The Extra Wants Control

Chapter 103 - 103: ch.103

Topaz stirred on the soft bed, a white bandage wrapped around her head. The room, furnished with tasteful simplicity, was unfamiliar. A 'young' woman with dark, emotionless eyes sat by the window, a holographic display shimmering before her.

"You're awake," Bianca said, her voice cold and almost robotic.

Topaz flinched, the throbbing in her head intensifying. Memories, fragmented and hazy, flickered through her mind. This woman, she appeared in her room, talked about a master then she kidnapped her!

"Where am I?" she croaked, her voice hoarse.

"In my guestroom," Bianca replied, turning and offering a forced smile. "Master thought it best you recover here after… the incident."

"The incident? And who is this master?" Topaz thought.

" I have a video for you." Said Bianca.

"Can I see…" Topaz started, hesitantly gesturing towards the holographic display Bianca had been playing.

Bianca's smile 'warm' never faltered for a moment before she turned the display towards Topaz. It showed a blurred, chaotic scene of a fight. Neveah, a blur of dangerous movement, dominated the screen. Topaz, her movements sluggish and hesitant, was pinned to the ground with alarming ease.

"This is… me?" Topaz rasped, disbelief twisting her features.

"The first part," Bianca confirmed, her voice flat. "You were… overpowered quite easily."

The scene shifted, the blurry fight replaced by a close-up of an intricate hand gesture Topaz didn't recognize. A blinding blue light erupted, engulfing Neveah. Topaz looked on, confused and momentarily unguarded. Then, Neveah launched another attack, this time met with a desperate, almost feral movement from Topaz.

"But what…" Topaz stammered, watching the screen in horrified fascination as a dormant power seemed to awaken within her.

The fight continued, this time more even. Topaz, wielding a strange fighting style, managed to almost land a few blows on Neveah. But the tide turned again, Neveah gaining the upper hand. The final moments showed Topaz, sitting her back on the wall and in exhaustion, a look of pure terror on her face, pleading with Neveah to stop. Then, darkness.

The video ended, leaving Topaz reeling. Her body still ached, the memory of the fight both terrifying and exhilarating. The techniques she used seemed alien, unlike anything she had trained in.

"How is this… possible?" Topaz whispered, her eyes locked on the deactivated hologram.

"You tell me? I'm actually impressed, I should take her..." Bianca thought.

Topaz looked up,

Meanwhile, in a hidden corner of the cave, a shimmering portal shimmered into existence. Bianca, now clad in a different attire, one suited for combat, stepped out, her face hardened with resolve. With a deep breath, she settled into a meditative pose, her eyes gleaming with an unseen purpose.

It was clear: Bianca had her own agenda, one now intricately tied to Topaz's fate, and the path forward wouldn't be easy.

******

A jolt of energy ripped through Neveah, dragging him from the comfortable oblivion of unconsciousness. He blinked, taking in the dimly lit chamber, the scent of lavender and earth clinging to the air. His back throbbed, a dull ache that paled in comparison to the previous training sessions. His gaze fell on Queen Verona, a curious expression etched on her face.

"Awake at last," she said, her voice devoid of its usual regal tone. It was softer, laced with a hint of concern.

Neveah tried to push himself up, wincing at the unfamiliar stiffness in his muscles. "What… happened?" he rasped, his voice hoarse.

"Consider it a necessary reset," Verona replied, gesturing towards a shimmering pile of violet crystals nestled near the corner. "Go on, feed."

Neveah's mouth drooled, drawn ti the crystals by an instinct he couldn't explain. As he popped a crystal into his mouth, it wasn't tasty, or energizing he felt nothing.

Unlike previous training sessions, this one didn't leave him feeling pain or exhaustion atleast not yet...

Verona knelt beside him, her gaze fixed on a pristine section of his bare back. In her hand, a shimmering auta pulsed with a faint purple light. "This time," she announced, her voice serious, "will be different."

Neveah tensed, expecting the familiar searing pain. Instead, a cool, tingling sensation spread across his skin as her hand touched him. He felt, mesmerized, as intricate patterns bloomed across his back, etched in the same violet light emanating from the needle. It wasn't a painful inscription, but an intricate dance of technique leaving a permanent mark.

"Try to feel it," Verona instructed, her voice soft. "Reach out with your senses. Try to manipulate the mana around you."

Neveah frowned, focusing his newfound energy. He pushed, he pulled, he strained… but nothing happened. The ambient mana, a swirling sea of power that everyone instinctively manipulated, remained stubbornly distant. Even before when he was cursed he could move it but he couldn't store it within himself or power any powerful attacks.

It felt as if an invisible barrier separated him from it, a barrier that pulsed with a faint rejection.

"It doesn't work," he said, frustration creeping into his voice. "The mana… it doesn't respond. It's like it doesn't recognize me."

Verona's lips curved into a faint, enigmatic smile. "Good," she simply said, her voice devoid of explanation.

Neveah stared at her, bewildered. But before he could question her cryptic response, a wave of exhaustion washed over him, pulling him back into a dreamless sleep. As Neveah slept, the newly etched patterns on his back pulsed with a subtle violet light...

The training wasn't even close to starting....