Jace gave her a small smile. "Natalie told me you digested your potion a few days ago," he asked, his voice steady.
Sarah nodded, her expression turning serious as she caught the implication.
"Then I suppose it's time for you to advance," Jace said while looking at her intently.
Sarah narrowed her eyebrows in a silent question.
Jace, noticing her confusion and answered. "The 'Frenzy' Natalie got hit with is of the highest intensity within the Sequence 7 level. It was why she almost lost control of her physical and mental form. Currently, her mind and emotions are scattered and damaged. Without help, it would take weeks—even months—to get her stable. But that time can be reduced to days, or perhaps a week or two."
Sarah was listening to Jace with a grim expression, the weight of Natalie's suffering pressing down on her, but her eyes turned hopeful when she heard the last part.
Jace continued explaining the mechanics of the pathway.
"You see—a Psychiatrist has another ability called 'Placate.' With that, and their other emotionally enhanced traits, they can treat patients with trauma and mental disorders effectively. To cure Natalie of her ailment, we need a Psychiatrist. I don't know one personally. On the other hand, you just said you completed digesting your potion, and Natalie also recently purchased the Sequence 7 potion formula from me—likely intended for you. So, I was wondering if you were ready to advance—"
"YES!" Before Jace could even finish his sentence, Sarah interrupted him with a sharp, decisive shout.
"Yes, yes! I will do it," she said, determination burning in her hazel eyes.
Jace looked at her for a moment, wondering if it was wise of him to help her advance so suddenly. He was slightly worried if Natalie would have something to say to him about helping Sarah take such a risk without consulting her first.
"When will we do it?" she asked hurriedly, her hands trembling slightly with anticipation.
"Right now," Jace said as he pulled the leather bag from beside him onto his lap and proceeded to open it.
"Eh!.. Now?" Sarah seemed a little flustered by the suddenness, but her recovery was quick.
Jace looked at her with a reassuring smile as he fiddled with the bag.
"Yes, now. Fortunately, I found all the ingredients in the psychopath's lab," he chuckled at the irony of using a cannibal's hoard for such a purpose.
Jace carefully pulled out a fruit—it was the fruit of the Tree of the Elders.
He then pulled out a glass container holding two shimmering eyes—a pair of eyes from a Mirror Dragon.
Finally, he pulled out the vials of liquid and various powders that served as supplementary ingredients for the potion.
He kept them all on the table before him while Sarah looked on with intense curiosity.
Jace wondered briefly if this Edward Lane guy was an associate of the Secret Organisation Psychology Alchemists, as the ingredients for the Spectator pathway were notoriously rare and difficult to source.
He looked up at Sarah. "Do you want to brew it, or shall I do it for you?" he asked gently.
Sarah thought for a moment and then nodded. "Do it for me," she said.
Her last two potions had been brewed by Natalie, and currently, her mind was far too scattered to trust her own hands. She thought it would be better if Jace handled the concoction.
Jace nodded and asked, "Where's your kitchen?" Sarah showed him the way, and Jace picked up the ingredients, following her into the small, neat kitchen.
Under the watchful eyes of Sarah and the black cat, Jace brewed the potion with nimble hands and smooth, practiced elegance.
Sarah was impressed at his skill, turning her head she looked at the act.
She had long noticed the cat that had followed Jace, but she ignored it as it was just a cat.
When the concoction was done, it glowed with a faint yelloush, hypnotic light. There was a golden eye floatinf in the middel looking at things with intensity.
He poured it into a glass and walked back into the living room while Sarah followed closely behind.
He set the potion on the table and pulled out the silver pendant on his wrist, performing a simple divination to confirm the successful concoction. The pendant moved in a clear clockwise rotation, giving a positive response.
He turned to Sarah and explained that the advancement to Sequence 7 was significantly more difficult than the previous ones, and that she should prepare herself for the mental and physical strain.
After a few minutes of standing in silence, Sarah composed her emotions through cogitation, strengthening her will and centering her mind.
She was doing this for her partner, for her love.
With that thought firmly in place, she picked up the glass of potion and downed it in one big, cold gulp.
The taste was surprisingly pleasant—cool and sweet like ice cream—but everything started going wrong as her senses suddenly exploded!
Every sound she heard became ten times louder and sharper; she started hearing things far away in the street.
Her nose twitched as several different scents invaded her senses, and her eyes turned slitted, their color shifting from hazel to a brilliant, predatory emerald.
Everything she saw turned shiny and smoother, reflecting light like a mirror.
It was as if her body was being melted down yet expanding at the same time. Her skin burned with a localized fever as small, light green scales began to appear on her neck and arms.
It hurt like hell! But Sarah persevered, holding onto her consciousness with a fierce, unbreakable will.
—
Jace watched as Sarah fell to the ground, clutching her head and writhing in pain.
She was breathing heavily, letting out deep, guttural groans from time to time as the potion remade her.
Green scales were clearly visible on her skin now, shimmering in the red moonlight.
Jace, watching the young woman in such agony, couldn't help but want to help her, but he knew there was nothing he could do. This was a trial she had to face alone.
Several minutes went by before Sarah's suffering finally eased. Now only soft, lingering whispers remained in her mind.
Like Jace had warned, this advancement was indeed hard.
But now that it was done, Sarah sat up on the floor. She immediately scanned the new knowledge that had been etched into her brain by the potion.
And she was amazed.
Her previous traits and abilities had received a significant power-up. While her physical capabilities had experienced a boost alongside her senses, she now possessed four distinct new abilities.
The first was 'Frenzy,' exactly as Jace had mentioned.
The second was 'Telepathy.' Unlike her previous sequence where she could only decipher surface thoughts through observation and guide them, this was true telepathy.
She could now use simple mediums to put a target into a partially hypnotic state and directly communicate with the target's 'Body of Heart and Mind.' In this state, reading thoughts and planting suggestions was incredibly effective and easy.
The third was 'Psychological Cue.' Through the use of specific methods and words, Sarah could cue a target, letting them abide by her arrangements without them even realizing they were being manipulated. She could even apply this to herself to bolster her own courage or calm.
The fourth and final one was 'Placate,' her most anticipated power.
She had become a Beyonder in order to help Natalie, and with this, she finally could.
She turned her head up and looked at the boy standing over her. Though she could not read him completely, the obvious concern for her was visible on his face.
Sarah stood up, her movements more graceful than before. She stepped near Jace and pulled him into a tight, genuine embrace.
"Thank you, Jace," she said softly into his ear.
"Oh?—Ah, you're welcome," he said softly with a slight stutter, awkwardly hugging her back as he didn't quite know where to put his hands.
Sarah smiled at his adorable nature, stepped out of the hug, and walked toward the bedroom hurriedly to tend to her Natalie.