Within the room, the tension could be cut with a knife. The smile across Ember's lips put Solaris in a state of rage.
The audacity to smile at something like this as if it were some TV show
Solaris, having just found out that he had, in fact, been the one to have slaughtered that demon, was in complete disarray, not to mention Ember smiling about it, which truly sent his emotions into overdrive.
Solaris curled up into a ball with one hand holding his legs and the other covering his mouth; his eyes were perspiring with tears rolling down his face, attempting to process the whole situation.
He had never truly figured out who had killed the demon, and at the time of seeing the corpse, he was more disgusted and terrified of what could have to think about who could have.
Now that what and more specifically the who has been revealed, it was himself. This was something he had thought of but never wanted to accept because the explanation would have raised too many other questions he did not want to confront, so he buried this thought by telling himself Ember had done it, not knowing his extramicy, he had no idea what he was capable of, but judging by his size, he was most likely a hand-to-hand combatant.
leading him to force the solution on himself that it was Ember who massacred that monster, but of course, the truth was going to find him eventually.
"Stand up, crybaby, I've known you a week and already seen you cry 3 times, so would you just man up and accept what you just saw!"
Ember started his sentence with a relaxed tone, yet got more impatient every other word, ending by almost yelling at Solaris.
"I get it, you can't believe it was you, and trust me, I have the same thought, but guess what, I moved on and accepted it, and you know what else I didn't cry about it!"
The words fell on deaf ear until Ember lifted Solaris out of the chair, standing him up.
ember crouched down slightly, eyeing the boy in his bloodshot, glazed-over eyes with tears still streaming down his face.
Ember had a scowl written over his face until he met eye contact with Solaris. As soon as he did, the anger and hatred for the weak boy subsided.
sigh
His face softened, putting up a calming smile
"Look, Sol, I'm sorry for yelling, but I really need you to be in a normal headspace and know everything if we ever want to figure out what is happening with you. Not to burst your bubble anymore, but no normal human can do that to any demon, let alone a ranked one, and judging by your reaction, you didn't know you could do that. So calm down, sleep it off, and come talk with me in the morning."
With this, he took Solaris back to his room.
Solaris stood for a while at the threshold of the closed door, his mind racing at the previous reveal, shocked at the entire situation, before finally he regained a semblance of self.
Making his way to his bed, his body automatically laid itself down, and he instantly drifted to sleep.
...
Solaris stood in a wide open space before him. A man knelt, chained to both arms, outstretched; they were attached to something beyond the dark expanse restraining him to that spot.
The man had white hair and incredibly pale skin.
trying to get a better look at the man, he suddenly moved and looked up at Solaris as soon as their eyes met, Solaris saw something, it was no man, it was no beast, it was no demon. This was something else entirely, and yet it was Solaris.
...
shot awake by what could only be called a nightmare, Solaris found himself in his room, sitting on his bed. Perspiring from the nightmare, he stood up, went to change his clothes, and took a shower to clean himself from the previous day.
Finishing his shower, he felt much more refreshed and was ready to face the day. He put on a training outfit that Ember had gifted him, grabbed his sword, and left the room.
placing the scabered in the slot on the pants, he recalled that Ember wanted to talk about that day, quickly he turned around and knocked on the door that belonged to Ember.
Some sounds emanated from the room, and soon after, Ember answered the door, looking disheveled and tired.
"Who's there?... Oh, Sol, I didn't even see you down there."
Solaris held in the anger at what could only be considered a cruel joke, and asked the giant.
"You told me to meet with you after I calmed down, so here I am."
Ember looked confused for a bit and began to rub his eye before they widened, and he responded.
"Ohh right yeah I did say that, didn't I?"
Taking a step back, he motioned Solaris into his room.
As Solaris entered the room, it began to shift and became a large cafe-style room with a table and drinks on it.
Solaris took a seat, and as he did, Ember put on a shirt before sitting across from him, taking a sip of the drink as he did.
"So I wanted to ask you if you have ever experienced a warming sensation across your arms? If so, was this triggered by anything?"
"Uhh.. well, no.. not that I can recall.
Solaris was a bit taken aback by the question, as he just dropped this out of the blue, not giving him any time to think.
"Okay, in that case, I'm not quite sure of what could have occurred that day. After our first discussion, I believed that it was due to a primal fear, and your body acted on its own. The feeling would have been due to the rather odd nature of your extramicy, something I assume you also didn't know you had. However, if that feeling wasn't present when you regained control, I'm not certain what could've been controlling your actions."
Well, that was an incredibly long-winded way to say I don't know
Solaris raised an eyebrow at the non-answer and asked something he had wondered about the second most after seeing the footage.
"What do you mean when you say I have an extramicy? I was told they were extremely rare, as well as something that I would be aware of."
ember looked at Solaris and sighed before explaining the predicament.
sigh
"We aren't exactly sure of the nature of extramicys and know very little of the history and origins of the powers, but you are right about one thing: you would be very aware of it, which is why it's strange that it hasn't manifested in your mind that you can use it. From my personal experience, once it activates for the first time, your mind is acutely aware of it, and you can use it as if it were an extension of your body."
As Ember talked, he moved his right hand up and flipped it, and as he did, a spark appeared before igniting, and a small ball of fire floated just above his hand, burning with intense heat and light. Soon after the fire disappeared, he moved his hand back to the cup of coffee.
This was Solaris's first time seeing Embers Extramicy, and he hit his head with his palm.
Damn it, why didn't I think of fire? What the hell, his damn name is Ember.
As Solaris was immensely disappointed in himself, Ember continued.
"So this is why it's very odd that you don't have this thought. Your body seemed to discredit the awakening. The theory we are now considering is that because you aren't aware of the power, it wasn't you in control, not your subconscious, not your instincts, but someone or something else is inside your brain and took control."
This reveal of their theory put the fear of god into Solaris.
Solaris had thought he had come to terms with the situation, yet every day it just gets worse, and the more he realizes he has no idea what was going on.
"... like a demon?"
Solaris hesitantly asked
"Well, we aren't sure, but we... more specifically, Sami wants us to keep a close eye on you, as the being inside you, effortlessly took down that demon. meaning it is very dangerous, one thing we do know for certain, however, is that it means you no harm; in fact, it seems to want you alive."
Solaris was terrified at the implications of that, but for some reason, it put him slightly at ease that, for the moment, he had something watching over him.