Claire carefully maneuvered Atlas's limp body onto Blake's bed. She moved a dread of hair from his sweaty brow, her palm coming away warm and clammy. His body temperature was alarmingly high, sending a pang of concern through her.
"Blake, Allison, keep an eye on him for me," Claire instructed, slipping out of the room.
Allison and Blake exchanged uneasy glances as they watched Claire leave, leaving them alone with their unconscious friend. Allison's fingers toyed nervously with the edge of her shirt, while Blake's hands clenched and unclenched at his sides.
"This can't be real," Blake murmured, not even believing the events that had transpired prior.
Allison nodded, unable to comprehend the earlier events as well. "Is he...even human now?" Allison asked, her voice barely audible due to fear.
Before Blake could respond to Allison's question his mother came back and entered the room.
Just as Claire returned, Atlas began to stir, his eyelids fluttering open as he slowly regained consciousness. His head throbbed dully, and his body felt heavy and weak. He blinked groggily, trying to make sense of his surroundings.
Claire approached the bedside, "here sweetie," Claire murmured, offering the washcloth to Atlas. "This should help cool you down."
Atlas managed a weak smile of gratitude as he sat up on Blake's bed and accepted the washcloth from Claire's outstretched hand. "Thanks, Mrs.Griffins," he whispered hoarsely, not making eye contact with Claire as he placed the washcloth on his forehead which allowed a bit of relief. He looked on the floor near the center of the room and saw that his sunglasses were there.
'Shoot,' he thought to himself when he realized that they weren't on him. He sighed not wanting to do what he was planning on doing next as he already had a dull headache. Convincing himself that it'll probably be for the best, Atlas locked eyes with Claire. Her icy blue eyes turned a dull color, and the dull headache increased to a slight pain for Atlas.
"Thanks again Mrs. Griffins. But is it okay if I have the room with Blake and Allison."
Claire nodded in response, her worries eased as she left the room and headed back down the stairs to her twins in the living room.
Blake and Allison watched her walk out the room knowing that he just used his mind compulsion on Claire.
Releasing a breath and closing his eyes, Atlas laid his back on the headboard of Blake's bed with his hand still holding the cool washcloth to his head when he suddenly heard a female mechanical voice in his head.
[Caution: Mana reserves depleted to critical levels]
[It is advised to abstain from skill utilization to prevent potential adverse effects]
Atlas was surprised by the sudden mechanical voice in his head. When he opened his eyes a a black and white, holographic interface materialized in front of him, displaying intricate symbols.
—---------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] [ATTRIBUTES] [SKILLS] [CURRENCY]
—---------------------------------------------------------
♥️ HEALTH: 🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥 (50/50)
♦️MANA: ◾⬜⬜ (5/30)
🔶 STAMINA: 🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧(50/50)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
{ MENTAL ATTRIBUTES } 🔷 ➕
{ PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES } 🔶 ➕
'What is this screen?' Atlas thought as he reached out to touch the screen, but his fingers passed through the projection. The part where 'Mana' was written was flashing red.
As he outstretched his hand, Atlas realized the white band around his right wrist with confusion.
'What are these?!' He thought bringing his wrist closer to get a closer look, rubbing at the mark. That's when he realized the black band on his other wrist as well he tried to do the same process to the other one. But they weren't coming off at all.
"What's wrong, Atlas?" Allison asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
"You okay," Blake added, his expression puzzled that Atlas reached his hand out in front of him with nothing there.
'Damn...today there's been a lot of 'Are you okay' lately.' Atlas realized, but he couldn't blame them. A lot of things happened in just a day. Especially to him.
Atlas closed his eyes as he turned to look in the direction that his friends were in to not use his ability unintentionally as he didn't have his sunglasses on.
"You guys didn't hear that?" Atlas asked his friends confused and they both shook their heads.
"Hear what?" Blake asked,
'They didn't hear that voice. Am I going crazy?' Atlas thought. Then he turned back to the screen in front of him and pointed at it before turning to look at his friends.
"What about this screen?" Atlas asked and they just looked at him weird and shook their heads no.
"There's nothing there," Blake said, looking at the direction Atlas pointed in.
