What the hell is this?!

Panic and fear surged through him as he helplessly watched the crystals expand, covering all five of his fingers now. But oddly enough, rather than feeling suffocated, the crystals hugging his skin were rather… warm. In fact, the sensation wasn’t painful. It felt more like wearing a glove — a glove made of dark, jagged gems. He flexed his fingers, half-expecting them to be immobilised, but they moved freely and easily.

No way...

A memory from the dream flashed through his mind in the midst of his panic — the original Ryohei was wielding a black-crystal-covered sword, wasn’t he? Could this be his power?

He hadn't noticed it before, but now it made sense. The black sword wasn’t just a weapon or a design; it was an extension of Ryohei’s ability. The crystals were made from his power. The crystals are his power.

“Pretty smart, not gonna lie,” he muttered, his voice laced with both awe and respect.

He noticed the crystals seemed to have stopped momentarily, making him let out a sigh of relief thinking it was over. But the crystals began spreading again. This time, it was faster than before. The crystals have almost entirely engulfed his left hand, slowly towards his wrist. Oh, come on! How do I stop this?! Panic welled up again as he got reminded of the Corrupteds mentioned in the book. He could feel his heartbeat quicken, a thudding rhythm echoing in his ears.

“Hey— okay, oh god,” Ryohei mumbled before standing up, frantically scanning the room. The original Ryohei had to have written something down. He did seem like a meticulous guy, after all. There had to be notes, instructions — anything about controlling this power. He couldn’t have left himself completely clueless.

He opened drawers again and ran through several papers, careful not to touch anything with his crystal-covered hand. Come on, come on. There has to be something in here. Finally, in the third drawer, he found it: a written notebook with a title scrawled on the front — Basics & Theory of Crystallise.

Thank god, Ryohei thought, flipping through the pages with his uncrystallised hand. His eyes scanned frantically, getting slightly distracted at the first few pages, before grinning when he found what he was looking for.

“To deactivate Crystallise, focus your energy to detach the ions of the crystals. Afterwards, perform Dissolution to absorb the ionic state into the skin.”

Ryohei blinked. A long pause followed as he re-read the line multiple times.

“Hey, hey, hey, Ryohei,” he whispered, dumbfounded. “Why were you writing in Science?”

He squinted his eyes, as though that would improve his comprehension. It took him a few attempts before he finally gave up. He moved on to the next pages, hoping for more practical instructions in them. He flipped a few pages and, thankfully, there it was: a more understandable explanation.

“Powers are controlled by a person’s energy. At the same time, Powers control a person’s energy. So, soften your energy — relax. Powers tend to act up without command the more a person is stressed.”

Ryohei sighed in relief. Relax. Easier said than done, but worth a shot.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on calming his frantic heartbeat first. He could feel the tension coursing through his body, a tightness that had gripped him since the crystals first appeared. As he exhaled, he was momentarily overwhelmed by the weight of that tension, but he remembered the notebook’s instructions and slowly began to soften his energy.

And just like that, the crystals began to recede. They didn’t shatter or fall off as he had expected, but instead melted back into his skin, dissolving like ice under the sun. He watched in awe as his hand returned to normal, flexing his fingers to make sure everything was still in place.

That’s kinda creepy. A shiver ran down his spine, but this time it wasn’t from fear. Rather, it was from the sheer strangeness of it all. It was a relief that the power had obeyed him, but the sight of the remnants of the crystals seeping into his skin would probably haunt him for a while.

Ryohei sighed, allowing himself a few more moments to calm himself down before turning his attention back to the notebook. Okay, Ryohei, let’s see what you’ve prepared for me. He needed a better understanding of how his power worked, and the notes were his only source of reference. At least for now. 

There was a lot of complicated information written in the notebook, but if there was one thing he managed to get out of it, it was that his power, Crystallise, wasn’t just limited to his body. The power could be projected anywhere, shaping crystals in his surroundings, as long as it was within his range, that is. However, it required more than just energy.

While energy controls one’s power, the mind shapes it. Ryohei will have to visualise the shape he wanted the crystals to take and the exact location where they should form. More than that, he needed to be aware of the amount of energy his power would consume. The bigger or more complex the shape, the faster his energy would deplete. Mastering this balance was key to making the most of his abilities without exhausting himself. Or worse, losing himself to his power.

This balancing process is called ‘Meditation’ — a process that should be mastered by everyone, no matter the rank or power type. This will help the wielder have the ability to use their power’s strongest forms while consuming the least amount of energy, while also lowering any possible chances of corruption. More than that, this process can help to keep one’s powers in check despite the changes in energy.

As Ryohei flipped through the pages, his alarm rang out again, cutting through his focus. He groaned, feeling a hint of annoyance at the repetitive sound. Reaching for his phone, he prepared to silence it, but the words on the screen caught his attention.

"Begin Meditation practice," he read aloud, his brow arching. "What a coincidence. Maybe I should try this 'Meditation' thing, after all."

Curiosity sparked as he stared at the alarm name. He quickly tried to guess the password to unlock the phone — something he assumed Reika would have chosen — and he wasn’t surprised when it was correct. He scrolled through, and an impressed chuckle escaped him when he saw fifteen alarms set over a span of just three hours, with the schedule repeating at night.

"His whole day is planned out in these alarms," Ryohei mumbled, feeling amused. Something I’d do too, to be honest. 

He leaned back on the soft bed as he began scrolling through the phone, curious about the life of the original Ryohei, and what useful information might be saved inside. For the next two hours, which were meant to be used for his training, he ultimately spent it on his phone. To find out more about Ryohei, of course.

Definitely not for anything else. Definitely.