Flint gasped for air, frightening the nearby nurse.
"Young Sir! You're awake." Incredulity seeped into her voice. "I'll go fetch one of the lords."
She scurried out of the room, bumping into the wall on her way out.
He tried to get up, but Flint quickly realized he was strapped down to the bed. Forcing himself to take a couple deep breaths, he took a look around. He was currently situated in a hospital ward. All around him on the beige colored walls were ornate rhino decorations, signifying he was still in the Thyran facility.
Flint frowned. How long had he been unconscious for?
Approaching footsteps could be heard in the distance, becoming louder and louder before arriving at the ward.
The jittery nurse was accompanied by a raven-haired girl who looked only a couple years older than him. She wore the standard Thyran uniform – a soft-white undershirt accompanied by a gray jacket with the Thyran seal.
The girl looked at him up and down. "His eyes are open.. Can you talk?"
"What sort of question is that?"
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
"You're already back from the Soul Realm? Impressive. It's only been a couple of days. How did you become a Vessel so quickly?"
Flint stared at her blankly.
"The hell are you talking about?" Flint struggled with his restraints. "Me? Being a Vessel? If I were I'd have gotten myself out of these straps by now."
Whoever this lady was had the nerve to look at Flint like he was the crazy one. "If I'm to believe you, where has your Soul been for the past couple days?"
A couple days? Flint could've sworn he was only out for several hours.
"Listen, Thyran – I haven't even experienced the Hollowing, so how could I be a Vessel at this point in time?" Flint scowled at the girl. "Secondly, I wasn't at the Soul Realm, I was at–"
Flint paused as he struggled to remember. How could he forget?
His breathing became disordered as he started to panic.
"Get me out of the restraints. You can run a test on me. I'm not a Vessel."
The girl gave him a dubious look, before ordering the nurse to remove the IV drip and the restraints. After the nurse finished, Flint dragged himself out of the bed, standing before the Thyran.
"Hold still."
She put a hand on his heart, before pumping out her Soul Essence onto him. Flint felt his entire body buzz, his teeth clanking together as her Soul Essence vibrated through him.
After a minute, she pulled her hand back, dumbfounded.
"I – I guess it makes sense? Your collapse was abnormal, and Lord Norvall never reported seeing you show signs of feeling the Pull."
She stared at him, tilting her head as she processed the information. Flint hoped she wouldn't ask any questions, especially because Flint didn't have any answers. But strangely, ever since he woke up, Flint felt a strange imprint on his soul.
Eventually, the girl offered him a light smile. "I'm terribly sorry for the trouble, especially the straps. You just kept on shaking erratically."
"It's alright." Flint lied. He didn't want to piss off another Thyran, especially one that had been somewhat kind to him so far.
"No, really," she stuck out her hand. "I'm Diana."
Flint accepted the handshake. "Flint," he hesitated. "Would you happen to know where Norvall is?"
Not that he particularly cared. Flint just expected that Norvall was the one who the nurse was bringing over.
Momentarily, Diana's smile dropped. "He's training the other attendees."
"Training for what?"
Diana ignored the question. "It's good you woke up when you did. If it was a day later, you would've complicated things."
Signaling for him to follow her, she led Flint out of the infirmary. Looking back at the hospital wing, he could see that there were other rooms in occupancy.
Listening closely, one could hear faint moans and grunts.
Diana's walking pace was stupidly fast, and Flint had to jog to keep up. Soon, they arrived back at the sterile concrete walls.
Navigating the twisting hallways, they stopped in front of a wooden door with iron lining across the edges. The letters "A/V" were written above it.
Out of breath, Flint watched as Diana pushed the door open, leading him inside.
It was dimly lit, with the few light sources casting a dreary glow. In front, a large venue of cushy seats faced towards a wall, which contained a large black screen.
After directing him to take a seat, Diana disappeared into a room in the back.
Flint shifted in his chair, making himself comfortable. His throat felt parched, and he resisted the urge to get out and call a nearby servant for a drink.
A bright flash washed over the room, and the screen burst into life.
At the beginning, the content displayed almost caused Flint to nod off several times. Was a history lesson really necessary?
It talked about the time period before the Emergence, where large swaths of continents were rendered lifeless due to the warfare that took place.
One could say that the Emergence saved humanity from causing themselves to plummet to extinction. Still, it was not without a cost. Nobody knows for certain why or how the Emergence happened, but there are some theories.
The large amount of souls filled with unresolved emotions caused the barrier between us and the Soul Realm to dissipate, until eventually, cracks started to appear.
From these cracks, monsters from the Soul Realm seeped through. Now referred to as Soul Beasts, they were resistant to all forms of physical damage that we could cause to them.
At this time, hundreds of thousands began to experience the Hollowing – a fortnight long process that at the end, transports one's soul to the Soul Realm. Once there, they must begin the process of filling their soul. This is done either by slaying the Soul Beasts that reside in the Soul Realm, or killing other Hollows. Reaching a deeper understanding of one's ability that they receive upon arrival at the Soul Realm also furthers the process. When 100% completion is reached, the individual is transported back to the real world as a Vessel for their newly furnished soul.
A Vessel is able to transport their soul to the Soul Realm at a moment's notice, and cannot go without being at the Soul Realm for more than a couple days.
You could think of it like sleep – the longer you go without it the harder it is to resist it until you have no choice but to close your eyes.
The majority of the first who were transported to the Soul Realm met the unfortunate fate of being buried alive – as the body that's left behind goes into a hibernative state that could easily be confused for death.
There are six highly regarded Vessels, those who were the first, those who saved countless lives, and those who were pivotal for our understanding of the Soul Realm.
From the six of them, two of their lineages have died out, leaving only four great bloodlines.
Flint laughed. It would be a dishonor to call them bloodlines at this point. They – especially the Thyrans – have become little more than corporations at this point who merely uphold the ideals their ancestors held.
The Valerius? That's a real bloodline.
The video then diverges into the history of the Thyrans specifically, which bored Flint to no end.
A while later, a small Thyran researcher began to give an address to the camera, his exhilarated expression causing Flint to shift uncomfortably in his seat.
"I'm excited to announce that all of you will radically change our future. You will be hailed as subjects in an experiment that marked the point of exponential growth for all of us.
"Ah, but you must be curious for what I am speaking about. I cannot quite show you just yet, so I'll tell you. Traditionally, one has no influence in whether or not they are selected for the Hollowing. While yes, factors like proximity to Vessels and Soul Essence can increase the likelihood — there still is no guarantee.
"But what if we could Hollow out anyone's soul? At any age? With minimal side effects? That's what all of you are for. After years of in-depth research and analysis, you all will be our first test. A mixture of diverse and exalted bloodlines with an artificial Hollowing will no doubt provide fascinating results."
The video cut to black, leaving Flint staring at his horrified reflection on the screen.