Solaris looked at the three people staring at him, his head moving between them.
The three looked lost in thought for some time before asking one after another.
"What is my sacrifice?"
"What's mine, Sol?
"__________________"
Solaris looked between the three and then spoke.
"I have no idea."
This lie was something Solaris wished he didn't have to tell, but if they were so eager to send people to their deaths within hell, then he shuddered to think what would happen if they learned of his ability to read people's Extramicys.
However, there was something that was eating away at him.
"Well, that's fine; I'm sure we can understand them on our own."
Jon Smit smiled as he spoke, then stood up.
"Well then, I have to go prepare the Crimson Cross for the tournament. It will be in a few days. I shall send a message when it starts, so be there."
After finishing his sentence, he placed his hand over his chest with the same L shape as before and then walked out the door, Arias following in tow.
As the duo left the crimson cross, Ember turned to Solaris.
"What do you know?!"
His hand rested on Solaris's Shoulder, squeezing it slightly.
"Get your hand off me."
Solaris spoke in a calm tone, suppressing the confusion of the sudden outburst.
Ember began to squeeze tighter.
In return, Solaris hardened his shoulder.
"I know nothing, as I said before."
His face displayed a serious, stern look despite his blatant lie.
"Fine, if you don't want to tell me, then don't, but don't come crying when it backfires. Jon Smit is someone you don't want to mess with."
Ember removed his tight grip and stood up to leave the room.
"Good night, Solaris."
With that final statement, Ember left the room.
God damn, my shoulder hurts.
Solaris began to roll his shoulder with his hand.
"Last time I'm selfless."
Sighing, Solaris stood up and began to leave for his own room.
However, a familiar face stopped him at the door.
"We need to talk, Solaris."
Sami stared him in the eyes with a stern look.
"Okay."
Moments later, the two were in Sami's office.
There was no talking, no movement, just the two people sitting in opposing chairs.
The silence was palpable and thick; this was the first time he'd talked with Sami since returning from hell.
After a moment longer, Solaris spoke, breaking the thick veil of silence.
"How have you been, Sami?"
"I've been well."
After another moment, Sami spoke again.
"I'm sorry for the silence; it's been a while since I've seen you, and you've changed quite a bit. I just needed to absorb the changes to evaluate you a bit better."
Solaris looked at Sami incredulously.
He had not heard of this ability before and was interested in what it meant.
"You mean you can absorb information to heal better?"
Sami coughed and looked away for a moment, then glanced back at him before Moving forwards with the task she had brought him in for.
"No. Now then, I'd like to run some diagnostics on you and just a quick check up, i wouldve rather done this directly after your return, but that didn't end up happening."
"Alright, sounds good. Do what you need to do."
Sami nodded and then pulled out a device with two small suction cups at the end of two cables.
"Here, affix these to your temples and then I'll say to you a couple of phrases."
Solaris looked at the device with a bit of hesitancy, then asked.
"Is this some kind of lie detector?"
Sami looked a bit confused while responding.
"No, are you hiding something that would require me to use a lie detector?"
"What, no, I..."
"I'm kidding, don't worry. This is just to read your brain waves; it's to assure you're mentally okay.
"Oh, I see. Then here and here?"
Solaris placed the two suction cups onto his left and right temples.
"Alright, looks good. Now imagine a calming place free of harm and worry. This should bring your mind down to a calm state and allow for the best readings."
"Alright, can I close my eyes?"
Sami nodded and turned to the device in her hand, pulling a cord from the bottom of it and plugging it into her computer.
Shutting his eyes, Solaris began to think of a lush forest, filled with plants and even some passive wildlife grazing in a meadow. He had never truly seen any animals outside of the occasional bird, but he had seen a few in books.
The landscape incorporated a flowing river with some fish jumping out of it, and a large animal that almost looked like a bear swinging its paws to grab the fish.
Solaris felt his mind calm as the trees within his mind blew in the wind, his heart slowed into a calming state, and the faint heat he had been emanating had faded away.
Taking a deep breath, Solaris spoke.
"I'm ready."
"Perfect, now I'll start off light." Sami paused and then spoke.
"Ember."
Solaris began to imagine the forest in a brighter state, with a small portion of it lighting on fire. After a moment, it was gone, and a tall man with wings now floated above the landscape.
Looking at the monitor, Sami watched Solaris's brain fire up for a moment before calming once again. Her hand moved as she wrote onto a sheet of paper.
"Selen."
Sami's eyes widened slightly as a smirk grew on her face; the screen showed an activity unlike the other. It was something she understood very well. Writing on the paper, she spoke another phrase.
"Malith."
As the words left her mouth, she regretted speaking them.
The air grew hotter, and the Screen began to flash, and Solaris's mind began to fire on all cylinders.
Her head shot around, looking at Solaris, clearly in a state of mental overload.
Sami shot out of her seat, ripping the Suction cups off of his head.
"SOLARIS, OPEN YOUR EYES!"
Solaris began to heat up as she touched him; her fingers began to burn, yet her body just kept resetting over and over.
She began to shake him over and over before finnally his eyes shot open, his body violently shot up, throwing Sami back.
His breathing was heavy, and his face was in a state of shock.
Sami stood up, dusted herself off, and spoke.
"I'm so sorry, Solaris. I...."
"It's fine."
After speaking, Solaris left the room in a hurry, leaving Sami alone.