An inhuman and positively otherworldly entity invisibly and intangibly cantered past the doors leading into the largest public hospital in Tegucigalpa. The monstrous being that entered the hospital had a form that was not even remotely human in its appearance, one made of subtle, rolling darkness, and was positively bestial in countenance.
The creature that stalked the entryway into the hospital was a quadrupedal beast out of the nightmares of what Americans would recognize as a strange, churchgoing, horse girl. The infernal beast had the equine body of a majestic warhorse, with the ebony-black fur of a new moon's midnight sky, a dark red mane that radiated the same level of heat as a bonfire, and glowing scarlet eyes.
As the entity stepped into the hospital's primary reception room, its eyes lazily explored the room. It could casually see dozens of sick people waiting on assorted couches and seats to be called into service rooms to be checked out, first by a nurse, then by a doctor. The entity, feeling rather generous in the early afternoon, decided to close its eyes and bestow a gentle gift on the people in the reception room.
While its eyes were closed it began to consider the people in the room its friends and in doing so allowed them to feel near-immediate relief, in some cases their eyes widening and tears beginning to form as they felt magical relief surge into them. Nathan's passive healing and regenerative aura worked best on physical wounds and not actual sicknesses, but it was able to provide some measure of relief either way.
The eerie horse-like creature trotted over to some of the sick people and paused beside them. The entity then uttered a single potent word, in an inhuman, nearly inaudible voice, and as soon as he said it arcane power flowed out of him and into the people waiting to be called upon. As soon as the word left his equine lips color began to return to the faces of the diseased as the diseases themselves began to leave their bodies, purified by the potent, restorative magic.
It didn't matter what ailed them, the powerful being of goodness and power had the magic to overcome it all. Even undiagnosed cases of cancer and HIV were purified as readily as the common cold and the flu, and the people who were subjected to Nathan's healing magic felt their bodies feel better than they had felt in months, or sometimes in years.
As magical energy left my body and entered the bodies of those around me I momentarily felt a bit tired. Healing over two dozen people at once was a bit much, even for me, given the potency of the magic I had just used.
I had made use of two new abilities of mine just now. One of the abilities was a passive healing aura that applied to anyone I considered my friend and was perfect for healing physical wounds, capable of causing even bullet wounds to stitch themselves up and close perfectly, as well as reducing how painful something felt. The second new ability I made use of was a bit more intensive than the first.
While I pulled an all-nighter last night and studied magic I had come across tomes of restorative magic. I had eagerly devoured those books, and the ability to use restorative magic was a consequence of that.
My healing magic was at the level where I could cure diseases with a simple spell and an uttered word of holy power, but while the actual magic in question was simple it was still fairly costly. Thankfully the work my clone had put in at absorbing the points of corpses and sending them my way had boosted my intelligence to the point where I had a fairly expansive pool of arcane energy to expend on magical deeds.
I had not known what sort of diseases ailed those who were seating down and waiting for treatment, but in the wake of healing them, such information was transmitted to me in the form of text boxes in my mind's eye. Reading the text boxes allowed me to know just how phenomenally powerful the magic I could utilize was, since it allowed me to figure out that my magic could heal even diseases and health defects that were currently incurable by human medical technology.
"The ability to cure cancer..." I mentally uttered, awed and amazed by my own potent capabilities. Curiously, the impact of having this ability was dulled a bit by having control over the organites deep inside of me that were capable of both curing or causing cancer, but I was still in awe of my own power. This was an ability that could transform the world, especially in these early days before the world realizes that magic and the supernatural have returned, and have been strengthened.
I could also consciously and unconsciously sense a greater amount of magic in the world around me. Now that I possessed "Minor Arcanescience" I was able to detect the slowly increasing amount of arcane energy that was gradually infusing the world around me. I knew that in time more and more people would begin to exhibit magical abilities and that at this very moment odds are magicians around the world were already utilizing greater magic than they had ever used. I also knew something else that was incredibly important. It was the thing that was on my mind as I began to canter deeper into the hospital.
I slowly but surely began to wander past the reception area and deeper and deeper into the hospital. As I did my senses began to hone in on key stimuli, such as the slowing of heartbeats, the sound of muscles slowing down as anesthesia took hold of the body, and even the noises of brain activity, thanks in part to the fusion of my supernaturally keen senses and my technologically-enhanced mind.
I also ignored a thousand other sources of sensory stimulation. I disregarded the scents of things such as death and the atrophy of muscles due to things like being in a coma or being paralyzed. I didn't focus on the litany of languages, conversations, and mournful cries I could hear all around me. I ignored the hammering of individual hearts as patients received life-changing news, be it life-affirming or life-shattering revelations. Instead, my focus was internal.
