My new life on Vextel was in short, very restrictive and scheduled. Every morning and evening I had scans performed on me to monitor the rate of my degrading body. After every breakfast, lunch, and supper, I had to work out to the best of my abilities to keep it in shape. I didn’t mind my new restrictive lifestyle, but what I did mind was how I could only see Minerva a couple of times each month. Instead, it was Grimoire Scarlet who took over as being the parental figure in my life. She would be there with me every day to check up on me and see how I was doing. Sometimes I would see her walking around the building talking to other doctors or scientists. Somedays, however, Scarlet didn’t visit me because she was backed up by work. I got upset over that fact, despite knowing that she was very busy trying to save my life. I was holed up in this building for four years now, meaning I was now nine-years-old and in a bad state. Heart attacks and organ failure were becoming more and more common. Somedays I had to be hooked up to machines for the entire day. But I endured it. I had faith in Grimoire Scarlet, who had become a mother figure in my life.

One day I was in her office, doing those regular medical checkups like measuring your weight and height, your breathing, blood pressure etc. She proceeded to take a sample of my blood and saliva, putting them in test tubes than in a machine that will compare them to previous blood and saliva samples to find changes in my body. I noticed that Grimoire had bags under her eyes, and was working sluggishly today.

“Ms. Scarlet, you’ve been looking quite exhausted lately. Is there something wrong?” I observed.

She gave me a reassuring smile as she ruffled my hair. “No, no, just having some family issues.”

“Do you have kids?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes I do, two actually. Both of them are wonderful kids.”

“What are their names?”

“The oldest one is Zac Magnus and the youngest is Elenore Magnus. She’s nine, just like you. Both of them are Prophets as well.”

The machine interrupted our conversation as it made a beeping sound. Scarlet focused her attention on the display monitor, checking the results. She nodded to herself before returning her attention to me.

“The time has arrived Atlas. We can now operate on you. Your body is weak enough that it’ll be forced to accept these new Stigmas if your body wants to live. I have to get the operation room ready. Your surgery will take place tomorrow afternoon.” She announced.

She hastily gathered her documents and left the room, leaving me alone, unsure of what to do. I glanced around the room, expecting someone to pop up and give me directions on where to go next. Instead, a document caught my attention. It was a sheet of paper that stood out like a sore thumb because it had a picture of sis. I sat there, eyeing the document, wondering what it possibly could contain. Eventually, curiosity won out and I snatched the file. I opened it and the first piece of paper was a file with my sister’s information. It dated back from four years ago:

Minerva Highborn, female, thirteen years of age. Child of Jules Arcadia and Sarah Highborn. Status: Prophet. Stigma: Five. Magic: Grade 1, Abyssal Space. Sibling(s): Atlas Ryder. Signs of Stigma Deformation: Present. Specifics: Black hair, that sucks in light around it. Blood type: AB-

Then I looked at the next piece of paper which had more recent data. Data from this year to be exact. Almost the entire file was changed:

Minerva Highborn, female, seventeen of age. Parents are unknown. Status: Prophet. Stigma: Five. Magic: Grade 1, Abyssal Space. Sibling(s): None. Signs of Stigma Deformation: Present. Specifics: Black hair, that sucks in light around it. Blood type: Unknown.

The papers dropped out of my hands, scattering all over the floor. I was in complete shock. How were her parents were unknown? How was I no longer her brother? What was going on? I couldn’t get the answers that I wanted as a nurse found me alone, and brought me back to my room, and got me ready for sleep. I fell asleep that night with all this new information stuck in my mind.

Today was the day. Today was the long-awaited day. Today was the day to see if I would live, or I would fade away and die. There was barely any time left before the surgery would take place. I was lying down on the operation table, surrounded by a fleet of surgeons, nurses, scientists and government officials here to witness the success or failure of the Stigma Helix Project. Minerva wasn’t present before I went under. I had so many questions to ask her. I was disappointed that she wasn’t here. I wondered if she was late, forgot about the date of my operation or just believed that I would survive. Either way, it didn’t matter as soon after, I felt sleepy and lost unconscious.

I remember I was floating in an empty space. My limbs refused to respond. I just drifted endlessly with no destination in sight. But I had visions, or maybe they were dreams. They flashed by me so fast I didn’t have time to see them. But I thought I saw a girl with gold eyes fighting an older man. She was crying, and bruised, while the man looked at her with a pained look. I tried to see what was going on, but it abruptly ended, as a hand yanked me back up to the world of the living.

I opened my eyes. My vision was extremely fuzzy due to my poor eye sight. I blinked multiple times then suddenly my vision became crystal clear. The fuzzy silhouettes of the people around me cleared up. Minerva, Grimoire Scarlet and a mix match of other people were silently glaring at me.

“W-where am I?” I groaned. My head felt heavy.

“You’re back on you sick bed.” Scarlet responded.

“Atlas! Are you alright?!” Minerva asked me. I wanted to ask her questions, but I decided now may not be the right time to do so. I noticed she was clutching my left arm. My eyes bugged out. What happened to my arm?! It was covered in black scars. I rushed out of bed, ripping off my shirt and stared at myself through the mirror installed in my room. I nearly dropped dead from the reflection itself. I was looking at me, but I was an entirely different person. Those black scars were all over the left side of my chest as well, creeping up my neck. One of my eyes had also turned completely black.

“Stigma Deformation. Only occurs on people that can wield Grade 1 magic.” Scarlet explained. “Congratulations Atlas Ryder, you are the first ever artificial Prophet.”

Present

“So it really is a miracle that you’re alive.” I told Atlas.

He nodded his head. “In short yes it is.”

“So what happened afterwards?” I asked.

“Multiple things. Minerva vanished without a trace after my safety was guaranteed. My health eventually returned to top form. My organs became stronger. Then shortly after, your mother passed away.”

“You have no idea where your sister may have disappeared off too?” I asked him, turning the conversation away from mom. I had promised to visit more often, but it didn’t mean I was fine talking about her.

“Unfortunately, yes. Even now, I still have nagging thoughts about what I saw on her medical files. There must be a good reason for her disappearance. But I will find out in due time, and once I find her, I’m getting answers.” He stated.