was not the predicted able to curl a 1,100-kilogram barbell with all his strength, or run at 220 kilometers per hour, and withstand 4,400 psi.

It was at being able to lift 2,200 kilograms at full power, run at a velocity of 440 kilometers per hour, and withstand 8,800 psi. He was already stronger than most Level 2 wielders just from simply deactivating his Origin Limiter.

He activated Indestructible Devil to see if there was any change. There was no change to his skin that has a faint red metallic sheen. His tails transformed into a thick tail that slightly resembled that of a lizard’s. Or specifically, a dragon’s. There was a retractable barb at the tip and had a color that was parallel to his skin. His tail can also apparently elongate up to two meters. Hayden was confused as to what gene this power was from.

His claws remained white in color, albeit, it was hard to look at due to the sharpness it radiates. He unfurled his wings. Unlike what he was expecting, Hayden sensed… four wings. He rotated his head and, lo and behold, there were four wings.

He oriented himself to face Eun-ha and Sayuri. The two gulped at the menacing sight that is the demonic Hayden. Sayuri stammered, “You… Your irises… They’re red now. All of you screams infernal and demonic. You’re pretty scary.”

“Amazing.” Hayden’s deep demonic voice sounded more prominent. It suffused in the air, reverberating, akin to how a real demon lord’s voice is typically depicted in anime. “I feel so powerful.”

He willed for the black aura he saw in the dream to be conjured up. The sensation of the power surging in his body rose up another notch. The experience of his first time using his Indestructible Devil went back to him. That feeling of possessing the power to destroy the world at his fingertips.

“This is awesome.” Hayden admired and relished at his recently discovered power.

“Your aura is really oppressing.” The two shifted to a cross-legged sit and commented. Eun-ha said, “It is a bit… Suffocating. That’s coming from two Level 4 wielders.”

Hayden ignored the two’s remarks and activated his Divine Perception. He cursed. “Motherfucker! 10 times my physique!?”