All animate and in-animate matter have a unique frequency. So why wouldn’t the Fae? Or Fae Energy for that matter?

In 2620, the Fae Energy Wave Spectrum was theorized by Dr. Heisenbaum of LeFay Technologies, for the unique identification and classification of the various magical species encountered, based on the resonance frequencies of the detected ‘fae energy’.

On a relative scale, unenhanced ordinary humans would exist at the lowest frequency levels, followed by physical Fae and mental (magical) Fae interspaced based on species uniqueness.

As for Faehumans, well, they could exist all the way from the bottom to being on par with the highest resonance frequent Fae.

– “Introduction to Fae Energy Wave Spectrogrammetry”, Compulsory Learning at Vulcan Corporate Training College.

***

The moment James and Inani returned, carrying sealed metallic containers that very possibly concealed information regarding the ripper-doc’s research interests, Miles and Zhan Shen walked past them.

Miles in particular, truly couldn't care less about what an outer-city ripper-doc was up to, regardless of how praiseworthy the ripper-doc’s taste in transporter engines, inventors, and corporations was. The old butler seemed to be quite amused by the fact that his usual miserly tipper of a young master had been so generous to a ripper-doc, but Miles simply pretended to not notice.

Their walk through the hallway was brisk and short, though not altogether pleasant.

Miles had been horrified to find two large rats in the center of the decrypt hallway, just a few steps before the clinic proper, only to have them skitter away into the crevices of the walls due to their arrival.

‘What a dump.’

Glaring at Zhan Shen for a second for being directly responsible, and the old butler still continuing to shrug in apparent innocence, they pushed through another rusted steel door into the clinic proper.

Then… Miles was forced to reconsider his former opinions, to some extent. While Haruka’s Fae-bulous Emporium was very much what he had expected of an outer city ‘ripper-doc’, the woman was very possibly not a half-bad Faesycian.

The air carried the scent of antiseptics and disinfectant, evidence that the clinic was in frequent use and well cared for.

Without the presence of a light or window in sight, the clinic should’ve been pitch black, and yet, there was perfectly sufficient illumination, originating from some unknown invisible source.

‘Ghostlights?! Probably just one or two at best, but still… impressive. For an outer city Faesycian of course.’

They also happened to be stable and reliable, unlike the flickering cacophony that the cheaper will-o-wisp lighting that seemed to fill everywhere else of the clinic tended to be.

The walls here were definitely reinforced, a far cry from the brittle concrete before that must have become a hideout for mangy rats.

Curiously, they were not warded with cold iron, as most Fae-sycians were want to, ever since pixies, fairies, and other mischievous fae, began to 'prank' those that dabbled with the essence of their fellow Fae.

If the Faesycian was lucky, they’d have a disgruntled customer with leg cyberware attached to their arms. But if the fae in question were of the dreadful kind, then the cyberware may just well implode upon itself.

But here, there wasn’t a single fae-repulsive metal or ward in sight, almost as if Haruka wanted the fae to intrude.

Well, Miles took care of that briskly, with a tap on the Lykaon ring and a call to Cadmus to begin constant emission of the frequency of cold iron, with a resonance of absolute zero hertz from the Fae energy wave spectrum. While the particular frequency didn’t render fae entirely helpless, it did disrupt their abilities to some extent, meaning some mischievous fae would be considerably less likely to intrude.

Even Zhan Shen pulled out a few pieces of paper, calligraphed with symbols of no known language, which he then began to plaster upon the walls.

Miles raised an eyebrow, but he’d seen the old butler use similar pieces of paper before and been given the usual half-answers as to what they were, so he didn’t inquire.

Either they were decorative, which meant he wanted nothing to do with them, or they had some useful purpose in warding off Fae, in which case he believed old Zhan would teach him eventually.

Returning back to the room, there were a few, apparently well-sealed vents. Acceptable, as this was a Faesycian’s clinic, and good ventilation was a necessity to clear out the blood and anything else that might linger.

And at the very center of the clinic was a broad metallic operation table, some alloy of Pirisidium, a fae ore known for being naturally disinfectant, where the majority of the procedures must be performed.

An exposed, rudimentary surgical arm hung overhead, the internal circuitry and components entirely exposed, allowing Miles to discern that the machine was actually a patchwork of salvaged components cleverly connected together, even bypassing the closed system nature that most corporate components used (Lykaon tech included), but still in decent enough condition for working on cybernetics.

But then there was this other thing, tucked away in a corner. Another hodgepodge contraption resembling a cross between an alchemical distillery and a robotic workstation. Vials containing colored liquid stood in ordered rows, almost similar to the standard Fae Serum, but even without examining them closer, Miles could note that these were failures. Duds.

Miles could only scoff at that.

