FA Chapter 5 Night and Morning

The bristles of the comb against her scalp were heavenly, almost lulling her to sleep, except that this wasn't the time. Some words needed to be exchanged with the person behind her. Her hands were godly though, capable of smoothening out all the tangles within her beautiful purple strands with such skill, she felt heavenly during and afterwards.

Bora had just exited from the bath, her reflection within the mirror showing off her long and healthy purple hair. A small smile of contentment was gracing the contours of her face.

Luna was standing behind her, combing and untangling it. Being in the middle stages of the forger path, specifically the liquid stage, gave her the ability to untangle every single strand with a thought, but then she wouldn't get to enjoy this heavenly feeling of Luna working her magic.

"Why do you always have to work me to the bone?" Luna asked with a grumble, though the faintest of smiles in the reflection suggested that she was enjoying it too.

"Why did we have to hire guards? I alone, am enough." Asked Luna. Bora resisted the urge to sigh at the question.

"It is the only path that will allow us to survive the coming disaster." Bora answered.

"You consulted that thing?! Are you okay?" Luna shouted before fussing over Bora, searching for any signs of abnormality.

"I am okay! Besides, this time it took the initiative to speak."

As if by prior agreement, both of their eyes fell upon the thing at the side of the dressing table, a black humanoid toy, about 8 inches tall with golden strings poking out of its body. It was all black, with holes for its eyes being deep abysses that even made the two woman flinch. There was this creepy sensation that it was gazing at and through them.

"You know my mother's creation wouldn't be wrong, right?"

"Do you have any idea about the origin?"

"Family."

"That isn't enough. Many of your father's bastards and legitimates are running around within this city considering that this is going to be Musana's 30 year celebration. And...none have any like towards you...no offense." A frown etched itself upon Luna's face.

"I know too, but as you already know, there's a limitation on what it says."

"Its a pity that she had to pass away so suddenly." Luna's voice took on a sad note.

"Once I advance to the crystal stage, I will search for the murderer." Bora spoke, her tone airy. Only she knew how much hatred, rage and sadness was locked away within her heart.

"I have never forgotten her for even a moment. She did treat me like a daughter. But we have to be cautious as we have no idea who the enemy is. It might even be the person who's going to cause problems for us."

"Luna, they aren't going to be causing problems. They will be aiming for our lives."

"Was it that clear?" Luna became startled.

"Yes."

"Then, why did you choose those people. Even in the gaseous stage, they won't be a match against the attackers. A crystal stage might even descend upon us!" Luna's eyes contained the silent demand for an explanation. The word Crystal even made a sliver of fear manifest itself within her gaze. Those were beings with scary and weird abilities. Monsters that couldn't be competmentalised within common sense!

"That's what 'it' suggested if we wanted a chance at survival." Bora pointed to the lifeless humanoid toy.

"Though, it seems that we have moles even in this very building itself. That Drekov guy is clearly a plant. Though, I wonder why someone as sloppy was even chosen." Luna scoffed in disdain.

"Luna, never underestimate even a tiny ant!" Bora chasitised in seriousness.

"Okay! Okay! ...I believe your eldest brother is the prime suspect." 

Bora nodded before standing up from the chair, her faint purple negligee highlighting her curvaceous form.

"It looks like this is going to be a hard month. Though, it will be worth it if I finally get to see the legend in the flesh!" Luna's tone took on a higher pitch.

"Yes. The first Forger. I wonder how he even managed the feat of becoming one? No one speaks of how Musana became the first Forger, but I believe the Association must possess the secret." Bora's pursuit lay elsewhere. How humanity learned about Forgers had been one of the most guarded of secrets. Even Musana himself had never revealed it in his book.

Sometime later, Bora was left alone, seated at the edge of the bed. Her brain was turning, calculating some possibilities and making plans. The toy had released just a smidgen of information but she was trying to work out who among the people who had stayed would be the one to avert the disaster. According to her observations, almost all had their own agendas, except for two.

She fell back into the bed, feeling the soft mattress absorbing her into itself, providing her a warmth that was all too inviting. Sleep was about to take her, and she wanted it too, so she gave in.

