The staring contest between the doctor and Eiran stretched for over a minute before the child in him couldn't hold back—he burst into tears.
"Oh. He's still asleep!" The doctor had no skill in handling this, so he walked out, leaving the crying baby alone.
Eiran slowly began to calm down when his sense of danger started to increase. His personality began to shift from that of an ordinary baby to a more intelligent being.
He stopped crying, eyes still wet with tears, and looked around. 'She had left already!' An indescribable feeling of loss and pity enveloped him. His body began to weep again, even as his thoughts raced on.
SSS Rank Potential
Talent: Celestial Blood
Born Trait: Essence Vessels
Brand Skill: Healing
Brand Skill was an etched as an ability in his mind, like a saved folder in the form of a node that could be filled with energy and unleashed at any time.
The node served as talent energy storage, which meant even if he exhausted his talent energy, he could siphon from it.
Eiran pulled the Brand Skill to himself, and information from his talent came to him.
Brand Skill: Healing [General rejuvenation of body healing capabilities through the blood.]
The healing encompassed everything—from wounds to disease, discomfort, fatigue, and even mental strain.
Eiran might have been enjoying breastfeeding, but Doctor Gerard had attached something to him that kept harnessing his passive healing. Due to that, the brand skill was created.
'I need to know more about other people's powers!' he thought. He raised his head to the shadow above him.
"Those eyes. You're back!" the doctor said with an eerie smirk.
The soft, innocent, celestial-like voice echoed in the doctor's head: "My intelligence is born from my survival instinct and extreme environments."
"Incredible. So when Sophie was here, you were fully safe, thus making you a completely normal baby!" The doctor muttered to himself and nodded.
"What now? Do I still scare you?" the doctor asked.
"Something in this facility scares me. You're just unpleasant to the eye!" Eiran didn't know how to mince his words.
"Good to hear. Since no one has the guts to tell me that," the man commented curiously before asking, "Are you ready now?"
"I am!"
***
The man was huge—very tall. Eiran could only think of stacking Doctor Gerard five times before reaching the height of this man.
His body wasn't bulky like a weightlifter's, but streamlined and dense with strength.
His skin was golden and appeared soft and unblemished, with no external wounds or scars. His chest inhaled and exhaled slowly, while his heartbeat was loud, pounding so forcefully it vibrated the glass around his body.
Doctor Gerard waited patiently, making sure his instruments captured everything. He wanted to know how Eiran's healing worked.
Eiran had to concentrate intensely, reaching his talent toward the man and feeling his blood in much greater depth now.
Like before, he felt it—the blood was high grade, but he couldn't control it. But now, with better understanding about healing due to his Brand Skill and his development thanks to Mama Sophie, he found something in the blood.
'His blood is alive. It seems alive. And it's fighting something that I can't sense!'
He reached deeper and found the whole blood was depleting and increasing continuously. 'Is this the internal fight the doctor told me about?'
"Can you explain more about what really happened to him? And I want to know more about talent and what his talent is."
The doctor was contemplative when Eiran added, "I got Brand Skill: Healing, and I can tweak it to be more effective if I know more."
"Everything about this man is highly confidential. Just knowing might put you in danger!"
"Nothing can invade my mind and steal information. Your worries are unfounded," Eiran said seriously, his hyper-intelligence flaring up to grasp the situation.
The man felt compelled to tell him but resisted with a sigh. "What did you put in my body?"
Eiran didn't look away from the golden-skinned man and asked, "What phase are you?"
"I'm Phase 4 awakened. With SSS Rank Talent!"
"Good. It's a blessing from me," Eiran gritted his teeth, voice strained with mental effort. "Tell me, Doctor, I can't keep up with this concentration!"
"I won't tell you his Talent, but I will tell you his category. He is Power—a category that boosts internal prowess such as powerful muscles, bones, whole body, incredible willpower, and mental fortitude. Those in the Power Category are almost immune to all ailments, and their physique is their greatest strength."
"Incredible. That's informative knowledge. What Phase is he?" Eiran asked, his voice sounding more like a mutter than an answer.
"Phase 5!"
Eiran turned to look at the Doctor. "You're tricking me. How can I heal someone like this? For me to reach for the stars!"
The doctor sighed. "Calm down. I've decided you don't need to heal him completely. Besides, even I only gave him a fighting chance. We're not healing him—we're rejuvenating him."
"Hmm. I can help him, but what's affecting him now?"
"He had a fight with a Annihilator Beast. The energy of the beast mysteriously never reduced in potency but increased. The man is now suppressing the beast's energy from destroying him from the inside out."
"What is an Annihilator Beast... don't tell me. That isn't important."
"I need to touch him. But there's a defense on his body against foreign power..."
"He gave me access to his body. With me, you won't be negatively affected."
The glass containing the golden man rippled like a bubble, and the doctor enveloped them in a bubble as they seeped inside.
'This is his talent!' Eiran thought. They came above the giant man, and now close, the pounding made their bodies shake and tremble. The skin of the man was glowing gold, making their uniforms golden and turning the metal on their bodies into real gold.
Eiran frowned, noticing that his own body might become gold if he stayed too close to the man.
"I need to sit on his chest!" Eiran said. His bubble settled down and burst open. Eiran's mind went blank—he felt like he was on a living planet.
He then concentrated his Brand Skill: Healing, and pulled five drops of Celestial Blood Essence from the accumulated ten in the last 9 months, and unleashed it.
He wasn't going to heal or rejuvenate the blood, but he was going to give the man's blood more awareness and independence.
What Eiran concluded was that the man had sunk his mind into his body, controlling all his organs and blood to prevent the destruction of his body.
Eiran's healing and Celestial Blood Essence would allow the blood to act on its own, and the man would have less load in his mind. He could then focus on something else.
Eiran's skin had become golden by now. He sighed and looked up as a bubble wrapped around him and pulled him out.
They left quickly, and Eiran was placed in a pod to wash away the golden skin he had developed. His mind slipping into a deep unconsciousness.
"Kael. Keep an eye on him. Use the Miracle Elixir if his life proves to be in danger!" Doctor Gerard sent a message.
He turned and froze. A tall golden man stood before him, his gaze stern. "You never change your ways. Exploiting young babies now!"
"No... no... he..." A flash of gold covered the office, and Doctor Gerard vanished.
***
Eiran woke up hours later. His golden skin had faded away; only his hair and nails remained golden. He met the scrutinizing eyes of Dr. Kael.
He was discovering his feelings, his danger sense, as well as other mysteries that he couldn't grasp now.
His feelings told him Dr. Kael was a good man, and he felt appreciative of him being there. The man had the demeanor of his Aunt, Mama Thorne.
He contemplated talking to him, and his desire to ask questions overwhelmed him. "Greetings, Dr. Kael?"
The man was startled. He looked back and forth, searching for the speaker before his gaze rested on the baby with open eyes behind the full mask.
"Are... you talking to me?" He pointed at himself, wondering if this was real.
"Yes, Doctor. How are you? I want to know about Talent Categories."
Dr. Kael stepped back, his skin beginning to perspire, before he calmed down and brought out a communication device, muttering under his breath, "I need to inform the Head Doctor!"
The soft voice of the baby reached his head again: "He knows. I just want to know about the categories!"
He still sent the message and stood there contemplating what to do. He was afraid because he felt an unknown pressure, and his wariness stemmed from wondering if this was no baby but a grown-up masquerading as one.
He calmed himself. "Talent Category is confidential information."
"What's more confidential than the gold in my hair!"
"Ah. But you see, I will still be silent. Wait for..." He trailed off as Dr. Miranda arrived. "Hey Kael." She said.
Kael didn't answer when Eiran spoke. 'Don't leave me with her. She's different!'
The doctor stiffened and looked at the female doctor, his fear increasing.