FA Chapter 6 The Shivers

Day 7/February/2973

Bosingwa had never particularly cared about whether red was beautiful, vibrant or anything for that matter. Why? It was a color that he had seen many times within his life that the feeling of novelty hadn't even manifested... Yet, here he was, thinking to himself that this was the most vibrant shade of the color he had ever seen! And not in a good way!

The reason why his mood was sour was simply because the color had now become associated with death, a grim reaper none wanted to meet at all, yet it was always there, breathing down necks.

Upon being brought to the scene right before him, his body had almost broken out into the shivers, a dance that would most probably have brought about unwanted results for him at this particular moment. Bosingwa cared about what the world thought of him, so being the first to become weird would most definitely lead to nicknames, a thing he had hated since school.

He should have considered it! That the moment he succeeded in awakening as a Forger, death was going to scoot even closer, enclosing his body with a vice grip that wouldn't let go unless it managed to claim him!

He clenched his hand when it started to show the signs of the shivers, trying to mask his uneasiness at the eerie sight right before him. The room had become a tapestry upon which the color red had been splashed, like some wannabe artist had went for broke.

"So, this was what you wanted to show us? How unoriginal." A dull voice echoed within the empty room, with its owner being barely registered through Bosingwa's peripheral vision. Those vibrant curls, a different shade from the canvas that was the room were maginficently swaying with a bob of the woman's head. Those intense eyes of hers held no sympathy, only a cold and forbidding disdain and boredom.

'How can she be that carefree?! A person just died! Horribly!' 

The urge to yell out those exact words was repressed, but with every moment that he spent here...with every second that his nose picked up on the steaming blood...his stomach was devolving into a chaotic mess, urging him to spill out its contents. He had already pieced some of the events together. Judging by the heavy tang of iron in the air, his blood should have been the trigger that had caused this disaster.

"Even if he had lasted longer, he wouldn't have become a worthy research subject."

Bosingwa turned to the speaker, a man dressed casually in a cardigan and a pair of faded jeans. His hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in years and his eyes gave off the feeling that he would rather have been within the sheets, enjoying their warm embrace.

"It is fascinating how spiritual energy can drive the body to perform feats beyond its limits... Even if it was just for a moment." Nest haired man spoke. His hand was cradling his chin while his eyes held a maniacal shine that hadn't been there before.

His words chilled Bosingwa, who moved his gaze away, roaming it over the others, his face paling with the realisation that all the people here, Miss Bora and Luna included, were calm! Way too calm! This was a person they had known! No matter how fleeting it had been, they had been acquaintances for a time! How could their reactions be so...cold?

Chubby... The man had been unlikable. Bosingwa hadn't asked for his name, an action some part inside him was celebrating about.

"Do you feel that its a pity? That we are all heartless bastards? Old man, your naivety will be the end of you." The woman with white locks of hair cupping the sides of her face and covered in a cloak that obscured the rest of her body from view spoke. Her voice was chilly, yet somehow he felt that she was trying to be kind. But old man? When had he gotten so aged up?

"This brat didn't die because of a simple accident. No! He must have caused his own death. Why? Because of stupidity!"

"He sped up his blood circulation, making it reach levels a normal human couldn't survive. But seeing that nothing wrong was truly happening to his body, he sunk in deep, increasing the speed, until...Piak!"

"An explosion that shredded his body from the inside, with the pressure alone even shattering his skeletal framework with such force and power that you get this." With those last words, the man with the unkempt hair dug out a bone fragment from the wall. He brought it closer to his face for inspection, even licking its surface which earned him gazes of disgust but he appeared to not mind in the slightest.

"Interesting. Interesting! The temperature had even reached the boiling point of water!" He mumbled.

"If someone had been in the room with him, the chances of survival would have been zero. 80% of newly awakened Forgers die because of accidents like this. The 20% from before was a lie. I suggest that the rest of you don't get cocky or else you might face the same fate." Luna interjected, her pointed gaze boring through the man with the unkempt hair and the others. It appeared that even she had been taken back by many of their reactions. Except the guy in the suit, who had teror painted upon his face. For a moment, Bosingwa took him for a kindred spirit.

"Don't lump me in with the pieces of chubby here. I have extensively studied the human body to the level that I can do this."

With that, Bosingwa's terror and fear became shock when the man vanished, only for his image to appear at the far side of the room, as if he had teleported!

"You see! This was really easy! This is my first time bypassing the limits imposed on this body by the brain... Its exhilarating!"

"Tch!" Luna scoffed before leading everyone out of the room. 

Bosingwa's gaze was downward, as if the floor was more interesting than the rest of the world, but only he knew how terrified he really was. 

The memories of his experimentation from this morning were dragged to the fore, reminding him of how close he had been to death. And he hadn't even engaged in a battle! With the slightest mistake he might have ended up like chubby!

"Cheer up! There is absolutely no need to be in the dumps!" A hand slapped his back, causing a faint anger to rise only to be repressed back. There was no need to offload his worries and insecurities on someone else.

"My name is Drekov. What's yours?"

Bosingwa locked eyes with the guy. He was still impeccably dressed in his suit, just like yesterday. The stench of terror was emanating from the guy. His smile was rigid. His face was beaded with sweat. And he had probably first wiped his palm on his trouser before offering it to him... But atleast he was trying. Trying to put what he had just seen behind him.

"Bosingwa." He took the hand. It helped drag him from the abyss that he had been about to sink within. His thoughts would have eaten away at his sanity, slowly causing him to devolve onto something he shouldn't.

But the guy was still suspicious. His gut had warned him, and there was absolutely no way he wouldn't trust it! It had saved him many times within the virtual worlds. Something was off with this guy. He wasn't being as forthright as he appeared on the surface.

"Honestly, I don't know whether I should feel grief for the chubby guy, or terrified that my own life almost ended!"

Bosingwa felt as if space itself froze in this second. A chill, so cold and desolate licked his bones for a moment. His instincts screamed at him that something dangerous had just laid its eyes on him!  Actually, the white haired woman vanished from her place in front, appearing a few meters behind them. She had retreated! But because his gaze was focussed in front, his other senses were the ones that noticed her.

The bloodlust was radiating off miss Bora in waves. Like a chicken with its neck snapped, Drekov's vocal cords had failed him. Sweat had started to bead on his forehead in real time at such speed, Bosingwa knew he had activated his spiritual energy. It hadn't been a conscious decision, probably a defense mechanism that automatically triggered because a threat was being posed upon his very life!

"Bora!"

It was like a key word had been uttered, a kill-switch of sorts. Because the feeling of doom vanished with such speed that for a moment, Bosingwa almost concluded it had been an illusion.

"You are going to need weapons and a change of attire but first, we should first see whether you can fight. After all, your ability to protect my miss hinges upon your combat ability." Luna spoke from up ahead. Miss Bora didn't speak, but all of them knew right away that Drekov had survived because of Luna. No one would have been able to stop that woman! Bosingwa had that feeling!

Bosingwa took a glance at miss Bora's back. The woman was quiet but that death had affected her, though he didn't know to what extent exactly. And they needed to guard her? Wasn't it more of the opposite?