Chrysalis To A Butterfly [Kiana Kaslana X Male OC]

Shower: Creation & Destruction

There was a pause before steam gushed out of the shower head. Sal stood underneath it with his eyes closed. His toned, scar-wreathed body had a glowing mark, tiny and triangular. It was the first sign of Honkai corruption. However, in his case, it was the overuse of Hersscher powers.

<The temperature is too high> The feminine robotic voice of the home AI system, 'Gideon', broke his peaceful stupor. <It is recommended for the user to lower the temperature>

Sal clicked his tongue. He opened his eyes and glared at the AI display on the wall in front. On the screen, there were two floating boxes. The top box showed the signs '+' and '-', while the second box displayed the temperature, which at the moment was: 'Sixty degrees Celsius.'

Sal swiftly closed the temperature control panel on the display and opened the main interface. The display now showed an icon that resembled a robot face. It had two horns on either side, and its eyes glowed red.

"Please overwrite temperature change protocol," Sal ordered. Frustration was imminent in his tone.

<I am sorry, user 'Sal', you no longer have the authority to make changes with safety protocols> Gideon replied. Her voice was emotionless as ever.

"Why?" He asked, bewildered. This was his bathroom. Why would anyone change the temperature controls here?

<Your administration control authority over safety protocol was removed an hour ago> Gideon replied. On the display, he could now see three icons. The first one had the symbol of a robotic bunny(Bronya), the second was that of a white cat with orange ears(Kiana) and finally, a black dog(Sal).

Sal clicked on the third icon. The display turned black with a white circle rotating at the centre. And then came the dashboard with his data. He could see all the stats. From his shower usage time to the temperature he preferred his shower to be, it even had the 'Favorite time to shower' column.

That is not what I want to see, dumb AI. His fingers hurriedly changed the page on the display. He was now staring at the permissions. It showed: 'Administrator: Declined' and 'Safety protocols: Declined.' At the bottom was a small note: User' KK removed user Sal's authority at 05:30 AM, 22nd December 2020.

What? How? Why? Sal was baffled. They just talked about thirty minutes ago.

Frustrated and defeated, he shook his head. His hand scratched the triangular mark on his chest. As he showered, Sal had wanted to practice control over the creation and destruction. That is why he kept the temperature above fifty degrees, with the maximum being seventy, as that was the system cap.

The idea was to let the boiling water burn his skin, destroying the epidermis and dermis tissue. The process was immensely pain-ridden but efficient. Once his tissues are entirely eroded, he will focus on the Honkai energy produced by the 'Gem of creation' to recreate the tissues.

Sal had been doing this for over a month now. Since they returned from Kolosten, he has been filled with a sense of urgency. The Honkai war stood at the dawn of its end. That is why he needs to be ready, for the time is nigh.

Still, his destructive way of training himself was something a certain whitehead despised openly. Though he wasn't sure how she got a whiff of his shower training, he still knew he was in for another round of lecture during breakfast.

Sal sighed as he begrudgingly lowered the temperature. Bringing it from sixty degrees to thirty.

<Thank you for your cooperation.> Gideon chirped. Her voice was no longer emotionless. Making Sal snicker. <Would you like me to play music during the shower?>

"No," Sal replied as he switched off the display and pressed the button next to it. The showerhead finally poured a shimmer of water on him. As his exhausted muscles relaxed, he felt an odd sense of relaxation.

Have showers felt this relaxing before?

For the first time in a month, Sal enjoyed a warm shower. There was no pain or conditioning involved. It was a pure, calming experience.


*****

A/N  It took me a while to write this chapter. I wasn't a big fan of the writing style in the last two chapters; thus, I had to spend much time experimenting with different styles. Even though the current style differs from what I initially wanted, it's still close to what I aim for. Anyway, I hope you love the new chapter. It's smaller compared to the last three. I might do that more often from now on. It will allow me to write in higher quality and give you more chapters than a few chapters over a week or month.

Anyway, happy reading.