Mutagen

Day 260 - 4:27 PM - Codon Ruins, Barangay Codon, Municipality of San Andres, Province of Catanduanes

"Ugh..."

Almost an hour after Mark cleared the ruins of Codon of all the [Infected], he finished absorbing the lingering aura in the surroundings.

Mark was sitting down during the process. As he finished and stood up, he staggered and almost fell. After shaking his head a little and taking a deep breath, Mark stabilized himself.

Absorbing the lingering aura of death in the surroundings was an unpleasant process. The raw aura was filled with the emotions of those who died in this place. The stronger the emotion, the more unpleasant it was. And in this place, the negative emotions were rather intense.

The feeling of betrayal after being abandoned by the mercenaries...

The fear of death...

The fear of turning into an [Infected]...

The fear and pain as their bodies were gnawed and torn apart before their very eyes...

And the sorrow as they watched their remaining loved ones die before they did...

All of these emotions empowered the lingering aura.

"Pu!"

Mark spat out a mouthful of saliva. He felt a bit disgusted.

The raw aura was definitely different from the [Aura of Death] he received from Magwayen's blessing.

If the [Aura of Death] from the blessing was a spicy drink due to the malevolent intent, the raw aura was a combination of unsuitable random ingredients put into a blender and mixed without a thought.

And Mark had to filter all those emotions inside his head in a condensed form. If he was not a high-level [Empath], this process of absorbing the lingering aura of death could make him lose his sanity. Even though Mark could endure it, it still left him with an annoying feeling that something was unpleasantly stuck in his throat, and he could not cough it out.

"Does it have to be this unpleasant?"

Mark suddenly spoke. If someone saw him, it was like he was talking to air for no reason.

However, a reply entered Mark's ears. No, it was more like the reply was transmitted into his head.

Since Magwayen directly gave her blessing to Mark, she could watch and speak to him without needing the artifact. She could also appear using her avatar around Mark. However, the time she could appear was far more limited, and it would use the energy from the blessing she gave Mark. It was something she could not do too often unless Mark had the artifact with him.

"There is nothing we can do about that," Magwayen answered Mark's question. "The aura of the dead contains their final sentiments and emotions before death. Since the people in that place died in brutal ways, that kind of aura should be expected. Well, if you still have the same blessing I gave, you don't have to undergo that process. It's partly your fault that it changed. I'll say that the change is a rather good one, as no other beings could remove the intent from the aura and refine it as you did. You only have to suffer during the process of absorbing the aura while the others that wield similar powers would be driven mad carrying the burdens of the dead."

Magwayen rambled a bit. What she said was reasonable, however.

The [Lower Blessing of Death's Aura] was just an enhancement and did not grant full control of the [Aura of Death]. But Mark, without his control, changed it and acquired control of the aura, turning the blessing into a higher leveled one.

From the explanation Magwayen told Mark these previous days, the original blessing she gave would not consume much of its power since it would only augment Mark's already existing abilities. Once Mark killed his enemies, the used-up aura should gradually recover. Considering Mark's lifestyle during the apocalypse, recovering the used-up aura should not be a problem.

However, as Mark gained control of the [Aura of Death], he needed more quantity for it to properly work, or, at least, to Mark's satisfaction. Furthermore, it gave him the option to grow the blessing far stronger than it was supposed to be.

Absorbing the lingering aura of the dead was not a pleasant experience, but it sure was worth the trouble.

Mark shrugged as he swallowed the disgusting feeling. He was done with what he needed to do in this place. There was no need to linger around any longer.

Contemplating what to do next, Mark turned his head towards the southeast. It was the direction where the Military Outpost should be. He could not help but wonder if the survivors of Codon Settlement had already reached the outpost.

Initially, the location of Codon Settlement was not that far from the Military Outpost. However, the distance grew further because of the [Fusion of Dimensions], and the way now became hilly and mountainous. Since the survivors also tried to stay away from the coast due to the [Infected] coming ashore, they had no choice but to climb mountains and traverse the forest-covered land. They also had no food and water since the mercenaries took all the supplies before leaving. Thus, the survivors had to procure food and water along the way. It was no surprise that it was already several days, and they had yet to reach the Military Outpost.

But from what Mark saw yesterday, those people should arrive there today.

Mark also noticed the people he interacted with when they arrived on this island the second time. The old woman was fine and was being helped by the people around her. He also found the kid. Unfortunately, it seemed that the kid's grandfather was no longer with his grandchild since the kid was now being taken care of by the old woman and her team.

Those two old people were nice kind of people. Mark had said it before. He might not be a good person, but he did admire good, selfless people. One cared for his grandchild despite all the odds. And now, that child was being taken care of by the old woman when most people in the world in its current state would probably just leave an unrelated child and leave.

Mark opened his wings and began to fly. Since he was still undecided about what he should do about the mercenaries, he chose to do one thing.

