After ten full days in isolation at the Federation Medical Division, Shen Kai was finally cleared for discharge.
Thanks to his unique physiology, which Specialist Li Jian had preliminarily labeled "Void Devourer," his body had miraculously recovered from its near-death state. However, the immense trauma that his psyche had suffered and the profound confusion that resulted were healing much more slowly and with greater difficulty.
Brutal images of Sergeant Jones and Worker Bee Six's sacrifice and his own terrifying power erupting uncontrollably replayed in his mind like a bloody nightmare from which he could never escape.
To combat his soul-deep fear and confusion, Shen Kai began practicing the exercises from the Basic Training Manual for Special Energy Conduction and Advanced Mental Stability that Captain Gestalt had given him in the hospital.
He spent several hours each day on the most basic "Stagnant Flow" meditation and "Core Energy Perception" exercises. He tried to "listen" to every throb of the mysterious "Colorless Core" in his chest and "feel" the cold, vast, unknown energy slowly begin to flow through his body again.
At first, this attempt was extremely difficult. Every time he tried to focus to perceive its existence, it triggered a violent backlash of chaotic, shrill "Core Whispers."
But, after countless failed attempts, Shen Kai finally stumbled upon an insignificant "trick."
He discovered that when he stopped trying to suppress or resist the "Core Whispers" with his weak human will and instead tried to calmly observe and listen to them like a bystander, the psychic impact weakened somewhat.
When he immersed his weary consciousness in the deepest part of the energy field of near-absolute "void" and "silence" generated by the "Colorless Core," he occasionally experienced a brief yet celestial sensation of achieving "same-frequency resonance" with the enigmatic core itself.
Though this feeling of "resonance" was as fleeting as a shooting star, it was the only glimmer of hope he could see in the endless darkness and despair.
During his ten-day hospital stay, Nadeshiko and Ryan found time to visit him between training missions.
Nadeshiko was as gentle and considerate as ever, though an irresolvable melancholy now lingered between her brows. She brought him all-natural, high-energy food supplements said to be from the "Ark" stronghold. They tasted infinitely better than standard No. 3 nutrient paste or cultural data chips from the Old Earth era. She did this in an attempt to alleviate his psychological stress.
However, Shen Kai could sense an indescribable "sense of distance" in her gaze, as if she were looking through a pane of invisible glass, in addition to the same pure, "light pink" concern as always. It was as if he were looking at an "unknown being" from another world that could erupt with terrifying power at any moment.
The change in Ryan was even more pronounced.
He was no longer the boisterous and provocative person he had been in the rookie barracks. Instead, he had become unusually silent and somewhat gloomy. He usually sat quietly in the most inconspicuous corner of the hospital room, watching Shen Kai without saying a word.
His bloodshot eyes always held an extremely complex emotion that nearly overflowed. There was incredulous curiosity, an unwillingness he couldn't let go of, and an intense, bone-deep jealousy. But more than anything, there was a pathological craving and yearning for "absolute power," born from having witnessed a force that could destroy heaven and earth.
Shen Kai could see that the fiery red energy around Ryan had become more condensed but also more unstable, mixed with dark tones representing paranoia and madness.
That battle had changed everything.
Like a ruthless knife, it had completely severed the originally simple and fragile bond between the three of them. Then, with blood and fear, it had bound them together in a new, more complex, and more dangerous way.