It only made sense that these outer city faesycians would try to replicate the FaeTech Serum. It was an exercise in futility, knowing full well from experience, having participated in his mother’s experimentation and even personally on his own, wasting a decent chunk of credits in the attempts.

It wasn’t that the method of extracting Fae Essence, liquidizing and preserving the energy itself was impossible to replicate. In fact, Haruka may even have succeeded here, had it not been for the World Court enforced patent mandate.

The World Court, a childish attempt to mock the so-called courts that the Fae were rumored to have in their realms, or wherever they tended to be other than when they crawled out of Tartarus, referred to a coalition between some of the world’s most powerful conglomerates, to use a particular type of captured Fae, to supernaturally enforce unbreakable world mandates.

They couldn’t enforce unfair laws or unbalanced rules, but it seemed the old-world intellectual property and patent systems, which had lost all meaning post Fae War and the rise of conglomerates, were fair game. The concept of Intellectual Property was brought back in full force with this, allowing FaeTech the undisputed dominion over Fae Serum creation.

So, unless Haruka could invent an entirely new method of Fae Serum synthesis, not mandated by the particular patent, all she would create were these dud serums.

It was a similar oath-bound contract that had enforced upon him the undeniable requirement of 1000 Faetality to secure his inheritance...

They were not enforced by mere law, but rather, by reality itself.

Pulling a hand through his hair and putting his distractive thoughts aside for a moment, Miles turned to the machinery he would be using to analyze himself.

The machine in question was a rudimentary Faesiology Analysis Cubicle, with what seemed to be an external Faery Resonance Imaging machine.

Miles found the design to be familiar, and it only took the distinctive logo of a sword in a stone, grabbed by a dozen different hands for him to remember.

If he wasn’t mistaken, that was a Lefayescan X-3, Emberforge, by LeFay Technologies.

The pinnacle of physiological and faesyiological analysis tech available. Yeah, sure. That was true… two decades ago.

Miles stared at the machine of tarnished copper, adorned with remnants of faded sigils. The AetherProbe that was supposed to be for analyzing Fae Energy Frequencies had been antiquated over a decade ago, and the so-called ‘Omnisight’ was now a vintage display with visible burn-ins.

He heaved a sigh, at least it should get the job done, barely.

Nevertheless, Miles glared at Zhan Shen, “Did you really pay a Fae Knight’s Gold for this antique? We could’ve bought a dozen of these with the money!”

Zhan Shen shrugged, seemingly uncaring, “The cost of privacy and respect is indeed hefty. And right now, what is more important is time, not luxury.”

Miles frowned, but eventually revealed a cheeky grin, “Well, you’ve been in quite a hurry to get this done, old Zhan. So come on then, fire it up. Let’s get this checkup over with.”

Zhan Shen froze, seemingly unsure on how to proceed. He never did like revealing his inadequacies, particularly this one.

The old butler forced a laugh, “Haha, make fun of the elder who’s troubled by modern technology. Haha, very funny.”

Miles’ grin only grew wider.

Zhan Shen heaved a sigh, “Take care of the physiology analysis with Cadmus’ assistance Master Miles. I can’t help you here, so I’ll be taking your word for it. Don’t tell me, you’re not the least bit intrigued about what’s changed about yourself?”

Although his smile never left, Miles nodded, “Alright then, old Zhan,” and walked over to the antiquated machine, placing his ringed fist upon the cold copper.

“Cadmus, can you weave into this Lefayescan? I believe the X-3 used the formerly proprietary LKE to encrypt—?”

The reply was instantaneous, returned before Miles could even finish.

“AFFIRMATIVE. THE LEFAY KEY EXCHANGE PROTOCOL IS OUTDATED, WITH OVER 100 POSSIBLE VULNERABILITIES, 52 OF WHICH ARE PRESENT HERE.”

And half a second later, “NETWORK INTRUSION COMPLETE.”

Miles wasn’t surprised that Cadmus had weaved into a twenty-year-old piece of tech without so much as a flicker or jitter in the machine to reveal the AI’s intrusive presence.

Instead, now that it was done, he could only get it over with… and began to strip.

Suit, shirt, and pants off, leaving him naked but for a pair of boxers and the yin-yang talisman around his neck.

His lean, sharp muscles tightened, as he couldn’t help but glare at Zhan Shen once again, “This piece of ancient metal can’t even scan through some clothing. What a wonderful Faesycian you picked for us old Zhan.”

The old butler beamed, and made a mock bow, “I aim to please Master Miles.”

Miles grunted, and climbed into the capsule, the metallic edges barely forming a vague human silhouette, which served to fit him in, well enough.

He had to admit, although the circumstances were not ideal, this physiology analysis was for the best.

To properly analyze and understand the changes to himself, before he truly went in headfirst to Vampirism, blind to what the hell was actually happening, led down by an unknown ‘system’ like a little child not knowing when they’d get the candy they were promised, or what else they may be given with it.

