"Alright, how many do you usually take?"he said softly, crouched down next to Mya and extending his open palm filled with pills.
Mya blinked through her watery eyes, still shaken. "I-I'm not sure… but I remember my sister, Ano. She gave me two. That's all I can recall."
Assad frowned slightly, narrowing his eyes as he turned the small, glimmering tablets over in his hand.
'Two, huh?If she's right, that should trigger the reaction without overdosing her… probably.'
He hesitated for a moment longer, studying the faint glow of the pills against his skin. Just as he was about to move, a low voice cut through the air.
"Two is the right call," Shuren said flatly from behind her desk.
Assad froze, his head snapping toward her. "Wait, how did you do?"
He stared for a heartbeat, caught between confusion and disbelief, but Shuren's expression gave nothing away, just a quiet, knowing smirk.
With a slow exhale, he turned back to Mya and pressed two pills into her trembling hand. "Here, take them and you'll go back to normal." he said gently.
Mya hesitated, her fingers shaking, but she nodded and swallowed the pills dry. For a moment, nothing happened, the air seemed to pulse, a faint shimmer rippling over her skin. The fins along her arms flickered, turning translucent before fading completely. Her tail began to recede, scales dissolving into pale skin until her legs returned, trembling beneath her.
Assad watched in awe as the transformation completed the glow fading, leaving just a girl sitting weakly on the couch, breathing hard but human again. Shuren stepped closer, her heels echoing softly on the floor. She leaned down just enough to study Mya, her cold eyes reflecting the girl's tear-streaked face.
"Good,that's one problem solved." Shuren said finally, straightening up.
After Mya was given the pills, Shuren leaned back in her chair and let out a soft sigh. She turned to Mya and said, "Why don't you go hang out with Taura for a bit? I need to have a private chat with Assad."
Mya looked a bit bewildered at first, even a little frightened. Her eyes flicked back and forth between them. But when she caught the serious expression on Shuren's face, she nodded slowly and got up.
"Okay," she replied quietly before stepping out of the office. The door clicked shut behind her.
Assad glanced at the door, then back at Shuren, a slight frown creasing his brow. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice calm but laced with caution.
Shuren didn't respond immediately. She sat there, her gaze fixed on the desk, her fingers lightly tapping against the wood. It was clear something was troubling her. Assad could sense that much.
He leaned in a bit closer. "Shuren?"
Shuren leaned forward slightly, her voice steady but icy. "How was it?"
Assad blinked, taken aback. "What do you mean?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"What was it like… killing Mya's sister?"she said slowly.
The atmosphere in the room turned tense. Assad's breath hitched in his throat, his expression hardening. For a moment, he was frozen only his eyes moved, searching her face for any hint of deception.
"…How do you know that?I'm pretty sure I never even addressed it with you nor did Mya so how did you know about it?"he asked in a low voice. It was calm, but there was an underlying tension that suggested danger.
Shuren sighed and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "You're still in the dark, you really don't grasp what's going on around you, do you?" she said, her tone flat, almost disappointed.
Assad stared at her, his mind racing, the silence between them thickened, and for the first time in a long while, he felt a strange sensation unease. She rose from her chair and started to pace, the sound of her heels softly clicking against the floor.
"Here's something you might not know, Assad."
He watched her intently, trying to decipher her expression but her face was a complete mystery.
"Do you remember when you told us about being stabbed with a syringe?" she pressed on.
"Yeah the liquid inside was red and black?" Assad replied, a hint of caution in his voice.
Assad frowned, tilting his head slightly. "Yeah, I remember, Shuren. You said it was sacred water. Kiichi mentioned the same thing during our sparring. What's your point?"
Shuren's gaze dropped to the floor, her voice steady yet laden with significance.
"Those powers you have…" she began slowly, "they're known as Kensei. But I just shortened it to just Sei."
Assad blinked, confusion flickering across his face. "Kensei?"
She nodded.
"It's what happens when someone gets injected with sacred water. The color of that liquid or the blend of colors decides what you become. That's how Sionel's come into being."
Assad leaned in, curiosity piqued. "Sionel? What does that mean?"
Shuren let out a weary sigh and settled back into her chair, crossing her legs.
"Sionel's are rare individuals who unlock their powers through the sacred water, like you… others, through entirely different means."
Assad frowned. "Different means?"
"I don't have the energy to explain it all right now but you'll get it when the time is right. When you witness it for yourself."she said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her tone was gentle, but her eyes remained sharp
Assad glanced down at his hands, recalling the searing sensation in his veins from that day, the mix of pain and power he could never quite articulate.
"…Sionel, huh," he murmured.
Shuren offered a faint, almost wistful smile. "Yes."
Shuren's expression turned serious as she leaned against the desk, her pistol catching the light just right.
"You know, you can actually advance ahead in rank," she said, her voice low and measured.
Assad glanced up, puzzled. "Advance?"
"Yeah and to do that, you either have to find the opposite color of the sacred water you were injected with… or the same one." She paused, locking eyes with him.
"But that's a one-way ticket to death."
Assad's eyes widened a bit. "Why's that?"
"Because to truly unlock those powers, you have to stab yourself in a vital organ. That's the cost. You might survive it once, maybe by sheer luck or willpower, but try it again, and you're done for. No doubt about it." Shuren said, her tone icy,
Assad fell silent, his mind racing back to that day the burning syringe, the agonizing pain in his chest, the sensation of something fighting to break free inside him. He had been stabbed near his heart which is a very dangerous vital organ.
"…That makes sense," he muttered.
Shuren smirked slightly, though her eyes remained devoid of warmth. "Of course it does. But there's more to it."
Pushing off the desk, she stepped closer to him. "When you awaken, there's always a flaw, a weakness ,some hidden cost tied to your power."
She leaned in, her cold gaze locking onto his.
"And yours…has been right in front of you this whole damn time."
Assad raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"