Leave The Monster Alone

So when the first pang of hurt was felt by his brain, Mark ignored it in favour of being progressive. Alan would be back at any time and they needed to deal with the aftermath now. 

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World Mission: The rebellion - completed

(You now have access to the secret base #1)

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There was a dull schedule in Mark's head but it was manageable. He could ignore it as well if he chose to concentrate on anything else but that ache in his head. It had started a few minutes back but it seemed to not be heading anywhere significant for now. Mark could still do a lot of work, even with the headache which seemed to be increasing in intensity every few minutes. 

The base had been taken care of, the enemies disposed of and the people who were left were given accommodations by the rebellion. There had been a loss from both sides, a violent clash of forces that had left everyone devastated. 

And yet somehow, people had forced themselves to believe that they had come out of top somehow which was not true. What was true was that everyone had lost something important.

The worst thing was, Mark knew it was about time he should lower his mind's barrier and let his emotions through. The pain in his head was a clear indicator of the stress he had put himself into and yet he hesitated to do so.

He was not sure how much more of the double torture he would be able to take. His room had remained the same and so had Alan's but the circumstances had changed. The people around them had changed.

And it was not only a mental change but a physical one as well. He could feel the phantom feeling of pain and burning on his arm which had come in contact with the core computer. There was a massive burn in the shape of swirls on his arms now, a consequence of touching the core without any precaution.

And with it, both his arm and the core had vanished in usage. His arms should recover but the core was a lost cause to them now. Mark could still remember what had happened in vivid detail as if it was embedded inside his mind by something. It was not a feeling he could forget anytime soon.

Mark watched Zeno try to reawaken the core but there was no progress to it. His face was twisted into a frown and he looked mad as he looked at the core. The small pangs of pain that assaulted Mark's head did nothing for him.

He could not think it through and every time Zeno asked him for his input, Mark had nothing to add to it. It was frustrating the other as well, Mark could sense that frustration. Kuro growled at his side, her larger body hiding him behind her but that would not matter if things got serious.

"What should I do next? Why would it not allow me access? I've tried everything" Mark felt faint and those complaints did not help his already bad mood become any better by any chance.

"Hey, give me the way. Don't just stand there and look like a fool" someone waved their hands in Mark's direction and Mark tried to oblige them but the pain in his head was making his thinking process into a mess.

And there was a small sway to his steps and he allowed his body to take him to support which could help him stand on his own two feet instead of leaning on Kuro.

And then his hand met hard metal and felt himself sink a little into it. The surface felt hard but also like jelly which made it a weird feeling underneath his hand.

System Warning, user recognised. Brace for the impact.

It was the pain that did away with his consciousness. It was spreading from his hand to his arm and further down. The place of his contact was the same arm his system bracelet had been installed long ago.

There was surely a burn on his arm and Mark could vaguely open his eyes to look at his arm. It was on fire, the flames licking all over his arm in swirls and he could feel his flesh burning.

"Get him out of there. It is not good for him" Behind him was Zeno who was panicking. Kuro had her teeth in his shirt, trying to pull him away from the core reaction but it was all useless. Mark could feel himself being glued to the core reactor.

'Congratulations on accessing the inner domain. Your core powers are ready to use now. Please check the guide manual for more information.

Through the pain came the information and Mark felt it make a home inside his head. He could feel the knowledge settle in his bones and muscles, not unlike muscle memory and he knew he should pay attention to it.

But there was lava flowing through his arm now which made focusing anywhere else impossible for him. Mark could only focus on the feeling of pain in his arms and the new sparks being birthed inside his chest at the very moment. Everything else had faded away into a single mess.

"MARK -" The very last shout had been Alan, the poor kid who was almost his brother and had given him a purpose. Mark loved him a lot, perhaps appreciated him more than love but he wanted the other to not see.

In the end, pain took over his consciousness and he was out before his head hit the floor.

And then he had woken up in this room, away from all those horrible feelings and pain which was a relief to his system. Neither Kuro nor Alan had been there and he had allowed himself to put his barriers down.

As soon as it went down, Mark felt himself choke at the sorrow and failure he felt coursing through his being. En's death, what happened to Rika, Shiro's betrayal and the fear that Nathan installed into him, everything came to life at that very second.

Tears flowed down Mark's cheeks and he did not even have enough energy to be able to wipe them away without causing more to spill out. His gut felt like it was about to spill itself over and out of his body.

"Death would be welcomed more than this" Mark's comment was met with a blow at his back. His body wanted to jolt at the attack and protect itself but he had no energy to do so. Was he going to die now?

"I would appreciate it if you do not joke about these things in front of me. I'm a little sensitive right now" Oh god, it was only Alan who was here. He had given Mark a heart attack because Mark had not been able to either sense or see him. 

His mind was in a constant state of numbness and awareness, a side effect of suppressing his feelings for too long and his current situation made him useless. When Alan had asked him what happened, Mark had not been able to tell him the whole truth. 

Luckily for him, he had a solid excuse which had made hiding the whole truth more than easy. Mark did get the feeling that Alan might not have believed him 100% but best lies had a grain of truth to them and so did this one.

Out of the consideration for his feelings, Alan did not say much to him.

A large body settled over him and Mark felt warm. He recognised the black as Kuro in her own attempt to keep him warm and happy. It did help for a bit before she started to feel heavy and too hot.

"Kuro, get off of me. You are heavier than you look" the feline purred at his words but she finally spared him. Mark looked at his party members, the only ones who had stayed with him till the end and felt glad he had chosen them.

Even when it had not been his intention, he had chosen loyal people who followed through with him till the end.

"You asked us to force you out after a week and it has been a week. What is next on our agenda?" next on the agenda? There was so much left to do and so little time before the deciding battle. The next big thing was the climax battle of the first volume. Mark had to find the hidden base before that and he had to convince the resistance to fight with him.

There were things left to do but first.

"We need to pack. A long journey awaits us ahead of here. Did you inform Luna about our whereabouts?" Alan nodded and Mark finally pulled himself up.. It was time things started for real, the era of humanity was about to come back and this was the very first step into that journey.