Chapter 39 - The Gift

At first, everyone was confused. Astounded. Then Daven's words finished processing in their heads and the council members erupted.

"What?!"

"Are you trying to say that-"

"What do you mean?!"

Daven shook his head, feeling more than a little embarrassed at the behavior of the council that every pack member viewed with respect, and one day hoped to become part of. They were making a complete fool of themselves before their newest member. They too, soon realized this and quieted down. They looked at Daven expectantly, wanting an answer from him.

"Now that I have your attention, let me explain." Daven began; he turned to Mian. "Mian, do you know what a Gift is?"

"Gift? I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean. I know what a gift is, but I think that the gift I know and the one you mean might be two different things." Mian replied honestly. He had an idea of what the Patriarch was talking about, but he decided to wait for a better explanation before he confirmed his theories.

"I figured. Let me start from the beginning. Ten years ago, a phenomenon that would mark the change of the world occurred. An asteroid from beyond the skies came crashing down into our world. This strange... rock came with some unbelievable effects. It granted powers beyond what we could imagine onto certain people. Those who first made contact with these rocks were granted Gifts. These Gifts allowed them to push the boundaries of what we once thought was our limit. With these Gifts, the society of all nations throughout the world was flipped on its head. No one challenged a nation that held a Gift bearer."

"Now, a couple of weeks ago, another asteroid crashed down in our territory." As Daven said this, Mian's eyes widened. "Yes, another asteroid bearing a Gift." He nodded.

"A mission to inspect this was given to Brian, a Middle Ranking Werewolf. I personally picked the most promising prodigies of your generation to escort Dion in his journey to claim this Gift for himself, but something went wrong. You were attacked on your way there, and some things led to another. In the end, I believe you might have stumbled upon this asteroid and gained the Gift contained within it. Does anything within my story ring a bell?"

Mian was surprised when he heard Daven's explanation. He easily recalled that after his flight from the sight where their group had been attacked, he had wound up in a clearing with a lake at its center and a large boulder filled with golden liquid. Everything about that moment had been miraculous, and fit the explanation that Daven had provided.

Mian decided to be honest with Daven. After all, if it was not for Daven, then he might not even be here today, and aside from that, he did not plan on keeping some things to himself, lest he would be unable to be himself and carry out some of the plans he had already begun to brew ever since he woke up.

"Your words do ring a bell..." Mian admitted. "I did indeed run into a massive boulder in the middle of the forest. And I suppose that I had gotten a Gift from that boulder." He nodded.

"Do you mind telling us what exactly this Gift is?" Daven pressed on.

It was at that point that Mian realized that letting them know every detail of what he could do would be quite foolish. After all, he was still a middle ranking pack member, while everyone present was a powerful dominant. If they decided to restrain him and make him do things against his will, then it would be very bad for his future prospects.

Mian trusted Daven, but even still, he was still hesitant. All through most of what he could recall since the pack had taken him in, he had been bullied and mistreated. That naturally left him with quite a bit of distrust towards most members of the pack. Even if Daven were to stand on his side, who knew if the entire pack would turn against them?

Mian let all his worries and thoughts come out and run through his mind in that moment. He just couldn't risk it.

After some more moments spent thinking, Mian finally decided.

"My Gift is Energy Manipulation."

"Oh?"

The eyes of the dominants around him widened as they heard this. Even Daven nodded as he thought about it.

Naturally, none of them were strangers to the energy that existed all around them, especially when dominants as powerful as them interacted with it on a daily basis. The Mystic Force that they were capable of projecting around them was also a manifestation of energy in the end.

"Would it be possible for you to heal my arm with that Gift? After all, Energy Manipulation is still fundamentally different from healing." Azreal was the one who spoke up this time. He wanted to be hopeful, but he still decided to be reserved so as to be less disappointed if Mian was unable to heal him.

Instead of answering Azreal, Mian directed the question inwards.

'What do you think, Hana? Will I be able to help him regrow his arm?' He asked the dutiful assistant that had stuck with him through the tough times he had experienced as of late. She had been immensely helpful in helping him find his way in regards to the Evolution System, and Mian was not sure if he would even have up to half the power he currently possessed if he had embarked on this journey without her.

[As a matter of fact, Host, you can heal his arm quite easily. All you need to do is will Natural Energy to concentrate in the area that you need. While doing this, you need to do it with the intention of healing him. This will imbue the Natural Energy with healing properties that will vastly speed up the healing process. You should already be familiar with this, as you have done this once before, if subconsciously.] Hana replied sharply.

Mian's mind drifted to the time he had helped heal Dion's injury back before they got captured, and a small smile graced his features, drawing the attention of the dominants around him.

"As a matter of fact, I can.." Mian finally answered Azreal with shining eyes.