***

Day 260 - 8:21 PM - Napo Settlement, Barangay Napo, Municipality of Pandan, Province of Catanduanes

The rebel settlement. It was already past the curfew.

Michael and Marian snuck out of their rooms. The two met together and stealthily made their way to the training area.

The two both found letters inside their rooms. It was something unexpected since no one should be able to bring those letters in without anyone knowing. The letters told them to go to the training area at night. Normally, the two would ignore such words, especially if it was from a suspicious letter. However, as the letter mentioned other things, they knew who the sender was.

Michael and Marian arrived at the training area. As usual, it was dark here at this time of the night. After all, no lights were put in the many areas like the training area to conserve gas and other resources needed to light up places. And due to this and the curfew, no one was present in the training area at night.

This time, there was someone, however.

The sender of the letter that Michael and Marian received.

Their eldest sibling, Mark.

"Have you two gotten used to your abilities yet?"

Mark voiced out the moment the two arrived.

There were no greetings or introductions. Their family was not used to those kinds of stuff. Even "thank yous" and "sorries" were barely heard within their family. Mark and his siblings were raised in this kind of environment. They were used to it.

Mark never liked it, however.

"Yeah, kind of."

Marian replied while Michael nodded in agreement.

It was just a bit more than a week since Mark gave them the crystals. Although their bodies knew how to use their abilities by instinct, the real application of those new abilities still needed some time and experience.

"Why did you call us?" Michael asked. "It's kinda hard to sneak around nowadays, and we will get punished if we get caught."

The curfew in Napo Settlement became more strict since the [Fear Phenomenon] happened. It was called differently here, however. Nonetheless, it made everyone paranoid about what happened. Not to mention the sudden increase in the appearance of the [Infected] on the northern coast near the settlement. There was also the explosion of light a week ago. As such, stricter measures were implemented.

"Don't worry, I'll be fast."

Mark said as he began talking about the mercenaries and private soldiers who were making their way through the island from the ruined Codon Settlement.

As Mark finished the rough explanation, his two siblings began to contemplate in understanding.

"So that's what Mom was talking about."

Michael voiced out, and Marian explained to Mark.

Apparently, their mother found from her fortune-telling that a group of armed people might arrive about two to three days from now on from Codon Settlement. It actually caused some discussion among the higher-ups of the settlement. After all, some soldiers from Codon made their way here and settled. Those soldiers were likely chased away by the same people, after all.

The cards also showed them that the Codon Settlement was no more, which caused more agitation among the former soldiers. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do.

Thus, the discussion was centered on what they should do about the arriving group of people.

And although not yet finalized, the higher-ups were more inclined to not accept them.

"Why?"

Mark asked.

"Because of Mom," Michael answered. "Well, even without her cards, only idiots won't see the potential danger of taking in people that usurped an entire settlement."

"You said they abandoned the people in Codon and ran away while it was being attacked, right?" Marian repeated some details Mark mentioned. "Then that's more of a reason not to accept them."

Mark listened to the two. He smiled and nodded. Although he was undecided about the situation, he was more inclined to eliminate the potential danger. It was just that the strength of the mercenaries, along with their experience on the battlefield, was rather hard to pass up.

But if the Napo Settlement was already preparing to decline the mercenaries, it was better for Mark to just eliminate them on his own. Not only would it not consume more time, but it would also prevent unnecessary fighting outside the gates of Napo Settlement.

"I'll go eliminate them, then."

Mark decided with a nonchalant attitude.

Michael and Marian stared at Mark. However, the two just shrugged it off. Considering how the world was, it would be more surprising if one was still hesitant to kill, especially against people that could endanger their lives.

"Is that all?"

Marian asked while looking around. It was better not to spend too much time here, or they might get caught.

"One last thing."

Mark said as he took out three metal boxes about the size of a pencil case. He handed one box each to his siblings first.

Of course, Michael and Marian immediately opened the boxes in their hands. It was dark, but they should still be able to see what the boxes contained under the moonlight.

The two were surprised as the boxes contained four sets of crystals neatly placed on cloth lining inside. Four [Empty Physical Crystals] and four  [Filled Physical Crystals] inside each case. Furthermore, the filled crystals were labeled with what mutation they contained.

"Find people you trust and give them one set," Mark said. "You two can form your teams and protect yourselves. I'll be leaving soon, so I don't know when I'll be back here again."

The two realized what Mark wanted and nodded. It was when Mark gave the last box to Marian.

This time, the box was smaller than the two and only contained three sets of crystals.

"These ones are for Dad, Mom, and Addy," Mark said while his siblings read the same labels under the crystals. "Just don't give those to them immediately, especially Dad's and Addy's. You two know Dad's personality, and Addy's a hyperactive kid. There's no good in giving those crystals to those two immediately."

Michael and Marian nodded to Mark's words, understanding what he meant.

Since Mark was finished with his business here, he soon departed. After all, his siblings also could not spend a long time here chatting with him.

Besides, Mark had to finish his other business now that he had finally decided.

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