Mutagen

Day 262 - 5:59 PM - Cliff House, Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Province of Quezon

Abbygale sobbed in tears, hugging the doll her father gave her. It was a surprising but welcome sight as the ever-calm little girl showed a different emotion.

Mark remembered the first time he saw Abbygale, sitting like a life-less doll under a store counter while drenched in blood. Despite the trauma, fear, and even the loss of her mother, the little girl was calm and silent. Although she sometimes smiled, showed her desires, and displayed agitation and killing intent, she never showed any other emotions. While it may be the result of her being a [Mutator], it still felt abnormal considering her age. They had other [Mutator] children in the base with their [Mutator Traits] reigning over their subconscious. However, none of these children looked as abnormal as Abbygale if it came to expressing emotions.

Abbygale's [Mutator Trait] was [Calmness]. It was not like it made Abbygale always calm, but it was more like it was suppressing her other emotions to make her calm. It was far different from Mark, whose trait would erase any emotion that was not strong enough to resist. It meant that Abbygales suppressed emotions could bottle up and explode at any time given.

Worse, while Abbygale also passed the [Trial of Regrets], her bottled-up emotions increased substantially.

Since the world changed like how it was currently, beings capable of feeding and manipulating such emotions could spring up at any time. For example, another [Empath] like Mark, and there were a lot of Demon races in myths that had such inclinations.

Thus, Mark actually had planned clear the bottled-up emotions that Abbygale had.

There was already a few attempts Mark tried beforehand. One was to absorb those emotions using his [Empath] abilities. In this attempt, he actually learned something about his ability to absorb emotions from other people. It was the fact that this ability of his worked the best on emotions being emanated by people and barely had any effect on suppressed and bottled-up ones.

Mark also tried the [Spirit Healing] ability he inherited from his ancestor. Unfortunately, it could only bring comfort and not erase the existing emotions of people. It was something that Abbygale barely needed considering her [Mutator Trait].

Thus, Mark had to think of a way for Abbygale to release those emotions. Most importantly, to address the cause of the increasing emotions suppressed within her subconscious.

Considering Abbygale's [Mutator Trait], it would not be easy.

And Mark came up with a plan.

Abbygale clearly forgot her incoming birthday. In the first place, due to her status as an unwanted grandchild hated by her grandmother and abandoned by her biological father, she only had birthdays with her mother. A simple and quiet one. It was not bad. But for a child that needed affection, it was quite lacking.

Mark learned about this from Jaeya, Abbygale's biological aunt and the little girl's mother's younger sister.

With that thought in mind, Mark decided to give the little girl a surprise birthday party.

The surprise factor was a success. Even the calmest Abbygale was startled and confused, unfamiliar with the events unfolding before the little girl. And that was when Mark made the last push before she could recover and her [Mutator Trait] began to repress her current emotions.

Mark gave her a doll. That doll was the reason Mark was tired since he did not sleep the previous night to finish making that doll. It was a familiar doll to Abbygale since it was a literal copy of the favorite doll she lost when the apocalypse began.

And finally, after almost a year, Mark managed to make Abbygale cry. Of course, not in a bad way.

In any case, the plan was a success.

Abbygale's emotions overflowed. This time, the [Mutator Trait] was the one being repressed by the little girl's current feelings.

Mark put the little girl in his embrace. Opening the dam was enough. It was now his turn to do the last part of this act. It was to absorb these overflowing emotions away from the little girl. Of course, he would not drain everything. The little girl deserved enough sentiment to feel the longing she had for her deceased mother.

Then, Mei approached the two as Mark also pushed Abbygale forward. As Abbygale looked at her adoptive mother, she saw her holding what seemed to be a cake with a lit candle for her to blow.

Abbygale looked at Mark while wiping off her tears, clearly asking if she had to blow out the candle.

"Go on."

"Don't forget to make a wish!"

Emika suddenly interjected excitedly.

Abbygale paused and glanced at Emika before finally blowing out the candle after another slight pause.

As the flame of the candle flickered and finally extinguished, cheers ensued. The birthday party officially began.

Mark led Abbygale, who was still in disbelief, to the master's seat. That seat was usually Mark's, assigned to him by both Odelina and Aephelia. It was the seat at the furthest end of the table. A custom that was usually seen in the medieval period among nobles. The seat of the leader of the family.

However, it was Abbygale's night. Tonight, she was the master of the house.

Unfortunately, other than Abbygale, the thing almost everyone present was looking forward to was the food.

Since the apocalypse began, celebrating birthdays was the last thing everyone had in mind. There was really no need to mention a celebration. Just thinking if they would even reach their next birthday alive was already a hassle.

But today, the first birthday was celebrated at the Mountain Base. Since Mark was the leader, his family had such privilege. Of course, they did not think of using too many supplies. Furthermore, most of the ingredients used for the food were something Mark acquired himself. For example, the fish for the fish dishes on the table was caught by him this morning. There was also other food he foraged around the mountain.

However, everyone in attendance was quite confused.