It was also very intriguing, and dare he say it, exciting.

So, with an expectant, self-focusing breath, Miles brought up the ring.

“Alright then Cadmus, let’s begin with a deep physiological scan. Use the, *sigh* Omnisight, to display the scan results and any detected irregularities.”

An affirmative beep from the ring, and the aether-probe began to move over his body, methodically from head to toe.

A few minutes later, Miles was peering through the FRI scan displayed on the ancient Omnisight, his vampiric physiology revealed in a… mostly ordinary, human display.

The nervous system and his nerves were depicted ordinarily in the standard mild white glow, just slightly brighter over his brain. It was close enough to a perfect one on the fae energy wave spectrum, that which was associated with ordinary humans.

The lack of alternate-colored dots or splotches suggested that there were no Fae essences within him, proof that he had yet to use a Fae serum. His faetality had not been changed, still left at a nauseating 997.

But most importantly, there were no regions of mass distortion, the energy waves forming his silhouette perfectly complete, confirming that there were no significantly foreign fae energy signatures, meaning, no FaeTech cyberware had been implanted within him, without his knowledge.

While the possibility wasn’t entirely ruled out, this provided a reasonable conclusion that this System was not of FaeTech origin.

Which was good, very good.

However, the most interesting, most distinctive change due to his Vampiric Physiology, well besides the distinctly black and seemingly still region on the left of his chest, where his beating heart should’ve been, was something else.

A lattice of root-like tendrils spreading through his body, distinctive from the nervous system owing to its color of vivid red, seemingly captured mid pulse.

‘What… is that? Is that supposed to be the Blood Circulatory System?”

The FRI had captured something, everywhere where his blood should’ve been, inside his veins and arteries. The energy wave signatures from his blood glowed with such intensity, overwhelming anything he had ever seen before.

A few repeated FRIs confirmed this was not erroneous, revealing that each droplet was akin to a wild, untamed beast coursing through him in a frantic current, compared to the docile flow that may have been observed in otherwise human blood vessels.

It wasn’t entirely uncommon to have the circulatory system appear in an FRI, particularly in those who were frequently and consistently exposed to latent Fae Energy, for example heavy fae effluents.

Thing is, with Miles’ rather privileged upbringing, his situation couldn’t have been further from that.

Not to mention the fact that the crimson energy from the blood in his veins and arteries, blood energy, had a frequency signature that was completely unique, at least compared to the known spectrum of Fae energy waves.

‘Curious, curious…’

But despite his intrigue, Miles could not experiment much further. Unlike Fae Abilities or FaeTech Cyberware which were what usually showed up in FRIs, and which could be practically used and controlled for further experimentation, Miles had little idea on what to actually do with this… energy.

Perhaps, it wasn’t supposed to be actively used, and merely the source of his attribute enhancements and sensory boosts?

Maybe, but Miles couldn’t say for sure.

Well, there was something he could try, but that was for later.

At the very least, the FRI helped confirm that his vampiric physiology and faesiology was stable, well as normal as it could be, but most importantly, stable. The energy had not gone beyond what his Faetality could handle, to rip himself apart.

In fact, since his Faetality was unchanged, it was very plausible that Vampirism or the energy created thereof, did not act in a similar manner to the energy from serums or Fae cyberware.

Thus, Zhan Shen’s primary concerns were answered and resolved, though he didn’t seem particularly pleased.

Nevertheless, Miles continued.

It was time for further experimentation, “Cadmus, let’s continue.”

***

About an hour and multiple dozens repeated FRI scans later, Miles was resting in the uncomfortable cubicle, staring up at the ghost lit concrete ceiling, pondering on what he had just concluded.

He had experimented thoroughly, discovering many things, both minor and major.

First, by having Cadmus analyze each FRI against the external conditions Miles had been under when it was taken for rules of association, and very simply varying the ambient illumination (again by having Cadmus weave into the unencrypted Ghostlights), he was able to analyze, to some extent, the response of his Faesiology to light.

That conclusion was minor.

At least when it came to artificial light, the energy showed little to no change, though Miles did feel a vague sense of unease whenever the lights were to become blindingly bright.

Though he chalked that up to his personal nervousness about what he might find when he exposed himself to actual sunlight.

Experimentation with artificially generated UV gave similar results, concluding that neither had any tangible effect on him. Meaning the final test would have to be done at the break of dawn, but they still had a few hours left before that.

Then, came further research into the nature of the unbeating heart and how it still continued to pump blood through his vessels.

This conclusion was reached quite easily, with a just bit of further processing from Cadmus.

His heart was still, properly dead, and in no way involved in further blood circulation. While it seemed to move, or beat on rare occasions, that was simply a side-effect of the blood flowing through.

In other words, it was the blood that moved, as if given a life of its own, like specters or ghosts following their life habits even after death.

