----

"W-what was that?!" Lucian exclaimed as he lost his footing, falling to his butt. Right after the shockwave hit, an aftershock followed. Moreover, it somehow managed to be even stronger than the initial tremor.

This time, the Fractured Monolith began radiating a low-emission hum and nearly all of the Awakened people felt it. Their immediate thoughts were that something was amiss. After all, the Fractured Monolith never engaged in this type of behavior—this situation was too abnormal, almost on par with the initial appearance of the monolith.

Meanwhile, Lucian attempted to get back to his feet, but the aftershock didn't allow him to do so. Furthermore, the pebbles on the floor started to levitate one inch off the ground, a phenomenon that only took place when the area was flooded with increased levels of Mana.

The palpable Mana wave was strong enough to permeate the stones, allowing them to transform into another type of resource altogether—Manatite, which was a broad term for 3 distinct types of mineral resources: Mana Shards, Mana Crystals, and Mana Stones.

All of a sudden, a hand grabbed his arm and helped him up, "Your brother, where is he?" Jacob questioned. While they were inside being tested, his condition worsened, but the 3 hours they spent here was enough for him to recover to a less worrisome state.

"He's still inside. He was Awakened, so he said they wanted him to meet the branch directors," Lucian answered, finally recovering his footing with the help of Jacob.

"Oh, really now? What rank did he get? For them to extend a thorough welcome, it should be some like a B- Rank at the least, right?" Jacob questioned again.

This time, Lucian shook his head. After all, that was a gross underestimation of his brother, "No, he was evaluated as an A+ Rank."

First, there was a silence between them, but then Jacob's jaw dropped when he digested Lucian's words. He couldn't believe it! Any further and Doctor Arc would have located a unicorn, an S Rank Awakened!

'It seems his gambit was more than worth it.'

Suddenly, Jacob remembered another thing. He had forgotten to ask Lucian's rank. "What about you? What's your ranking?"

This time, Lucian looked crestfallen for a moment before recovering. Even then, he wasn't truly confident to reveal it. So, he could only mutter the answer under his breath, "Failed Awakening…"

"You failed? Ah, no worries then. When the conditions are right, you're bound to awaken. After all, it's rare for one sibling to awaken and another to fail altogether. Not to mention, the Astral Corrosion Sickness can only appear in people that have dormant abilities but weak vessels," Jacob said, trying to encourage Lucian not to give up hope.

Fortunately, it seemed to work as Lucian nodded, "I understand." Aside from this short reply, he didn't say much else, but it wasn't due to a listless attitude. It was because he felt weird.

Ever since he tried to awaken, something didn't feel right. It was almost as if he was submerged in a dense liquid and couldn't breathe properly. The feeling grew with each passing moment, soon reaching unbearable levels. As a result, he clutched his chest and started hyperventilating.

Afterward, his senses dulled periodically until finally, they malfunctioned completely, the world surrounding Lucian blurring to darkness. The last moment he recalled was Jacob's panicked voice entering his ear but being unable to respond to it.

At the same time, the Fractured Monolith emitted one last seismic wave, but this one was special, the fractured openings emanated a blue energy signature. The thickness of the aura varied, but they all gave the same vibe—an inexplicable signature.

----

Sometime later...

"Urghh…where am I?" Lucian groaned, clutching his head as he opened his eyes to an unfamiliar place. Unlike usual, his eyesight was blurry, and everything seemed in disorder from his point of view.

He even tried to sit up, but a jolt of pain made this an unpleasant process. The pain traveled directly to his head, inducing a splitting headache. Not to mention, trying to focus his vision accentuated the headache.

"Don't make any sudden moves. It seems to be that your body is...how do I say this," Jacob muttered with a difficult expression. The news he heard surrounding Lucian's condition wasn't great, so he didn't wish to reveal it.

Even after a few minutes, he stammered and struggled to let it go. To him, it seemed like the fates of these brothers were like heaven and earth. Perhaps it was the equivalent exchange of the universe. While one was on top of cloud nine, the other was sinking into the pits of nihility.

"W-what is it?" Lucian finally asked, unable to suppress his curiosity. His voice was unusually hoarse and speaking felt like it was inflaming his vocal cords.

Despite his anxious questioning, Jacob still couldn't bring himself to answer.

Fortunately, a much more callous person popped into the room. "Well, since he doesn't have the heart nor balls to tell you, allow me to. You have a case which is rarer than the Astral Corrosion Sickness, it is what we call the Zero Point Disease."

"Zero Point Disease?" Lucian repeated. Even though the name didn't sound too bad, he could tell from Doctor Arc's dire tone that it was terrible. "What does that mean?"

"Well, to put it in simple terms, your body has zero points to release Mana from. So, when the testing contraption injected you with beta-Mana, a higher grade of the Mana we naturally intake, your body only absorbed it but never channeled it back out," Doctor Arc revealed.

He then pulled up a chair next to Lucian's bedside with a serious expression, "In addition to 16 years of absorption, the beta-Mana from the contraption has agitated the dormant Mana in your body."

For a moment, the room fell silent. This all came as one big bomb to Lucian. His mind couldn't digest the severity of his condition. "S-so...what does that mean for me?"

"It means, let alone an Awakened, you might not be a normal person for long. With no way to excrete the Mana, you'll...you'll experience a Mana Overload and die," Doctor Arc responded in a grim tone.

To Lucian, it felt like his world had collapsed as the revelation made no sense, "Wait...wait. Can you fix me? You can, right?! Tell me! I have to find out about my parents. I can't die now," Lucian exclaimed in a panic, clutching the sheets of his hospital bed.

"I would say yes, but we don't have access to that type of medical equipment. Not to mention, asking the Guardian Corps is out of the equation. I didn't wish to tell you this, but based on the levels we measured within you, the rank you would have attained is no more than an F Rank.

"To put it differently, you didn't fail your awakening. You're in fact an F Rank. Your Zero Point Disease just inhibited you from releasing the signs. As for finding your parents, your brother mentioned the same thing. My best advice would be to let him attempt that," Doctor Arc suggested.

"T-this can't be… I'm just an F Rank? Doctor Arc, be honest with me. How much longer do I have with this disease?" Lucian asked. However, his tone seemed lackluster, as if his will had been damaged.

Before answering, Doctor Arc pulled down his glasses and made a rough estimate. "If it was before, living to 18 would have posed no issue. Now, with the Mana in such an agitated state and no feasible way to subdue it, I estimate you have a week before it utterly destroys your insides."

"A week," Lucian whispered with a defeated expression. He then laid back and pointed his unfocused and seemingly lifeless eyes towards the ceiling, "You know, after my parent's disappearance, our lives weren't easy. There were days where we had to sacrifice for Daphne and Silas."

As he spoke, tears fell down Lucian's cheek. Regardless, he continued to divulge his story, "Who knew everything would be so cruel. After struggling to survive, who would have thought our fate wasn't to survive. Not only will I die, so will my two innocent siblings."

"Why do you believe that they will die?" Doctor Arc interjected, startled by his assumption.

"I heard about it. The salary that Cyrus can receive won't cover the costs of the first round of treatment in time." With all of this included, Lucian's outlook was bleak.

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But, that right there isn't normal. It is calling for people," Doctor Arc countered, raising his fingers toward the currently erratic Fractured Monolith. "And, with your brother's qualifications, he should be of those called. Based on my calculations, the signs aren't as randomized as everyone is led to believe."