-----

Bosingwa's eyelids opened not because he was tired of sleep. In fact, it was the very opposite. The dreadful light of day had caused the opening of his eyelids, dragging him from the sweet sweet embrace of sleep so that he could welcome a new day. Miss Bora and Luna had given them rooms with their own windows, where the natural light from the outside could reach. According to what he knew, these rooms were way more expensive than those deeper within buildings as humans naturally valued day itself. Even with holographic and virtual constructs, nothing could beat natural light, the breeze, or even the view of reality.

For a split second, puzzlement encroached upon his mind at the unfamiliar surroundings, the white drapes, the fancy bed, the cleanliness, and most of all, the lack of the rancid smelling unwashed laundry, before his mind managed to notify him of the previous day's memories.

The moment he remembered, it was like being injected with a stimulant, causing his eyes to widen, and all sleep to be banished! Today was his first day as a Forger! A being separate from the normal humans! 

He had struggled. He had toiled away for countless years. He had kept his goal without the slightest deviation in his thoughts. And finally! He had succeeded! Many had failed. Many had caved. Many hadn't even considered the notion, like that Bill. But HE had succeeded in the end!

A grin, almost maniacal in nature took over his face before he abruptly burst into laughter, soft at first, but became louder by the second until loud enough that if it weren't for the soundproofing, he might have alerted his neighbours. The joy lasted for a full ten minutes before he gained ahold of himself, jumping out of the bed to stand within the room. 

After a deep breath, he tried to focus inwards, as had been exhorted by the various material he had perused over the years. The unawakened wouldn't feel anything, only a darkness because their eyes were closed, or some visualisation of whatever they wanted... But the moment he did so, his view changed...

He appeared in a space. Though, he felt like his eyes, or some extra sense had appeared, instead of his own body, or a spiritual manifestation of it. But within his senses, all that he could see and feel and taste and... He couldn't describe the sensation exactly, but it was a meld of his senses, not in a weird way, but one which gave birth to a beautiful symphony, allowing him to observe the sparse transparent mist within this space.

It wasn't stationary, instead tumbling around, each particle floating around aimlessly. Though he didn't know why, but his instincts were telling him that these particles weren't part of anything he knew, like some sort of higher dimensional energy, or something completely on another level. He spent some time in this space, nudging the energy, molding it into different shapes, but they dissipated back into mist in a moment.

With an intention of thought, his mind made an exit from the space and nudged the mist, moving it out of the space and into his body, causing him to feel something akin to omniscience within his body.

He gasped at how easy it had been. When the mist merged with his framework, he felt that through it, he could intimately feel every single cell making up his body, including the bones, the long-chained proteins, the micro-organisms, the fluids, and many other structures. It was godly! With a thought, he attempted something simple, like making his heart skip a beat... And that almost went off the rails.

His face paled for a moment as his heart stopped for a whole two seconds! For a moment he thought that he was about to die, with panic starting to set in, only for a Badump to assail his senses, washing him with immense relief.

Though, it didn't take him long before he tried another experiment, one where he tried to enhance the amount of information his brain could pick up from his cells related to touch. With his feet as the target, information came to him, that which he couldn't have been capable of handling while unawakened.

At first, he felt the faint pain of being punctured, like something sharp wanted to drill a hole through the soles of his feet, and not just a single sharp thing, but a multitude. For a moment, there was incomprehension, before something dawned within his mind after looking down. The prickly feeling was coming from the carpet.

As he increased the amount of information he could process through his nerve cells, so did the pain, causing him to miss out on the other sensations. When it almost reached the point of becoming unbearable, he withdrew the spiritual energy.

After a few minutes of adjustment, he once again stood up. His previous excitement was still there, just tempered down. Those few seconds had taught him of the fact that Forgers could easily end their own lives if they weren't careful! Imagine giving yourself a cardiac arrest because you surpassed a certain pain threshold?

He reached for a glass of water, downing the entire contents down his throat before plopping down on the bed and exercising caution while enhancing his hearing. He had decided to continue with the experimentation as it was important.

He had to at least let himself have a preliminary understanding of what this energy-no, spiritual energy was truly capable of bringing to the table.