Chapter 59: Control
Matthew didn’t waste time. He pulled himself off the bed and stepped over the mess. His body ached, but not in the same way as before. It was... solid now. Like his limbs had been tightened, realigned, strengthened. As someone who spent the last few years of his previous life in a state of paralysis, it was easier for him to notice that his physical state had changed.
Matthew ignored the blood-soaked floor for now. He sat down in a lotus position and took a deep breath. Then another. His body still ached in places, but not the same way as before. It was tight. Compressed. Efficient. He could feel it—like a machine that had just been tuned.
He closed his eyes and focused.
At first, there was only silence. Then, slowly, awareness settled in. His breathing evened out. He could feel his heart beating, sure, but beyond that... was something... more.
There was something else. A subtle pulse beneath the surface. His veins almost felt like he could trace them. He focused harder. He immediately noticed blood flowing in his body, in his arms, legs, and chest. There was life in them.
Then a faint buzzing surfaced at the edge of his awareness. He opened his eyes. The room was empty. No movement. No sound.
And yet he could feel them. Ghosts.
Twenty, maybe thirty meters around him. The range was wide. Enough to cover a few rooms. The hallway outside. Even parts of the floor below.
Downstairs, near the entrance, there were two faint signatures. In the west wing, just past the old study, another hovered motionless. On the second floor, to the left, one was pacing. And right outside his door, he could feel one standing still, just hovering.
His senses were mapped out like a field. He could track them. Distances, movements, locations, he knew exactly where they were.
Matthew blinked.