Chapter 20- Awakening (Part 2)
The entire lab was submerged in a tense silence as they watched Elio intently. They expected the change to happen a few seconds after being injected. However, much to their confusion, nothing happened for more than two minutes.
Nobody understood what was happening and yet, they didn't want to speak yet expecting that it would happen at any given moment. But, with each passing second and no signs of anything happening, Fiona finally looked at George.
"What is happening? How are his vitals?"
"I… I don't understand. His vitals are normal, and I'm not noticing any rise in his heart or blood circulation activity. Nothing has changed…" The man said with a frown. "This isn't normal. Usually, a change would happen in a matter of seconds to a minute at most."
"Is he not even eligible after all?" Alex asked. "I was thinking that it was merely a machine error and not really true. Nobody can believe that someone like him exists. It's just a bunch of-"
"Shush," Fiona said coldly as she approached the glass window and spoke. "Elio, can you hear me?"
"Y-Yes." The boy replied.
"How are you feeling? Are you noticing any changes in your body?"
Elio blinked a few times before he looked down and then shook his head. "No, I'm not feeling anything weird. Ummm, is this normal?"
He could notice the weird looks he was getting, so he felt worried that something had gone wrong. However, Fiona quickly shook her head.
"Don't worry and stay relaxed. It will happen at any moment."
Then she turned to George. "Did you figure out why it isn't working?"
"I'm trying, but everything seems to be normal. The serum is also coursing through his body normally. It should happen… There is no explanation why it didn't happen yet. Any normal body wouldn't take this long to react with the serum."
"Did we forget that Elio is far from normal?" Fiona asked before she looked over her shoulder. Her eyes stared at the boy, sitting there, lost and confused. Many thoughts coursed through her mind.
Then, she checked her clock and realized that three minutes had passed. If two minutes were a problem, then three minutes definitely meant that something needed to be done.
"Open the door. I need to check his condition with my own hands." Fiona said.
"... U-Understood." George said as he clicked on his tablet, and the locked door opened on its own. Fiona walked over and pushed it to get inside.
At that very moment, completely out of nowhere, Fiona felt something. It was very subtle, barely being detected by her own senses. A small spark of an aura, so weak and pathetic, she would've usually ignored it. However, for some reason, every single cell in her being suddenly froze, and an overwhelming feeling of danger took over her body.
Her eyes shot up to Elio, who was still there, barely a few steps away from her. She had walked in and left the door behind her.
Her eyes widened before she quickly turned around and tried to run toward the door.
"Get out of the way!" She yelled as she leaped outside. A split second later.
*BOOOOOOOOM*
A shockwave of pure energy exploded out of Elio's body. The wave slammed into all the walls around him with sheer violence that shook the entire lab violently. The glass cracked and then shattered, and the door was flung out of its hinges as everyone was thrown far away.
"Agh!!!" Alex slammed against the wall before falling to the ground, while George was sent flying a dozen meters. The only one who didn't fall was Fiona, who quickly guarded her face with her arms and a layer of energy. But, even then, she was pushed back several feet, sliding on her feet.
Eventually, she stopped and looked up, her face completely distorted with shock. Her eyes wandered left and right. The entire lab looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Many machines were damaged, and all the furniture and equipment were flung everywhere.
The thick walls had some noticeable cracks on them. Meanwhile, a horrendous amount of energy kept pulsating from within the room. The concentration of energy was so strong that Fiona could even hear it in the form of an annoying buzzing sound that assaulted her ears.
Her heart beat faster as she looked inside the room. "Elio…" She muttered. 'What is this… What am I feeling? This energy…"
The only word that could describe this energy she was feeling was… Evil. It was evil. Something so hostile and malicious that it kept poking her skin like a thousand tiny needles. Fiona, had felt all kinds of auras before in her life, ones that belonged to the strongest individuals in the world. People capable of feats that would make the jaw drop to the floor.
Yet, never in her entire life did she feel something like that. It was as if her very being was screaming at her to run, to get as far away as possible from whatever that is. However, her rational stopped her.
That was Elio. He was still in there, and the energy was being emitted from him.
"Is everyone ok?" She asked.
"Ugh, my head. Yeah, I'm fine." Alex said as he stood up slowly. "What the hell was that?!"
"*Cough* *Cough*, hah… Hah…" Coughing violently, George looked up with fear in his eyes.
"Stay here," Fiona said as she started walking forward slowly, guarding herself to the best of her abilities from the waves of energy lashing out at her.
"I'm coming with you!"
"No! Stay right there."
With a commanding tone, Fiona continued walking toward the large gaping hole in the wall. She stepped over shards of glass and other bits and pieces of iron… Iron that was forcefully pulled apart from the walls. Just seeing that made Fiona realize how truly strong that explosion was. It was as if a bomb had detonated inside the lab.
"Elio! Are you ok? Can you hear me inside?" She asked as she pushed the clouds of dust away and walked in.
However, the boy didn't reply. Fiona felt unease creep into her heart. "Elio!" She yelled again.
Then, as she took a step inside, she finally saw a silhouette, standing in the middle of the room. She stopped, took a deep breath, and then called for him with a softer tone.
"Elio?"
The boy remained silent. His energy was now basically in her face. It felt like she was standing in the burning sun and staring at it. It was extremely uncomfortable. However, she ignored the pain and continued approaching him. That was when she saw it… The blood-red aura coiled around his body.
It was thick, violent, and chaotic, like large waves crashing against a cliff and splattering everywhere.
"Elio…" She stopped a few feet away from him as she finally saw the boy. He was standing there, his clothes shredded to pieces, barely covering his body. He was staring at his hand.
"..."
"Is this it… Fiona?"
At that moment, Elio spoke. His voice was far from the usual timid and uncertain one. Instead, it sounded smooth, incredibly so. Slowly, he lifted his face, revealing two burning red eyes.
"Is this what it's like to be awakened?"