I possessed a superpower that I doubted anyone on Earth would possess even in the coming, possibly apocalyptic near-future: power over organites, nanites, femtomites, and picomites. That power gave me a distinctive edge, one that would I retain even when knowledge of monsters, the supernatural, and superpowered humans became common knowledge. And in order for me to maximize the impact of that advantage, I needed to quickly begin to master it. As if in response to my thoughts, the voice of the system shattered the relative silence I was traveling in.
"If you wish to master your technological powers then you need to go ahead and focus on two separate areas. First, you must seek to practice and hone these powers yourself. That is important. Practice with every sort of machine inside of you. Create orgamechs. Utilize your powers. And secondly, you ought to master the powers known as the grey-set. Or rather, seek to master the powers that allow you to master disciplines to ultra-human extents." The system began, as I stealthily entered a room where a small family consisting of a young man, perhaps only a year or two older than me, sat in a hospital bed, flanked on both sides by his mother and father listened to a doctor who was giving the young man a dire prognosis.
"The powers that you currently have from the grey-set could all be considered powers that either enhance or alter your intellect in some way. You can reliably mimic physical feats achieved by humans due to your 'Copycat' ability, you can, as you did when pulling the all-nighter, enter a 'Flow-State' that speeds your concentration, you are capable of reliably replicating your own acts perfectly as if on 'Autopilot'. Those are all either intellect-alteration-type abilities or body-alteration-type abilities that perfectly exemplify the introductory level of the type-grey powers." The voice explained.
"The first of the powers you want to get to begin to master your technological powers are the 'Intuition' powers, which like your 'Flow-State' power are powers that alter your intellect. These powers are direct boosts to a specific sort of knowledge. For example, there is an 'Intutition' ability that is centered on nanorobotics, and earning it will greatly enhance your power over your machines, as well as expand their capabilities." The system continued, even as I watched a doctor reduce a grown man to tears.
"Another notable 'Intuition' type power that exists is an intuition ability that is centered around magic, which tremendously boosts your knowledge of arcane traditions, arcane disciplines, and eldritch, esoteric secrets that you could use to gain arcane followers or terrify mystical rivals into submission." The system revealed, which caused my eyes to widen, even as I began to imagine gaining greater still powers over magic.
"You actually already possess one intuition-type power. It is a power granted to you by The Sanctuary, entitled "Swordmaster" which enhances your capability to speedily master the usage of weapons of all sorts, despite the rather limited sounding name. With it, you can gain mastery over weapon-based combat of all sorts. It is a handy ability if you seek to engage in battle since with it you can master weapons ranging from guns to staffs so long as you are willing to do a tiny bit of training." The voice in my head advised me, causing me to imagine utilizing something like a bow and arrow or a simple knife to cause all sorts of devastation.
"Another component of mastering your powers over technology is boosting your creativity. Creativity is not a direct stat, or even a secondary stat, but rather is a fusion of two different primary attributes; intelligence and wisdom. By becoming more creative and by exercising your creativity you will gain quicker access to the intuition-based abilities you need to purchase in order master your machines." The voice informed me, which made a certain level of sense. It wasn't as if I could purchase all of the physiology-type abilities that existed, some of them had prerequisites that needed to be fulfilled in order for me to be able to purchase them. This was that, but for intuition-type powers.
It was while I was considering that, that a plan began to form in the back of my mind. A plan that would allow me to demonstrate some creativity, hone my powers, and even make use of some of my new ones, such as my power over the virtue of charity. And it all began with me making an offer that would save a life. The same instant that I decided to enact my plan was the instant that the doctor in the hospital room bid the family to whom he had just delivered some truly heartbreaking news farewell, for now, to give them time to consider the way they would like to try and proceed with regards to their son's terminal prognosis.
The family in the room watched as the doctor departed the room, tears in their eyes as they considered the medical professional's expert and sobering prognosis. They were ignorant to the fact that their heartbreak and fear were being watched by a rather alien entity. The alien entity in question began to utilize potent illusionary magic, thankful for the extreme speed at which his magical energy regenerated, to prepare to introduce themselves.
The three people, parents and son alike, froze in shock as all three of them began to see a bright light fill their minds' eyes, and then see a strange, otherworldly silhouette appear within the otherwise blinding light. The silhouette was in the form of a powerful, tall, human-like frame, complete with the majestic, feathered wings of artistic depictions of angels.
All three members of the family looked up at the angelic figure in confusion, shock, and a mixture of hope and despair. The figure silently watched them, as the actual body of the one responsible for the illusion that was playing in all three minds, gently touched the foreheads of mother, father, and son alike, filling each of them with potent organites.