Half of the food on the table was something they were familiar with. There's a huge bowl of spaghetti and a large platter of fish fillets. There were also some dishes that were usually seen during Philippine occasions, like Menudo and adobo.

But the other half... There was a steam basket with steaming cupcake-like food while not looking like a cupcake at all. There were also slices of spongecake-like food, but these were not made with flour and looked moist and sticky. There was also other food that was unfamiliar and was mostly steamed food.

And while pondering about the unfamiliar food, someone took a slice of the spongecake look-alike without hesitation. Surely, that person took everyone's attention.

"What?"

It was Mark.

"Just eat whatever you want. Don't mind me."

Mark added.

It was when Odelina explained with a slight snicker.

"These unfamiliar food are all taught to me by Master," Odelina looked at Mark, who began to eat the slice of food he took. "It seems like his family ate this food on most occasions when he was young. It's made of cassava master found and dug just down the mountain."

Cassava snacks. That was what these food were.

Finally hearing what the food was made of, they finally tried some.

"Oh, this is good."

Spera said as she at the same one that Mark was eating.

And from there, everyone ate, amazed at the unfamiliar food they were eating, and ended up eating less of the food they were familiar with.

There was food and even cold drinks. It was a nice celebration where everyone could smile.

It was something that was very rare during the apocalypse.

Unfortunately for Abbygale, she only received two more gifts. It was not surprising. One could not just go wandering around and find something to give as a present from a random store. There were no stores or malls anymore. If one wanted to give a present, they needed to make it themselves. As such, they could only work together to make those two gifts they gave the birthday girl.

One gift was a set of battle clothes that suited Abbygale both in her normal and transformed form. It was mostly made by Odelina and Aephelia, while Spera and the others pitched in to make parts of it. The other was a leather belt pouch from Emika and Annica. The pouch was something the two thought of making while putting Abbygale's fighting style in mind. Since Abbygale moves a lot when fighting, she should not wear backpacks or other bags. The belt pouch would be a good fit, however. Although it would only allow her to carry small stuff, it was way better than nothing.

All the while, Abbygale was smiling. This was the best birthday she had. And most importantly, the doll Mark gave her. She realized that it was not the same doll she lost. However, for some reason, it did not bother her at all. Rather, she was curious how Mark knew about the doll she never spoke about. Was it her aunt? Abbygale did not know and would not bother asking. She was already happy. That was enough for her.

***

The party finished soon. All they had to do was eat and chat, after all. Karaokes were common during birthday parties in the Philippines, but that was too much to pull. Besides, they had no Karaoke box or something in the base.

Abbygale was happy, and everyone was satisfied. After the party, it was time for a nice night of rest.

On the other hand, Mark sat atop the cliff. The roof of his house while facing the steep cliff to the west side of the base.

Mark raised his hand. It was the wishing stone he received from the ghost girl in Negros. If one was to see this, one would be surprised. It was because the supposed gemstone emanated a faint glow which a regular gemstone was not supposed to do.

Since he received it, Mark already suspected that the wishing stone was not just some regular stone. It managed to manifest its previous owner's strong sentiment into a ghost-like being that stayed until its wish was fulfilled. And now, the stone was doing its work.

"Is she sleeping already?"

Mark suddenly voiced out before looking behind him.

Appearing behind him was not a woman anyone in the base was familiar with aside from two people. Only Abbygale and Jaeya would realize this person.

"She is..."

The woman replied with her chilly voice that echoed to the soul.

Mark stared at the woman whose body was slightly transparent.

Abbygale was not just saved by her mother. She left a strong sentiment with her daughter, which was left even after her death. Unfortunately, the sentiment was not strong enough to manifest in a ghostly form.

But ever since the wishing stone was brought into Mark's hands, it began absorbing the sentiment attached to Abbygale. And a few days ago, the sentiment showed its first manifestation.

The sentiment never showed itself to Abbygale or Jaeya. However, it visited both during their sleep.

This sentiment, no, Abbygale's mother, was the one who taught Mark about the doll.

Mark observed the sentiment. Compared to the girl, the former owner of the wishing stone, Abbygale's mother looked too transparent and unstable. The girl could touch and pull Mark, but Abbygale's mother could not even touch the ground she was supposed to stand on, floating like an apparition. However, the sentiment could speak better instead. It was unlike the girl who could only utter a few words at a time.

And this time, she looked even fainter.

"Looks like you're going to dissipate already."

Mark said, to which Abbygale's mother nodded.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughter and saving my sister," The sentiment said with a smile until she sighed as she took on a reprimanding expression. "Please, don't put Abbygale in danger. She might have gained strength beyond human standards, but she is still a child."

"Can't really promise anything about that..." Mark replied with a shrug. "She's the one eager to fight. It would be better if she just stayed home, but... yeah, she won't."

The sentiment glared at Mark for a bit before disappearing. She had yet to dissipate. She went back to watch Abbygale as she slept.

However, Mark sighed. The glow of the wishing stone was already waning. If what he suspected was right, the moment this stone lost its shine, the sentiment would finally vanish.

And in this case, the sentiment left by Abbygale's mother would vanish before sunrise.