Beyond

Chapter 13

Jesse

My whole body was burning in pain the moment I woke up. A sudden surge of power flowed over me. I tried to get up, but the excruciating pain prevented me from doing so.

"I didn't know it'd be this painful..." I groaned in pain when it doubled.

There was a blue aura flowing over the veins of my body as I looked at my shaky hands. The pain was so too much to bear—it felt like dying was the best option.

I screamed when the pain became much more intense, to the point that it felt like it was ripping me apart. I don't know why, but I suddenly saw Payne moving towards me with a worried look on his face. I soon realized that I wasn't hallucinating when I felt his cold hand touch mine.

How did he even get here?

"Payne..." I called his name, gripping his hand tightly. "It hurts," I said as tears welled up in my eyes.

Payne hushed me. "It'll be over soon," he said in such a gentle voice that brought my heart to ease. He gripped my hand tightly. Black smoke surrounded both of our hands, and my lashes began to feel heavy.

And everything went black.

When I woke up, there was a cold hand holding mine.

"How are you feeling?" he asked me the moment our eyes met.

"My body feels heavy," I admitted. "I can't believe the process is that painful." I tried to get up, but Payne pushed me back down to the bed, so I had no choice but to lie down.

I didn't experience this kind of pain when I first got my gift. People awaken their Beyond at the age of ten, and when they receive their power, they'll get sick for a while as their body starts to merge with their gift. All Beyond users experience the same sickness when obtaining their gift, but I wonder if that's also the case for the Dusks.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through all that," he said, caressing my hand. Heat crept up to my face, but I didn't bother snatching my hand away as I loved the feeling of him touching me. "By its name, Halt Potion, it forces your power to stop flowing. Now that the effects wore off, your power overflowed, making the pain unbearable," Payne explained. I nodded, following what he was saying.

"I'll feel a little bit better if you hug me," I said, chuckling at my joke. Payne played along by moving closer and giving me a hug. "I was just kidding," I said before returning the hug.

"Is that so?" he said, breaking our hug. His flowery scent was still lingering on my nose. "It seems like you've fully recovered now that you are joking around like that."

A week has already passed since we went to the Snow Festival together. Payne and I have gotten closer, and my feelings for him are growing bigger. We became more open to each other, and we could also joke and banter around more comfortably.

During those few days, I've gotten to know his likes and dislikes. He likes the color red, the same as his eyes. He likes to take a walk, especially when he has a lot of things on his mind, and when walking is unavailable, he will sit by the fireplace and stare at the fire. He dislikes crowded places and people who keep touching him. I felt guilty knowing I touched him twice and that he was also sleeping during those times.

"...How long was I out?"

"Two days," Payne said. I looked outside the window, seeing the sun high up.

My eyes widened. "Then, what about the flowers?" I frowned. "I was looking forward to seeing them get planted all over the garden."

"Don't worry—it was waiting for you to meet them. At least you get to water them now that you've got your gift back," Payne said, smiling at me.