Chapter 35: Second Power [2]
I glanced down at my right arm and gasped. There, wrapped around my forearm like a chain, was a tattoo that definitely hadn’t been there before. The design was complex and beautiful, all flowing lines and geometric patterns that seemed to shift and move when I wasn’t looking directly at them. It was a dark green hue flickering.
What was happening to me? First the time manipulation, now this... whatever this was.
What was I becoming actually?
I flexed my fingers experimentally, half-expecting the tattoo to react somehow, but it remained still and silent. Still, I could feel it there, like a warm weight against my skin, and I had the distinct impression that this was only the beginning.
Behind me, I heard the soft click of the storage room door opening.
"Is everything okay?" Elena’s voice was small and worried. "I heard... sounds."
I quickly pulled my sleeve down to cover the new tattoo, not wanting to frighten her any more than necessary. She’d been through enough already.
"It’s fine," I said, turning to face her with what I hoped was a reassuring smile.
But right after the world tilted sideways.
My eyes widened in shock as a wave of agony crashed over me like a tsunami of fire. My knees buckled, and I hit the concrete floor hard, my vision swimming with dark spots that threatened to pull me under completely.
My right arm—the one now adorned with that mysterious marks—felt like it was being dipped in molten lava. The pain was so intense, so all-consuming, that I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything except clutch at my arm and try not to scream.
"Ughhh!"