The milky gold cadence of the origin gate flared bright, illuminating the living room of the Apex residences.
Dimming down, the silhouette of four appeared...
Seth drew a deep, chilled breath of the air-conditioned air, smiling as the soothing chill caressed his body. He collapsed on a nearby chair.
"There really is no place like home," he chuckled...
Sensing the stare of three gazes resting on him, his eyelids reluctantly parted open. "What?"
The three just stared, and the rumbling of his own stomach was enough of a reply. The sudden pang of hunger caused him to scowl. "Fuck!" He face-palmed.
"Well then, what are we going to eat?" he asked. With how lazy he was feeling, there was no way in hell he was going to be stepping into that kitchen alone.
Elaine’s eyes lit up. "Actually, if you guys don’t mind, I have a suggestion..."
The three guys glanced her way, and with a wave of her hand and the shimmer of pulsating space, something warped into existence.
Seth blinked. "Isn’t that an origin beast?" he asked, scanning what seemed to be a dead deer-like origin beast frozen in ice.
"Well..." Elaine started, "I noticed how unsatisfying meals had been lately, almost like the calories provided didn’t match the energy expended, so I figured maybe awakened beast meat would be more satisfying..."
Seth’s eyes glowed. ’True, I did consider this before.’ His stomach growled loudly again, causing him to shoot to his feet.
"I’ll see what I can do... But! I’ll be needing help," Seth said, examining the frozen beast more closely.
Shrugging, Jack volunteered. Lifting the icy mass, he followed Seth straight into the kitchen...
Elaine then glanced around. "Where’s Brandon?"
Uriel shrugged nonchalantly, heading up the stairs to his room, leaving Elaine to worry about their boisterous friend’s whereabouts.
...
In the kitchen, placing the icy mass on the counter, Seth channeled essence through the icy exterior, causing it to crack and shatter. With a flash, he summoned an Elite-grade dagger.
He turned to Jack. "Here’s how it will go: I’ll skin the beast, you’ll chop it up."
Jack nodded, reaching for a drawer to fish out a butcher’s knife. Seth quickly spoke up against his action.
Waving his dagger, he reminded, "This is an origin beast of the awakened rank. I doubt normal steel would do the job."
Jack’s eyes flashed in realization. Scratching his head, he shrugged. "I don’t have any blades on me though..."
"Don’t worry, I got you..." Smiling, Seth summoned the Xenon’s sphere. Squeezing it, it burst into a liquid silver mass, reforming into a gleaming butcher knife.
"Here." Seth handed it to his friend before turning his focus back to his task...
He mulled over where to start for a bit. This was his first time ever attempting to skin an animal, and with the lack of access to the internet, gone were the days he could just search it up.
"Sigh... let’s just wing it, I guess." Wielding his blade with delicate fluidity, he started on his task.
Using the tip of his blade to draw a clean, light, and shallow cut through the creature’s abdomen, he began to flay the tougher part of the skin off...
Something bled into Seth’s mind suddenly, causing his clumsy actions to freeze. Like a muscle memory suddenly awakening, everything snapped right into place, his mind outlining the cleanest, most efficient method to complete this task.
It was an ethereal feeling that was hard to express. It wasn’t like he suddenly became a pro. No, instead it was almost as if flaying came naturally to him.
His eyes flashed, pinpointing the source of this feeling... His Absolute Weapon Resonance gene was reacting. "Interesting..." he whispered with a smile.
This gene skill was akin to an endless trove of benefits lying within his system. Everything that required tools came naturally to Seth, from forging to now skinning.
What were the limits at this point? Just as his thoughts trailed to this point, he felt a sudden well of presence from within his being flicker for a moment.
A voice broke inside his mind. "S... Pe... Sp... ar."
Seth couldn’t understand. While he did feel the attempt to establish communication, it failed and died out instantly. Seth didn’t panic; it wasn’t like he hadn’t felt this presence before.
It was precisely the one that had assisted him in unlocking the full capabilities of the Absolute Weapon Resonance gene skill and awakening the Force Embodiment gene skill.
He had a theory that these figures were related to the dual bloodlines running through his veins, seeing as one attempted to help stir his Asura body evolution and the other helped with his grand weapon maester lineage gene skills.
Seth sighed helplessly. There were just too many things he didn’t know, so many mysteries unsolved, and they seemed to be multiplying every day.
And though he had a literal archive of information, he doubted the Oracle Crystal would have information about figures of Earth.
So for now, the only thing he could do was wait. When he was stronger and more exposed, answers would come naturally.
Putting all other thoughts to the back of his mind, he continued to focus on his task, peeling the hide of the beast smoothly...
Meanwhile upstairs...
Changing into much more comfortable wear after dismissing her armour, Elaine had intentions of taking her bath, but her restless heart wouldn’t let her.
Where was Brandon? Coming back from such a long journey, somehow she felt she couldn’t relax until she laid her eyes on him.
"Let’s check his room first before coming to conclusions," she said to herself.
After all, there was a reason Seth and the others weren’t worried. As of now, there were too few people or circumstances on Earth that could pose a threat to any of them, Brandon included.
So him not being within sight, the others just assumed he must have been out on business. Plus, it wasn’t that late; the time was still 7:18 p.m.
Getting to her feet, Elaine left her room, walked before Brandon’s room, and rested her tender hands on the doorknob. She hesitated for a bit.
With Earth still in its upgrade phase, she didn’t dare use her will to scan anything beforehand...
So she promptly proceeded to open the door, and what met her eyes was just an untidy, empty room. Brandon was nowhere in sight.
’It couldn’t be that he left to the Origin Realm, right?’ she thought worriedly. He had explained his situation the last time he went to the Origin Realm, so Elaine understood how dangerous it could be.
Her ears suddenly twitched, detecting a sound. Her thought process halted. "The bathroom?"
Walking towards it, she flung it open without hesitation or thought...
She went stiff...
The figure within went stiff...