Atlas blinked, bewildered by his friends' responses. He glanced back at the holographic interface, the symbols still hovering in the air in front of him.
"It's...nothing," Atlas muttered, feeling a surge of unease prickling at the edges of his mind. He shook his head, trying to dispel the strange sensation that lingered after hearing the mechanical voice.
Allison and Blake exchanged concerned glances, unsure of what Atlas was referring to. "You sure you're alright, Atlas?" Allsion asked, her voice tinged with worry.
"Yeah, you seem a little...off," Blake added, his brows furrowing in concern.
Atlas forced a weak smile, trying to mask the turmoil within him. "I'm fine, just a little tired I guess," he replied, his voice strained.
He cast one last glance at the holographic interface before it flickered and disappeared, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
As the room fell into a heavy silence, Atlas couldn't help but wonder about the mysterious voice and the strange interface that had appeared before him. Was it a figment of his imagination, or something more?
With no answers yet, Atlas pushed his questions for the time being, knowing that he would have to confront them eventually. But for now, all he could do was focus on recovering from the ordeal he had just endured and finding a way to move forward, one step at a time.
But then Atlas remembered something and swung his legs over the bed to sit on the edge of it.
"Blake, can you grab my shades on the floor there?" Atlas asked, pointing at the exact location with his eyes closed as he was the closest to it.
Blake's wireframe figure looked at the glasses on the floor and then back at Atlas before doing a double take.
"Hold up, can you still see?" Blake wondered, waving his hands in front of Atlas's closed eyes to double-check. It wasn't close enough to be in his personal space but close enough to make sure.
Atlas let out a breath, "yeah," he responded looking at him.
"Cooool, do you see a world on fire like DareDevil?" He asked with excitement the fear he once felt was replace with curiosity as he picked up the sunglasses and held them out for Atlas to test if he would grab them out of his hand.
Atlas reached out, grabbed them, and put them on.
"No," Atlas answered, opening his eyes. "I see colorful grid lines."
"Colorful grid lines?" Allison chimed in this time taking a seat on the floor with slight fear still in her voice.
Blake did a similar action of sitting back on the floor so that they both were looking slightly up at Atlas who was on the edge of the side of the bed.
"Hmm, yeah," He closes his eyes behind the sunglasses thinking of how he can explain it to them. "Like... I can see the color of the object or thing but it just looks like grid lines taking the shape of said thing."
"But uhh," he continued looking between his friends, "I've been wondering. Did anything else happen after I passed out after that...transformation?"
Blake and Allison exchanged a look before turning back to Atlas and slowly nodding their heads. Atlas interlocks his hands with his elbows on his knees leaning forward a bit.
He suspected as much.
When he woke up he was fine again, but laying in Blake's bed. Then that female mechanical voice sounded in his head, followed by that interface, and finally the bands around his wrist.
"Did your mom see?" Atlas asked, since when he woke up Claire was offering him a cool washcloth.
"No, she didn't see," Blake answered, shaking his head. Atlas let a breath of relief placing his forehead on his interlocked hands for a moment before looking back up again.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Atlas asked, looking between his friends.
Blake let out a breath and started "It was crazy, that it doesn't even sound believable,"
Blake recounted from the moment Atlas passed out making sure not to leave anything out.
"So, you're saying that I floated up in the air, released some unknown beam of energy through the roof, and released a black liquid from my body that smelled like really bad." Atlas summarizes what he learned and Blake and Allison nod their heads.
"After that, the pieces of the cube turned into a mist that covered me, got rid of the black smelly liquid, and turned into futuristic-looking gloves before disappearing and leaving these tattoo bands on my wrist." Atlas summarizes further while raising his hands to look at bands to which his friends nodded again.
"Finally, after all that everything went away like it never happened and I fell from the height I levitated from and that's when your mother came up."
"Pretty much," Blake responded
"It was scary watching you go through all that," Allison added looking at Atlas who gave a small apologetic smile.
"I know, I was scared as well. I wasn't expecting to go through that...pain." Atlas says looking down at his hands remembering the sight of his fingers turning into claws and the markings that appeared before he passed out.
Atlas turns his hands over and back alternating between his palms and the back of his hands wondering 'Can gloves just disappear and appear like that though?'
