Rowan had been studying a rock that strangely did not seem naturally formed, for the past 3 hours. Granted, the rock was one of the valuable objects the military had their hands on, obtained from the Beyond, a place of dread and countless horrors.

He did not know much about the place, but was immensely curious, hence the obsession with the rock. He had to make the most out of it because it was borrowed from the Central Research Institute with the help of his mom’s connections.

Well, he could've waited for some results from the research but that had not happened for the past decades since humans got hold of some territory in the Beyond.

So, what makes him think he can learn something from it himself alone? 

Well, Rowan had been blessed…or cursed by the influence of the Beyond, granting him some kind of ability to peer into anything and observe the information contained within.

The information presented were in forms of multiple nodes connected to one another, forming complex patterns. He had struggled a lot at first, trying to discern it’s meaning. Now, he did manage to make some sort of sense of it’s many different patterns but, he still had a long way to go if this ability of his was gonna be able to help him understand almost anything he sees.

Not that he was very fond of peering into everything. Almost immediately after studying the rock, a splitting headache hit him, making him lean on a nearby wall. This was it’s Backlash, a price the Blessed had to pay for using their abilities. For this particular ability, it was a headache right after using it, the intensity depending on the complexity of the patterns.

After a while, the headache passed and Rowan was already feeling like he wanted to sleep for a whole week. Sighing, he went to the bathroom to wash off his face.

Staring at the bathroom mirror, he scowled “I guess I need more sleep instead of coffee”. His sapphire eyes looked dead tired and his bluish black hair was dishevelled. Washing his face, he put on his jacket and ignoring his own advice, went to get some coffee.

***

Sitting in a cafe, Rowan stared out the window and looked at the people passing by, going about their daily lives. It was kind of a peaceful sight, considering what was happening in the Beyond. Not that he knew much of course, since he has never been there. He came to know some rare info thanks to his mom, who had been there. That was about to change, because he was planning to enter it soon.

Sipping his coffee, he sighed. He had been extremely curious about that place since he was little but never planned to enter it. That completely changed after he was blessed…or cursed by the Beyond when he was 12 , one of it’s warp appearing in Central Plane. He didn't really have a choice but to enter it since he needed to be ‘connected’ with that otherworldly place. All Blessed, as they are called, had to go to the Beyond to complete their assimilation with their abilities. If they don’t, there’s a high chance they will meet an early grave…in a really painful way, since their normal body isn’t used to the Influence. They had to go there to kinda get a ‘new’, upgraded body.

Now after more than 5 years, he was ready to venture into the unknown. It wasn’t only because of his assimilation too. His dad and his team had gone missing during one of his mission to gather some data and samples from the Beyond. Search party sent was not bringing back any news about their whereabout.

‘Not like I would be able to find much myself. Still better than sitting and twiddling my thumbs here’. 

He was about to finish his coffee and get up when the Barista, a young woman who seems to be in her early 20’s brought a slice of chocolate cake.

“Uhh… I didn’t order this…”

“On the house” she said with a friendly smile. “You're a new face here. Drop by whenever you have the chance”. With that she winked and went back to her work.

‘Huh.. Okay..’ 

He stared at the cake. Rowan wasn’t really fond of sweets but since someone offered it, it would be kinda rude not to accept it.

It was at that moment when he noticed most people there were staring at him.

‘Oh’. 

The way the owner treated him and the stares ‘They probably think I’m from one the Great Families because of my outfit. Gotta get out of here’ Finishing up his cake, he got up and paid for his coffee, thanked them for the slice of cake and rushed out. He never liked that kind of attention, associating him with the Great Families.

He just had to wait a few minutes for someone from the Intelligence agency to pick him up for his final preparations.