(Lythia) looks at me with intense excitement, holding a gleaming scalpel.
"AAAA!! You came! I was going to drag you out of your room if you didn't! Now then, lie down on that table!"
(Nekrios) swallows hard, looking fearful as he steps forward and lies down.
"O-okay… what's going to happen now? And how will the examination go?"
(Lythia) leans in so close our faces nearly touch.
"It will be the greatest thing I'll ever do in my lifeeeee!!! Now then… we'll start with reflex tests! Your mental and physical abilities, all of them!!"
(Nekrios) glances nervously at the dissection tools.
"Great… but what's the point of those tools if you're just testing my body's capabilities? No internal examination?"
(Lythia) waves her hand dismissively, looking away mockingly.
"Oh, don't worry! These are just for atmosphere… and to wound you so I can see how fast you heal! And to analyze that rare blood of yours!"
(Nekrios) tries to get up and speak, attempting to reason with her that she's insane.
"Yeah, but—"
(Lythia) presses a finger to his lips.
"Shhhhh… just let it happen. No need for too much talk! Let's begin!"
Right after that word, the examinations began.
First: reflex tests — they were fast.
(Lythia) jots down notes in her journal.
"Hmm… fascinating!"
Second test: She made me test the strength of my bone tendrils. I was ordered to crush a solid rock using one, and it shattered instantly.
Right after that, she tested their flexibility. They performed well — being segmented with spear-like tips.
Then she asked me to extend them to their full length: 362 cm each.
Next, she observed how they retracted into my body:
"The bone tendrils slithered back into my body like serpents curling into a living hibernation, vanishing beneath the skin without leaving a trace."
(Lythia) keeps scribbling.
"Good… very good! They have their own nervous system — you can't feel them! Excellent, excellent! Okay, next test!"
She then grabbed a scalpel and cut my hand.
Blood oozed out — but it was a deep, dark blue. She collected a sample to analyze.
(Lythia) peers through the microscope, biting her tongue in concentration.
"Okay, while I'm doing that, keep an eye on your wound… Will it regenerate or remain as is? Ohh, this is interesting!"
I watched the wound. It stopped bleeding, but didn't regenerate — just like any regular creature.
Then suddenly it glowed — and I heard Lythia screaming as she chased something.
(Lythia) tries to grab something from the air.
"No, no!! Come back here!! I haven't finished analyzing you yet!!!"
My wound glowed brighter, and the blood she had taken flew back to my hand.
The wound sealed completely, as if I had never been injured.
(Lythia) collapsed on the floor, speaking like a child who lost her favorite toy.
"Noooooo!!! Whyyyyy!!! I didn't finish analyzing your blood!!! It just moved as if a powerful magnet was pulling it back!! I tried to grab it but it was hopeless!!!"
(Nekrios) watches, hiding a strange smile and suppressing laughter.
"Yeah… don't worry. It just went back to its place. Look! It returned, and then the wound sealed like nothing happened! What does that mean?"
Lythia stands up abruptly and leans in toward the now-healed wound.
(Lythia) stares, almost expressionless.
"Holy SHT!! So you can regenerate!! But how?! Your species was supposed to be mortal!! That's why it went extinct!! Okay, let's think for a moment..."
"Legends didn't mention how your kind died, but they did say they were the strongest! They ruled the entire world! Humans, demons, all creatures — just their servants!!!
Wait a second! I remember I had a book… an old text, telling the story of a battle between two of your species and how one of them died!!!"
She bolted to her bookshelf, grabbed one book after another, tossing the wrong ones aside until she found the right one.
(Lythia) scans the book and flips quickly to the section on the battle.
"Okay… it says here that someone named Meleuth killed Lythom during the battle… using— what the heck is this?! Swords made from a metal called Nezharite?!!! Wait a minute!! That metal… Hold on!!!"
Lythia dove into a pile of books like it was a lake, and emerged with a book larger than my life.
She flipped through its pages and stopped at one, placing her finger on the text, eyes sparkling.
(Lythia) reads with feverish excitement.
"Nezharite metal…
Nezharite is a mythical metal that only exists within the fractures of reality — between dreams and nightmares.
Said to be silver with flickering blue lightning, pulsing as if it has a heart.
It cannot be smelted by fire, only shaped by the sorrow of fallen gods.
It drains immortality from the body the way deserts drink rain.
It causes eternal pain to immortals, as if all of time gnaws at their souls at once.
No immortal creature can even look at it without suffering a temporal migraine that floods their mind with the memories of every impossible death they've ever avoided!!!"
(Nekrios), confused.
"Wait… am I immortal or what?"
(Lythia)
"Technically… yes.
But you're not immortal as long as that metal exists!
And that's probably how your entire species was wiped out!
But to this day, no one knows who exactly wiped them out!
And since that sword was used in battles between your own kind, it's not far-fetched that they killed each other off in wars!
Which also means… there could be hundreds of those swords made of that metal still out there somewhere!!!
But it's all unknown for now — this is just preliminary analysis.
So yes… you are immortal — as long as no one stabs you with that sword!
Like someone with a cat allergy!"
(Nekrios)
"Great… that's comforting… I guess?
Soooo… are you done examining me? Because I haven't eaten, and I really want to sleep."
(Lythia) glances up from the book, completely disinterested.
"Yeah… the examination's done. Go back to your dorm with Kaeron and Raven."
(Nekrios)
"Thanks… goodbye…
Jesus Christ!! I was about to explode from all those forced tests!!!
Alright… I hope Kaeron didn't eat my food!"
To be continued...