Chapter 360: A Breaking Point
Finding them wasn’t to difficult. Evelyn was in her office reading what was likely a philosophical book of sorts. Camille was curled up curled up in our bed, I couldn’t tell if she had breakfast quickly and went back or if she had never left in the first place. Sienna was in the kitchen, cleaning up the breakfast dishes with methodical precision.
"Can you all come to the living room?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt. "I need to talk to you about something."
The simple request was enough to get their attention. Evelyn paused mid-read, she put on her blindfold, before looking at me as if Psychological Insight picked up on subtle changes in my tone or body language. Camille looked up from her comfortable position with eyes that beamed curiosity. Sienna set down the dish she’d been washing and turned to face me directly.
"What’s wrong?" Sienna asked immediately, because of course she could tell something was off just from the way I’d made the request.
"Just... come sit down. Please. All of you."
They exchanged glances, but didn’t ask any more questions. Within a few minutes, we were all gathered in the living room. Evelyn and Camille settled onto the couch while Sienna chose the chair closest to where I was standing, her posture alert and ready for whatever bomb I was about to drop.
I looked at their faces, these three incredible women who’d chosen to trust me with their lives, their futures, everything that mattered to them. The weight of what I was about to tell them felt heavier than anything I’d ever carried.
"I lied to you," I said.
The words came out blunt and graceless, nothing like the carefully prepared speech I’d been rehearsing in my head. But once they were spoken, something inside me broke open, and the rest came pouring out in an unstoppable flood.
"Yesterday night, when I came back from the gym limping and covered in bruises, I told you I’d sprained my ankle working out and fallen onto some equipment. That was a lie. I didn’t sprain my ankle. I deliberately, systematically destroyed my body for hours until I was on the verge of death, because I wanted the System to give me a skill called Pain Resistance."
I could see the shock starting to register on their faces, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. The truth had been bottled up for too long, and now that the cork was out, everything was going to spill.
"And this morning, before breakfast, when Sienna saw me on the couch, I was there because I had performed a second experiment. I ingested enough alcohol to hospitalize most people. Enough to kill someone if they weren’t careful about the dosage. I did it deliberately, because I wanted another skill called Poison Resistance, and I knew that it was the only way to get it."