Unexpectedly, nanobot-sized things emerged from the bands taking the form of the futuristic gloves. That whole process didn't even last longer than a couple seconds.
"What the?" Atlas was surprised by the sudden appearance of the gloves. Atlas clenched and unclenched his hands to get a feel of them. They didn't even feel like they were there. He can see them but not feel them. It felt normal like it was a part of his own skin.
"Haha," he lets out a confused laugh "This is crazy!"
'Hello?' He thinks to himself wondering if he can get a response from the female robotic voice he heard in his head.
[Greetings, Atlas. How may I assist you?] The robotic voice responded, and as it spoke the markings in the glove lit up to its talking cadence in their respected glowing lights.
"It talks? The gloves actually talk!" Atlas voiced out loud to his friends. Both of them glancing at the gloves on Atlas's hands.
"What do you mean it talks?" Blake raised an eyebrow.
"The voice I asked about. I hear it speak directly in my head. I think it comes from the gloves."
"Ask what it is?" Blake tells Atlas as he looks at the gloves
'What are you?' Atlas asked the robotic voice
[I am adaptable to serve as a weapon, companion, or tool according to your requirements.] The robotic voice answered
Atlas conveyed what the robotic voice said in his head to them.
"Does it have an exact purpose?" Allison asked this time.
'What is your exact purpose?' Atlas thought to the robotic voice
[I am capable of monitoring your progress and aiding you in achieving self-improvement to reach your optimal potential.]
He raises an eyebrow as he conveys what the robotic voice said to his friends.
"Does it have a name?" Blake asked. It was a good point since Atlas kept referring to it as a mechanical voice.
'Do you have a name?' Atlas asked
[I am CAI-110C028EL369. While a name is not mandatory, it is an optional choice]
The robotic voice replied and Atlas shook his head at Blake. "It doesn't have a name?"
"How about Cortana?" Blake shoots out a name that was all too familiar to Atlas since they often played that game together.
"The A.I from Halo?" Atlas questioned Blake with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, why?"
"Not happening," Atlas said, shaking his head seriously.
"Does the voice sound female or male?" Allison wondered, holding her chin.
"Female," Atlas said
"How about Celeste or Aurora?"
"Hmm, not bad. I like those names," Atlas mused, considering the suggestions. "Celeste...Aurora..." He rolled each name around in his mind, testing how they felt. "I think Celeste has a nice ring to it. Might even call it Cel for short."
"Alright, Celeste it is," Atlas confirmed, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
'I'll call you Celeste.' He said to the robotic voice in his head, now Celeste.
[Acknowledged. You may refer to me as Celeste]
'That's about it for now.' Atlas says to Celeste
[Understood, Atlas. I'll remain available for further assistance whenever you require] Celeste said to Atlas before the gloves receded into the bands on his wrist almost as if dissolving before turning into the Tattoo marks on his wrist.
As Atlas sat in contemplation, the weight of the recent events hung heavy in the air. The mysterious interface and the newfound abilities pulsating within him begged for further exploration. With a determined resolve, he made up his mind.
"It's time," Atlas murmured to himself, rising up from the bed. He glanced at his friends, gratitude, and determination mingling in his gaze. " I need to head home and find out more about whatever this is, and figure out what it means for me."
Blake and Allison stood up from the floor waiting for Atlas to put on his hoodie, and grabbed his backpack along with the cookies Allison made. They left Blake's room, descending the stairs, until they were outside in front of the door in the midday air.
"Y-you know we're here for you, right?" Blake said nervously
Atlas nodded, a small smile playing on his lips "Yeah, I do. Thanks, guys. I'll reach out if I need anything, promise."
Atlas grabs his skateboard by the door while Allison walks to her bike and gets on it.
"Do you need me to walk you home?" Atlas asked, but Allison shook her head no and replied quickly.
"Thanks, but I'm okay."
With a final nod to his friends, Atlas gathered his thoughts, got on his skateboard, and prepared to leave. He waves goodbye to his friends and skates away back home.
A sense of anticipation coursed through him. The journey ahead was uncertain, but one thing was clear: he was ready to unlock the mysteries of his new companion, Celeste.