𝒩𝑶𝑣ℯ𝓵xt.𝒞𝑜𝐌

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“U-Ugh…” Eva’s eyes opened slowly after an unknown amount of time. Her mind still felt hazy as if she had been disconnected from the world for a long time.

Absorbing the scenery around her slowly, her vision slowly returned. When she finally had some sense of reality back in her head, her expression changed. She was lying on what seemed to be a chair, her arms and legs were strapped with Leviathium shackles, and her neck was also strapped to the chair.

‘That bastard Grey… He got me!! Fuck, I didn’t know that insane maniac would cut his fingers just to catch me!!’ She cursed in her head.

Instinctively, she tried to break out with a few frantic movements. Her mind was rather calm as she knew that panicking would only worsen her situation. Instead, she decided to look at her surroundings in the hope of finding anything useful she could use.

The place seemed to be a mix between a prison and a lab. She was surrounded by thick, metallic walls that seemed to be impenetrable at first sight. Around the enclosed room were countless technologically advanced devices, tools, and other miscellaneous objects.

‘Where am I even? Is this the lab section of the HQ?’ She wondered silently.

Eva did visit the lab a few times before but she doesn’t remember entering a room like this one and why would she considering how this room was almost a prison with shackles and a very uncomfortable chair? It was almost like an experimental room in an asylum.

A few seconds passed like that before the door to the room opened and Grey came walking inside. He had changed his bloodied clothes and washed his face so he didn’t look as wretched as before.

Eva stared at him silently for a few seconds as he walked to the computer to the side and sat down.

“Your healing abilities are impressive. I thought you won’t wake up for at least a few days.”

“What are you going to do?” Eva asked coldly.

“Simple. I’m going to get what is rightfully mine.”

“And what is that?”

Grey tapped on his computer silently for a few moments before he turned around and stood up. Then, he picked up what seemed to be a very old, dusty book that was on the table next to him. The book had no title or any indication of its content on the surface.

“Since you won’t be able to live after today, I might as well tell you how you’re going to die. I’m not a cruel human, believe it or not.”

Eva rolled her eyes at his remark before she looked at the back again. “What’s that?”

“This? Oh, just something I bought a few years ago from someone I know. It cost me a fortune to get but it’s very worth it. This book is one of the very few things that the Progenitor had left behind after he perished a few thousand years ago. It’s a book written by him personally.”

Eva’s eyes squinted slightly at his words. A book written by the Progenitor? That’s impossible. The Progenitor was someone completely shrouded in mystery. Hell, people don’t even know if he really existed or if he was just a myth. To this day, the only evidence they have of his existence is old scriptures from ancient families that recorded that part of history.

All these scriptures said that the Progenitor was an anomaly, a genius like no other. He discovered Origin, developed it, created countless talents, and helped people realize that they are also gifted like him. He was akin to a god in every sense of the word.

‘If what he’s saying is true… That book is priceless…’ She thought to herself. ‘Kai would be interested in such a book…’

Grey looked at her silently before he spoke again, waking her from her thoughts. “If you’re thinking that the Black Phantom would be here anytime, you’re sorely mistaken. That bastard is stuck somewhere in the castle, probably fighting those prison walls, hoping he could escape.”

Hearing that, Eva felt slightly worried. Those prison walls were indestructible. No matter how much she hit them, she couldn’t escape. Although she trusted that Kai had some kind of trick up his sleeve, she still could only feel worried for him.

‘I can only stall this bastard for as long as I could. Kai will definitely come.’ She trusted her guts and Kai more than anything else. Her miracle would always be there to light her path, that’s something she’s certain of.

“You didn’t answer why I’m here and why you’ve been chasing me like a dog for the past few months,” Eva replied.

“You… Listen here, Eva Lavine. You’re nothing. I’m not chasing after you nor do I care about anything concerning you except for that ability of yours. I really feel like throwing up just thinking about the fact that YOU have that talent. Do you even realize how precious it is? No, of course you don’t.”

“I’m sorry that you, a talentless, pathetic excuse of a man couldn’t get it. I guess the world favors those who deserve it.” She replied coldly.

Grey’s aura raged violently as he glared at Eva. However, he quickly shook his head and calmed down.

“I won’t bother to retort to your childish insults. Tonight, I’m going to extract the thing I was searching for.”

“What thing?”

Grey sighed as he sat down and then tapped on his book. “Although this copy of the book isn’t complete as it is missing many important pages, I still could decipher some of the things this book talks about. One of them seems to be something that the Progenitor cherished greatly. Something that accompanied him throughout his life. His sword… Or in other words, the first-ever Origin Artifact.” Grey replied.

‘The first Origin artifact?!’

Ever since Eva heard about the Origin Artifacts from Kai, she had been very interested in them. The existence of these things truly fascinated and also scared her. Just remembering the aura that emanated from Wretched Heart sent a chill down his spine.

“The book stated that the sword was something that the Progenitor received as a gift from one of his very first fellow Origin Users. Ever since it became his main weapon and his true companion through thick and thin. When the Progenitor was on his deathbed, he didn’t want his sword to fall into the wrong hands so he decided to fuse that sword along with all of the weapons in his armory -An arsenal of top-grade weapons like nothing the world has ever seen before- it all was fused together into one single talent scripture that he hid somewhere.

Grey then took a deep breath before he continued. “At first, I thought that the scripture probably perished after all these years. But, something at the end of the book made me think otherwise. Have you ever heard of ‘Origin Inheritence’?” He asked to which Eva shook her head.

“Origin Inheritance in simple terms is the concept of how an individual is born with a main talent fused with their bodies. Turns out that if one of the very first Origin Users who lived with the Progenitor learned one of those early talents, their descendants hundreds or even thousands of years in the future would be born with that talent in their bodies. There is no true indication of when or who will get it. That’s why, when the book at the end talked about this particular talent, I was shocked…”