Miles had paused for a moment at the weight of the conclusion, once more feeling the weight of his choices.

But he had felt some of it lift, upon his experimentations with regards to Conditional Undeath.

And yes, that had required a few cuts upon his palm with Zhan Shen’s knife, but such was the price of science.

The series of FRIs, chained together to form an animation of sorts, had revealed the most intriguing result he had seen so far.

[External Bleeding Detected. 0.01 Blood Points (BP) lost. (Negligible. Not considered.)]

The next moment, when Conditional Undeath activated, the FRI animation showed strands, particles of the blood energy, rushing towards the sources of injury.

They passed through the actual veins for the most part, but once they reached a close enough vicinity, they pierced through the vein and moved through muscle to reach the source of injury, in this case his palm.

There, the particles of blood energy would persist, almost in contact with the wound, gradually vanishing away as the injury healed. The specific process here wasn’t clear, but his conclusion was that the blood energy was used for the regeneration, and hence used up.

And yes, the deeper and the longer the cut, or more serious the injury, the more blood energy that rushed to it.

After which, there would not only be a noticeable reduction in the blood energy flowing in his vessels, but also a reduction in his actual blood, proportional to the amount used up in regenerating the injury.

This had led Miles, well, him and Cadmus, to the final conclusion that the blood flowing in him was not merely some sort of Fae energy infused blood.

To phase through the vein walls, and even muscle, the blood was very possibly, a type of energy in and of itself. Or, considering that he could still bleed liquid blood, at the very least, it was capable of transitioning between liquid and energy states.

[0.4 BP consumed. All Injuries Healed.]

And if the many system notifications he had received in the process were anything to go by, he could conclude that this energy was what was referred to as BP (Blood Points).

Another intriguing observation lay in the variation of blood energy with physical motion. Although it was subtle and imperceptible to Miles himself, Cadmus had delved deep into the data of the scans, a feat only achievable by skilled net weavers... or corporate AIs.

While it wasn't groundbreaking work, it did an interesting layer to the already mystical blood energy— motion induced a slight intensification in the flow of blood energy, often concentrated in the specific part of the body in motion.

'Maybe this blood energy is what is behind the attribute enhancements by the System?'

It was an interesting thought, but the FRI scans from the Lefayescan only worked while he was lying within the human shaped imprint of the scanner. If he wanted to experiment more on this, the available equipment was not sufficient.

Zhan Shen, had observed the entirety of the proceedings, occasionally questioning, occasionally concluding, but mostly pondering in silence.

Well, the old butler had even managed to find a clove of garlic from somewhere, and thrown it over, to ‘complete’ the experiment.

Miles had humored him, to some extent curious himself. But the moment he felt nothing over touching the very intense-smelling condiment, besides a strong desire to throw it away due to the sharp smell, he had known it was nothing special.

And further FRIs confirmed it. The blood did not react. It was just his rather sensitive sense of smell having some trouble.

Zhan Shen seemed quite amusedly disappointed.

With that, the basic experimentation was over.

There was still somethings, quite exciting for him to experiment with, but Miles' head was elsewhere, as he chewed on his lip in deep contemplation.

Miles had been trying his hardest to ignore it, he didn’t really want to… but he also did.

[BP: 7/110]

{Blood Points (BP) in detail: (Personal) 7/10 + (Ripae Sanguine) BP: 0/100}

Miles stared at the status screen. Perhaps due to his experimentation, the blood consumption that had been repeatedly stated as negligible had been contradicted by the decrease in blood points from eight to seven.

At least it had resulted in another interesting revelation. Miles himself may not have been able to discern the change, were it not for Cadmus' meticulous analysis of the FRI scan data. As a result of the decrease in blood, the vivid red of the blood energy in his veins and arteries had faded, while the intensity of its flow had intensified.

If Miles wasn't imaging it, it was even worse now.

His throat was phenomenally dry and no amount of gag-worthy outer city canned drinks, which Zhan Shen had brought over in the last hour, had helped. His very physique felt… dehydrated. Not to the point of feeling pain, but it was still uncomfortable and distracting. Attempts to control himself with his breathing had helped so far, but they were always temporary.

It was obvious to him now, that this thirst had only become a problem since the blood points had dropped, after the injury from that gangster that had pierced a hole through himself and his perfectly good suit.

Perhaps in-depth meditation might help him control the thirst better, but his theorization concluded that these Blood Points were his lifeline.

So, surely, refilling the blood was for the better?

Miles took a deep breath, pushing himself off the Lefayescan, and turned to Zhan Shen, who had been sitting on the ripper-doc’s stool, occasionally swiveling around, but mostly silent.

His movement caught the old butler’s attention.

And for the second time in a very short while, Miles found himself saying something he had never even considered he would be saying.

“Old Zhan... I’m going to need some blood.”