"I don't remember much of what happened… I just remember bits." Lee Seng started. "I remember descending into the underground. I remember my friends were there. Even Ritsuka's older brother, Jiro. I remember seeing Failed Ones."
"Failed Ones?" Calis asked. Lee Seng looked up and nodded. He scooted back into the mat, leaning against the cool wall.
"They're a constant reminder of what the Biohuman serum did to get to where it was." Lee Seng folded his hands together. "My Dad… he, uh, tested a lot before the Biohuman serum became a success. The Failed Ones or the Failed Experiments are what they were called. Many died from the unstable serum, but those who didn't quite die, were locked in the underground.
"I remember fighting some of the Failed Ones. We eventually found one dubbed 'Eyes' for his… many eyes. He stunned all of us and took me deep underground. That's where my Dad was… That's where we died." Lee Seng's voice grew quiet. He didn't speak another word after that. The feeling in his chest grew, again, and Lee Seng clutched it. "Keng… he knew this yet he… used himself and the nine tails to revive me…! And now… Now he's an egg, again… In my soul… My heart."
Lee Seng squeezed his chest, letting the tears fall. Calis hung his head low. He had a hunch Keng was there, but hearing it made his heart sink. Lee Seng and let out a shaky breath.
"Even though he's there, I can't hear him. He's silently regaining his energy… and I'm not sure what to do without him now." Lee Seng whispered. Calis looked up and a memory played in his mind.
Calis and Keng sat high up at the Saviors' Tomb. Keng silently watched the Suns set. He forced a smile to throw people off that he was okay when he wasn't. His eyes twinkled with so much sadness and Calis couldn't help but stare. Keng snapped out of his daze and let the forced smile disappear. He let out a sigh and noticed Calis looking at him.
"What?" Keng asked.
"Nothing." Calis shook his head. He turned his attention back to the setting Suns. "I was just thinking that you're bad at hiding how sad you are." Keng froze at that. He braced himself for something harsh, but it never came. "For as long as I've known you, you've been precise in everything you've done. You always hide your emotions and while Lee Seng was in turmoil, you always reassured him. Now you're the only one in turmoil and you're trying to hide it."
"Yeah, well… Lee Seng and I somehow balanced each other out… Now that he's asleep, he feels distant even with our connection." Keng sighed. He looked at his hands in between his legs. "Even though he's there, I can't hear him. I can't feel his energy moving. It's quieter than when he's asleep… and I don't know what I can do without him around."
"Keng said the same exact thing." Calis smiled, coming back to reality. He caught Lee Seng looking up at him. Lee Seng immediately looked away, unsure how to respond. "You two have a unique connection. You can always tell where the other is and you can always feel them."
"How did you—"
"'I don't know what to do without him, but I know moping around won't solve anything. I'll live for the both of us until he wakes up.'"
"What?" Lee Seng stared blankly at Calis.
"Live for the both of you. Keng will come back when it's time." Calis stood up and stretched. He looked around for his shirt, picking it up and putting it on. "In the meantime, can you explain the desert landscape?"
"Well…" Lee Seng cleared his throat. "I think it has something to do with how I look now. I have no tails and Keng revived me using his energy and the tails…" He summoned the System screen and noticed the screen had grayed out a lot of things. The only things that were currently bolded were: stats, skills, and storage. Lee Seng clicked skills and noticed only two things were in it.
"That's why…" Lee Seng whispered.
What?" Calis asked, moving over. He could see Lee Seng's finger hovering in front of him like he was touching something, but couldn't see anything. Lee Seng summoned another screen and looked at his skills. He glanced between the two and bit his lip.
"My stats are still the same, but my skills… They're all gone but two." Lee Seng answered. "Rune magic was something Keng used, but Sun magic?" He looked up at Calis. "I don't know what that is." Calis thought for a moment and snapped his fingers.
"You and Keng are Blessed by the twin Sun gods, right?" Calis asked. Lee Seng nodded. "What if when Keng used the revive spell, it somehow evolved your usage of Light and took everything else as a result?"
"It could be the reason…" Lee Seng tapped his chin. He sighed and swiped the System screens away. He slowly started to stand, only to almost fall. Calis grabbed Lee Seng and slowly set him back down.
"You shouldn't move for a little longer." Calis commented. Lee Seng's stomach growled as Keng's brother looked at Calis with the same eyes Keng used when he was hungry. "I'll grab some food for you. Stay here."
Lee Seng munched on his food without a care in the world. A moment not thinking about Keng or what happened was well welcomed by Lee Seng. Calis watched Lee Seng go through so much dry food and water in a matter of minutes. Lee Seng finished the last of his food, getting interrupted by hiccups. He grabbed the next water jug and uncapped it and downed half of the bottle before pulling it away.
"Ahhh. That hit the spot." Lee Seng smiled. More color had returned to Lee Seng's complexion. He had more energy and Calis noticed Lee Seng's energy color coming back. Silver light fluttered past Calis's cheek, brushing against him before disappearing into the ground. He couldn't help but look at where the energy had fallen from.
"Water." Lee Seng spoke a rune into existence in Fox tongue. He washed his hands, pulling Calis's attention away from the silver energy and onto him. Lee Seng scrubbed his hands and released the water rune, switching back to English to converse with Calis. "That really hit the spot. I guess I was more hungry than I realized." Calis watched as Lee Seng attempted to stand.
"Oh!" Calis reached out, watching Lee Seng rise without struggle. Lee Seng stretched his body and cooed.
"Much better! I'm ready to tackle the search now!" Lee Seng stretched his arms, legs and rolled his neck before looking at Calis. "And I can figure out what the Sun magic skill is." He turned to exit and Calis followed after him.
"You're just going to get to work after you just barely rested?" Calis asked.
"Yup." Lee Seng nodded. The cloudy sky was a relief from the heat Lee Seng could barely remember. Each step was with purpose. Calis couldn't help but be baffled when Lee Seng led them straight back to the wrecked lab.
"W-what're we doing here?" Calis asked.
"I just needed to see it myself." Lee Seng answered, squatting down. He tilted his head and listened as horrible noises fluttered from the sink hole. Calis couldn't help but smell something spoiled and pinched his nose. Dark energy rose from the sink hole, barely peeking out before Lee Seng's leftover energy destroyed it. "Well, I guess I did remember that, then."
"Remember what?" Calis asked, watching Lee Seng stand.
"The extremely depressing and annoying part about what we're going to do."
"We?" Calis's eyes widened. He didn't expect Lee Seng to easily allow him to join his expedition. Lee Seng nodded at Calis.
"Mmmhm. We. We're going to find these Failed Ones and kill them all."
"W-wait, the two of us?"
"I wish." Lee Seng turned and cracked a smile. He moved past Calis and started back the way they had come.
"What's the plan?" Calis asked, jogging after Lee Seng.
"We're going to find my friends."
"But I thought you said you didn't know where they were."
"I said you wouldn't find anyone here." Lee Seng corrected Calis.
'Almost forgot he's the reason why Keng has such a good memory.' Calis winced at Lee Seng's words.
"You made it sound like you didn't know where they were." Calis cleared his throat.
"I don't." Lee Seng answered.
"Then how are we going to find the rest of them?" The two made it back to the cave, pushing past the dried grass. Lee Seng instinctively pointed at something and flicked his hand at it. When it didn't move, he remembered he didn't have the same powers anymore. He moved over and grabbed his things, stuffing what little they had into the Void Storage.
"If I remember correctly, there's a set of runes that should be able to help with that. We just need an item to track them and I got something in the Void Storage that'll help." Lee Seng stuck his hand in the Void storage and pulled out a comb.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel