Before John could elaborate, the insect's mental voice, sharp and impatient, cut him off. "Don't you have a brain? It's a child."
John recoiled, the insect's words hitting him with unexpected force. "A child? But there should be a beast there, right?" he stammered, looking at the creature with bewildered eyes.
"Look," the insect retorted, its mental tone laced with annoyance, "don't bother me, I was just playing with it, understand? You are disturbing me. It's a beast or whatever, I don't care, at least there is someone in that neuro-core to play with me. You, you won't be able to tame any monster or any animal." With that dismissive pronouncement, the thick insect vanished from John's hand once more.
John was left reeling. His "beast" was a child, a being of pure light. And the thick insect seemed to have a strange, almost playful relationship with it. He understood now that his beast was manifesting, but in an unconventional, luminous form.
Driven by a desperate need for answers, John returned to his research. He typed: Can anyone bring a beast out without a neuro-core device? The answer that flashed on the screen was stark and unambiguous: No.
It means no one can bring their beast out of the neuro-core without a neuro-core device. But I can control it with my hands… I mean, as soon as I hold out my hands… Before he could complete the thought, the thick insect reappeared on his outstretched palm.
"Why are you bothering me again and again?" the insect's mental voice was laced with exasperation.
"Sorry, sorry," John mumbled, quickly willing the creature to return to wherever it resided within him.
This is what's happening to me, he thought, his mind racing. I can easily call it, even just by thinking about it, but that's not supposed to happen, right?
His research had revealed another fundamental aspect of neuro-cores. Anyone who generated one required a device to control it. This device connected to the neuro-core, allowing the user to summon the beasts within. Furthermore, a neuro-core could typically house only three beasts.
Okay, John mused, a new line of inquiry forming in his mind, it means there is one beast in my neuro-core right now, and one beast that is being born, so in a way, there are two beasts inside my neuro-core. So now can I only tame one beast?
He continued his search, but the information he found only deepened his confusion. His neuro-core was an anomaly, defying all established norms. Why is my neuro-core so different? he wondered, a sense of isolation creeping in.