Zusting slowly sank to the floor, the old dazzle of the glass pod slowly wearing off the longer he had to sit there, “How long will this take!” Zusting groaned, curling up beside Asherest’s leg. Asherest loomed over Zusting, a new form of disgust covered his gaze, scooting away from Zusting, “Can’t you keep it a bolt for a minute?” Velez joined in, “Real, hell, CCT’s so full of itself every other floor is for A grade and above.” Velez turned to the side, taking in the landscape of Xylem, her eyes narrowing, “Or it’s Ex-pannel only.” Velez griped, crossing her arms over her green crop top.
Enixi put a hand over Velez’s shoulder, rubbing circles into them, “I know, I know.” Enixi’s expression hardened, “They won't give us a hard time again.” Enixi turned to Asherest, head held high, “I hope you’re ready.”
Asherest glanced at Eno, watching him configure the transit pod interface, “Of course, Zusting won't be surprised," Asherest glanced at Zusting before his gaze landed on Enixi’s face, wearing a similar expression, “He’s already seen how low grades are treated.”
The panel illuminated the area in a sickening green as they arrived at Circuit Resources.
“Circuit resources?” Zusting inquired, rising to his feet. Asherest nodded, pushing Zusting towards the door, “Yes, your system still happens to be incomplete.”Asherest gestured over to Velez as he stepped out of the pod, “This walking firehazard and your kind alike-”
“Fire hazard?” Velez interrupted, peering over Asherest's shoulder. “Who are you calling a fire hazard?” Asherest glanced back at Velez, “I’m talking about you.” With that, he turned on his heel and led Zusting down the hallway.
“Don't start, you’re a destruct circuit, you’re gonna be a fire hazard.” Enixi pulled Velez back, enduring the simmering heat beneath her arm plates. “Ugh, first you poke around my virtual space and now this!” Velez complained.
Asherest snickered in unison with Eno as they approached the laboratory rooms. Zusting rolled his eyes, speeding up his strides, “Why is my system not complete yet?” Zusting looked up at Asherest.
“Circuits need 5 components to become completely functional.” Asherest stopped in his tracks, gesturing over to the testing room to their left, where a circuit was hooked up to a coding table, and a hologram of its status and various information about its system appeared overhead:
[SYNCING LEVEL - 80%...
CORE - ACTIVATED…
TYPE - CONSTRUCT…
EX… ]
Asherest took a sharp left, yanking Zusting along, “A core.” Asherest approached a lab room, the sleek door sliding a hologram across it before continuing, “ Bond syncing.” Asherest pulled Zusting inside, leaving Enixi and Velez outside.
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“Hey, don’t get too bummed out if he’s like, grade F!” Velez yelled, giving Asherest a thumbs up. “Yeah, at least you have one, now, and we can go on assignments together.” Enixi nodded in agreement, “Or maybe not.” She smiled nervously.
Asherest snapped his fingers, the room seemingly coming alive with blue lights running through the cracks of each wall and meeting in the center of an editing chamber by command.
“Your inheritance of abilities modifications, and lastly–” Asherest turned to Zusting, that same icy gaze piercing through his chest, “obedience.” The churning of the circuitry within the room powering on filled the pause, “Or,” Asherest continued, stroking Zusting’s hair, “What we call, coping code.”
Zusting’s face tightened, balling his hands into fists, “You're saying this like I’m supposed to know what any of that crap means.” Zusting sneered, his stinger visibly perked up towards Asherest, “Sounds like a load of control freak ball knowledge.” Zusting took a defensive stance, the air crackling around him.
“You need a core to even be able to use that log of chrome that is your stinger.” Asherest spoke with matter-of-fact, taking a step forward, “You need to inherit your abilities to use them as well.” He bent down directly in front of Zusting. “Obedience to be the weapon that bends to my whims.” His voice echoed like a command, “So, unless you want to be Chromanic-fodder, I suggest you get in that chamber,” he pointed
A bead of sweat trailed down Zusting’s cheek. His stance crumbled, stinger slowly lowering itself to the ground, “Fine, but only because I don’t want to be fodder to… whatever you're talking about!” Zusting shouted, stomping over to the table and taking a seat, the holograms lighting up in recognition of Zusting's presence.
Before Asherest could make his way over, Enixi entered the lab room, “Asherest, quit playing god and plug him in.” Enixi strode over to the holograms, giving the stats a look.
“He just needs his sync, coping code, and his core activated. It seems like you still remember a little bit from Professor Hikari.” Enixi chuckled, gesturing Asherest over towards the table.
“It’s not like I can forget.” Asherest’s tone was flat as he approached, adjusting the holographic interface. “It should sting a little.”
“Oh, please,” Zusting smirked, resting a hand on his hip. “Like a little spark would—”
The rest of his sentence vanished under the explosion of sound and light.
Sparks erupted across the table; teal and blue code burst through the air like veins of fire.
“—affect me—”
His voice cracked, swallowed by the hum of raw power. Ripples of electricity surged through him, locking his muscles. Holographic restraints snapped over his limbs, symbols of code wrapping tight.
Enixi’s eyes widened. She shouted something, but her voice warped into static. The room quaked, Asherest’s calm cracked for the first time.
Zusting’s vision splintered—flashes of memory, noise, and foreign data burning through his head. Then, everything collapsed.
Silence.
[ CDD - 100%
…
…
…
REMNAT - NOT PROCESSED. ]
